Chapter Text
“Ayeen,” Chinee called out as she was folding a shirt. “You’re not even going to miss me, are you?”
Across the room, Ayeen immediately looked up from her pile of scattered clothes. “What?”
“Di mo ‘ko mami-miss ‘no?”
Ayeen frowned. “That’s not even true. Bakit mo naman nasabi ‘yan, Ate?”
Chinee shrugged, trying too hard to sound casual. “Eh kasi diba, you’re getting the room all to yourself. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
That landed differently than she intended and her sister went still for a moment before her face crumpled in disbelief.
“Hindi ko naman sinabing I wanted you to leave,” she said, voice rising slightly. “It's just that I want my own space kahit minsan. That's not the same thing kaya.”
Chinee blinked, then let out a laugh. It was sharp and immediate, like she didn’t expect her own joke to land so badly. “Okay, okay. Relax. I’m kidding.”
But when she looked up again, Ayeen wasn’t laughing. Her sister’s lower lip was trembling, and her eyes were already glassy, like she had been holding back something for a while and just lost the strength to keep it in place.
“Oh,” Chinee said quietly, voice softening. “Hey. No, no, don’t do that.”
Ayeen turned her face away quickly, like that would hide the tears forming anyway. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Anong wala? Paiyak ka na kaya… don't cry please.”
That was enough to break whatever stubbornness was left. Ayeen sniffed once, then angrily wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“I just don’t like it,” she said, smaller now. “I don't like na malapit ka nang umalis, Ate. But you also seem so excited and happy.”
Chinee didn’t respond right away. She just crossed the room and sat beside her, gently pulling her into a hug.
“I am excited,” she said quietly. “But that doesn't mean na I like that I'm gonna leave you here.”
Ayeen leaned into her immediately, still upset, still resisting, but not pulling away.
Chinee sighed, resting her chin on her sister’s head. “Ang iyakin mo talaga, para kang si Mimi.”
Ayeen let out a muffled sound. “That’s not helpful.”
“Ayeen Iyakin,” Chinee teased.
“Ate, ano ba!”
From the doorway, Maraiah’s voice came gently. “Is everything okay in here?”
Both girls turned.
Christine appeared beside her a second later, leaning slightly into the room with an easy expression that softened when she saw them.
“Anong nangyayari dito?” Christine asked. “Nagaaway ba kayo?”
That was all it took.
Ayeen immediately pulled back from the hug and pointed at Chinee. “Sabi po ni Ate na she’s excited not to share a room with me anymore!”
Chinee gasped. “I did not say it like that.”
“You said it kaya!”
“Not like that. Gawa-gawa ka!”
Christine laughed under her breath, turning slightly toward Maraiah. “That sounds like her, though.
Maraiah slapped her arm lightly without looking away from the girls. “Don’t encourage her.”
“Ow,” Christine said, still smiling.
Maraiah walked fully into the room, tugging Christine gently by the hand until they both stepped inside. “Come here.”
Christine followed without resistance, as she always did when Maraiah quietly pulled her toward their daughters.
They settled onto Chinee’s bed—Maraiah sitting first, Christine and Chinee beside her, and Ayeen who sat on the floor cross-legged, arms folded like she was still offended.
Maraiah looked at both of them for a moment, then exhaled like she was remembering something.
“You know,” she started, “this reminds me of something.”
Chinee groaned lightly. “Mom, magk-kwento ka po ‘no?”
“I just remembered something about you girls and why you've always shared a room.”
Christine tilted her head slightly. “And mind you, there is another room across the hall na pwedeng pwedeng pagtulugan ng isa sa inyo.”
Ayeen looked up. “Bakit nga po ba never kami naghiwalay ng room ni Ate?”
Maraiah smiled softly at the memory.
“You were nine,” she said, looking at Chinee first, then Ayeen. “And you were four.”
Chinee blinked. “Oh no.”
Christine smiled faintly. “Oh yes.”
Maraiah continued anyway. “You both cried when we suggested separate rooms.
Ayeen frowned. “We did? Bakit po?”
Chinee groaned again, covering her face. “This is embarrassing."
Maraiah ignored her then continued, “Chinee said she couldn’t sleep in a separate room because she wouldn’t be able to protect Ayeen from monsters.”
Ayeen immediately turned toward her sister with a teasing smile. “You said that?”
“I was nine,” Chinee muttered through her hands. “It made sense at the time.”
Christine chuckled softly. “It was very convincing.”
Maraiah continued. “And Ayeen cried because she saw her Ate crying.”
“Ang iyakin ko naman…” Ayeen shook her head.
“I told you,” Chinee said, which earned an eye roll from her sister.
Maraiah leaned back slightly, looking between them. “So we tried again the next night. We explained that it was okay. That you would be across the hall from each other, malapit lang naman eh.”
“But you didn’t agree,” Christine added.
Maraiah shook her head. “No, ayaw niyo talaga. Tapos Ayeen launched herself onto Chinee and refused to let go.”
Ayeen immediately protested. “I did not launch myself. No way!”
“You did,” all three older girls said at once.
Ayeen blinked. “Hala pinagtulungan ako”
Chinee was smiling despite herself. “You tackled me.”
“I was four!”
Christine laughed softly at that while Maraiah’s expression softened as she finished the story.
“You both fell asleep like that,” she said. “And after that, we just stopped trying to separate you.”
Ayeen looked between them slowly. “So that’s why we stayed roommates?”
Maraiah nodded. “Because you didn’t really want to be apart. And neither did we.”
Chinee exhaled quietly, glancing at Ayeen. “We didn’t mind anyway. Kahit nagaaway kami.”
Ayeen sniffed again, quieter now. “I still don’t mind.”
Silence settled, but it wasn’t heavy. It was full in a different way.
Then suddenly Chinee stood up. Without warning, she crossed the small space and crouched in front of Ayeen, pulling her into a tight hug.
Ayeen froze for a second. But then hugged her back.
“Ew,” she said softly. “Ang drama mo naman.”
Chinee laughed through it. “Shut up.”
“Whatever,” Ayeen muttered, but she didn’t let go.
After a moment, her voice dropped slightly, just enough for only the room to catch it. “Wag ka na lang kaya umalis, Ate? Stay here na lang.”
The room went still. Chinee didn’t respond immediately. But when she finally did, her voice wasn’t joking anymore. “I can’t.”
And that was when the tears came.
Maraiah looked away slightly, blinking once. Then Christine reached for her hand. Ayeen tightened her grip on her sister instead.
Nobody said anything for a while, because there was nothing new to say. Only the old truth they had always known, that love was not just warmth, it was also growing, supporting, and sometimes, it was letting go.
Later that night, when the room finally settled and the girls had drifted toward sleep, Maraiah and Christine stood by the doorway for a moment longer than usual.
Christine didn’t let go of her hand. “Ang mahal magmahal, no?” she said softly.
Maraiah gave a small, knowing breath.
“Yeah. But we always told them how luxurious love could be.”
Christine glanced back at their daughters one more time.
Two girls growing into different directions, still connected by everything they had been given. From laughter to arguments, then from wants to needs, there is also the love that had always been more expensive than it looked.
“We gave them everything we could,” Christine said quietly.
Maraiah nodded. “And we taught them they won’t always get everything they want. Not that easy at least.”
Christine smiled faintly. “Not when love is involved.”
That landed softly between them. Then they turned off the light and stepped out together.
In the hallway, Christine squeezed Maraiah’s hand. “Ang mahal magmahal,” she repeated.
Maraiah leaned her head slightly against her shoulder as they walked. “But we chose it anyway.”