"Coco, please eat something," Mira pleaded while sitting on the edge of the bed. The rest of her words were drowned as images of earlier's happenings appeared in my mind.

Hindi ko alam kung paano kami nakaalis ni Salvador doon. Ang alam ko lang ay pagkatapos lumapat ang kaniyang labi sa akin ay parang nawala ako sa tamang wisyo.

Kahit pa nakakabingi ang tawanan at palakpakan ng mga nakapalibot sa amin ay wala akong maintindihan at walang maiproseso ang utak ko.

Naramdaman ko na lang ang paghatak ni Salvador sa akin papunta sa kung saan. Alam kong may sinabi siya sa mga naroroon pero wala akong nakuha sa mga sinabi niya.

"Coco! Valentina!" Napaigtad ako sa sigaw ni Salvador. Nilibot ko ang tingin at nakitang nasa gitna kami ng kalsada. Ilang lakad na lang ay makakarating na ako ng cottage.

Sandali kong nakalimutan na magkasama kami ni Salvador kaya kumaripas ako ng takbo. Natandaan ko lang siya nang sinigaw niya ang pangalan ko habang hinahabol ako.

Hindi ko ininda ang kaniyang tawag at lalong binilisan ang pagtakbo. Gusto kong makauwi. Gusto kong mapag-isa. Nagbabakasakali ako na isang panaginip lang ito.

"Coco!" Galit na tawag ni Salvador at saka mariing hinawakan ang aking braso. Napangiwi pa ako dahil sa intensidad niyon. Malapit na sana ako sa cottage ngunit naabutan niya ako. "You seriously don't have any plans in having a relationship with me?"

Narinig ko ang kaniyang sinabi pero wala akong lakas para magsalita. Tulala kong tinitigan ang cottage habang patuloy na nag-alburoto si Salvador.

"Is it because of that oh-so-damn-perfect Beaufort?!" He spat with full resentment. "I was always by your side! I've been helping you with your disgusting hobby and even helped you plant and repot your fucking plants!"

Hindi ko alam kung ang pangalan ni Xaviell ang nakakuha ulit ng atensyon ko o ang pagbibilang ni Salvador ng mga ginawa niya para sa akin.

"I care for you, Coco, but this is how you repay me?" Pagsumbat niya at parang pinipiga naman ang puso ko dahil sa mga salita niya.

Hindi ko alam na obligado pala akong gawin ang gusto niya dahil naging "kaibigan" siya sa akin. Akala ko, ang mga tulong na binigay niya sa akin ay ginawa niya dahil tinuturi niya rin akong kaibigan. Pero ngayong sinasabi niya ito, mukhang nagkakamali ako dahil may kapalit pala siyang hinihintay.

"You almost humiliated me in front of everyone, Coco! Nag-iisip ka ba? Ha?!"

Hindi ko na rin alam kung paano ko nasisikmura ang mga salita niya. Pero sa sitwasyon ko ngayon, wala na yatang mas makakapagdulot ng sakit sa akin. I think being betrayed by the person whom I consider as a friend is enough to numb me.

"Every time I give you those bouquet, you couldn't even appreciate them!" Salvador said bitterly.

I turned to him, wanting to argue because I know that's not true. "I always thank you for all those flowers, Salvador... walang nagsabi na hindi ko nagustuhan ang mga iyon..."

"So you're proud of your 'thank yous'?" He replied mockingly. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that you like them? That's not how you thank a guy who likes you, Coco..."

Patuloy na nagsalita si Salvador habang ang mga mata ko ay nakatuon pa rin sa cottage.

"We had a relationship, Salvador," sambit ko, gusto na talagang makapunta sa cottage. "We're friends."

Whatever this is that I'm feeling just worsened when I realized that we're being watched again. I can't blame these people though. They either heard Salvador's voice and got curious or these people are also the ones from Costa Almojer who followed us here.

"I told you! I don't want to be just friends! Ilang beses ko pa bang kailangang ulitin 'yon, Coco?!"

"Don't worry, Salvador. The feeling's mutual," I answered, earning a shocked expression from him. The lividness in his eyes turned into a gentle one.

"R-really?"

"After the stunt you did, I don't think we can still be friends," I said with a bitter smile. Huli niya nang napagtanto na magkaiba pala kami ng iniisip.

Salvador stared at me. Hindi ako sigurado kung galit ba ang nasa mga mata niya o kalungkutan. I'm also not sure as to what I'm feeling.

Is this sadness because our friendship ended this way? Or is this anger because he...

Napailing ako at saka dumiretso na sa cottage. Nang dumaan ako sa mga nakikichismis ay may sumubok pang kumausap sa akin pero hindi ko sila pinansin.

"Hala, kawawa naman... sana naghintay muna si Salvador!" Rinig kong sabi ng isa.

"Akala ko pa naman gusto nila ang isa't isa... tsk! Ba't kasi nagmamadali si Salvador..."

"Ano ba 'yan! Magpi-piyesta na, tapos may ganito pa!"

Napaigtad ako nang maramdaman ang kamay ng pinsan sa aking mukha. Akala ko kung ano na... pinapahiran niya lang naman pala ang pisngi ko.

"You've been crying nonstop," she pointed out. "Drink some water, at least."

Tinanguan ko ang pinsan at saka pilit na ngumiti. Tinanggap ko ang bottled water niyang dala at saka bumangon mula sa kama. Nang makapunta ako sa may salas ay nakita kong nasa sofa-bed ang tatlong pinsan.

Tinanguan ko sila at kahit pilit nilang tinatago ang pag-aalala ay nakita ko pa rin iyon. Lumabas ako ng cottage at saka in-on ang flashlight. Gabi na pala at hindi ko alam na ganoon kahaba ang tulog ko!

I heard their footsteps but I continued walking. I know they're curious as to where I'm going but I'm glad they didn't ask.

"We locked your cottage," ani Vera. "And we're going with you."

Patuloy akong naglakad ngunit nang makitang may ilaw sa bahay nila Xaviell ay kumaripas ako ng takbo.

He's here! Xaviell's here!

"Vanilla, hey..." bumagsak ang damdamin ko nang mapagtanto na si Xavion pala ang nakita ko. Hindi naman sa ayaw ko siyang makita. Gusto ko lang talaga makausap o makita man lang si Xaviell.

Hindi ko rin alam kung ba't siya ang hinahanap ko ngayon. Ang alam ko lang ay gusto ko siyang makita.

"Where's Xaviell?" I asked, disregarding the thought that Xavion's suspicion about me liking his twin might be confirmed.

Xavion smiled and placed the boxes he was holding on the floor. "He's Mom's favorite so he's there with her... I'm just here to take our things 'cause well... Mom doesn't want any of us to leave her side."

"Oh..." iyon lang ang tanging nasabi ko. Hindi ko alam na huling pagkikita na pala namin iyong noong napadaan kami ni Vera rito.

"And no, Vanilla, he'll still come back," Xavion added as if reading my mind.

"Simone's still with you plus I'm sure he'd want to have some proper farewell... I mean... he only leaves without a goodbye if he's mad at you or something but then I just realized that I'm now blabbing... don't mind me... it's the stress talking, Vanilla."

Xavion scratched his head and gave me a shy smile. A streak of light hit his face and just like what he said, he does looks stressed. But even so, he can still effortlessly emit his prince-charming vibes. I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna miss him though I'll miss his brother more...

Vanilla, focus! A part of my mind said. Napailing-iling ako sa sarili. This, too, is probably from the stress.

"If you're wondering how I knew, let's just say I'm a skilled legilimens," he said with a wink.

"So this is our goodbye, then?"

He turned to the side with a small smile before turning back to me. "I guess so, Vanilla... should I contact you after... this?"

I wanted to say yes but then, even though we're not that close, the thought of him leaving and the prospect of not seeing him again quite hurts. Even though he doesn't hang around at my cottage as often as his twin does, I unconsciously got comfortable around him.

It'll probably hurt more if I'll hang on to this... plus, if we get closer, he'll hurt me too... just like—no, don't, Vanilla. You've had enough of him for today.

"Nah, no need," I said, shaking my head. "We'll cross paths if it's meant to."

Sandaling natahimik si Xavion, para bang sinusuri ako bago ako nginitian. "Goodbye, then... I'll see you when I see you, Vanilla."

I nodded with a small smile. I felt a sting in my chest when I realized that one of these days, this will happen with Xaviell and me too.

After he was done placing all the boxes in the cab, he turned to me with a smile, then waving at me. Tatalikod na sana ako ngunit nagsalita ulit siya.

"Vanilla!" He called. "Thank you..."

Tumaas ang kilay ko sa narinig. Why is he thanking me?

Xavion smirked, probably seeing my confusion. "He loves the anklet..."

I saw his eyes move to my back, probably looking at my cousins. He waved at us for the last time before going inside the cab.

I turned to my cousins and we walked back to my cottage. Sinabihan ko sila na kaya ko na ang sarili at sa cottage lang muna ako mananatili ngunit hindi sila nagpatinag at anila na sasamahan daw nila ako.

Hindi na ako nakipagtalo sa kanila dahil alam kong sasama talaga sila sa akin kahit ano pa ang sabihin ko.

Malayo-layo pa lang ay may naaninag akong naghihintay sa cottage. Sandali akong napatingin sa mga pinsan, sinisigurado na magkasama nga kaming lima at walang may nagpaiwan.

Ganoon din ang ginawa ng mga pinsan at mukhang katulad ko ay sandali rin nilang inakala na may nagpaiwan sa aming lima.

Kumabog ang dibdib ko nang mapagtanto kung sino ang naghihintay sa amin. Ilang taon man kaming hindi nagkita ng personalan, napapamilyaran ko pa rin kahit ang kaniyang anino.

"Sino 'yan?" Kuryosong tanong ni Lisa. I didn't have to answer her because the person waiting for us came out from the shadows, making my cousins gasp.

She ran a hand through her now-shoulder length her. It was as jet-black as mine. Her pale skin glowed as streaks of light shone upon her.

She squinted her eyes as if surprised. It's probably because she hasn't seen us for years so now we look some kind of strangers to her.

Kung hindi siya nagpagupit at kung wala ako sa tamang wisyo, iisipin kong nasa harap ako ng salamin at ang repleksyon ko lang ang kaharap ko.

The Hermosa genes may be strong and evident in me, but there's still no doubt that I am the mirror image of my mother.

"Mom," I called in almost a whisper. "You're here..."