Twist of Fate

Prologue

I stepped out of our classroom with a bright smile on my face.

It was a beautiful day - in the clear, blue sky, the sun shone brightly, I could hear the birds singing, and a gentle breeze was blowing.

I reached down my skirt's pocket and felt the familiar shape of my cell phone. I knew I wasn't supposed to have it at school or I should have surrendered it, but I couldn't help myself - it was so tempting.

I'm bad at following the rules.

"Damara, kapag talaga na confiscate cellphone mo 'wag kang iiyak sa amin ha?" Our classroom President told me.

"Hindi 'yan," I grinned. "Huwag mo namang batiin. Hindi ko kaya na walang cellphone sa isang araw."

Nagpaalam akong mauuna na ako sa kanila dahil may gagawin pa ako sa bahay. Narinig ko pang tinatawag ng mga kaibigan ko ang pangalan ko para ayain ako kumain ng tusok-tusok pero kinawayan ko lang sila.

While walking home I typed a message for my favorite human aside from my grandparents. I searched his name in Messenger and opened our conversation.

Damara De Guzman:

Ipasa mo ito sa 10 katao, especially sa taong mahal mo. Pinasa ko ito sa iyo dahil miss na kita, asan ka na?

I sent the message with a wry smile, imagining his reaction while reading my message. Naiisip ko agad kung paano kumunot ang noo niya dahil sa kakulitan ko.

Moments later, I received a reply from him.

Lucas Adriel Gonzales:

Sino pa 'yung 9 katao na sinendan mo nito, Damara?

Aabangan ko sa kanto.

Natawa ako ng malakas nang mabasa ko ang reply niya. Pinagtinginan naman ako ng mga tao pero wala akong pakialam sa kanila. Tatawa-tawa ako habang nagtitipa ng sagot sa kaniya.

Damara De Guzman:

I sent it to your social media accounts and old numbers.

Para akong kinikiliti habang naglalakad dahil tawa ako nang tawa. I really sent that message to his social media accounts and old numbers. Kahit sa mga accounts na hindi na niya matandaan ang passwords sinendan ko. Basta account niya sinendan ko. Para sa kaniya lang naman 'yung message na 'yon.

He didn't reply after that. Malamang busy siya laya tinigilan ko na muna ang pangungulit sa kaniya.

Pagdating ko sa bahay namin cellphone parin ang pinagkakaabalahan ko. I saw some old pictures of us on his old accounts. His baby pictures, pictures from kindergarten, and elementary, and our pictures this high school.

I saved all of those photos on my phone so I can have a copy. Buti nalang pala naisipan ko pagdiskitahan ang mga dating accounts niya, nahalungkat ko pa ang mga ito. I picked some beautiful photos of us together and decided to edit them and print them. I put filters on the photos and enhanced the quality of them. Then I had them printed like photo booth pictures.

I took a picture of what I did and sent it to him. I waited for his reply to see if he wanted a copy of it so I could give it to him. I enjoy collecting memorable photos. I even have a small box full of my collections. One of my hobbies is taking beautiful photos and my favorite subject is him.

Lucas Adriel Gonzales:

WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE PHOTOS DAMARA?!

Damara De Guzman: