“Macy?” When Anastasia opened the door, it took her by surprise to see Bella with her mother, Macy, standing in front of their door.
“Hey, is Mira awake?” asked Macy, who decided to pay a visit to Mira’s residence before heading back to their home. It was Bella who made the request for her mother to drop by.
“Yeah. Mira is in her room,” replied Anastasia. Macy and Bella took off their outdoor shoes and put on the indoor slippers before entering the house after Anastasia offered them to come inside.
Macy walked her way to the couch and seated while Bella remained standing. “Can I go see Mira?” Bella spoke with a pleasant melody to it. She blinked her eyes twice with a lovely smile on her face as she clasped both her hands together and twisted her body slightly. She pointed one of her toes forward, raising the heel of her foot off the ground, and swayed it in place.
Anastasia chuckled and nodded her head in agreement. She bent her knees, lowering her upper body as she placed both of her hands on her knees to bring her eyes level with Bella’s. “Of course, who would refuse a lovely girl like you?” Anastasia complimented as she caressed Bella’s hair.
As soon as Bella was given permission to go and see Mira upstairs, she immediately dashed off to Mira’s room, crawling up the stairs on all fours using both of her hands to help her climb her way up the staircase.
“Mira! Mira! Miraaaa!!!” called Bella with excitement.
“Watch your steps!” bellowed Macy to Bella. “Be careful, dear,” Anastasia said, worried that Bella would trip and hurt herself.
“She just got her shot, and she’s obviously excited to tell everyone about it, especially Mira,” Bella’s mother said in a lighthearted tone, trying to make light of the fact that her daughter received her vaccination shot. Anastasia and Macy both burst out laughing at the same time.
“LOOK!” Bella shouted, pointing her right index finger to her shoulder, where the needle had poked her.
Mira turned to face Bella, who came sprinting upon entering her room all of a sudden. She stood up from her bed and strolled right past her without saying a word.
“Bella didn’t cry!” she proudly exclaims, her arms crossed across her chest and her head raised high.
Mira picked a thing that was near the door of her room. “Well, that’s our Bella. Bella is such a brave girl,” Mira said as she walked back to Bella and patted her on the head. She bent her knees and lowered her body to bring the pair of slippers to Bella’s feet. In Bella’s haste upon entering Mira’s room, she nearly slipped, causing the pair of slippers she was wearing to fall off right at the door of Mira’s bedroom.
“Yes, I am!” Bella replied with a radiant smile on her face. She placed both her arms at the side of her hips while Mira lifted her foot, assisting her in putting on the slippers.
A Rottweiler dog came running from the backyard when it heard Bella’s voice. It barked as it bolted into the room where Mira and Bella were.
“Mirabella!” screamed both Mira and Bella at the same time. Their adoptive dog was named after them, as they were the ones who found her on a cold rainy street, shivering and sheltering itself near the garbage bins. Because Mira is older, they decided to delegate the responsibility of taking care of the puppy to her and welcome her into their house as a member of their new family.
Out of enthusiasm, the dog leaped and turned three times. A soft growl could be heard when she pooched her buttocks and waggled her tail. It served as a signal that the three of them were about to embark on a game of tag.
Mira and Bella shared a chuckle. Suddenly, they took off running and circled the room, with Mirabella chasing after the two of them.
When Bella fell over after getting caught by Mirabella, Mira blossomed into an enormous belly laugh in response to seeing Bella’s face splattered with Mirabella’s saliva. Bella and Mirabella then turned to face Mira. When Bella sneered, giving the expression of “what are you laughing at? You’re next,” to Mira, her eyes widened.
“Uh oh,” the words that came out from Mira’s mouth as she attempted to flee for her life.
“NO!!! Stop!” she cried out when Bella and Mirabella chased after her.
Mira got cornered in a matter of seconds. “Okay fine. You got me. I give up.” Bella, who was creeping up behind her and twitching her tiny fingers, teased her out of her composure.
“No. Stop!” Mira issued a warning, trying her best to be solemn while still managing to repress a smile or two throughout her words. On the other hand, Bella didn’t seem to be paying attention to what Mira was saying and started tickling her while Mirabella was playfully licking Mira’s face.
The sound of laughter resounded throughout the room.
It was only a few more minutes until the sunset when Bella instantaneously felt a sudden throbbing pain on the back of her skull.
“Bella!” yelled Mira the moment she saw Bella stumbled, clutching her head in distress. “Are you okay?” she asked, supporting Bella not to lose her balance.
Bella was in the midst of having a delirium when she instantly regained her awareness. “Huh?” Bella shortly replied without having to pay attention to what Mira was saying. “Are you okay?” repeated Mira looking concerned.
“Umm,” Bella responded as a yes. She then ignored the pain since it happened in just a snap of a finger and gave Mira a smile on her face assuring her that everything was fine before returning to their game.
After spending hours of playing, Mira, Bella, and Mirabella fell asleep on a fur carpet. Mirabella was lying down in the space between Mira and Bella. Her head was resting on Bella’s arm with her belly exposed. Bella was lying on her side with one arm serving as Mirabella’s cushion while her other hand was holding her plush. Mira, who was resting down alongside Mirabella, wrapped her arm around them, embracing Bella and Mirabella, her expression expressing having a pleasant dream.
“You should stay for dinner,” Mira’s mother suggested.
“It’s okay. It’s almost sundown,” Bella’s mother stated as she made a wobbly twitch with her head. “We have to go.”
Bella, who was resting on her mother’s back with the zombie cat plush in her hand, mumbled the words “fried... chicken.”
Macy and Anastasia chuckled.
[¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬
“Bella! Dinner is ready,” shouted Macy, who was setting up the table downstairs.
The sun was about to set.
Bella was sound asleep in her bed, which her mother had tucked her in when they arrived home.
The red bead placed on Bella’s side table began to glow. Her body steadily floated in the air just as the sun started to set behind the horizon. Her eyes are wide open, glowing with the same color as what the red bead emits.
Only a few more seconds till the sun completely set. Bella’s floating body descended from the air down to the bed, a slow and deliberate descent.
Right after the sun disappeared below the horizon, the bead stopped glowing. The black blotches found on Bella’s shoulder expanded a little, slowly forming into baybayin scripts.
Bella was lying down in her bed when the color of her eyes changed from a faint red to a deep crimson, almost like blood, that was identical to the bead’s color.
In the blink of an eye, the bead on the side table was gone.
It was after sundown when Alicia knew something wasn’t right. She was standing in front of her mother’s grave admiring the orange vibe the sun was casting across the sky when her expression changed dramatically after a sour gust of wind brushed on her skin.