Coming Home

The sun was beating down on Mandy's face. She was so tired last night that she had forgotten to pull down the shade of her window before she slept. She reached for her cellphone to check the time. She blinked several times before her eyes could focus.

11:30am.

Mandy jumped up.

"Oh my gosh! I'm late for work!"

She went straight to her bathroom and turned on the shower. She grabbed her toothbrush and immediately brushed her teeth not realizing she hadn't put toothpaste yet. And then she realized it was Saturday, which meant there was no work that day.

She laughed at her silliness. How could she have forgotten it was the weekend — her first weekend as an employed person? She pulled out the brush from her mouth, rinsed it and placed it back to its holder.

She went back to bed and tried to go back to sleep but couldn't. She got up, went out of the bedroom and flipped the TV on. She wasn't going to watch, she just needed to hear something other than the noise outside.

And then she remembered the incident between Josh and Xander last night.

After Josh and Alynna bailed out on them, she and Xander looked for Jane, Carla and Rae. Jane and Carla decided to stay in the club even after what happened. Rae had difficulty deciding whether to stay or go home. Mandy had to convince her that since it was her first time in a club, she should stay. So Rae stayed with Carla and Jane. Mandy hoped the two girls will be kind to Rae.

Mandy also decided to go, making an excuse that she suddenly had migraine and would like to rest. The group let her go but Xander didn't buy it.

"Do you really have a migraine? Because I've had that before and believe me, I didn't look like that." Xander said to Mandy as he walked her to her car.

"Well, maybe it's because I have higher pain threshold than you."

"'Pain threshold'? Please! Don't make me laugh. I've had my share of physical pain. Believe me, I got high pain threshold."

Mandy didn't reply. She opened her car door but Xander closed it and stood between Mandy and her car.

"Hey! Come on just let me go home," Mandy was begging Xander.

"Tell me, why are you letting a small incident ruin your night? Stay. Stay — with me."

"I'm sorry, Xander. I need to go," Mandy insisted.

Xander looked at Mandy. He would have done anything to make her stay. But he would never let her stay against her will. He stepped aside.

"Thank you," Mandy said under her breath as she opened her car door. She went inside and drove away, leaving Xander behind her.

Mandy stirred her coffee. Last night had been crazy. So many things happened in one night. She carried her coffee and looked out the glass window. The cars were passing by. She noticed a guy carrying grocery bags. She thought it was Xander but she remembered the first day that they met. Xander said he doesn't do groceries. She noticed that the sun had shifted. The rays of the sun is not hitting her bed anymore. She thought of something to do that day. And then she remembered her dad. She decided to pay her father a visit.

. . .

She pulled over their driveway. It was almost 4 in the afternoon. During this time, her father usually sits in the garden and sips a cup of coffee while looking at a flower garden that her mother had planted herself. She went out of the car and looked up at the mansion she grew up in. It has been months since she came home. She looked around. Everything seemed to be as it was when she was last there, except that the paint had changed. It used to be brick-colored but it was now all white. Some of the shrubs were starting to bloom flowers which Mandy found odd. They usually don't flower that time of the year. Memories suddenly flooded her mind, mostly of her mother. Some memories were painful, especially the ones where she lay sick on the bed. Mandy tried to shake the sad memories from her mind.

"Good afternoon, Miss." Mandy smiled and turned to the direction of the voice.

"Hello, William! It's been a while." Mandy gave William a hug.

William is their butler that had been with them since Mandy could remember. He had been one of the oldest and longest house employees of their family. Besides being the butler, William had also taken care of Mandy during those times when she didn't have a nanny. Her father had told William he could retire whenever he wanted but because he was a bachelor, he decided to stay with their family. He said he doesn't have any family except for the Enriquezes. And he was treated as part of their family.

"Yes, it has, Miss. How have you been?" And without waiting for an answer, William added, "Your father is in the garden where he usually sits this time in the afternoon. He will be delighted to see you."

Mandy gave William the car key and smiled before she went inside to look for her father.

. . .

The garden was in full bloom. Mandy closed her eyes and smelled the air. The air was so different here compared to the city. Mandy felt rejuvenated. It was as if she had been plugged onto a battery charger. She felt alive, seeing all the different colors of the garden. She had long since seen it so green and vibrant with flowers.

She walked the garden path. The stones on the path was just as she had remembered. The last time she walked this path was the day they buried her mother. Though she came home, she doesn't go to the garden.

She continued walking, past the vines of yellow bells. The roses just along the walls of the garden are starting to bloom. A gentle wind blew and the leaves rustled. From where she was standing, she could see her father's figure, seated on the garden table set with a canopy above it.

Mandy walked on. She wondered if her dad was asleep. His head was leaned back against the backrest of the chair. She was so close now she was sure he could hear her walking. But her dad remained still.

"Dad?" Mandy called out softly.

"Dad?" Mandy repeated, this time a little louder.

When her dad still didn't respond, she walked faster to him.

"Dad…" Mandy gently shook him. Her dad didn't respond.

"William! William!" Mandy shouted at the top of her lungs, panic was beginning to reel in.

"Yes, Miss?" William came running from inside the house. Some maidservants were behind him.

"Call an ambulance, quick!" Mandy yelled.

William ran back inside the house and called an ambulance.

Meanwhile, Mandy felt his father's pulse and she felt it. She checked if her father was breathing and he was.

Mandy kept trying to wake her dad. The mansion was in a panic. Some have gathered around Mandy and President Enriquez. The others kept watch outside, waiting for an ambulance.

"Dad, please wake up," Mandy whispered to her father's ear. "I already lost mom. I am not ready to lose you. You simply cannot leave me alone."

After what seemed like forever, the ambulance finally arrived.

"Miss, the ambulance is here," said one of the housemaids.

Mandy looked up and saw paramedics running towards her and her father.

"We'll take care of him. But we're gonna need you to step back," said one of the paramedics.

Mandy obliged. She stood up and gave way for the paramedics to work. They checked her father's vitals.

"How long has he been unconscious?" Asked the one of the paramedics.

"I don't know. I found him like that," Mandy answered, her voice shaking.

"Does he have a heart problem or any health condition?"

"Not that I know of."

"We're taking him to the hospital." The paramedics went out to get the stretcher. When the paramedics came back with the stretcher, they carried Donald Enriquez and carefully lay him there. Then they strapped him to make sure he doesn't fall as they wheeled him out of the mansion and into the ambulance. As soon as the ambulance's door was closed, it sped to the hospital.

William gave Mandy her car keys. She was so nervous she couldn't stop shaking.

"Maybe you should let me drive you, Miss," William said when he noticed that Mandy was trembling.

"Yes, I think you should," Mandy said and gave William back the car keys.

William took Mandy to her car. He opened the door for her and Mandy went in. William called one of the maidservants who was watching them. He said something to her but Mandy couldn't make it out. The maidservant nodded all the way through whatever William was telling her. After that, William went in the car and drove away to follow President Donald Enriquez to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Mandy was at the back seat, praying and hoping that her father would wake up and that he would be all right.