Chapter Two:Part Three

The next morning, Leni went back to the parish to look for it. She searched the benches one by one, but it was not there. She came back, disappointed and hungry.

"Have you seen it?"
"Hindi po eh." Leni replied as she headed back to the kitchen and helped cook their lunch.
"By the way Leni, I set my own rules here. Conchita comes once a week. So, that means that we have to share household chores. You could go wherever you want as long as you inform me, ok?"

Leni nodded her head.

"Another thing that you have to know is that I'm not as strict as your mom. But, I want discipline in my house. Alcohol and smoking are prohibited."
"Tita, you don't have to worry about it because I don't both of them. I'm just a coffee addict."
"Sus, kape lang pala. Kung ganon, wala pala akong magiging problema sa'yo."

After finishing their meal, Leni entered the living room and watched, "Shake, rattle, and roll".
While watching, she called Adam and Faith, and told them that her scrapbook was missing.
"Are you sure that you left it there?"
"Yes, because I hurriedly left the place when I realized that someone saw me broke into tears. I suddenly began to miss Red when I saw our first picture together."
"Don't think about him muna, lalo ka lang masasaktan."
"Adam's right, this is probably the sign that you have to move on from your past."
"You have a point, but it's not only our picture that was there. It chronicled our college days. Adam, would you like other people to see that you're in a mermaid costume? The picture was there."
"Shucks, you're right. It's so embarassing. You really have to look for it."
"Don't worry Leni, no one would take interests on those pictures."
"Faith, don't say that. Who knows that someday, I might get discovered. How I wish. I remembered when Ate Agatha was discovered by an agent inside the mall. A few weeks later, she was booked for a photoshoot."

"Hay naku Leni,asa ka pa."

A few minutes later, Aldo came.

This time, Leni, Adam, and Faith were sharing horror stories. Aldo tapped her back. When she turned around, Leni screamed.

"Ok guys, I have to go." Then, Leni went put down her cell phone, took a deep breath and smiled at him."

"Grabe, you frightened me. Sana, nagsalita ka man lang. Anyway, can I help you?"
"Leni, it's me Aldo. I used to go to your house when we were in college. Tapos, ikaw naman, palaging sinasama ni Agatha sa bahay namin. Naalala mo pa ba ako?"
"It's been a long time. I almost didn't recognize you. Nagka-laman ka ng onti. Mamang-mama ka na. What brings you here pala?"
"I just wanted to give back your scrapbook. You hurriedly left the church that you forgot to bring this with you. I knever knew that your were crafty. I like how you designed the whole thing."
"Thanks. It actually took me two sleepless nights to finish this one. As you can see, no to pages are alike."
"Can you tell me something about this page? What's with the concert ticket and the paper napkins?" He said as he pointed Leni's picture with Red.
"This one was taken, during one of my classmate's birthday bash. The guy beside me was my boyfriend. It was our first picture together. I pasted the concert ticket because it reminded me of the first time that we accidentally bumped to each other at a campus concert. Unfortunately, we broke up on my birthday."
"I'm sorry to hear that Leni."
"You don't have to, I'm ok."

She was smiling but her eyes expressed sadness. Aldo sensed that she doesn't want to talk about it, so he veered the topic.

"The youth ministry in our parish is going to have a production on the fifteenth of May. I was one of the facilitators, the other one was Mong, remember him?"
"Yes, the graphic artist. Right?"
"By the way, would you like to join us?"
"I would love to. I was actually a part of a Theater guild in college and I concentrated on script writting."
"That's good because we haven't found a story yet."
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to bring my materials with me."
"Don't worry about. Think of something else na lang. You could make an adaptation of a movie. Besides, most of our audience were children. I would also suggest that the story would be upbeat so they won't get bored."

"Where would the production be held?"

"At Santa Cecilia, an orphanage run by nuns. Our rehearsals would be everyday, from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, except on weekends."

After that conversation, Aldo went back home.


Leni removed her contact lens and put her eyeglasses back. She went back to her usual get up, sneakers,flip flops, plain shirts, and jeans. When she looked at herself in the mirror, Leni felt that she was no longer a princess.

"I'm an ugly duckling again." She told herself.

Chapter Two: Part Two

After a five hour trip, she finally arrived at her aunt’s house. She took a nap, then spent the rest of the afternoon, walking around the town. The place could make one person travel in time because of the cobblestones and the heritage houses that surrounded the place. Leni wished that Adam and Faith were there. Her last stop was the church. She sat on one corner, opened her bag and got her scrapbook. She leafed through the pages; until she was stopped by her picture with Red. Memories flashed back from the time that she first saw him at a concert up to the time that they broke up on her birthday. Tears fell from her eyes as she closed it.

Aldo recognized Leni from afar and said, “I know her.”

Afterwards, he approached her. He handed her a handkerchief and Leni wiped her tears and sneezed.

“Oops, I’m sorry. Ibabalik ko na lang, lalaban ko muna.”

She also thanked him without looking at his face. To her embarrassment that someone saw her cried, she stepped out of the church leaving her scrapbook on the bench.

-----

Aldp took it with him as he went back home. He browsed the pages until he remembered Leni, the cousin of his deceased girlfriend. The last time that he saw her was during Agatha’s wake.

“What’s that?” His grandfather asked?

“A scrapbook, someone left this inside the church.” Aldo replied.

Chapter Two: Part One

A few weeks after graduation, Leni bummed around the house.
Her mother has been complaining about her cluttered room but she was too lazy to clean it up.She spent the whole day eating, watching television, surfing the net, and reading showbiz gossips. Indeed, she was never productive since she graduated from college.

One day, Leni decided to help out because she got tired hearing her mom’s sermon.
She was sweeping the dry leaves when an unexpected visitor came.
“Leni, is that you?” Her Aunt Juana said with excitement. She nodded and kissed her aunt.
“Pasok po kayo.” Leni said as she helped her aunt carry her things.
While preparing their merienda inside the kitchen, Her mom and aunt talked about her.
“Your niece recently graduated from college.”
“Is she working right now?”
“Not yet. Hindi ko nga alam kung ano yung plano niya eh. Magahapong lang dito, nagbibilang lang ata ng butiki sa kisame eh ”
“The last time that I saw her was five years ago, Nung libing ni Agatha. Dalaga na ang anak mo. Does she have a boyfriend?”
“She used to. Unfortunately, the guy dumped her on her birthday.”
“Sobra naman yun. That must be really hard on her.”

“That’s true. She didn’t disclose to me what happened, I just found out from her friends. Ate, papuntahin ko kaya siya dun sa inyo para malibang, kahit ngayong bakasyon lang. Naisip ko kasi, na baka kaya masyado siyang tinatamad, eh masyado siyang naapektuhan nung nangyari.”

“ Mukhang ganun na nga. Sige, pasunurin mo sakin sa susunod na linggo para hindi na niya maisip yun. Tuturuan kong magka-disiplina si Leni. Wag kang mag-alala, ako bahala sa anak mo.”

-----

The night before she left, Adam and Faith helped her pack her things.
“You’re going to spend the rest of the summer at the province?” Adam asked
“Yes. But I’m not really excited because I don’t have any close friends there. Yung boyfriend niya at ibang kababata niya lang ang kilala ko dun. Isa doon,kina-iinisan ko pa, alaskador kasi. For sure, maiinip lang ako dun.” Leni said.
“Ok lang yan, kaysa naman sa nandito ka nga tapos, maiisip mo lang lagi si Red. Baka ma-baliw ka niyan. Anyway, Just make yourself busy, so you won’t get homesick. Here are some DVDs so you can beat your boredom.” Faith said as she handed them to her.
The two of them, kept on pulling clothes out of Leni’s closet.
“Faith, why would I bring my graduation dress?” She asked.
“Wala lang. Basta, dalin mo na lang.”
“Ay ewan, just help me pack my things.”
Aside from the clothes, she included the scrapbook that chronicled her college life.
“Leni, this is the first time that the three of us won’t spend the summer together. Wala tuloy ako taga-basa ng Daily Horoscope.” Faith said.
Leni replied sarcastically.
“Grabe, you’re really a good friend. Yun lang pala pakinabang ko sa iyo, Faith.”
“Sobra ka naman, hindi ka na ma-biro. It’s just my way of saying that I’m going to miss you.”
Adam looked at his watch and said to Faith.
“It’s getting late. Your Dad texted me, ihatid na daw kita.”
Leni began to tease the two of them.
“Uy, gentleman. Bakit kaya? In fairness, bagay kayo.”
“Alam ko, parehas kaming unan ni Adam.”
“Leni, pagbalik mo, payat na ako. Ewan ko lang sa isa diyan.” Adam surpsisngly said.
“Talaga lang ah. We’ll see.”
As Adam and Faith stepped out of the house, they both sang the chorus part of “Hindi kita malilimutan” to Leni.
“Tumigil nga kayo, ginagawa niyo naman akong patay eh. Mas bagay yung ‘Farewell to you my friend’ by Raymund Lauchengco”
Adam replied,
"Tama na, nagiging corny na tayo."
The three of them laughed afterwards as Adam and Faith bid goodbye to Leni.


The next morning, her Mom drove her off to the Bus Terminal. “Tumawag ka pagdating mo doon. -iingat ka ha.” Her Mom told her as she stepped out of the car.