The Next Heiress

Chapter 7 - House

CELINE SUAREZ. MANILA. YEAR 2021.

No. Freaking. Way.

The moment my eyes land on the two-story heritage house, I feel like a lottery winner. My mind and my mouth are just saying the same things. Both of them are throwing various kinds of positive adjectives over and over again. Meanwhile, my mother has been teasing me for a few minutes, since she can clearly detect on the phone how much I'm amazed at its appearance.

"This is too beautiful," I tell her in admiration.

"You've been saying that for six times now," she giggles. "I had it renovated for you before you move in. It's all yours, sweetie."

I stare at the building in front of me, still not believing that I'm the owner of that from this day onwards. I could be dreaming, but here it is, standing beautifully in front of me. Its Filipino-Spanish look is what makes it special in this neighborhood. In my mind, I thank my mother for not removing its classic touch. The beige walls, wooden frames, russet-colored roof and stairs, and the beautiful patterns of the grills and walls—I wouldn't ask for more. This is probably the best gift that I've ever received in my life.

"I think I got her a name," I tell her, playing the circular metal that holds the assorted keys with my left pointer finger.

Mom laughs once more. "Her? Wow, I'm surprised that you even know the gender of the house. You're ridiculous."

"Yes, I am," I chuckle. "Anyway, her name is Reyna."

My mother stops from chortling, leaving an awkward silence for several seconds. "Why Reyna?"

"I don't know. That's the first name that came into my mind," I reply. "Plus, she looks like a queen."

"So you got an inspiration from the letter since it's stated on it that your house is originally from our Filipino-Spanish ancestors, is that it?" Mom asks me, and a hint of uneasiness is evident in her voice.

"Maybe...?" My eyebrows curl, feeling a little weird. "Mom, don't worry. I can clearly understand the letter. It's just a simple note that says our clan is rich with history."

I hear my mother sighing loudly on the phone, compelling me to ask her a question. "Mom, are you okay?"

She takes one more exhalation before answering me. "I'm sorry, the letter is—"

To my surprise, the car beside me honks in an earsplitting manner, making me jump away from my position. I almost forget the payment for the rented taxi. Plus, my belongings are still inside. Quickly, I put the keys inside my pocket, and I jog toward the driver who's been waiting for me for several minutes.

"I'm sorry," I wave my hands to him. "I was just talking with my mom on the phone and I'm—"

"Miss, let's hurry. I have another booking. I'll help you in bringing your things inside. Come on," the old man says. He seems a little worried.

Still, I appreciate his kind gesture. His job is only to pick up and drop off passengers. Helping me is his choice, and I shouldn't reject this offer. Besides, I have a lot of bags. Staring at them inside the car makes me wonder if I could bring all of them at once. Luckily, this man is my driver.

"Thank you. Let's go," I open the car door with my other hand. "Mom, I'm gonna call you later, okay? Just leave a message if you have something to say."

"But dear, you have to know that—"

My mother's voice dissolves when I accidentally tap the red button on the screen. She still has something to speak, yet I hang up the phone. A small sigh of frustration escapes from my mouth. Mom might think that I've become rude. That woman hasn't raised a lady with arrogant manners.

Unless I'm talking to Jim, I snort.

"It's okay, Miss. Your mom will understand. I'm sure she heard our conversation a while ago," the driver smiles at me. "My wife used to dislike it whenever I hang up the phone without saying goodbye," he proceeds in getting my two suitcases—one has wheels, while the other only has a handle. "Talk about women and little things."

I beam at him. "Yes," my hands get the remaining three small bags inside. "We do appreciate little things."

The driver is busy talking about his wife as I open the gates. My head nods whenever I understand something in his story. Judging his looks, this man appears to be in his late fifties. His hair is almost gray and his back is arching a bit, but he still has a complete set of teeth that matches with his jolly personality.

"Please just drop them near the stairs," I order him in a respectful tone.

"Great! All is settled in," the man smiles at me again, putting my bags down on the ground gently. After doing it, his head nods, and he puts his hands in front of him, clasping each other.

My eyes widen. "Oh, I almost forgot! The payment! Yes," I giggle, getting some money from my wallet.

The man laughs, moving his big belly involuntarily from the action. While waiting for me, he stares at the house, starting from the bottom all the way up to the top. All of a sudden, his cheerful face fades. His expression changes into a serious one as if he sees something inside the house.

"What's wrong?" I ask him as I close my wallet.

"Oh," the driver turns his face to me. "It's nothing," he gives me a small smile.

Since we're both in a hurry, I just brush his reaction off. "Here," my hand gives him one thousand and seventy-three pesos. "That sums it up, and also here," I get another two hundred pesos from my purse. "Accept this as my token of appreciation to your company."

"Miss, you don't have to! You're just a student. You badly need it," he shakes his head in disapproval. He raises his right hand up to stop me from giving the additional money. "Plus, you're living with your boyfriend. Budgeting money is difficult nowadays."

"Boyfriend? No. I'm single," my brows squish together in confusion. "What are you looking at?"

I turn around to glance at the location where his eyes are focused, but there's nothing in sight. All that I could see are the windows from the second floor that have opened curtains, fluttering gently due to the wind.

The man startles from his position. Instantly, his face goes back into a ball of sunshine. "It's nothing, Miss. I must have been tired lately."

I shake my head, eliminating the awkwardness of this interaction. "Anyway, I'm just glad that you're kind. You even bothered to help me. Let me do something nice for you," I give him a warm smile.

"Well, I like helping people," he nods cheerfully. "Thank you! I'll buy my wife some food later."

"You're welcome, Manong," I nod back in response.

The man walks closer to me. At first, he's still hesitant to get the two hundred pesos, but I lift up my shoulders to give him one more signal that he shouldn't feel shy at this simple gesture. If I have more cash here, I would definitely give him more than that. His nature as a driver is rare—approachable and thoughtful. He absolutely deserves it.

After getting the money, he bows down to me respectfully. I manage to do the same. My eyes watch him as his figure goes smaller due to the distance. He even closes the gate, waves at me goodbye, and takes one more serious look at the house before hopping back inside the car.

"That's weird," I bite my lips, being curious at the absurd change from our chat earlier. "Boyfriend? I don't even have one."

✥━━━━━༺◈༻━━━━━✥

Just one more, I tell myself. You can do it.

I roll my eyes as I let my feet go downstairs to retrieve the last bag. As soon as my hands grab the item, I climb back upstairs hurriedly, dying to finish this tiring task. When I come back, I put the last bag down on the wooden floor.

"Phew! I'm done!" I wipe my sweaty forehead with the back of my right hand.

Actually, it isn't that difficult. I could lift and bring the five bags inside the house. The only problem is, I wouldn't make it by all at once. Plus, climbing up and going down the stairs with seventeen treads can be quite tiring, but still, it's great to recognize that ladies can really be that thing they say, like a strong independent woman. Anyway, what am I saying?

After doing the task, I insert my hand inside my jeans pocket to get the keys. The one with a golden color is used to open the door of the house. I let out an excited sigh before twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open. When it unlocks, a strong smell of wood mixed with old furniture welcomes my nostrils, as it sends me an invitation to explore the insides of the house.

"Wow," I mutter under my breath, letting my eyes wander around the living room. There is a ravishing set of eight-seater wooden sofa with a cute teapoy table in the middle. The main seater has two mini tables that are placed on both of its sides. Behind the main seater, there stands a glass landscape cabinet where lots of picture frames are stored inside. Above it, an oval wooden mirror is pasted on the wall. Quickly, I go closer to have a look at myself.

"Well, Celine, are you sure you're one of 'em? Just look at you," I talk to myself loudly, referring to my earlier thoughts about being a strong independent woman. "You're still a clumsy i***t sometimes."

I move my body to make different kinds of poses, evaluating my whole appearance. I am not that bad, I whisper to myself as I examine my own features—medium-length black straight hair that doesn't get curled easily, fair skin that I inherited from my mother, upturned eyes with dark circles that I really hate to look at, somewhat thick brows, a Nubian-shaped nose, drooping lips, and as I raise my see-through bangs up, a few tiny bumps near my hairline are showing. Yes, I am not that bad, but why I still don't feel confident enough?

"The answer is just simple," I reply loudly to my own question in my mind. "'Cause we are always looking for perfection in life, even if we already know that it doesn't exist."

While staring at myself thoroughly in the mirror, suddenly, a loud dropping sound occurs from above. Upon hearing it, I startle from my position. "W-what?"

It seems like there is a heavy object that has fallen on the floor.

I glance at the ceiling, feeling a little odd. I am all alone inside this huge ancestral house. What could that possibly be?

"This doesn't make any sense," I gulp nervously, erasing the thoughts of ghosts and other supernatural beings. "You're scaring yourself, Celine. It could be just some...rats," I point at the lady in the mirror, trying to calm her frightened vibe for a bit. "I have to call Mom later about contacting Pest Control."

From my position, I walk away to go back to the place where my belongings are. I have to get my phone. But before I could let my hands land on the scattered bags outside the doorway, an idea pops up in my mind.

"Let's explore first!" I squirm in excitement.

Immediately, I bring the five bags into the living room and shut the door. Despite the weird encounter earlier, I have decided that I'm going to leave them for a while to start checking the rooms upstairs. From there, I climb upstairs with the thrill of exhilaration. When my right foot reaches the last top tread of the wooden stairs, I pause for a moment, and I let my eyes roam around the second floor.

"Wow," I gasp in awe.

A long and spacious hallway greets me with its vintage floral wallpaper. There is a total number of six rooms. On each side—left and right, there are three rooms that are facing each other. After knowing it, I look down to appreciate its old-fashioned style. The floor is made of wood, and it seems so old, but my body can't deny the sturdiness of the material when I try stomping my feet.

"This must be hella expensive," My head shakes in amazement.

I continue walking, wanting to know the things that I could find in each room. My feet drag me to the left hallway first. From my pocket, I fish for my keys and find the one that has the label "L1". There, I use it to open the first room in a slow manner, letting the door creak as if there's someone who's inside.

"Well, this looks like a meeting place," I blurt out as soon as I get inside.

My eyes scan the room carefully. It is wide enough to conduct a big business meeting. The room has two doors—one on the left and right. On its right side, there are two big wooden chairs.

After knowing what's inside, I head to the next one and find out that it's a bathroom with a huge bathtub and beautiful butterfly curtains. On the left, the shelves are complete with toiletries. Seems like Mom has already prepared these things just for me, I beam at the thought. Plus, the bowl is so clean as if it warmly invites me to try sitting on it.

"I could eat inside this bathroom all day," I sigh in admiration.

Learning the purpose of the second room, I proceed in exploring the last room on the left hallway. There, I see a queen-sized bed, two dressers and a mirror above it, and also a huge cabinet that I supposed the furniture where the past owners place their clothes. For a moment, I pause to imagine a thought that is so close to my heart.

"If I still have a father, he and Mom could possibly own this room," I smile, feeling a little sentimental. "I wish he's still alive after I was born."

I have never got to know my Dad. Sometimes, I never even think of a single thing about him since I haven't met him since day one, but this room gives me that kind of feeling that makes me miss him.

If only he's still alive, Celine.

Using a key with an "L3" sticker, I close the door gently. Now that I've known the three rooms on the left hallway, I move to the other side to discover the remaining three. Unlike my first encounter, I've settled into a plan where I will open the last room first using the "R3" key. Upon opening the door and seeing the things inside, my heart almost flies away from my chest.

"Oh my god," my jaw drops in astonishment.

My eyes enjoy the sight of an enormous bed. Its headboard and footboard slats are connected with each other through a roof of lace curtains. On both sides, there are two dressers. The floor is also covered by a soft carpet. As I wander around, I see another interesting fixture.

"A vanity table," my eyes glimmer in happiness. "This is like...a dream come true."

As my head roams once more, I find another door inside the room. With no hesitations, I head towards it. There, I notice another space—a group of shelves glued onto the wall, sets of drawers, and a table in the middle. I assume this space is the dressing room of the past owner.

"Wow, this is too big for my few clothes. Should I buy more just to fully use this?" I giggle, feeling so grateful for this house.

From now on, I'm gonna call this my haven, I tell myself. An excited smile plays on my lips as different kinds of plans for designing pass through my mind. After having a fulfilling checking of the space, I close the door and walk towards the main door of the room to get out. I am about to grab the doorknob when unexpectedly, another loud dropping sound is heard. Immediately, my heart beats faster than before.

"N-no," I tremble. "What the hell is that?!"

In a swift manner, I run out of the room. My hand gets the "R2" key to open the second room, but just like the "L2", I only see a bathroom with the same structure. I close the door right away and go ahead to the first room in the right hallway. I put the "R1" key inside the doorknob, twist it open, and there, I witness a magnificent library with hundreds of books.

"Damn," I bite my lips.

The venue is so breathtaking. There's an old piano on the right side and a study table with a chair on the left. Am I dreaming? I ask myself, still not believing that this room is part of my ownership of this house. My feet continue walking, but suddenly, something stops me. I look down, seeing that I'm stepping on an oil painting.

My brows raise in curiosity. "Is this the thing that fell earlier?"

To examine the artwork, I sit down on the thick maroon carpet. Wow, I say in wonder. It is so beautiful. There's Nipa Hut, a water well, a garden with flowers and plants, and a stream of water. All are wonderfully painted in nice colors like it is close to a real-life look. While glancing at it, there's one thing that catches my attention. As I narrow my eyes to examine it carefully, a shadow of a tall man is present inside the Nipa Hut. His figure can be seen through the raised window of the stilt house.

"Well, that's creepy," I lift a brow in a chilly manner. "The artist should've not included that."

After observing the painting, my eyes notice something. There is another object on the floor. This time, it's a small wooden box. I crawl towards it to get it. As I open the said box, an old handwritten letter is placed neatly inside. Before opening it entirely, it has a short message, which is written as "A Message to the Next Heiress".