"I THOUGHT, we will buy clothes here?"
"Wait a minute, okay? There's a new release book written by my favorite Filipino author. I'll just try to see if there's one here in the bookstore."
"Pen name?"
"Luna Margaret," Ashey replied even though she was far away from Randall.
"Come again?" He caught up with her immediately. Ashey's eyes are currently scanning the bookshelves of tagalog novels.
"Luna Margaret!" She answered even though her attention is no longer in him.
"Luna Margaret, seriously? So, is that she is?" She followed Randall's index finger.
She thought it was a book by her favorite writer. But not! It's Luna Margaret in a flesh! There's a book signing going on there right now!
"Oh. My. God!" Her fan girl heart, jumped for joy!
She hugged Randall in no time! The kind of a hug that was strangled, yes, she jumped on her boss to strangle him and he is taller than her. So the poor man, forcibly removed her arms-- irritated, he removed! Ashey just laughed at the frowned of Randall's eyebrows.
"Ashey, if you're still the former you are, you won't jump for joy!" Her innerself slapped her. Sure, but does it still matter? That's how her brain told her to react. No, deep inside her, she knew... all the emotions she was releasing were in compliant with the person she was with. The people she used to work with in her past life's so unlike to her current environment. In the past, everyone shunned her because she was weird. No--- she is the one who was shunned, she's the one who wanted them to stay away for fear of the crowd.
Randall pretended to be irritated. But honestly, he’s glad to see the emotions he wants to see in Ashey. There's something with Ashey, that she doesn't know, but is curious to explore, "Go, line up there!"
"B--but I don't have a book written by her..."
"Let's just buy it. There's the new release book you're looking for. At the table of the writer." Although she regretted that she could only sign one book with her favorite author, and was afraid of the crowd, she lined up.
Hey, that's one of the bookworm's dreams! Will she still let go? This is her favorite tagalog writer!
"Hi, what is your name?" The writer asked him when she was at the front of the line.
"Ashey Brown," Randall answered the question that was for her. Because she was even distracted to be in front of her and personally see her idolized writer!
"Hello, Ashey. Is he your boyfriend? A very supportive one!" It seems that the writer is still thrilled.
Ashey was embarrassed to just smile. She also understands that writers like this take the inspiration of their characters from the people they meet on the road, riding in a jeep, etc. How's the simply dressed physically people becomes a colorful character in their novels, it’s just really impressive to imagine.
"Ah, no," Ashey refused.
"Soon to be boyfriend. I have vibes," the writer joked with a smile. She just smiled too. Fortunately, Randall is already busy with the shelves of pricey ballpen.
"Let's just take a pic? You're embarrassed. You don't care about my vibes, you ..." The writer said with a smile, before preparing her own cellphone to take a picture with her.
"IT'S just fun!"
"It's obvious. Poor straw to you. You haven't stopped chewing that."
Ashey looked at the straw she was biting. They were at Jollibee, after they shopped for her new clothes and other stuffs at that mall. Well, she didn't bring a lot of clothes when she went there. She can't carry a suitcase like ahe's going abroad, maybe people will look at her and she just take a ride/ commute on her way to Zambales. Apart from the fact that she never found her car at her house and the killer stole it, she also didn't know where to park it on the farm in case that happened.
"Yay!" She blurted out in an instant. Yes, the straw she was biting is look miserable and dumb!
"Are you always like thay when you're thrilled?"
"Which one? Er, what?" loading, she asked Randall.
"Biting, 'when thrilled." Ashey felt her cheeks heat up at what her boss had said. Randall even said that in a tone that seemed seductive.
But then he wink at her!
"Stupid!"
Randall only laughed harder. Her boss was happy again with his own nonsense joke. That's ridiculous, if not really! But Ashey was distracted for a moment, as she stared at Randall Santillan with his restless laughter... It's distracting. She was suddenly engrossed in Randall's flickering lashes, lips and whit brace teeth... she didn't realize that he was quickly smeared the ice cream on her nose!
"The f, you really is!" Ashey did nothing and just wiped her nose with a table napkin. She gave him a sullen look.
"You know what, you're like an ice cream..."
"What's that again, Santillan?"
"I'm serious. You're like an ice cream... cause, you make me feel better. When I didn't know you back then, I'm not this happy, I don't laugh like this. You know, I don't have a close family, so you don't see any relatives in the farm. Even on special occasion, we don't meet. My family and friends are my staff at the farm and coffee shop. And you." Randall said seriously to her. While he dipping the fries in ice cream-- weird combo.
"Aw, I'm touched .." She mumbled. What her boss said really touched her.
"You're the only one who will make me happy, right now." He added, Randall looked at him and smiled. When his braces appeared in the way of his smile, Ashey's eyeball seemed to want to roll, "You're the comedy of my life..."
Did he really say that! Her boss is really crazy. She just knew it! There's no serious to what he going to said whenever he smiled with his braces appeared!
"Dickhead!"
"MIND If I join you, two?" Her favorite tagalog writer! "I--- just, ahm, I have something to tell you," she solemnly promised them. Particularly with Ashey, "Can you leave Ashey and me for a while?" the writer turned to Randall.
He immediately stood up and just saluted, which was his mannerism, before they left.
"I need to tell you this, so I asked the bookstore staff to look to you earlier. Good thing you haven't go home yet." The writer laid her cellphone on the table. Upside down. She motioned that with her eyes, signaling her to look at the cellphone.
That's what Ashey did. And that was probably the longest time she stared at the cellphone screen, when she took it and turned it over...
"See? You're invisible there!" The writer whispered to her.
"We---Well, maybe it's just a glitch! Yeah, yeah..."
"No. Even if we repeat now, would you dare? Cause I have a strong feeling that you have a secret, Ashey Brown," the writer declared in a tone that was absolutely certain of what was said.
Ashey just silently stared at the writer. There is nothing in the writer's appearance that she can say that negative, more on, curiosity is in its appearance.
"A-hm .." Ashey swallowed.
"But don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I just told you about that, so that you're aware." Ashey wanted to take a deep breath at what the writer said, but she didn't know ..
It was as if something was still blocking her swallowing, even though she heard something positive from the person she was talking to.
"T--Thanks," what else can Ashey answer, anyway? If her brain could suggest something else, why does the process would take a very long time.
She could no longer swallowed in front of the writer. She did not know what to say to her findings. Why didn't she forgot to ask Azraelle about that thing?
"Don't ever forget about this, Ashey Brown. Not everyone can understand why you are not seen in pictures. And not everyone can keep quiet about such an interesting thing. I will pray for your soul, though. " That's all the writer has said before she turned her back on her.
Ashey was left speechless and digested in her mind all that the writer's said.
What if it's Randall who got it discovered? It's a good thing the farmer not into his cellphone ..
Sadly, her fan girl heart was also saddened by what she found out. Imagine, they don't have a photo of her favorite writer ..
The truth is suddenly really, sad. It's a fact that only in her mind and heart she can carve all these events, in her second life ..
"She's going to make us heroes the next time she writes!" Randall said happily as he approached, "Seriously, I'm surprised she's a writer."
"Huh? You know her?"
"Yes. She's Xian's aunt, our customer? Do you remember?"
Needless to say, Ashey was shocked. And yes, she vividly remember, Xian because it's hard to forget the first person who exclaimed that she is a ghost.
"Girl, you're dead. Literally and figuratively," her mind exclaimed abruptly.