A Symbolic Look on MCTPD

(This is the old book cover which I have changed because I want to practice prudence. The material was from Pinterest and it has copyright. The girl element I replaced for this was from Canva, and it's for public use.)

BOOK COVER SYMBOLS

• Girl
- The girl represents Coco. It passed on Coco's physical description, curly black hair and fair skin (we'll talk about the glasses later). I made the girl occupied half of the book cover to really convey that this story centers on Coco. All of the happenings revolved around her. How she succumbed to weakness, showed courage, faced different cases and confronted various challenges.
- This girl also represents the likes of Coco. Meaning, this story is dedicated to people who are suffering from mental illnesses.

• Background
First, let us observe the background.

May iba't- ibang celestial body doon and I decided to have it as the BG because it gives me the mystical vibes and eerie feels. Whenever I see this, Greek gods and goddesses, witches, angels, demons and other supernatural creatures crossed my mind.

- This symbolizes Coco's world. Ang mundo niyang puno ng panganib at hiwaga.

However, its interpretation is not only limited to that.

"The moon and the sun met at one point."

Noticed this description when Coco was having delusional attacks at the epilogue? Now, look at the book cover again.

- The background of my choice is what she considers as her little universe. Ito ang mundo ni Coco sa tuwing panandalian siyang naglalaho sa reyalidad dahil sa kanyang kondisyon.

• Eyeglasses
Maybe most of you will ask why is there an eyeglasses on the book cover I've chosen when Coco doesn't wear any in the story?

Ah, siguro pang-fashion lang.

Siguro hindi na natanggal kasi package na kasama no'ng babae.

No.

I've thought of this very carefully. Kaya pabago-bago ako ng book cover kasi may hinahanap ako. As I've mentioned, mahilig ako sa symbols kaya talagang binuhos ko ang oras sa paghahanap ng mga pics na pwede kong i-asemble and I've finally found them.

Again, look at the lens of the glasses.

Hindi kita ang mga mata ni Coco dahil ang repleksyon lang ng paligid niya ang naroroon. The mystic and perils of the world in her perspective were reflected on them.

- This shows how different and special Coco's own vision of the world around her is. This is how she sees the world. This is her own version of a beautiful place. The place some people never get to understand.

SYMBOLS IN THE STORY

• Clairempathy
Why clairempathy among other psychic abilities?

Let's first define Clairempathy.

Clairempathy is a form of an extrasensory perception (ESP) or a paranormal ability to clearly and directly experience other people's emotional energy as if they were your own.

- I made Coco a clairempath because that would give away what she was actually lacking in reality- emotional responses.

She was suffering from catatonia or the severe psychiatric condition often associated with schizophrenia which is characterized by being motionless and unresponsive. In other words, she's emotionless.

• Diary
- Her diary served the same purpose as her wristwatch in the epilogue. It was used for her reality check.

Her last entry before she laid comatose for ten years was actually when Tobbie told her about the bulong sa patay and not the accident with Eve.

Imagine, paano siya magsusulat kung comatose na siya?

It was just all in her mind. That is why when she read her diary (Last and New Entries), it had proven that her adventures didn't really happened. That was her wake-up call.

- Another thing about diary was that this had given us all the hints on what Coco was really going through.

Observe this excerpt from one of Coco's entries (Undisclosed Entries 2.0)

Dear Diary,

Nagising ulit ako sa ospital.

Ayoko sa ospital...

Nakakatakot at ang lungkot dito...

Naabutan ko sina Tita Caroline at Tito Joseph sa gilid nagbubulungan...

Sa maliit na tinig, dinig kong sabi ni tito, "...may sakit at mapanganib."

Sino tinutukoy nila at bakit kailangan nilang bumulong?

Coco

She overused the ellipsis (the three periods) and her sentences were fragmented. Hindi buo, putol-putol. This indicated that her mind was very unsettled, her mental and emotional functioning were unstable. She was disturbed and a little unsteady (that's why I'd chosen Unsteady by X Ambassadors as soundtrack for the epilogue).

• Tobbie
- Tobbie is an angel as revealed in Clairscent. That's how Coco sees her best friend in real life, her guardian angel.

Tobbie remained by her side from the start 'til the onset of her schizophrenia and even when she was still in comatose. He was always there for her, making her feel safe and comfortable.

Everyone of us has our own version of Tobbie, our guardian angel. They may not be ethereal beings and might not even come with wings nor capes but they are always there to listen and protect us. We have guardian angels in the form of ordinary humans with extraordinary love and care who will make us feel at peace, truly happy, and whole again.

• Eve & Winona
- This kinda turned away from the topic at hand because Eve and Winona signified something else.

Something greater than what the human mind could comprehend.

Something most people ignore and won't fully understand.

We always look for reasons, search for explanations because with them, we tend to believe that everything is true.

Let the men of science explain and every single peculiarities will become factual. However, I verily believe that facts are far way different from truths. With facts, you give reasons and back up explanations such as how gigantic heavenly bodies collided to create the universe.

With truths, on the other hand, is believing that something inexplicable and beyond man's logic is actually existing. There's no need to prove it, you just have to believe it. Take these questions for instance.

"Does God really exists?"

"Is God true?"

How do you answer that?

We have subjective takes on that matter but if I am asked on how God created the universe, I would say it's because of His magic and that's it. No salutary explanation needed because it is the truth that I know and believe to.

What I am trying to say here is that, some things in life don't need questioning and clarifications.

Even without seeing, just feel and believe that some things are bigger than us, greater than who and what we are and that's what you call mystics and magics.

• Why, in most cases, Coco kept being saved by the others? Why can't she save her own self?

This is like a foreshadowing or somewhat a reflection of some of the deeper themes of this story - Coco needs saving in real life. Kahit anong pilit niyang labanan ang kondisyon niya, she needs some people who will be there for her and who will believe that she can be saved and can recover.

For instance, Tobbie acting as her real-life guardian angel noong time na tatanggalin na sana ang life support ni Coco. He begged them not to and that he still believe that she will comeback, and thus, Coco was saved. Hindi niya kaya iyon kung siya lang mag-isa. She needs saving.

What inspires me to write this?

I have a friend who made me watch a video on TEDx Talks about a very accomplished woman who made it clear that having schizophrenia doesn't make her a monster or rather less of a human being (thank you Daikhs!).

I was really touched. It was so brave of her to face a crowd of random strangers as she shared a huge piece of her life.

You can really see that she was trying her best to continue her speech even if her attacks were beginning to surface. She admitted that she was starting to have hallucinations and delusions in the middle of her talk but she kept going. Her eyes turning really black because something triggered her.

Let me cut the long story short. When she opened up to the people close to her about her condition and admitted that she needed special help, what they did was very unexpected.

Her mother told her not to tell anyone about her condition because she should think of their family history. What would other people think about her? About her sisters? About their whole family? Her mother further said that if she does, she won't get any job and people will think of her as crazy and dangerous.

Then, she confided to her roommates and told them that she will willingly take the necessary treatment but she was so shocked when they called police officers to arrest her just because they fear her and don't completely understand her condition.

Please be reminded that they are very much like you. They are alive, they still have feelings and they get hurt too.

I really have a soft spot for people like Coco and I intended to make this story a form of awareness that we should not judge them nor feel threatened by their presence. Hindi dapat natin sila katakutan bagkus sila ay ating tulungan. And I want to use this story as an aid to give awareness and contribute to stop the negative mental stigma.

It disheartens me a lot to hear people call them "may sakit, saltik, krong-krong, kulang-kulang" and other horrible names.

We don't know what exactly they had been through to easily put an imaginary label on their foreheads that they are in dire need of repair and marked their entire existence as defective.

Ladies and gents, please bear in mind that these people are not something to be fixed. They are someone to be accepted.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Hindi po ba talaga sila totoo lahat? Product of imagination lang ba sila ni Coco?
- Aside from Mystic Club and Eve (and Bethany and Clayton), other characters are indeed just product of her imagination.

Mystic Club members are true yet they are living their lives differently from how Coco imagined it.

Let me clarify something about Winona also. She is really a witch and she's very much aware of that in real life kaya nga na-avail ng lolo niya ang funeral service na ino-offer ng funeral home nina Rum dahil classified ito, siya at ang buong angkan nila bilang beasts (Charmings' Funeral Home only accept beasts for clients).

However, Rum and her met in real life differently. Meaning, iba ang nangyari sa funeral ng lolo niya sa totoong buhay kompara sa panaginip ni Coco. Sa chapter ng Telepath, ang nangyaring iyon ay nasa loob ng panaginip ni Coco. Rum broke into Coco's dreams and intervened by telling Winona the truth. He acted and along with the other Charmings made it appear na passerby lang sila sa mundo ni Coco at wala silang ginawang kahit ano. Isa ito sa mga special service ng funeral home nila. They get into Coco's dreams through some sort of magic (which I will not be disclosing for now) and fix whatever they can from there.

I am planning to write Eve's case and Winona's real life rendezvous with them in one of the Beast Charmings' episodes. That's why I won't explain it further here. Let's just say, Beast Charmings is the Mystic Club version 2.0.

2. Iisa po ba si Cameron at Dr. Donovan Pascual?
- The first oNe is a parcel of Coco's dream life while the Other will help and make her live the life she truly deserves. :)

3. Wala na po ba talagang book two ang MCTPD?
- Sadly, wala na po because I am contented with how it ends. I planned it a very long time ago and I really want to stick to it.

I deeply apologize for making you feel somewhat left hanging, sad and disappointed but I had already finished presenting the two sides of reality. One was the mysterious half that entices us (Coco and the Mystic Club's adventures) and the other that made us hate, cry and ask for more because we want a pleasant ending for our heroine. Coco will heal when the right time comes and I'd closed her book with contentment in my heart because I knew I did just fine in conveying my advocacy.

Although Coco's story had come to an end, another book will unfold for the five gifted college students who stumbled upon a special funeral business.

Join them as they venture into the world of complicated love, secrets, and friendship.

This will be Mystic Club version 2.0. Ang kaibahan lang nila ay ang pagkakasentro ng estorya ng MCTPD kay Coco. Everything was all about her in this book. In Beast Charmings, you will hear five dissimilar stories and experience the lives of the three female leads. Hoping you could drop by again on it and love the Charmings as much as you love the Mystic Club.

Here's the link for Beast Charmings: Funeral Service for Beasts (Please, please do give time to read this. I'm begging you on bended knees because I really want to share this special piece with you. Hindi ko kayo bibiguin dito, promise):

https://www.wattpad.com/story/210873918-beast-charmings-funeral-service-for-beasts

Please give it a chance. Thank you so much for sharing your time with the Mystic Club. Cheerio! I love you all! ❤

illinoisdewriter