𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄:
Under the mango tree
(1965)

"ATE," Sister. Carmelita calls out, releasing a child-like laughter, seemingly out of breath as she places a hand on her chest. "Maduga ka!" You cheated. She exasperatedly yells, releasing a huff as she stomps her bare, muddy feet on the ground. Her youngest sister was always a sour loser. Always easily annoyed and impatient.

"Asar talo ka lang," You're just a sore loser. Miriam teases as she pokes Carmelita on the waist with a teasing smile. She laughs triumphantly as Corazon and Miriam share a high-five. While Carmelita poked her tongue out and Elenita rolled her eyes as she wiped her hands on her dress, "Alam mo, kaya ayoko na makipaglaro sayo. Ang bilis mo mapikon," You know, that's why I don't want to play with you anymore. You quickly get irritated. Carmelita only shakes her head, a sour expression on her face with her lips puckered to the side.

The sisters' laughter echoed through the fields. Corazon is the eldest sister with three older brothers. Joselito is the oldest of seven, then Antonio and Theodoro, the identical twins, followed by Corazon, Elenita, Miriam, and Carmelita—the only gap between each of them is two years. Joselito is twenty-one years old and studying in Manila for University, same as the twins, aged nineteen. Corazon is seventeen and is only home for the weekend. She's in her second year of college as a nursing student. Elenita is fifteen and in her last year of high school. Miriam is thirteen, and Carmelita—their youngest, is eleven, both in high school.

Carmelita and her sisters were racing in the rice fields that their parents owned. "Si bunso talaga. Huwag mo nang pansinin mga ate mo, pero totoo nga na pikon ka." Our youngest. Don't listen to your sisters, but you're really a sore loser. Carmelita only rolled her eyes as she stomped towards the mango tree.

The sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm, golden hue over the vast expanse of the rice fields. The air was filled with the earthy aroma of damp soil, intermingled with the sweet fragrance of blooming wildflowers that adorned the edges of the fields.

The simplicity of it all and the unbreakable bond that held them together. It was a timeless moment. Underneath the shade of the mango tree, time seemed to stand still. The sweet aroma of ripe mangoes wafted through the air, tantalizing their senses.

Corazon began peeling the mango she picked from the tree, revealing the succulent, golden flesh within, and indulged in the sweet nectar that dripped down her fingers. She began distributing it to her sisters.

"Sana ganito nalang palagi." I hope it's always like this. Miriam dreamily sighed as she lay on the ground, hands beneath her stomach as her eyes wandered through the azure sky.

"Ang lalim naman ng iniisip mo, Miriam." You're overthinking again, Miriam. Elenita responds.

Corazon stood up from her seat and filled the empty bucket of water from the water pump, and they began to clean their hands and dry them off through their dress.

"Si ate Cora aalis na naman bukas," Cora will be leaving again tomorrow. Carmelita pouts, looking at her oldest sister with a frown. Corazon clicks her tongue on the roof of her mouth, "Hindi naman permanente, bunso. Babalik din ako sa susunod na biyernes." It's not permanent, Carmelita. I'll be back next Friday. Carmelita scoots over to Corazon as Corazon begins to braid her hair, placing a small white flower on every trail of her braid.

They nestled into its shade, the sunlight filtering through the leaves in dappled patterns on their faces. "Corazon, Elenita, Miriam, Carmelita! Uwi na! Tanghalian na!" Corazon, Elenita, Miriam, Carmelita! Go home! It's lunchtime! They hear their mother yell out from their house.

They all shared a look, and they began to stand on their feet and began to run towards the house. Their mother called out again, "Corazon!"

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

"CORAZON,"

A soft voice calls out once again. Corazon opened her eyes, greeted by the blazing sunlight and the gentle skies spreading through the horizon. The garden surrounding her, an oasis of colors and fragrances, unfolded before her like a living canvas. A symphony of flowers swayed gently in the evening breeze, their petals painted in various shades of pink, purple, and orange.

Corazon lay under the oak tree. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves, creating a soft, rustling symphony that serenaded Corazon into a state of tranquility. "Esme?"

Esme gives her a small smile, her caramel hair cascaded in soft waves, framing her face. Esme's eyes, pools of warm topaz, held a depth that hinted at both wisdom and kindness. Corazon always thought that even though Esme didn't have a gift like most of the family members, she regained it through her soft-spoken nature, calming presence, and warm and inviting demeanor.

Esme is everything a mother should be; in a way, Esme reminds Corazon of her own mother, nurturing and the very essence of love for her children, even though she did not bear them—her love for them knows no bounds.

"Here I thought the sun fell into my garden," Esme releases a soft laugh, the parasol on her hand shading her from the sun. Corazon looked at her skin, transformed into a resplendent display of diamond-like brilliance as sunlight kissed her skin. The air seemed to shimmer with an almost tangible luminosity.

"Oh, I forgot," Corazon shakes her head, a chuckle escaping her lips. "Joining me bask in the glow of the sun?" She asks, looking up at Esme as she uses her arm to support her head.

"If I removed this parasol, we'll both be blinded by our own skin," Esme muses as she gracefully sits beside Corazon. They watched as the breeze swept by the flowers, the bees collected pollen, the birds flew around them, and the clouds moved in the sky. "I miss it too, how warm it feels."

Warmth. It was a feeling they'd never experience again. It seems like it'll be a never-ending feeling of coldness.

"I didn't want to forget it, you know? That's why I'm doing this. There are some things about being human that I didn't know I'd miss." Corazon mutters, heavily sighing as she takes a deep breath as the fresh air seeps through her lungs, exhaling and closing her eyes in delight.

"Being human," Esme ponders as she tucks her legs to her chest, still a parasol in her hand. "I didn't know how simple human life is when I became a vampire."

"Living and dying are difficult for us now," Corazon says. Never staying in one place, never having the freedom to walk when the sun is at its peak, never eating human food and an endless craving for blood, never experiencing the different stages of life, never having children, never experiencing normalcy again, and never dying. Over time, Corazon understood how vampirism is both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because, for them, life can be experienced to the fullest. Being human is like a clock ticking, with every tick a reminder that time for humans can stop—in the most unexpected way. Being human is knowing that life for them is short; there's this unexplainable rush of doing something worthwhile, something they'll be remembered by, wanting to experience something bigger than themselves because time is valuable; once it stops ticking, it can never be recovered or repeated. It just stops—forever. It can be exciting and scary, but that's part of the human adventure. Knowing that life is short.

For vampires, the concept of time is nothing of the sort because they have eternity; for them, the clock continues to tick and never stops. It just keeps ticking, ticking, ticking, and ticking. That it comes to the point that the ticking can drive one into madness because it's endless, never-ending, never stopping, forever ticking, forever reminding them that they are immortal and will never be the same again. It's a curse, knowing that everything that they've ever loved, seen, and touched will forget them, pass on, and continue—without them. It's painful. It's gut-wrenching and agonizing. The curse of immortality is knowing that loneliness will be a companion in every step. Realizing that time is a trap and one could easily get lost in the void of eternity.

That's the tragedy of immortality.

"Dying, yes. It's difficult for us. But living? It doesn't have to be such a burden." Esme says with her soft and soothing voice.

"It's haunting me—being alive. My memories wouldn't stop; just when I thought I had finally moved past them, it pulled me back in, reminding me at every moment. It won't let me forget." Corazon whispers as she feels a lump in her throat; her throat feels constricted, feeling ashamed as her shoulders slumped.

Esme's face constricted in worry as she connected to Corazon's eyes filled with pain, "It was insensitive of me. I'm so—"

"It's alright," Corazon shakes her head as she waves her hand in dismissal, "You were nothing but kind," Corazon fixed her posture, back straight, chin up, mustering a smile

"You can talk to me," Esme says with a hint of eagerness in her tone, "Let me help you ease the pain."

Corazon couldn't help but genuinely smile; at this moment, all she could think of Esme was how she embodied the soul of an angel.

"I don't want you to be burdened with my bearings."

"It will be no such thing; you're my daughter, biological or not; you're in my care. I will never forgive myself for not taking the pain away from you." Esme says with so much firmness and genuineness that it makes Corazon's undead heart swell. "Your parents, even without knowing. I want them to feel at peace knowing that their daughter is well taken care of,"

"How do you do it?" Corazon suddenly asks. "Make everything seem so light?"

Esme's features soften at her words, "I don't know. I just know that I feel fiercely maternal for all of you, that I'll do anything for all of you like a parent would normally do, turn the world upside down so that yours wouldn't feel that way."

"You're a great woman, Esme. A greater mother, too." Corazon tells her, "Both you and Carlisle have been so welcoming of us. So kind. You treated us from the beginning like you've known us for a long time."

"Kindness isn't difficult to give to those who need it in a world that sometimes seems cold and indifferent. Kindness can bring hope and acceptance. I want you to feel at home when you come to us."

Home.

Corazon once again closed her eyes as she reminisced about the feeling of home. The happy memories of home, with her parents, with her siblings—in her motherland before tragedy struck them, destroying their once comfortable home and filling it with agony and ruin. She missed them so much that it hurts that all the love for them that she has in her heart that she won't be able to express to them again. It's agonizing. To feel the love she has for them, and knowing that she can never see them again—to hold them.

Knowing that in time, her mother, her father, Joselito, Antonio, Theodoro, Elenita, Miriam, and Carmelita will move on to the next stages of their lives without Corazon.

It's frightening, it's...lonely.

It's painful to be the only one to remember them when the time comes. It's painful to be the one who remembers—all of it. The things she wants to forget. Oh, goodness, how she tried to forget every single memory of that year.

"I know it's hard, accepting strangers into your life and suddenly considering them as a family because you have to," Esme began, "But I hope that someday, when you see us, you consider us as your home, to be the ones who'll be there for you when you need it most. A shoulder to lean on. You don't have to be alone, Corazon—you have me. You have us. Hopefully, soon, that could be enough." Esme gracefully stood up from the ground, and before she could leave, Corazon called her name.

"Thank you. I really needed this."

"Anytime, dearest."

Suddenly, Corazon felt like she was under the mango tree again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

━━ I am establishing a new rule that I won't update any chapters until the previous chapter I posted isn't receiving the amount of attention/hype (comments & votes) I would have preferred, so this time I know that ya'll actually want to read my updates. This might get a weekly update if I am satisfied with the feedback!

━━ The lines in this chapter are chef's kiss. I was listening to hozier when writing this book so expect more deep & complex paragraphs!

━━ -lunatichale and I had our three year friendship anniversary on Saturday, and it still feels surreal because we talk like we have known each other for AGES. She won't see this because she's busy with her last few days of college (graduating in August), but I just had to share it because I know some of y'all are curious about our friendship, but yes. I love that woman so much. It's like we shared the same womb with how our thoughts match (it's kind of freaky, it happened so many times) but yeah! If you're wondering what happened when she went on a hiatus on October she's just a really busy gal.

━━ I also had the sudden urge to write my Narcissa Black short fic. If you didn't know, this is part of my Wizarding World Series. BECAUSE MY OC'S FACE CLAIM LOOKS SO FUCKING GOOD😩 but I'm not ready to deep dive into another complex fic with matching complicated and complex characters while I'm also writing my Remus fic that has complex themes as well😭 there's so much complexity that I could take/write. Anyways, life as a fic writer is difficult, and I had to make decisions on which fic to prioritize when I finished this fic. I had decided it would be my Elijah Mikaelson & upcoming Spencer Reid fic hehe.