Bitesized Fiction

I found this writing exercise through Karen’s website. Hello, 3 Word Wednesday. :) The instructions for this activity is:

Three Word Wednesday: Each week, I will post three (or more) random words. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write something using all of those words. It can be a few lines, a story, a poem, anything. I’ll also attempt to write something using the same three words.

This week’s words are: packed, cozy, anticipation.

* * *

Farewell

The afternoon sun cast golden rays down the bustling streets of Ortigas. While some of the people got ready to leave their workplaces and others enjoyed a cozy afternoon coffee with some friends, Rain De Castro was in her condominium unit, busy packing her things for her upcoming move-slash-trip to Sydney, Australia. As she stood in the middle of her room, looking thoughtfully at the piles of clothing and other things in her room, the doorbell rang.

Ding dong!

“Come in, it’s open!” Rain yelled from her bedroom, not moving from her spot. She heard the door open and footsteps moving toward her bedroom and stopped at the doorway.

“Wow, and I always thought I was messy,” the newcomer commented. Rain looked up and saw her younger cousin and housemate for the past month, Lissa, clad in her usual black and silver rocker-chick ensemble. She leaned against the white doorframe, lips curved in an amused smile.

“Hush, I’m packing,” Rain said with a wink and started moving around, picking up some piles as she walked to the bed where a big red and blue suitcase lay open. “Why did you ring the doorbell? Did you forget your keys again?” Before Lissa could answer, another Rain heard another set of footsteps and then a familiar voice speaking.

“Lissa, you forgot to close the door again. Rain, you haven’t packed yet?” Rain’s best friend Meah appeared behind Lissa, who had just entered the unit. “Is that what a big bump on the head does to you, forget one important thing you should be doing since yesterday?”

Rain laughed. Just a few weeks ago, Rain had suffered a bad concussion and a sprained foot that she had to stay at the hospital for a while. Since her parents were all the way in Sydney — where she was about to go in a couple of days’ time — her friends and cousins acted as her immediate family aside from Rain’s older brother. “Hey, are you my mother? Maybe I should not leave anymore since you’re here.” She stopped to put the pile of clothes she collected neatly in her suitcase then added, “And it’s not that I didn’t want to pack; my officemates threw a party for me at Eastwood last night.”

Lissa winked at Meah. “And she’s a party girl now, at Eastwood too! I should’ve bumped her head earlier so we could have gone to gigs together.” Meah laughed as Rain picked up a pillow and threw it at her cousin. Lissa worked as a manager of various independent bands and accompanies them to their gigs every night to promote their music.

“Where is Faith, by the way?” Rain asked, putting in another pile of clothes in her suitcase. “She told me she’s coming here. And where are your sisters, Lissa? I thought we’ll be having dinner together?”

“Faith’s on her way with Martin,” Meah said, coming inside the room to help Rain put the things she was packing inside her almost-full suitcase. Lissa followed, picking up the pillow Rain threw and sitting on her bed which she had occupied for the past month since she moved in to stay with Rain.

“Lara and Lyka will ride with Andrew, and I have no idea where they are now,” Lissa said, removing her shoes to lie on her bed. “But don’t worry, they won’t be late.” Rain just laughed.

“Okay, that’s it,” Rain said, after she put the last of her clothes inside.

“That’s it? How about all these stuff?” Meah asked, gesturing to the remaining things inside the room. “These could all fit in your suitcase; why leave them?”

Rain reached over to close her suitcase. “I won’t be gone forever, Meah. I’ll stay there for six months, or a year, tops. Besides, these clothes are for the next two days. The rest I’ll put in that box.” She pointed to a plastic box with wheels that sat beside the bed. “And if Lissa doesn’t mind, I’ll ask her if it could be kept here.”

Lissa shook her head and flashed a thumbs-up sign. “Of course it is; this is your unit, I’m just renting.” Before anyone could say anything else, Lissa’s phone rang and she answered it with a lazy, “Hello?”

Rain smiled and went to her dresser to pack in some of the toiletries and her other accessories as Meah took the initiative to put Rain’s other clothes in the storage box. Lissa stood up from her bed and walked to the living room, speaking in low tones.

“Are you excited, Rain?” Meah asked as she took a shirt from the pile and held it in front of her to see how it looked.

“For my trip? Yeah,” Rain said, bringing her toiletries to her bed to put it in a bag. “I feel like my world’s finally opening up, you know? After a long time of being stuck here, of taking control. Now it feels like I could do anything!”

“Scared?”

Rain paused. “Well, yeah. I am. Weren’t you scared when you stayed in the US?”

“Of course,” Meah said. “Come to think of it, I know exactly how you feel.”

“That’s why you’re my best friend.” They laughed.

Lissa returned to the room. “Meah, it’s time.” Meah put the last of the clothes in her lap into the box and stood up.

“Time for what?” Rain asked, zipping the bag close.

“Come on,” Meah said, grabbing Rain’s hand. “Stop packing for a while, we have to show you something.” She took the bag from Rain’s hands and put in on top of her suitcase.

“Huh? Wait, I’m not yet done!” Rain exclaimed.

“Come on, you can do that later,” Meah said. “Let’s go. Close the door, Lissa!” She added as the three of them went out of the unit and headed to the elevators.

“What is this, a kidnap? What’s up? We still have to cook dinner; Lara and Lyka might arrive any minute!”

“Chill, Rain, just follow us,” Lissa said. She pushed the up button on the elevator and luckily, they caught it on the way and they got to ride it immediately. As the elevator ascended to the top floor, Meah pulled out a blindfold from her pocket.

“Close your eyes, Rain,” Meah said.

“What? What is this?” Rain said, but decided to play along so she closed her eyes as Meah tied the blindfold around her eyes. She felt the elevator stop and heard the tiny “Ding!” and the “Whoosh!” of the elevator doors opening. Meah and Lissa took an arm each and guided her out of the elevator. Slowly, they helped her up a set of stairs, until she felt a warm breeze blowing and she realized that they were at the rooftop.

“Seriously, Lissa, what is all this? Are you going to push me off the building now? I thought we’re okay with each other!” Rain joked, but her heart was beating in anticipation. Whatever this is, she knew they planned it well since she didn’t suspect a thing.

Rain felt one of them let go of her arm and walk away. “Okay, Rain, wait just a little bit more, okay?”

“Meaaaaah!” Rain whined. “Come on, we’re wasting time! I still have to –”

Suddenly her blindfold is taken away and she found herself at the rooftop of their condominium, the sun slowly sinking down over at the horizon. In front of her were her cousins and friends, holding up a banner that says, “Bon Voyage, Rain!” with big smiles on their faces. But what really caught her eye, was the guy who stood at the side of the crowd: tall, muscular, his smile lighting up his face and his hair falling just right above his eyes, which were fixed only on her.

“Surprise!”

TJ looked up from his conversation with his girlfriend Jamie to his female best friend, Kristy, whose voice seemed sigher and speech a bit slurrier than usual. Her eyes were wide with panic, and she had jumped up on her chair so her feet would not be on the grass.

“What is it?” TJ asked, standing up slightly to see what was making Kristy freak out. They were at the backyard of his cousin’s house for his birthday party, and they were enjoying the night with good conversation and lots of drinks.

Lei, Kristy’s best friend, laughed. “Kristy, it’s just a frog.”

“But you know I am afraid of frogs!” Kristy whined. “Oh my gosh, it’s jumping towards meeeee!”

Richard, TJ’s best friend, stood up and shooed the frog away until it jumped all the way out of the gate. “There, it’s gone.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, don’t worry Kristy. Richard got rid of the big, bad frog,” Gabby, Richard’s girlfriend, said with a high pitched giggle followed by a hiccup.

“Is Gabby drunk?” Jamie asked.

“No, I’m not,” Gabby replied, blinking. Then she giggled again.

Lei looked at her closely. “You are drunk. How many glasses of margarita did you drink, anyway?”

“Uh…” Gabby said, blinking twice. “Three? Four?”

Before anyone else could say a word, Kristy jumped up from her seat. “I’m going to get more cake.”

“More cake? Kristy, you already ate three slices, including the half you shared with me,” Lei said. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am,” Kristy said, grinning. She took a few zigzag steps towards the buffet table but before she even reached it, her knees gave and she started to fall.

TJ was beside her in a flash, ignoring Jamie’s surprised look. He caught Kristy before her knees hit the ground. “Kristy!”

Lei stood up and helped TJ with their friend, whose eyes were now closed and she was murmuring unintelligible words. Lei leaned closer to smell her breath and she got a whiff of the sweet scent of the drink. “She’s drunk too,” she informed TJ.

“Too much champagne for this one,” TJ said.

“See, I’m not drunk, Kwisty is,” Gabby said with another giggle. She then put her head on the table and fell asleep.

“She’s cute when she’s drunk,” Richard said. Lei threw him a sharp look. He raised his hands up and added, “Kidding, kidding. I’ll drive her home. I should go home too, it’s getting late and I still have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Can you bring Kristy too?” Lei asked. Richard hesitated, but before he could answer, TJ spoke up.

“I’ll drive her home,” he said. “Kristy’s out of the way for Richard and Gabby. I’ll drop you off too if you want to go home, or if you want to accompany Kristy for a while.”

Lei glanced at TJ and then back at the table, where Jamie sat, listening to their conversation. Richard took up Gabby in his arms and bid goodbye to them, oblivious to the growing tension between TJ and Jamie. Lei looked back at TJ with a question in her eyes, which took a while for TJ to figure out. Then realization dawned in his eyes.

“Jamie,” TJ said, looking at his girlfriend, who wore a weird expression on her face. “I have to bring Kristy home.”

“Okay,” Jamie said slowly. “I’ll wait for you here.”

TJ paused. “Are you sure you don’t want to go home yet? It’s getting pretty late…”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you have to go home, it’s okay. I’ll just ride with Vera on the way home, she brought her car anyway.”

“It’s okay?”

Jamie nodded without a word. TJ leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and then took Kristy’s other arm and swung it over his shoulder, where Lei was having difficulty keeping her upright. Lei bid goodbye to Jamie and the two of them started walking out to the parking lot.

* * *

“Are you sure you’ll be okay with her? You don’t need me to help you anymore?” Lei asked as TJ stopped in front of her house.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” TJ said, rubbing the back of his neck. Kristy lay at the backseat, asleep, but murmuring some words occasionally. Lei’s mom had called her while they were on the way to Kristy’s house, demanding that she goes home at that moment since it was already late. As much as Lei hated to leave Kristy, she knew she had to obey her mom or else face a month of grounding from her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring her home.”

“Thanks, Teej,” Lei said. “Take care.” She got out of the car and closed the door gently. TJ waited for Lei to get inside the house before driving off.

A few minutes later, he was at Kristy’s house. He stopped the car, got out and woke Kristy up from the backseat. She came to, albeit a bit groggily and TJ helped her get out of the car and walk towards their gate. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked, her eyes shut but with a small smile on her face as if she was dreaming of something good.

“Almost there,” TJ whispered as they neared their gate. “Kristy, I need your keys so I can open your gate.”

He felt her raise her head a little, and thankfully, she heard what TJ said. Kristy started rummaging inside her small bag and pulled out a set of keys, which TJ got from her hand. She leaned on his shoulder again and they continued walking.

“Thanks, TJ,” she said softly, as if talking in her sleep. “Have I ever told you?”

They reached the gate and he shifted a bit so he could reach over to open the padlock. “What? Have you ever told me what?”

“That…” Kristy’s voice trailed and moved her head a bit on TJ’s shoulder. “That I love you?”

Click. The key slid in the padlock and it opened. TJ stopped and looked at the top of his friend’s head. Her eyes were closed and she wore that smile again.

“What? Kristy, are you awake?”

“I love you TJ. I really do.” Kristy said again, her eyes still closed.

TJ looked at her, wondering how to react to what Kristy said. Is she drunk or is she already sober? Was she just talking in her sleep, or is she serious?

Before he could think anything else, Kristy’s eyes flew wide open and she took a couple of steps toward the shrub beside their gate. She fell on fours, her face hidden by the plant and threw up.

Ann gazed at the rows of white and red shelves facing her, forcing herself not to look at each of the contents of it closely. She didn’t know why she agreed to go there, when seeing everything she sees around the place is just torture.

She forced herself to turn away, to hide the “offending” things from her vision but instead, her eyes landed on a stack of medium-sized brown boxes with a big green, white and red sign over it. Ann blinked, startled, for she hasn’t laid eyes on those brown boxes for a long time. But that doesn’t mean her feelings about it are gone.

You shouldn’t look at that anymore, Ann scolded herself. You know you’re not allowed to.

But she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She could imagine it calling her name, as if saying, “Come closer!” Even if Ann stood several feet away from the stack, she knew that if she didn’t look away, she’d probably start walking closer to it…closer and closer, until she ends up breaking her promise to herself. For the nth time.

Ann sighed, but at the same time she found herself walking closer to the stack of boxes. She stopped and got a box, feeling it with her hand, thinking, It’s not going to hurt, I’m just going to touch it. She smiled as familiar memories flood her brain as she looked at the box. She remembered her personal stack of the same boxes at ome, back when it didn’t give her guilty thoughts like the one running in her head right now. Ann turned it around and read the words written behind it, something she had never really looked at before. After all, all that mattered then was the contents of the box, not the ones outside.

Just this once? She said to herself. It wouldn’t hurt. She looked over her shoulder, checking to see if anyone was looking at her. When she saw the coast was clear, she took another box and started walking away, a big smile on her face.

“Ann?”

Ooops. Darn it. She turned around slowly and found herself face to face with her older sister, Arlene, who held a grocery cart filled with vegetables, fruits, and all things fibrous, low-fat and healthy, which is what they have been eating for the past few months. “Hi, Ate.”

Arlene raised at eyebrow at her sister, who was looking guiltier and guiltier by the minute. She looked at the boxes she held in her hands: two boxes of her favorite chocolate. The ones her ex-boyfriend used to give her. The one that she drowned her sorrows in when she found out that he was two-timing her. The one that made her gain all the weight that the two of them have struggled to lose for the past months.

She sighed and shook her head. “Ann.”

“I’m sorry, Ate.“

Arlene took the boxes from her and put it on the shelf next to her and didn’t say a word. She pushed the cart towards the cashier, and Ann followed her silently. As they were unloading the cart, Ann apologized again.

“I’m really sorry.”

Arlene smiled. “Seven pounds to go, Ann, and you’re back. Just a little bit more,” she said encouragingly. “But for now, I picked up some low fat cookies.”

Ann made a face and her sister laughed. She hated those stuff, but her sister was right. Just a little bit more. And when she lost that last seven pounds, she can buy herself a box of those chocolates and eat them to celebrate. Yes, that would be good. But for now, she’ll have to keep it away from her mind.

Writing Prompt: “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.” - All At Once by The Fray