Chapter 23
1392 Words
December 1 – 10:09 AM – Santiago Family Home, Rizal
Aira POV
Nasa rizal ako sa bahay namin ng family ko kasi nga Christmas break na kaya dito na muna ako , maaga pa pero amoy cinnamon na sa buong bahay.
Nasa kusina si Aira, naka-pambahay na oversized shirt, habang nakaupo sa dining table at tinutulungan ang kapatid niya sa paggawa ng holiday-themed collage para sa school.
“Patingin,” sabi niya, habang inaayos ang mga napuputol na karton.
Her younger sister, Ana, giggled. “Ate, hindi naman ‘to thesis. Poster lang!”
“Creative direction ‘yan,” Aira teased, playfully tapping Ana’s forehead. “May standard ang Pasko.”
Tahimik na masaya ganito ang simula ng bakasyon sa kanila. Walang org deadlines, walang presentations, walang pressure.
But even in the warmth of home… Aira found her thoughts drifting to a different kind of quiet.
To Calix.
Flashback – November 30, Dorm Lobby
“Message me when you get there?” Calix said, slinging his duffel bag over one shoulder.
“I will,” Aira promised, adjusting her own backpack.
They stood for a beat longer than needed.
Neither wanted to make it dramatic. But both felt the shift.
“You’ll be gone for what, two weeks?” he asked.
“Yeah. Same sa’yo, ‘di ba?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Another pause.
Aira tilted her head. “We’re not bad at distance… right?”
Calix smiled gently. “We’re just better together.”
Aira bit her lip to keep herself from smiling too wide.
He leaned in—not for a kiss, not yet—but for a whisper against her temple.
“Merry early Christmas.”
present -1:13 PM – Aira’s Room
She lay on her bed, reading an old paperback. Ana was napping across the room.
Biglang nag-vibrate ang phone niya.
CALIX
> How’s your morning, Ms. Poster Director?
AIRA:
> Stressful. Ana’s glitter glue stained my leg. I’m officially festive.
CALIX:
> That’s the Christmas spirit. Want to trade? My little cousin just turned my laptop bag into a stuffed toy nest.
AIRA:
> Let’s both surrender to the holidays.
CALIX:
> Let’s both survive it first.
AIRA:
> Miss ko na ‘yung tahimik na balcony.
CALIX:
> Miss kita.
Aira reread the message.
Then read it again.
Her heart did that quiet skip again.
3:20 PM – Santiago Kitchen
Her mom was decorating gingerbread cookies. Aira volunteered to help.
“Kumusta ang bakasyon?” tanong ng mommy niya.
“Okay naman po. Tahimik,” sagot niya habang naglalagay ng icing.
Her mom smiled. “Tahimik ang puso?”
Aira froze mid-decorate. “Okay naman po,” she answered, avoiding eye contact.
But her mom wasn’t done.
“You seem lighter these days.”
Aira glanced up, surprised.
“Whatever that boy is doing,” her mom continued, “I hope he keeps doing it right.”
Aira smiled softly. “Me too.”
5:49 PM – Aira’s POV – Rooftop Memory
She remembered the last time they watched the sky turn pink from their dorm rooftop.
Calix’s shoulder warm beside her. His silence never pressured—just stayed.
> “He didn’t ask for pieces of me I couldn’t give.
He just waited at the edge of my fear… until I was ready.”
8:01 PM – Family Movie Night
Popcorn. Blankets. Home Alone on the TV. Everyone laughing at the same lines they've heard a million times.
But Aira’s phone vibrated again.
CALIX
> My mom says you should visit sometime. She likes the way your name sounds.
AIRA:
> Is she match-making us already?
CALIX:
> She says I’m smiling too much. She’s suspicious.
AIRA:
> Baka akala niya may binili ka nanaman sa Shopee.
CALIX:
> Joke’s on her. It’s feelings. Can’t return to sender.
Aira laughed, then sighed.
Being far didn’t dull what they were building.
If anything, it deepened the longing.
And made it real.
Midnight – Aira’s Journal Entry
> “This is the kind of missing I never knew before. Not the desperate kind.
Not the panicked kind.
Just the kind that says— ‘I found someone who makes silence feel full.’”
December 3 – 9:47 AM – Batangas (Calix’s Family Home)
Calix walked through his Lola’s garden, phone in hand.
Sunlight filtered through guava trees. The scent of fresh pandesal lingered in the air.
But his focus?
The message he hadn’t sent yet.
CALIX (unsent):
> Woke up missing you again. I know you’re with family. But I keep thinking how you’d fit here.
He closed the app and sighed.
His cousin suddenly yelled from the front door, “Kuya! May naghahanap sa’yo!”
Calix looked up.
Aira wasn’t there, of course.
Just his Tita asking him to help set the table.
Still, he smiled—because even in a place that felt like childhood, his present carried her name.
11:30 AM – Aira’s POV – Rizal
Aira and Ana were building a gingerbread house. Or at least trying to.
“Hindi ‘yan didikit, Ate,” Ana complained. “Yung icing mo, mukang iniwan po!”
Aira laughed. “Aba, poetic ka ah.”
then mico laugh too ang isa pa nyang kapatid
Her phone pinged.
CALIX:
> You’d love it here. My Lola insists on feeding me every hour. She’d probably try to adopt you.
AIRA:
> Sounds dangerous. I’ll gain 3 pounds from affection alone.
CALIX:
> Or love. Same thing, diba?
She paused.
Then replied:
AIRA:
> Love, yes. I'm starting to believe in that word again. Because of you.
December 4 – Afternoon – Mira’s Group Chat
📱 GROUP CHAT: “HOLIGANGBABES🎄✨”
Nhene:
> GUYS. Ang lungkot ng timeline ko. Everyone's posting couple pics except me 😭
Mira:
> That’s because they haven’t posted Aira and Calix yet 😌
Aira:
> We’re not official!!!
Jane:
> But you’re emotionally married. Same difference.
Mira:
> Kamusta ka na, Aira? For real.
Aira:
> I’m okay. Honestly? This break is different. I feel... peaceful.
Nhene:
> Bakit may kilig ako sa salitang “peaceful”? 😭
Aira:
> Because it used to be unfamiliar. Now it feels like home.
5:20 PM – Calix’s Journal Entry
> “I’m learning that love doesn’t need fireworks to feel real. Sometimes it’s quiet mornings, missed calls, and memories of her laugh echoing in your chest.
And even in the distance—I’m not alone. Because part of her stayed with me.”
8:31 PM – Aira’s House, Balcony
Stars blinked overhead. Aira wrapped herself in a fleece blanket, sipping warm chocolate.
Her mom peeked through the sliding door. “He messaged again?”
Aira nodded, smiling at her phone.
“Ma,” she said, softly. “Naalala mo nung sabi mo, ‘Baka may darating na hindi mo kailangang habulin’?”
Her mom sat beside her. “Mm-hmm.”
“I think… dumating na.”
Her mom took her hand. “Then hold onto it. But remember—you’re whole even without it.”
Aira leaned her head on her mom’s shoulder.
“I know,” she whispered. “But I’m glad I get to share this part of me now.”
December 5 – Calix’s POV
He watched his dad grill barbecue under fairy lights.
His phone pinged again.
AIRA:
> Save me a stick. I'm suddenly craving inihaw with banana ketchup. 🤭
CALIX:
> Done. For you, 3 sticks. Also, my Lola made banana bread.
AIRA:
> NO WAY. Does she take student interns?
CALIX:
> She says she only trains future daughter-in-laws.
Calix froze after sending it.
Then panic-typed:
CALIX:
> SORRY. Joke lang ‘yun! Or… half-joke? Delete?
The typing bubble on Aira’s side lasted forever.
Then:
AIRA:
> Tell her… I’ll submit my resume soon.
His heart nearly burst.
9:00 PM – Aira’s Room
She opened her scrapbook.
Slipped a printed photo of her and Calix on the rooftop inside it.
Wrote beneath it in pen:
> “December isn’t just cold anymore. It’s the month I started to believe again.”
Midnight – Aira’s Final Journal Entry
> “Some days, I think about how I used to run away from quiet.
But with him, distance isn’t empty.
It’s just a soft waiting.
A held space.
Like love that trusts—love that stays.”
- Writer
