AURORA

A human life have many detours. There are many roads. There are many alleys.

It is up to the person which path he wants to take.

There are roads that will take you to the right place. There is a way that will lead you astray. There is a way that will make it difficult for you to get back to the source.

In our lives, we have many trials. Our resilience and dedication will be tested. You will experience imprisonment in your own emotions. You will experience a lot but you will also learn a lot from the things that happened.

I'm Aurora Aldea. I am 18 years old and for eighteen years, I have experienced a lot in life. I can no longer understand why and how. I faced many trials and endured many pains. I have traveled many roads. The roads I have taken have also led me astray.

During my few years here in Oriental Mindoro, I have experienced a lot. It is not that easy to live in the province especially when I am alone. I'm not alone, my family is still here but I feel, I'm alone in everything.

It's okay but like others say, 'everything changes'.

I started dreaming of having a happy and perfect relationship. I no longer wondered if it was right for me to dream high.

I have met, experienced, learned and realized a lot. I'd rather be alone than force myself into an inappropriate situation.

I have a brother. The only person I wanna be with. He's everything to me. My life will just continue for him. He's everything I have. I don't wanna be separate from him.

I will not allow everything I want to happen with my brother to be hindered. If necessary, I would kill for him just to make sure no one would hurt my brother. He is the only one I have. The world is useless if I can't be with him. No chain can bind him. No knife would stab him in the chest. I can't agree with what the world plan will be. I was willing to gamble for him. I was ready to take the life of anyone who would hurt him. There is no reason to give up, if there is any, that is not enough. I will fight for him and the truth we don’t know. I was ready to face the game destined for me alone. If my heart is going to be a hindrance, I’m ready to stop it from beating.

To: My Heart

|• Chapter 2 •||• 7:01 AM •||

It was seven in the morning when Aurora woke up. She could not fall asleep right away because of her thoughts.

"I'm late again!" she shouted to herself. She was late for school. She was going to enter grade 9 today and first day of school today but she was caught awake. "Why am I still thinking about that grass? My day is ruined," she said before leaving her room.

In the middle of her thoughts she heard a whisper from the end of the kitchen where there was a door. She ignored it and went straight to the kitchen to eat.

In the kitchen, she saw that her food and clothes were ready.A smile appeared on her lips when she saw that everything was ready.

"What did my mother eat and she prepared food for me and prepared my clothes?" she asked herself. She sat down and started eating when she heard another whisper. She stood up and looked for where the noise she heard was coming from.

"Eat it. Hurry up, you're late, Aurora! Oh no!" She stopped from what her mother said. She went back to her seat and ate again. She didn't even remember anyone's hissing.

"Yes, Mom. Thank you," she replied. She quickly finished the meal and left immediately. Her school was only a few kilometers away, she don't have to ride in a tricycle.

She noticed that she was no longer with the other students so she hurried to walk.

It was 7:23 AM when she arrived at school. She also noticed the quiet surroundings. She went straight to the second floor where her room was.

"Am I late?" she asked her classmates when she arrived in her room.There are no more students on campus and the surroundings are quiet.

"First day, you're late," her advisee complained.She just ignored what her teacher said and sat in the empty seat in the back.

"What's wrong with him?" Aurora asked herself.

"Maybe he's broken hearted," her classmate replied and weakly laughed.

“Broken hearted?As if I care," she said and became silent when their teacher's gaze turned to them.

"Before you talk, make sure your index card is ready," her advisee said with a serious face as he glanced over at his students.

"What will we put there?" a student asked.

"Your name, address, contact number, age and your dreams," he answered.

"Please repeat, Sir."

"Name, address, contact number, age and your dreams. Is everything clear? No one will ask?" he disgusted answered.

"Won't you introduce yourself to us, Sir?" Aurora asked.

"I'm Ibarro. Ibarro Suhest, your Filipino teacher," he introduced.

They started writing on their index card while Aurora was deep in thought.

"He doesn't love you," her classmate whispered who was still laughing a bit, which made Aurora's mind clear.

"What did you say?" she clarified.

" I said, I'm beautiful," she calmly answered, still laughing softly.

"I heard your whispers from afar," their teacher commented to them, who was currently reading the ones on the index card.

The class fell silent at what their teacher said. A few minutes later, their teacher noticed that the it was incomplete so he called the names one by one to find out who had not yet submitted the index card.

"Joy Cruz."

"Yes?" Joy replied.

"Aliyah Perez."

"Yes, Sir."

"Kim Ahas."

He tried to suppress the laughter just not to break the silence in the class.

Aurora accidentally lost her gaze on the doorman when she caught sight of a man standing just a few meters away from the door. He was wearing a white polo. She rolled her eyes and when she looked at the door again, she could no longer see the man standing there earlier.

She didn't even think about who that man was and turned her attention to the class.

"As far as I know, Ahas is the Tagalog term of snake," Joy said. Some laughed a little at the name but their teacher continued to hold back.

"Kim Ahas," he called again.

"Kim Anas, please, Sir. Not AHAS.Tsk," she corrected what their teacher had said.

"I'm sorry."

Again, the class fell silent and only noise from the other class could be heard.

"Leonard Nicolas."

"I'm here."

"As far as I know, you're all 34."

"Sir!" Aurora calls to him.

"You? Have you passed yet?"

"Did you mention my name?"

"No," he replied.

"I haven't passed yet, Sir. I'm not sure about my dream yet so I'm still thinking," she explained that makes some laughed.

"All right. Just introduce yourself."

"All right. I'm-"

"Stand up."

"Okay," Aurora got up from her seat. She prepare herself and take a slight deep breath.

"I'm Auro-"

"Here ahead you introduce yourself," he commanded.

She rested deeply as she closed her eyes tightly at what he had said. She quickly opened her eyes and smiled.

"Okay, SIR-r-rrr," she teased secretly.

She walked forward. She rolled her eyes and took another deep breath.

"I'm Auro-" She stopped. She mean to stop.

"Auro? Go on," he said that irritated her.

"Maybe, you have something else to say so I'll stop first," she replied causing her classmates to laugh.

"Introduce yourself."

"I'm Aurora Aldea, 15 years old. Thank you."

She returned to her seat and listened to what her teacher was teaching.

“You’re a good philosopher,” Kim said.

"Where?"

"Being philosophical."

She laughed a little that makes her teacher to looked at her.

"Are you listening, Ms. Aurora?" he asked with serious aura.

She nodded and says, "Yes, Sir."

"Sir noticed you again. You're his favorite," Kim whispered but she heard it.

"Duhhh." Aurora replied. She whispered secretly when she remembered those weird things happened earlier. She shook her head.

"Get out of my mind," she said to herself.

"Ms. Aurora? Are you saying something?" he asked.

"Sir, I'm not saying anything."

Some laughed but also fell silent when their teacher turned around.

"It's the first day of class today so you'll have an early exam."

Some complained about what he said. They expect nothing to do today because it's the first day of class.

"Take a quarter of paper. Write the name and answer the questions."

That is what the students did. Some frown, laugh and imitate of what their teacher is doing. Meanwhile, Aurora is silent and motionless. The man she had just seen was still haunting her mind.

“First, write the name,” he instructs his students.

"Whose name, Sir?" a student asked.

"Name of your boyfriend or girlfriend. If not, name of your crush. If not lucky, name of the person next to you," he answered.He didn't even laugh at what he said.

"Are you serious, Sir?" Aurora asked.

He looked at her and says, "No. But to you," he suddenly stopped and stared at her. "Yes," he continued.

Some laughed. Aurora shuddered and tapped. Aurora, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at what he had said. It kind of sparked to her but laughed as well.

"Shut up. Nothing's funny," he scolded.

Again, the class fell silent. With the teacher's stubbornness and seriousness, you really have to obey even if you are a tiger.

"Write your full name."

"Does it include a middle name?" Kim asked.

"Full name," he repeated.

"Sir's ugly in his attitude. He's literally a philosopher," someone whispered.He just ignored it and continued to write on the board.

"What if there's no middle name, Sir?"

"Only for those who have."

He finished writing on the blackboard and sat in the chair on the side.

"Will everyone answer?"

"Will it still be written, Sir?"

"It doesn't fit in ¼."

He stood and wrote something on the board.

'NOT TO BE WRITTEN.'

'ANSWER EVERYTHING.'

'FIT WITH ¼.'

"Don't laugh. Don't make noise. When you're done, stay in your chair. The one in front will collect all the papers and hand it to me. Then, go back to the chair, be quiet and wait for the time. "

A few minutes later, everything was over except for Aurora who didn't say a word. She's confused by what she saw earlier. The whisper she heard in their house also came back to her mind.

"Get out of my head," she whispered and shook her head.

"Who hasn't passed yet? Pass it on," his gaze wandered to Aurora.

"Ms. Aurora? Did you pass?"

"Not yet, sir."

"Don't you say, you don't know the answer?"

"No, sir."

"Why haven't you passed yet?"

"Because ..."

"You want to double the exam?"

"Sir, because ... I forgot my paper and ballpen at home," she justified.

"You came in but you left your stuff?"

"It's the first day of school. I thought I had nothing to do."

They heard the sound of a bell, sign that the class was over and another subject teacher was next.

"Ms. Aurora, go to the faculty," he orders before leaving the room.

After he left, the students seemed to be mental refugees. The room was full of noise.

"You're mad. Hahahah," Kim teased her.

"Kim? Snake?" She teased her too.

"Haahahaha. You're serious ah. Snake right away."

"Then what?"

"My name is Kim Anas."

"Ahh."

"You're supposed to go to faculty. Looks like Sir is going to scold you."

"It's nasty," Aurora's complaint.

"Sir is really like that but I know that he's a good teacher. I know he's kind."

"I just hope so."

Aurora stood up to throw the candy wrapper in the trash when she peeked out the window. She peeked for a moment as if her eyes were searching for something.

She stepped to the side to peek out the other window. Her gaze struck the man she had seen before. She brought her face even closer to the window.

She could still see the man who was also looking at her. She didn't blink so as not to take her eyes off the man.

"Aurora!"

She looked away from the man and looked at who had called her. She immediately turned her gaze back to the window but she could no longer see the man.

She felt nervous.

“Such a weird day,” she whispered.