Chapter 1

Today is the last day of the funeral of my best friend Maria San Juan. You can feel the grief and agony of the people in this small, dim room and no one dare to talk because of the heavy atmosphere. All you can hear is the silent whimper of the crowd. Everyone expected that this day would come because of her poor health condition, and before she died, she told us to be happy even after she's gone and ask not to cry in her funeral. But we can't just do what she wanted. Everyone loves her and we can't just accept the fact that the kind and pure hearted Maria San Juan were forever gone. I can't remember the last time I felt happy. Whenever I think of her, my swollen eyes would fill with tears.

Since it is crowded here, I went out to breathe some fresh air and let other people go to see Maria.

"Clara!" someone shouted my name as I sit on one of the benches outside. There I saw my old set of friends back in high school. David, the one who shouted my name, beside him was Kim, Calvin and Anika.

"How are you? It's been a while!" said David as they walk near me.

David is a funny person, he was the first boyfriend of my best friend Maria. They broke up because he cheated on Maria but now he is in a relationship with Anika. He is the joker in our group and a happy go lucky guy.

"I'm not sure if I'm fine, I still can't believe that Maya is dead." I said in a low voice.

How will I continue living without her? We've been together for a long time. We are unseprable duo and now that she's gone, I don't know what should I do.

Anika sat beside me. "This is a sad reunion for us." she said.

Anika is the badass girl in our group back in high school. She's very straight forward with her words with a pleasing personality. But we're not that close though.

"She's very young to lay down in that coffin." Calvin said.

Calvin was our group leader. He was the one who always plan our our trips in different places, he always look after us and he is the top notch in our class.

"Condolence Clara. May her soul be rest in peace." Kim said as she pat my shoulder.

She's Kim, I can't call her my friend because we never get along really well. She always have something to say behind my Back and she always bully Maya before. We always argue because of her attitude. I don't like her guts and she annoys me every time. I did not gave her a glance and ignore her. We all know the things that happened back in high school and even two years had passed, I can't just forgive her. Everyone is quiet and awkwardness can feel all over.

"Uhm, I think we should go inside and greet Maya's Parents first." Calvin said. "We'll talk more later, Clara, okay?."

I nod at him and watched them go inside. I don't know how should I feel after seeing them. We've all been friends since junior high school and a lot happened during our senior year and whenever I remember those memories, my fist would clench with rage.

Calvin's Point of View

I need to cut the conversation because of the pressure and awkwardness that we all felt because of these two.

"Uhm, I think we should go inside and greet Maya's Parents first." I said as I shove them towards the door. "We'll talk more later, Clara, okay?" She nod at me then sips her coffee.

Our eyes met, there was nothing but sadness in her eyes. I really feel sorry for her. I said to myself that I'll confess to her when we met but I guess this is not the right time for that.

After we greeted Maya's Parents, David, Kim and Anika went in front to see Maya's Corpse. I did not go with them.

I... don't want to see her.

Instead of waiting for them, I went outside and sit beside Clara.

"Oh, you're done already? Where are they?" she asked.

"I just went for a quick look." I said. "This is our first time seeing each other for the past two years. Didn't you miss me?"

"Duh, Why would I miss you? You annoy me every time." she said wearing her sarcastic face.

"Come to think of it, we didn't had the chance to bid proper goodbye last time. We should plan a trip before we go back to our places." I said.

"I don't want to. Now that Maya's gone, I don't feel like going anywhere." she said.

"You know what? You are a killjoy. Don't you think a trip for two days will be fun? And I think you and Anika should reconcile. You are very close to each other before." I said.

"When did we become close? Still, I don't-" She pause for a moment then there's a quick change of mood showed on her face. Okay, I'll go. I think that trip will help me though."

"Help you what?" I asked.

"Help me move on about Maya's death." She said.

"It's settled then."