Diamante de Azul 2: Bianca

Bianca can hear weird laughter everywhere. However, she cannot see to whom it came from. They were children’s voices if she was exactly correct. Then, she found herself inside the yacht as she moved around. All things that she saw was a plain black and white Many people surrounded her, and the silhouettes of the children ran from side to side. The children stopped in front of her, but she could bear to see their faces. That dream was telling her about her childhood past. Where are their parents? Who are her true parents? Where did she truly come from? Did she have any siblings? Did they know her?

The moments in her dreams ran so fast. All of a sudden, she saw someone screaming from the yacht. The yacht sank right after her eyes. The strong lightning flashed and struck at her direction. It made her shrieked on top of her voice that made her woke up. Sweat drops were all over her face. She ought to catch her breath. Then, she glanced at her alarm clock on the desk beside her bed. It was already 12 in the midnight. It was the same time when the nightmare of her past attacked her.

She was very thankful that the Sisters of Cordis Lesu took care of her or else she may end up lurking in the dark corners of the road as one of the street beggars. The Sisters of Cordis Lesu were also the ones who paid her Education and gave the beautiful colors into her life.

Bianca could hear the creaking sound from the door. It was Sister Carmen who opened the door. Slowly, she wiped Bianca’s forehead and gave her cold water to drink.

“I guess that you’ve forgotten to pray the rosary before sleeping, so the demons have a chance to attack you in your dreams.” Sister Carmelita’s long litany began, as she poured the Holy Water in each of the palms of her hands. “Here, don’t ever lose this rosary before you sleep. It’s from Rome and was blessed by the Pope. It was proven and tested for giving you a good sleep later on.”

“Have you experience any nightmare, Sister Carmen?” She asked nonchalantly.

“Sometimes.” Bianca sat beside her to hear more about her stories. “But, it was stopped when I started to say my night prayer and to pray the rosary before going to sleep.” Sister Carmen tucked her pillows. “You need to sleep now and your presence is badly needed for the 6 am Holy Mass.”

Bianca went back to her bed right after Sister Carmen closed her door. She stared at the ceiling. Her mind was still thinking who the ones were laughing. They were all crying out her name. But, she couldn’t remember them. She could barely recognize their faces. Maybe, that dream was the key to her lost memories. She covered her face with the blanket. Maybe, it was just an illusion and it won’t be turned into a reality.

She took a shower after waking up. The bells rang near the Refectory. It was time for her to rush on getting dressed up. It’s hard to be late in the Holy Mass and their Mother Superior might be the one who’ll lecture on her.

Bianca tried to fight to oversleep as she was listening to the sermon of the priest. However, her eyes turned out to be drowsy. She could bare opening both eyes. Their Mother Superior was sat beside her, so she must not be caught up sleeping. Later on, she joined the choir in singing the ‘Offertory songs’ to keep off the temptation. Singing was also a good thing to keep her eyes remained wide open.

“Your voice is very beautiful, Bianca.” Sister Rafaela complimented her, their Mother Superior. “Your 21st birthday is getting nearer. Have you already thought of joining our Congregation or you have other thoughts beside it?

Oh yes, she almost forgot that she was intended to join the Congregation as part of the new Novices. The Nuns were looking forward of her entering the Novitiate House after her 21st birthday had arrived.

Wait, Bianca was not yet ready to become a nun. She’s always been caught sleeping during the prayer hours and bible study with Sister Carmen and Sister Rafaela. And, she didn’t want to dedicate her whole life to the convent forever. She wanted to break free. Hopefully, she could explore the outside world where she could free roam the streets. There were no curfew hours and no certain rules to oblige to. Bianca admitted to herself that she was quite unsatisfied with the life that she had.

“Sister Rafaela, we should not rush Bianca about going to the Novitiate. Maybe, it might be the grounds of changing her mind.” Sister Rafaela nodded her head in response to Sister Carmen’s suggestion. Then, Sister Carmen glanced at Bianca. “Later, help me cooking some soup and fried chicken in the kitchen.”

“Yes, Sister Carmen.” Slightly, Bianca bowed her head as her response.

----~~~----

While wiping the utensils one by one, Mirko turned on his mobile phone to radio to boost his energy. After that, he arranged them in every corner of the cabinets of his cafe. He needed to serve lots of customers in the whole afternoon, so he needed a little break from a stressful day. He ordered Princess, his newly-recruit, to check for the supplies. At least, Princess was a big help, because she was the one who baked almost all of the pastries. Many of the customers patronized her specialties from cookies to cake slices which his cafe can only offer.

“Sir Mirko, do we still have butter for the cookies?” Princess asked him. “There were few butter cookies inside the glass jar. For me, it was our best seller for 3 consecutive days.”

“OK, I’ll buy some later after this one.” Hurriedly, he wiped the empty cups and put at least 4 empty cups near the coffee machine. “Just write down everything that we needed in our shopping list, so our ingredients will be okay for tomorrow.”

"Sure, I will not forget that, Sir." Princess raised her both hands and made a two thumb-sign. “By the way, Sir Marko was calling you. He was probably waiting for you in the table number three."

“Alright then.” Mirko sighed and put the rest of the cups on the island counter. “See you later, Princess. I guess there’s another customer coming because I could hear the buzzing of our bell.”

Hurriedly, Princess ran towards the cashier counter. Mirko followed her as he went outside of the kitchen. There were many customers waiting in the line who can’t wait to taste the sweet aroma of their signature coffee and pastries. The WiFi connection was also free like the popular Star Bucks. But, their products were more affordable. In Sweet Heart Café pastries tasted just like heaven and they were very delicious and homemade. Most of them were made by the heart.

Mirko spotted Marko at his favorite table. He was covering his face with the newspaper, as his favorite hobby. His brother was 4 years older than him. Marko was one of the renowned neurosurgeons. He devoted most of his time in the operating room. That’s why; he was still Single and a member of the handsome bachelors of the country just like him. For Mirko, still, he was more handsome than Marko for just five baths.

Mirko also knew that he was adopted by Marko’s parents who were both doctors in occupation. Both of them were kindhearted and they gave him the huge condominium in Makati before they died.

Because of working in several coffee shops from them, he saved an exact amount to be his capital. Marko also gave him some monthly allowance to help him to sustain his rent and expenses in putting up his small coffee shop in front of St. Luke’s Global Hospital.

Marko lowered down the newspaper when he felt his presence. Mirko sat in front of him. Then, he crossed his fingers. Marko sipped his favorite espresso before saying anything.

Marko put back the cup of espresso on the small plate. "Mirko, are you going to look for a potential wife?" He asked in a very serious tone.

Those words made him choke.

"What a kind of question is that, Kuya Marko?" He cleared his throat. “Supposedly, you must have a wife and kids now. Remember that your age is no longer on the calendar. You better hurry now, and your good-looking face is only temporary.” He answered in a sarcastic manner.

"Then, how about you choose someone like her?" He pointed his finger at Princess. Then, he sipped the remaining espresso. "Why don’t you try to court her?"

Mirko glanced at Princess. She was simply pretty while wearing the uniform of the Sweet Heart Cafe. Baby Pink Polo shirt, heart-shaped visor at beige slacks. He knew that she was not the kind of girl who can easily swoon to his charms. Mirko fully-admitted that he had many girls cried and had shared one night-stand. But, he was not ready for long-term relationship until he’ll find someone who can’t resist in his charms. His type was not a silence type but not so talkative that can damage his eardrums.

Mirko breathed deeply. Thanks to the medical beeper, he was saved from his chatterbox brother. At least, he realized that Marko needed somewhat to socialize with other people besides him. Almost of Marko’s patients were in comatose state. His lips began to grin when something flashed in his mind. He thought of pairing up Marko and Princess. According to his own intuition, they will be a perfect couple for him.