THE GOOD SISTER

Chapter 19 - Proof

Hi guys, I have an intriguing question for you. 

Have you ever been sincerely, genuinely happy for a sibling's/friend's good fortune but deep down envied that person for it? It's that feeling when you lurk on FB and see a post of them probably walking in the streets of Paris or some other European country, enjoying life while you're slaving away  in your cramped cubicle, and you're torn between liking the post or ignoring it altogether because you just cannot take the seeming injustice life sometimes gives you. 

Ok lang mainggit, I swear, normal reaction yan. What's bad is if you act negatively, fueled by that emotion. Sometimes, we get fixated on someone's life, repeatedly check out their photos and hurt ourselves looking at how happy they are. Could be our ex who's now happier away from us, a former batchmate who did good after graduation, or a neighbor who became successful overseas. Let's not make ourselves miserable by chasing after what we do not have. That's looking at our half-empty glass instead of acknowledging  it's actually half-full. 

In this chapter, Kat is like that. She does not really want Richard for herself, she's not in love with him. But she wants what Dei has, gets? She wants that kind of happiness, which she can never have until she accepts and loves herself more.

Embrace your uniqueness my dears. We all have our own lovable quirks, things that endear us to our families and friends. No need to envy others, who knows, they probably envy us too. Photos on social media are just moments encapsulated in a frame, it is not the whole picture, does not represent the whole story. 

Your story is always more than just a pretty photograph :)

Kat was looking through her Facebook timeline while her make-up was being done. She had a photo shoot this morning for a make-up line, a commercial shoot in the afternoon, and dinner with the network bosses in the evening. She was busy but she liked it this way. This was her dream and pursuing it at all costs was ok with her.

She came across Richard's update on his FB account and was surprised to note that he was currently in Manila. The photo was taken at Concha's over the weekend and he was with Dei. They looked really happy, his arm was on her shoulder and they were both laughing. Somehow, the photo depressed her.

Despite her fame and financial success, Kat still felt inadequate when comparing herself to Dei. To be honest, Dei was prettier, she also had the luxury of being able to eat a full table of food and not gain a gram of weight at all. She also had better skin, her caramel coloring glowed healthily, while she was just plain dark-skinned. Her only edge over Dei were her curves, her body was more feminine and voluptuous, and of course, her fame.

After four years of failed auditions, go-sees and bit parts, she finally got her much-deserved break. The network was looking for a new female lead that had martial arts skills and she was thankful for listening to her manager when he advised her to take Muay Thai lessons. The role was for a fantasy TV series, and she was initially disappointed that she was given only a support role.

But her chemistry with the lead actor was so well-received by the viewers, and the network picked up on this by adding more scenes for her. By the time the series ended, there was a clamor for her to appear in her own series with the lead actor as her partner. A new love team was born.

That was eight months ago. She has since shot up to fame by claiming the primetime ratings nationwide for her teleserye about a kidney transplantee who searches for her donor and falls in love with him. The series was highly successful and is now running on its second season.