chapter 8

"Mom have you seen my other shoes? I can't find them." I asked mom

"What was it? Go look at your other suitcase" mom replied

"Mom, I just wore those last week. I can't find them everywhere" I irritatedly said, I've been looking for them for the past 10 minutes

It's almost 12am; our flight is at 5am. Mom being mom, she HAS to be at the airport for atleast 3 hours before the flight. So, we're going out at 1 because it will take us a 45-50 minute drive to the airport.

Me being a very clutch person, I just continued packing these last few hours. I have tons of clothes and shoes to pack even if I decluttered and donated some.

I took my bag out from my cabinet and started preparing my hand carry. I gathered all my important stuff like my laptop, ipad, chargers, some medications, toiletries and more.

After almost an hour of packing, I finally finished it. I felt hungry so I decided to go downstairs and look for something to eat, as I walk towards our pantry all the food are separated to some boxes that is ready to be donated, then I saw Yael at our pantry getting food too so I didn't mind him that is why I went straight ahead

“Ysa!!" he startled "You scared me!" he gasped while holding an open bag of chips

"Why? Do I look like a ghost to you?" I irritatedly said while pushing him out of my way

"Psh! You scared me and yet you’re still like that"

"Oh, so now it’s my fault? Me being so beautiful that makes you scared?" I said while choosing what I can eat

"I was even more scared of what you said Ysa" he says while going out

"OH, I’m telling you, ciano!" I shouted at him as he run upstairs

I got myself some cookies and juice from the fridge and sat down at our countertop. After eating, I got upstairs and put some cookies in my bag and went back to my room to take a bath. I have to move fast because I know myself, I always move slowly but I'm never late. I got the most comfy outfit which is sweat pants and a hoodie. I didn't put anything on my face, just my usual skin care and lip balm for my lips. And there! My other shoe is sitting next to my vanity! I grabbed it and placed it near my bed and sat down on the stool to blow dry my hair... when suddenly, my phone vibrates.

Pazzi

Marie: Bellllaaaa

Marie: idk what to feel already

Felicitè: Bella? Are you really leaving? 

Mika: Belllaaaaa!!! Huhuhuh

Me: Guys stop you're making this really hard

Marie: Stop it already, I want to cry again huhuhu

Felicitè: same girl, bella don't leave it’s not too late to back out you can live in our house promise

Me: :(( 

Mika: Theoooo! pick me up my won’t allow me it’s already late

Theo: Why are you so excited, you want to go earlier than bella? 

Mika: I said later, I was just reminding you.

Felicitè: Why are you so rugged Theo

Marie: Bella is leaving that is why he is like that 

Marie: Look, he is not okay

Theo: Why? You guys are good about it? Bella is leaving. Is it okay to all of you? 

Felicitè: What? You guys okay about this? 

Marie: Hey fel, you were on my side remember?

Me: guys stop that 

Me: You know what, get ready instead. Time is running.

Mika: Belllaaaa

Marie: No bella nooooo

Felicitè: Huhuhuhu

Me: you fools, I’m not dying 

Mika: it’s not funny don't joke like that 

Felicitè: i agree 

Me: ok I’m sorry but I’ll talk to u guys later I should double check my bags. See you soon

Then I shut my phone off, I don't want to cry again. I didn’t notice my hair is already dry. I got up and went in front of my full-length mirror to see if my outfit looked good. I looked around my room and realized this is the very last time I will see this, all the sleepovers and movie nights we had came back in my mind, I could feel my heart ache. I'm being dramatic every time I think that we will leave this house for good in just a few hours.

1:02 am

"Baby, Ysa! We have to go. We have to load our suitcases in the car." mom says as she rushes down the stairs

I'm still crying over me leaving my room. I will surely miss my comfort zone. I went out of my room, I saw my sister Yassie teary eyed as she carries her suitcases down the stairs. I started to push my suitcases towards the stairs and carry them down. As I put my suitcases down, I approaches Yassie and I asked her to go inside our house for the very last time. I saw how emotional she is and hugged her, I saw yael in the corner of my eye looking through the whole house for the last time too.

After a few minutes, we all headed back in the car. As I sat down, I put my earphones on so that I won’t be thinking that we are actually leaving. I also didn’t open our group chat because I don’t want to feel the sadness that my friends feel at the moment. 

Silence filled the whole car, all we can hear is Yassie silently crying while looking outside the window, while yael is distracting himself with his phone and Libbie not even realizing that this is the last time in a very long time we will be able to see the roads in Italy.

"Ysa, yael, Yassie and liberty wake up. We reached the airport." mom

I saw the sign above, Florence Airport, Peretola. This is it.

"Take care, ma’am sir!!" Jack said, he'll be following us in the Philippines after a few days, he will be fixing the things that we will be donating.

"Thank you, Jack. See you soon" Yassie replied and we all waved at him

As I got down the car to help with our baggages. I can see four figures walking towards me. I can see Mika, Felicitè, and Marie crying already. I approached them with a tight hug.

"Is this real?" Mika asked while sniffing

"Guys, please don’t cry, stop being fools, you make me want to cry too." and I honestly felt like crying the moment I saw them

"We will miss you bella." Felicitè said while holding my hand

"Baby, Ysa, let’s go inside. We have to go through security” dad said

After the security scanner we lined up for us to check-in our baggage on our respective airlines. After a few minutes, we finally finished the things we needed to do then we decided to sit down on the benches since our flight is at 5am.

"Do you guys want to eat?" I asked them

"No bella, we just want you to stay. That's what we want" Marie answered honestly I could feel my tears again

"Look it’s just 3:32, we still have some time to spare." I said to them as I looked at my watch

"Here, I have some chips for us to eat." Felicitè said as she brought out 3 different types of chips

"Really, Felicitè?" Theo being confused why Felicitè brought chips at the airport

"Just eat okay? Here oh I also have drinks. Ysa, what do you want?" Felicitè offered, she literally have a ton of canned sodas

"Do you think this is a picnic?" Theo said

"You know what? you’re such kill joy every time, don’t eat if you don’t want to" Felicitè said as she rolled her eyes, we all laughed at them they are like cat and dog when they fight

"Here oh, Theo" I said and handed him a can of soda and I opened the chips so that we can share

"Thank you, bella." he said smiling and I smiled back

"Thank you bella thank you bella" Felicitè whispers mockingly "stop being like that or else I’ll kick your ass.” she says and Theo just laughs and playfully throws his arm on her shoulder

"Excuse me everyone, Ysa, can I talk to you for a minute?" mom suddenly talks behind me

"Sure mom" I answered as I followed her

"Check the time baby, 1 hour before we have to be at the immigration, then after we will go to our gate already, we will wait there. Okay?” mom explains to me, I sighed the time is running so fast

"Yes mom." I answered sadly

"Alright, Go back at your friends." mom said as she walks away from me

I went to my friends right after mom and I talked, I sat down beside Theo. They are all looking at me like they want to know what just my mom said.

"We are leaving in about an hour" I sigh

I saw how sad they are. They sigh too as they control their tears falling from their eyes. I can see tears starting to fall from Mika's eyes. I can't help but to cry also because I felt the heaviness of my chest seeing them cry and imagine this is the last time we will be together.

Theo put his arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder as tears came out uncontrollably from my eyes

"Shh, don't cry bella. look, your cold is dripping." he says as he wipes the tears from my cheeks

"Theo" I said trying to come up with a comeback but I can't

"Just kidding, stop crying please. We will see each other again soon. I promise." he says still wiping my tears

I removed my head from Theo's shoulder and talked about our favorite memories and laughter at the most embarrassing ones. I looked at the time and sat down properly. I told them to form a circle on the floor. I held Felicitè and Mika's hand

"Okay, guys. It's almost 4am; we have to go to the immigration. We all know immigration is the worst." I can’t stop my tears from falling as I say those words.

"I will surely miss you all. Promise I will be visiting Italy again, and of course you guys. I will not forget you all. You guys are one of the reasons why I smile everyday" I cried more and I can see all of them crying in front of me

"Ysa baby" mom called

I looked at my back and I saw mom calling me from behind. "Yes mom, I'm coming" I said quietly. This is it. I could feel my chest getting heavier

"So, this is it. I am leaving now" I said and I asked them to stand up. I hugged them one by one and kissed their cheeks. And at the moment.. it all hit us, we all started crying.. Ugly crying

"We love you b-bella. S-see you soon pl-please." Mika says through her tears

"Always, take care of yourselves okay? I-I’m too far from you; no one will defend you now, only yourselves." I reminded them

"Yes. You also take care of yourself okay? P-Please call us everyday even we have different time zone" Marie says holding my hand

"Yes, please call or text everyday" Felicitè added

"Yes I promise. Don't forget me okay? I love you, guys" I hugged them for the last time as I walked away from them, I heard a voice coming from my back.

"BELLLAAAA!!!!" I’m hearing Theo shouting from behind

I looked back and I saw him running towards me. As he approached me, he hugged me and he started crying. This is the tightest hug I've ever gotten from him.

"Take care" he whispered "Thank you for everything, for the laughs and happiness you have given to us especially to me. Thank you for bringing out the best in me. You're the best part. 143 Ysabella." he said in a lower tone voice.

I can't believe Theo said that. It's his second time to say something like that to me for almost 5 years. I felt something in me that I cannot even explain. I can feel my knees getting weaker and my face getting hot? I can hear some giggles coming from the back

"143? What's that?" I asked and acted that I don’t understand what 143 is. He looked at me; I can see from him that she made me want to understand what 143 is. I actually know it's just that I don't know how to react. He didn't respond on my question and walked off before I could even respond

"Ysa, let's go na." dad called me

"Yes dad. I’m coming" I answered

I don't know what to feel about what Theo said. I turned around to my family but, I feel like I have to say something but I really don't know what it is. It’s uneasy for me and so I decided to approach him.

"Mom, one last please. I have to say goodbye to him properly." I asked mom

"Sure baby, be fast, we are gonna be late." she replies

"Yes mom I will"

I ran towards him. I saw my friends give signals to Theo to look behind him. I got near him when suddenly he turned around.

"Oh, I thought you’re leaving alread-" he said as I hugged him

"Thank you for everything. I really appreciate you. I will surely miss you."

After that, I already turned around. When I get close to my family, I looked back and waved goodbye to them as I forced a smile

"I love you all!! Take care!!" I shouted at them, I didn't even care that everyone in the airport is looking at us

"Love you!!"

"Take care!!"

"Have a safe flight!!"

Were the last words I heard from them as we entered the immigration.

I hugged mom and she stroked my hair whispering sweet words to comfort me

"It's okay, baby. We can still visit them sometime. Stop crying shh"

Eventually, my tears stopped. I still can't think straight, I let go of mom's hug and looked at her

"I don't know what to do w-what to feel" I said to her honestly

"I know I know just don't think anymore, it's going to be the last time you're going to see them-"

"But i-it is"

"It's not. Baby it's not. We can go back here during summer, I promise. Don't think about negative stuff, Ysa you're making this harder for yourself. How are you supposed to enjoy the Philippines if your heart and mind stays here? I know it's gonna be hard for you but no one can help you except yourself" she then kissed me on the forehead

"Okay, mama" I said wiping my wet cheeks

"Okay, go to your siblings"

I went to were Yassie, yael and Libbie were sitting, yael and Yassie were using their phones probably talking to their friends, while Libbie walks towards me

"Are you okay, Ysa?" she says with her adorable big round eyes staring at me

"Yes, i’m okay baby you don't have to worry about me" I said as I lift her up to sit to my lap

"You're crying" she says while holding my face with her tiny hands

"Well I was... but not anymore" I said squishing her cheeks

"Why were you crying?" I want to be honest with her but she's way too young and she probably won't even understand

"It's nothing to worry about, baby! Besides i’m okay already because Libbie is awake to play" I said while tickling her sides

"Sis!!" she shouts while squirming away from me I stopped immediately, I forgot how loud her voice is now everyone is looking at us

It took us 10 minutes on the immigration then we went to the boarding area. I gave Libbie to mom since she wants to eat and sleep.

Pazzi

Mika: I'm home already, take care guys, especially you Ysa I miss you already :( 

Felicitè: same, jgh. I miss her so much :( 

Marie: that was quick; I wonder if they are on the plane

Mika: I think later at 5. They are probably at the boarding area.

Theo: I’m home too. take care, Marie. 

Marie: Wow why are u so nice today? But thanks!

Theo: Why? You don’t want it? well then I hope for you to trip on your way home. Felicitè: there he goes again. mr super sensitive 

Mika: stop that

Me: i miss u guys already, we'll be boarding in a few mins

Felicitè: OMG, my eyes are so swollen 

Felicitè: Omg bella! Tell us if you guys are on board 

Me: of course! 

Marie: And tell us when you landed

Theo: Have a safe flight, bella.

Me: alright, i'll do that and thank you!!

"Ysa, can we get some food?" yael suddenly whispers to me

"Yael!!" I said as I slapped him in the arms

"What??? You got shocked by my good looks Ysa" he says mockingly "let’s go!! I’m hungry" he says while pulling me, I looked at the time

"Hey! In just 15 minutes we are gonna board, mom won’t allow us." I said to him "Oh, I have cookies here" I opened my bag to look for it

"Why did you just say it now?" he complains

"Gosh? I don’t know you’re that hungry?" I said as I throw the cookies at him

"Well you didn’t even offer it!" he has a lot of complains

"You talk too much yael, just eat okay" he sat down beside me and started eating. I was about to pick my phone up

"But for real though, are you okay?" I looked at him and though he's not looking at me I know that he's sincere

"Yeah. I mean kinda? I'm not crying anymore so I think I'm good. How about you?" I asked him too while snatching a cookie from the bag

"Yeahh, I mean I'm sad but I'm over it. Dad said we can visit here during summer if we're free. Plus I can still call my teammates any day so I feel like nothing will change THAT much" how can he handle his emotions so well? He managed it that quickly? seems just recently he’s been crying nonstop

"Wow? I wish I'm over it that easily" I said honestly

"If anything I'm really just excited to be in a new environment and meet new people. We'll be fine, stop worrying" he says while snatching my water bottle. He made a good point and it really made me think.

"Can I ask you a serious question though?" He asks again, I didn't even have time to evaluate my thoughts about his statement earlier and now he's getting more serious

"Go ahead" as I grabbed the water bottle from his hands again

"Is there something going on between you and Theo?" he asks seriously I spitted the water out of my mouth I was not expecting that question AT ALL

"Ysa ARE YOU OKAY?" dad questions running towards me

"Yes yes dad I'm fine" I said wiping the water off my face

"What are you even doing? What happened?" a very worried mama asks

"We were just talking. It's nothing I'm fine" I said reassuring them, they looked at me suspiciously but still went back to their seats

"Did I really discover your secret, that's why you acted like that?" yael speaks again, what is this boy even talking about

"What? What secret?"

"That you guys are in a relationship" he says like it's a complete fact

"WHAT?! What makes you think that???" I said slapping his arm; even my own brother thinks I have a thing with Theo

"Because the way he hugged you? And why did you have to run just to hug him back? Huh?" I was a bit taken back with the questions

"Why are you asking?"

"Well it bothered me. I don't want my sister to just be running around hugging a dude in the middle of an airport while whispering things or be in a relationship without me knowing."

"Yael, I'm older than you in case you forgot. I am NOT in a relationship, what the hell are you thinking? And, it's not like you don't know that you call him 'dude'?"

"Well, I don't care if you're older? Am I not allowed to ask you about the guys you talk to? Or make a comment if I like them or not? I know Theo as your friend but the way he acted at the lobby is a whole LOT different, I'm just saying"

"Okay, I get that you're protective of us. I appreciate that. But, you can't put malice on every guy I am with, Lucian Yael. "

"I am not! I'm just saying what I saw. Now, the answer is there really something going on between you and Theo?" before I could answer our flight number was announced

Flight 2385 to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila, Philippines

An indication that our flight is boarding, I stood up and gathered my stuff, I saw mom do the same as well. I helped Libbie in putting her backpack on and I held her hand as we walk towards the gate

"You still did not answer my question" yael asks behind me and I didn't respond one of the reasons is because my mom and dad are around and if we talked about it, they also might think differently

Yael did not push me to answer the question as we walked towards the plane. We were in business class, Yassie is sat in front of me while mom, dad and lib are on the other side of the aisle

"I'm waiting sis" ohmygod! He’s really sat beside me he is going to tease me for the rest of the flight I’m sure

"We're just friends, that's that. Okay? You can calm down now" I said to him honestly and but he still looked at me suspiciously

"Okay, sure." He says sarcastically

"What? You're gonna ask me but not gonna believe what I say?" I said to him,

"Nah, I didn't say I did not believe you though" he replies while laughing, okay he's just teasing me now

"Whatever" then I felt the plane move, oh shit! I forgot to text them! Its yael’s fault. I immediately grabbed my phone from my bag

Pazzi

Me: guys, we're on board already. I'll text you all once we land. Love you. 

Mika: okay, please take care love you too

Marie: oh my god it's official she's leaving Italy in a few minutes :(( 

Mika: Don’t remind us I’m going to cry again

Felicitè: HUHUHU I LOVE YOU BELLA 

Me: the flight will take almost 16 hours so don’t worry if I’m off for too long.

Felicitè: Wow that’s a long ass flight 

Mika: Wow imagine how far she will be from us

Marie: Mika stop please

Me: we're about to take off. Get some rest, you guys. Love you all and thank you.

Felicitè: Love you!!

Mika: Love you more 

Marie: I luv you

Theo: take care.

Felicitè: Wow Theo

Theo: what

Felicitè: nothing

Marie: You’re the only one who did not say I love you to bella

...Please put your phone or any devices on airplane mode

I closed the messages and immediately put my phone on airplane mode. Yael already has his headphones on while Yassie is reading a book.

We will be showing our safety demonstration and would like the next few minutes of your complete attention.

A few moments later, the plane stopped from moving on the runway, I could hear the engine and strong vibration on my feet, we're taking off.

I watched through the window as we were slowly taking off the runway. I watched as the buildings became smaller and smaller as we became higher from the ground. The sun is glaring from the other side of the plane. We're in the sky. I looked through the window again and saw the beautiful place where I grew up. Then yael suddenly closed the window

"Hey!!"

"What? You look like you're about to cry again"

"No I'm not." I said and open the window again

"Yael, don’t mess your sister up. Fix your stuff, look, you just placed your bag on the floor.” Mom approached us to check what we are doing.

"Yes mom." he said like he was scared of what mom said.

"Fix your stuff, get some rest I know you guys are tired." mom said as she kisses our forehead and walked away from us

"Don't think about him." He said, I thought he was going to stop teasing me but unfortunately, I’m wrong.

I looked at him with an angry face and suddenly he raised his hands as if he was afraid of me and he immediately said "Oops." he said with a nervous laugh. I rolled my eyes and looked at the window again.

A stewardess came towards us. They handed us loungewear and this dark blue pouch which is an amenity kit. They also handed us two lists including the wine or beverages and the food itself.

"Buongiorno! At any point you can eat anything from the list and if you need something, just let me know." she says sweetly to us

"Grazie" yael replied and smiled back at her

I checked the time and it was 6:02 after that I reached the earphones and chose a movie for me to watch. Our flight is so long and I don't even know what to do for the rest of the hours. I decided to watch one of my favorite movie, Purge: Election Year.

5 HOURS LATER

I woke up from a 5 hour nap. I did not know I fell asleep while watching the movie then suddenly, a stewardess came to us placing some wine glass, cloth, and utensils on our table. Then followed by another stewardess and placed some mixed Filipino and Italian food which I love.

Occasionally, turbulence may occur during a flight. The seat belt sign will turn on and....

"Ysaaaa" she says like he don’t know what to do when we felt a bit of shaking on the plane

"Don't be scared, it's just turbulence. Put on your seatbelt and hold on to your seat." when in reality, I was scared too.

"Yes" she says as she holds the side of her seat and closes his eyes.

FEW MINUTES

"It's done; the seatbelt light is off already, oh. You can eat your food now." I said and we continued eating

After I ate my food, I rested for a few minutes and listened to music while looking out of the window. I really don't feel good cause of mixed emotions and I already feel sick. I fixed my chair and lay down for me to sleep.

AFTER MORE HOURS

I woke up and checked the time, 3 hours before we landed in the Philippines. Another stewardess came to us and placed some food again. After eating, I went to the restroom to freshen up. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and put moisturizer on because I feel like my skin is dry because of the plane. I also put my contacts on and fixed my hair. I went out of the restroom and walked towards my seat. There's nothing I can do so I listened to music again.

Flight attendants, prepare for landing please. Cabin crew; please take your seats for landing.

"Hey" yael called me

"What?" I removed my earphones answered him I sighed with annoyance

"Have you not heard?! This is it!! We are so near!!!" he exclaimed looking like a kid on Christmas

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Local time is 1:28 in the afternoon.

"WE ARE IN THE PHILIPPINES!!!!" he says while we look outside our window

"This is it Yael. We are here." I can feel the excitement slowly coming in me

"I know sister , I know." he said as he excitedly packs his stuff back to his bag

For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the...

"Mom let's go out!!" Libbie says as she tries to stand up but the seatbelt is restraining her

"Not yet baby, sit down first. We have to wait a bit, baby." mom explains to Libbie

"Check your things first you may have forgotten something." Mom reminded us all

"Yes, mom." we answered

After we checked, the final call of the pilot. We are about to go outside and finally after a 14 hour flight, we are in the Philippines.

On behalf of Airlines and the entire crew, I'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice day!

I removed my seatbelt and picked up my hand carry bag. After, we went outside and I saw how excited Libbie is. She’s pulling mom to get out of the plane.

As we stepped out of the plane, the excitement really built up in me. This is my dream and it has finally come true.

"This isn't this bad right?" Yassie suddenly asked me while walking towards the clear immigration

I confusedly looked at her "Why would this be bad?"

"I don't know... it was very hard leaving Italy I had a feeling that I don’t want to come...but right now I actually feel excited" she said with an happy voice

"I know, I feel excited too" I answered her honestly which made her smile

We reached clear immigration, and surprisingly there are not too many people so we are kind of fast at the immigration. After immigration, we headed to the Transfer desk to check all our belongings like passports etc.

"Check all your valuable things here. I'm going to buy sim card for all of us so that I can call your Aunt Mariette" mom explains

"Stay here first okay? Ysa, look out on your siblings." dad said as he went to mom

"Yes dad. Are your stuff complete? Lib? Let me see your things." I said kneeling down to look inside Libbie’s bag

"Yes please" Libbie answered and she gave me her bag

"Okay all your things are here. Yael, you look out for Libbie." I said while standing up looking at yael

"Yes of course I will take care of baby Libbie" he said as he hugged Libbie and carried her in his arms

"Yassie? Are yours complete?"

"Yes It’s all here."

"Good. Now, we are gonna wait for mom and dad.”

After a few minutes, mom and dad went back to us and handed us our sim cards. I decided to put my sim card on later because I have a lot of bags to carry.  

"I already called your Aunt Mariette, they are already outside with Meghan." mom says with a big smile on her face, the excitement in her eyes to finally see them.

"Really? Is Meghan with aunt?" though Meghan and I haven't seen each other, she's actually one of my closest cousins, we've talked through messenger and called each other a couple of times a week

"Yes, baby. She’s really excited to meet all of you, especially you Ysa." mom says the smile still not leaving her face

"That is why, let's go! We only have to get our baggages, we all know how long it takes there so let's go." dad reminds us

We walked towards the luggage claim. After a few more minutes, we all got our baggages and mom texted aunt Mariette to wait outside the arrival area.

"We are finally done. We have to go outside and look for aunt and Meghan." mom said and smiled at us

"YEHEY!!! I'm so excited mom!! FINALLY!!" Libbie exclaimed in happiness while pulling yael

We start to walk outside. We got outside and we are looking at tita Mariette and Meghan.

"THERE!!!!" Yassie suddenly shouted pointing at a white car near us

I feel like we all spotted them at the same time because we all shouted "hi" and waved at them in sync while Libbie ran towards them.  When we got close to them I hugged Meghan 'cause we finally saw each other after all these years of just video chatting

"Omg!!! Meghan!!!" I shouted and hugged her tightly

"Ysa!!! Finally!!!" she hugged me back "How are you?"

"I'm good!" I exclaimed letting out the excitement that was built in me

"We finally met! And you look even more beautiful in person!!"

"Oh stop! You're gorgeous too!" she's wearing a black crop top with ripped jeans and some vans that goes perfect with her beautiful long wavy hair

"Aw! Thank You!" she says giving me a big smile revealing her adorable set of dimples

"Hi auntie" I greeted aunt Mariette

"Hello! You’re so Ang laki mo na ha. Of course, maganda pa rin mana sa tita." she says as she kisses my cheek

"Of course auntie! That is why Meghan is also beautiful." I answered and I hear Meghan laugh

"Of course! You all got that beautiful faces in me" she declares and we all laughed

"Is this yael? You look so handsome!" Aunt Mariette says as she kisses yael's cheeks, I can't help but roll my eyes handsome? where?

"Of course tita." yael answered like he feels so confident

"Handsome? Really auntie? I think you might need to check your eyes tita?" I said and laughed at him

"Ysa!! " he says in annoyance

"Do you have a girlfriend at the moment?" suddenly tita said

"None auntie! I have to finish my studies first" he said with his trying-hard-innocent-voice

"What?" Before I could even continue yael gave me a knowing glare

"Oh my gods, children these generations are so different.” tita said while ruffling yael's hair

"Let's go, I'm sure you are all tired because of the flight. Let us drop you guys on your house." my uncle invited us. While walking to their car, Yassie and Libbie try to ask auntie Mariette questions while me and Meghan are gossiping.

We went to their car. Dad and Uncle Migo started to load our luggages at the back of the car. While we went straight to the car seats and sat down, I sat beside Meghan.

"Let me i-g-s this moment!" she said and hands out her phone and went to instagram

"Sure." I know my cousin every single moment in her day is supposed to be in her instagram account and I think that's one of our biggest differences. I only post my social media when I only feel like it which rarely happens.. I don't know it's just not my thing

"This is Boomerang okay." she says and I nodded

I didn't have much time to think about my pose so I just winked at the camera and smiled.

"Aw, it's cute!" she exclaimed

"It's posted. Go check it." she said to me

"I haven't put my sim card yet, I don’t have a connection here in the Philippines" I replied "I will check it later." and she nodded

During the whole car ride we were gossiping about some things. It was so nice hearing their stories. We didn't even notice we already reached our village. We went outside the car and started to unload our luggages. I carried my luggage inside of our new house. Mom designed the house and of course it’s beautiful from outside starting from the huge glass window and the black and timber exterior. We went inside the house and the ambiance really feels the same like our home in Italy.

"Check your rooms. Go upstairs." mom says while I was literally walking upstairs on the way to my room

I'm in front of my door already, they have names on our respective doors so it's easy to determine. As soon as I entered, I was in complete shock, it looked like the way I imagined it, mom really went all out with all the furniture even the plants that I wanted were sitting on my window and most specially the walk-in closet that I requested.

"Do you like it?" I looked behind me and I saw my mom standing right beside the door.

"Yes mom, I really really love it!!" I ran towards her and gave her a tight hug "Thank you mom!!"

"Of course, anything for you my first born." she hugged me back "do you want anything else? just let me know if you want something else for your room." she said as she pinched my chin

"No I think this is all enough, mom. Thank you" I replied and she smiled

"Take a bath first, and then fix your stuff here. You forgot your luggages downstairs."

"Yes mom."

4:27 pm

I started fixing my clothes because I know that this part will take too long to fix it so I decided to start as soon as possible. My closet is really massive. I think mom knows that I will put a ton of clothes so might as well make it massive as this one. I started organizing my shirts first, so I went and got all the hangers-

"SISSSS!!"

I heard a loud voice coming from my bedroom. I went to my bedroom really quick and saw my sister Yassie lying on my bed.

"What the heck is wrong with you? You called me and I thought something happened!" my heart is still beating so fast, I thought something happened to her

"Ysa chill. Mom called us. I think auntie prepared a buffet for us. We are going." she says with the calmest voice ever, I don't know if she's just actually teasing me?

"Please get out of my bed. You lie down on MY bed first than me." I am so annoyed right now

"Your blood is always boiling, you’re gonna end up single forever HAHA!”She said and started to run away from me because she already knows what I can do to her

"You're so irritating! Get out of here!!" I shouted peaking my head outside the door

I went downstairs straight to our car; they’ve been waiting for me for a while now. Uncle Migo picked us up and went to their house.

"Ah my ass hurts" yael complains as we got out of the car

"Wow? That was literally a 3 minute ride, you’re being such a dramatic" It's true, it's even possible for us to get to auntie Mariette's house by walking

"Yeah I know but we've literally been sitting for almost 20 hours now" he says while stretching I mean.. He’s right but I guess I didn't even notice that because I was overwhelmed and anxious the whole time

"Hello again my beautiful and handsome nieces and nephew!" auntie Mariette greets us as she opens the door,

"Meghan!! Ysa is already here!!" auntie shouts while I was complete amazed at how huge and beautiful their house is I didn't even notice that Meghan is in front of me

"Hi, Ysa!" she greets me and snapped me back to reality

"Hello! I'm sorry your house is just so beautiful" she laughs and leads us to the living room

We walked past the kitchen and saw that there's literally a buffet??? And a chef???? Did they set all this up for us?? It seems like it's for a big party

"Hey, meg? Why is there a whole buffet and there are more people coming?" I whispered to Meghan

"Haha no! It's just for us!" I looked at her in shock

"What? How are we even gonna finish all that?" we're literally just 10 people and this food is like for 20 people. Back in Italy, mom has always thought us to order food that we'll be able to finish and this is obviously all too much food

"Don't worry! We can reheat some for different days and give some of it away! It will not go to trash I assure you" she says with a smile as we arrived at their living room

"Alright"

We spent around an hour getting to know each other while the adults are sitting at the bar talking too

"So, what kind of places do you like to go to when you're hanging out with your friends?" Meghan asks

"Hm.. I like chill places to be honest because I love sharing and just hearing stories. Cafés and parks are my go to" I replied and she looks at me in disbelief

"Oh... so like.. you haven't gone to a.. bar or something?"

"I have a couple of times with my friends" she gives me a sigh of relief

"Gosh I thought I wouldn't experience going to the bar with you! It's so much fun!"

"I know!! I only drink lightly because I'm tasked to take care of my drunk friends" I said and she laughed

"Oh so you're THAT friend! Don't worry you won't be that anymore if you're with me" she winks; I don't understand what she means by that?

"What do you mean by that?"

"You don't have to take care of me or anybody. I have never been drunk, I know how to control my alcohol" she gives me a reassuring smile

"That's nice-"

"I'M HUNGRY" Libbie suddenly sits on my lap, her voice is so loud that even uncle and auntie heard her

"Okay, you heard our Libbie c'mon let’s eat!" auntie Mariette announces and we all stood up and went to the dining room

"Ahhh food is sooo good!!" yael says beside me he ate 2 cups of rice in a span of 20 minutes already and he's not lying I got some lobster that is served like it's from a restaurant

"Oh, my nephew likes seafoods too! auntie said from the other side of the table

7:13pm

"I am sooo full" I heard Libbie say as she asks for a cup of ice cream

"Damn, how am I supposed to burn all these calories I just ate" yael says now fully regretting eating 2 cups of ice cream

"Well, there's a court at the back of our house" uncle said, every member of our family are all pretty much aware how yael loves to play basketball since he also joins tournaments all over Italy and mom also tells stories to them

"YES!! I'll go there after I take a rest. Thanks, uncle!" yael excitedly says

7:30pm

"Yael, you want to go to the court?" I heard Meghan ask yael as we stand up on the dinner table, seems like the stories are never ending but I'm not complaining

"Yes, I think I have enough rest”

"Okay, do you want to join Ysa?" I thought about it for a minute then I realized there’s nothing for me to do so might as well join them instead

"Yeah sure"

We walked outside and every person we walked past smiled and greeted us.

"Hello! Good evening!" the 3rd woman says

"Good evening, ma'am!" yael replies and I smiled at her

Wow, I thought the stories I've heard from some of my classmates that Filipinos are friendly are over exaggerated because I think that they're just too good to be real? But it turns out it's real.

As we got to the court, yael started dribbling and shooting the ball and of course occasionally he'll start teasing Meghan and I but we just rolled our eyes at him.

Meghan, of course recorded yael playing basketball and put it on her igs

"What's your username again?" Meghan asks while typing

"It's @yaelxalfonso with a double o"

"Wait? Why am I not following you omg"

"Oh it's a new one the other one got hacked"

"Oh right right okay"

Meghan continues to scroll through her phone while I soak in the beauty of the sky, the moon is particularly bright tonight but I can barely see stars though, I could hear some dog barks echoing on the street-

"Omg look, Ysa!" Meghan suddenly shoves her phone in my face

"What?" I see probably a hundred of new messages on her dms which makes me wonder why she was so surprised knowing that she has 50k followers and these dms still shocked her. She opened one and showed it to me

@Ignacio_norman 

Damn who is she? She lookin pretty af

Meghan opened another one

@itsDougCollins

Woah Meghan you never told me you have a friend that beautiful

@theedwardorivera

Mind if you tell her to accept me on her ig?

"OOoh!! See that? All those dms are all because of that boomerang with you! Seems like you already got boys, huh?" Meghan teases as she nudges me on the shoulder, I just laughed at her

"Nah, I'm not interested in any of those" I said seriously and she looks at while laughing

"You're not serious are you? Those are literally the most famous men in the universities here" she stops laughing as she sees that I'm not kidding

"Good for them. Just not really interested on relationships and all" I replied

"What relationship?" yael suddenly joins us who is standing in front of me for I don't know how long

"We are not talking to you, yael"

"Well, a lot of my friends replied to my ig story with her." Meghan replies I really want to stop her mouth but it's too late

"Let me see" oh hell no, he'll probably talk to me about this for DAYS, I snatched the phone out of his hand

"It's not that important you don't have to look psh" I said and he looked at me

"If it's not important then why won't you let me see it?" he says crossing his arms

"Because....." I'm trying to think of reasons but I just can't come up with anything!

"Yeah nothing so let me see it" I sighed "Why are you so maarte?" he asked sounding annoyed

"Well why do you have to see it?"

"Why not?"

"Just tell me why"

"I want to know what the guys are trying to say to you. Is there any problem?" he says seriously and raises an eyebrow at me

"Awww that's so sweet" Meghan suddenly says

"I know. My sister is just unappreciative" Okay, I actually felt bad when he said that, I sighed

"Ugh, fine! Here" I said, giving him the phone which he gladly takes. I can actually see him clicking and reading through a lot and looking at their profiles

"Ew I've never had this type of cringe before. Is this really how some people really talk about women?" he says with a face of disgust which is actually a bit funny to look at

"Wow? It's not like you don't talk like that? Especially when you know a girl likes you?" I said raising an eyebrow at him he immediately looked offended

"Oh hell no! I'm not insensitive! I don't even talk to them unless they dm me" okay, that actually made me a bit proud as a sister, even though he's very playful at time he still knows his limits

"Alright that's good to know. You can't play or take advantage of anyone's feelings."

"I know! And it's not like I purposely make them blush! I’m just that handsome." he says then winks at meg and I

"Whatever, give the phone back to meg" I said and he gave it her

"See, I just looked if you follow any of them." he says and I look at him

"And so what if I follow some?"

"I just want to know that's that, don't worry I’m not gonna tell Theo about it." He says and I was shocked I probably looked shocked as hell that's why he started laughing so hard

"I'm k-kidding omygod y-yOUR FACE!!" he says in between of laughs

"Where the hell was that from?" I looked at him still in disbelief on what he was implying

"Who's Theo? You!!" meg joined

"No! He's just my friend! Yael just thinks we have something tsk" I tried to explain

"Yeah well I hope you saw what happened at the airport in Italy," yael says finally calming down with his laughter

"Yael, Whatever. At the airport, you were saying about me having a boyfriend and now that's exactly what you are implying!" I said to him still annoyed to both of them

"What? I'm not implying that you two are in a relationship. I just wanted to see your reaction. You looked so shocked it's funny actually." he finally says in a bit more serious manner

"Funny my ass. Imagine if mom and dad hear that? What would they think of Theo? Ha?"

"Duh, I won't tease you like that in front of them. I'm not dumb, but if I really found out that you have a boyfriend haha! Good luck to him" he says walking off dribbling the ball

"Okay now tell me, who's this Theo guy?" Meghan whispers to me

"He's my friend from Italy" I don't want to go on details, I don't want another family member to tease me to Theo

"Wow, that's a lot of information" she says chuckling and opened her phone again, I'm glad that she got my tone that I don’t want to talk about Theo now

I started to go back on looking at the people walking back to their houses with their dogs. I looked at the moon which is now covered with thick clouds. So far, I am loving everything here. I wanted to explore and see more, it's sad that I didn't get to appreciate the roads before because we were busy talking to each other. I wonder what Mika is up to right now... OH SHOOT! I FORGOT TO UPDATE THEM!!!

I immediately grabbed my phone at the back of my pocket and opened my messages and I remembered that I don’t have my sim card inserted yet.

"Oh! Meg, can I connect to you wifi please?" I said while handing her my phone, which she gladly took

I immediately went to my messages but it still says error

"Oh.. Why is it still an error?"

"Oh, our wifi from this part is unresponsive try to restart it will start working" she says while still scrolling through her phone

I did what she said and restarted my phone and soon enough my phone was blowing up with notifications from our group chat

Pazzi

Me: hi! I'm in the Philippines already. I'm sorry I didn’t update you when we got home; I just inserted my sim card just now. We're at my aunt's house right now, hope you guys are doing okay! Miss you all

Then I took a picture with Meghan and sent it to them. It's been almost 5 minutes and no one is replying. I checked the time it's 2pm there and they are probably taking a nap. I decided to back read their messages to see what I've missed

5:07 am

Me: we're about to take off. Get some rest, you guys. Love you all and thank you.

Felicitè: Love you!!

Mika: Love you more 

Marie: I luv you so much

Theo: take care.

Felicitè: Wow Theo

Theo: what

Felicitè: nothing

Marie: You’re the only one who did not say I love you to bella

Felicitè: He's lucky to have the last hug from bella tho

Marie: That was heartbreaking to watch tbh

Mika: guys leave him alone 

Theo: but are you sure I didn't say that to her?

"OMYGOD" Meghan suddenly exclaims beside me which added more shock to me besides of what I was reading

"WHAT?!" I shouted back suddenly thinking that she might've read what Theo said since she's seating beside me

"Look!" she shoves the phone right on my face again and saw probably a hundred new dms again. I sighed for two different reasons (because I'm tired of seeing boys talk like that and mainly because she didn't see the messages)

"Oh, they're all asking about yael now" I snapped my head and looked back at her phone I didn't even notice that most of the dms are from girls.

"Let me see" I scroll through the messages

I opened some of them and was utterly shocked it's filled with horny women

@xxmiasarsosa

OMG papi!

@babyrosa 

OH, who is he??? I wonder if you can tell me ; ))

@yourgirlsarah

Damn!! He is mine

@kristalhottieee

He is so cute, can I play with you?

I looked at the phone in disgust. They don't even know how old is he and they are talking like that? I think this is what yael felt when he read through the dms about me. I don’t have any idea that even boys experience this and I haven't even read the messages on his account. No one has the right to sexualize anyone regardless of age and gender.

I was so mad that I can't help myself but reply

@kristalhottieee

Me: Hi kristal, please have some respect plus he's still underage so it's highly inappropriate for you to talk to him like that, please keep your dirty thoughts to yourself

"Ysa! What are you doing?" Meghan suddenly snatches the phone out of my hand

"Teaching that horny adult a lesson?"

"Well, she's my friend and you're using my account"

I didn't even realize that I was using her phone

"What happened?" Yael approaches us, he probably heard Meghan

"Sorry got carried away" I said to Meghan not feeling guilty at all

"It's okay; you don't have to be sorry I'd be mad too"

"Mad?" yael asks completely confused

"Well you see there's a lot of girls that replied to my story of you too.. and they are all... pretty dirty and..yeah Ysa replied  to one of them"

"Can I see?"

"No, yael. It's too much." I said sternly

"Just the one where you replied" meg looked at me and I just sighed I know he will asked Meghan nonstop so I nodded and she gave it to him

"Ooh! Look at you being protective" he teased "its okay ate. I blocked them right away if someone said that to me" he says I didn't respond he never told me some people talks to him like that but I'm glad that he knows how to handle it. Yael laughed "just don't mind them" and walked off again

I opened my phone again and read the messages 

Pazzi

Marie: You’re the only one who did not say I love you to bella

Felicitè: He's lucky to have the last hug from bella tho

Marie: That was heartbreaking to watch tbh

Mika: guys leave him alone 

Theo: but are you sure I didn't say that to her?

Felicitè: SHIT WHAF

Marie: HOLD ON U WHAT? KAJDJAKDKAJF 

Mika: WHAT DID U JUST SAY 

Theo: I said how sure are you that I didn't??

Marie: I THINK I'M GONNA PASS OUT YALL 

Felicitè: BRUH IM SHOOKETH LOOK AT OUR BOY TJEO STEPPING HIS GAME UP DABN

Mika: Theo I FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT TELLING US 

Marie: dAMN RIGHT TELL US 

Felicitè: SHIT THE FUCJ UP AND LET HIM TSLK

Theo: i'll talk if you don’t have your typos fel

Marie: HSHSHSHSHS oh god I’m not supposed to laugh 

Felicitè: i thought you're on my side u idiot i hate you!

Marie: sorry but that was funny HAHSHSHA

Mika: Theo SPEAK 

Marie: TRUE!

Felicitè: he really about to speak when Ysa is gone for Philippines already 

Marie: lol ikr 

Mika: just let him 

Theo: I was just kidding you guys believed me you jerks 

Felicitè: I HATE YOU UGH! 

Marie: i thought my ship was about to sail :(

Mika: haha sure

12:37 pm

Mika: Where’s Ysa she’s not answering my texts

Marie: delayed or something 

Felicitè: I’m sure she’s fine 

Theo: I’m sure she is going to text us

Then suddenly a text pops up Mika replied to my message earlier

Mika: hi! I was so worried about u! Don’t do that again ha I’m glad you're safe

Me: I’m really sorry! I think I’m just excited here haha

Felicitè: wow look at the cousin of yours she’s pretty!

Marie: true! I'm glad you’ve landed there safely bella

Felicitè: same! I miss you Already bella :((

Me: ahh i miss you more :(( 

Theo: glad to hear from you bella! Take care

Me: thankyou Theo!

"Sis, lets go " yael says while sitting beside me

"Ew, You’re sweaty don’t come near me." as I said that, of course, he clung to me even more that is why I decided stand up

We all went inside and said goodbye to uncle and auntie. They drove us to the gate.

We went home. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, the exhaustion from travel finally consuming me, I looked up the ceiling of my room and saw a clear glass perfect for me to see the stars, I closed my eyes and my thoughts still running around everything that happened today slowly.. I drifted to sleep.