Chapter 1: Ray of Sunshine

(Past: 15 years old)

"Do you have all your needed things inside your bag, Luna?" Mom asked. I'm currently preparing for an overnight retreat made by our school for Grade 10 students.

My mom knows that I struggle with packing my things into a single bag that's why she always helps me with it. She even prepared a checklist so I won't lose track of my things. My mom's the best.

"Mom, why did you pack a lot of undergarments? It'll just be an overnight retreat." I asked her. I was surprised that she packed 5 pieces of each. Am I not going home after our retreat? What a silly thought.

"The extras are for emergency cases, Luna. You don't know what activities your teachers have prepared for you, so it's better to be ready." She replied while still tidying my things.

I slept early after we completed fixing my things because I needed to be at our school before 7:15 A.M. They said we'll be leaving around 8:00 A.M.

-----

I woke up a quarter before 6:00 A.M. so I could still have time to do my devotion before taking a bath. I always make sure that I do a short journaling before I start off my day just to keep myself focused.

I was already waiting for the bus when I realized that I haven't let my mom sign the parental permit. So I sprinted back home and gave her the permit. I received a little scolding for that though. My dad just laughed at me.

I arrived at school a little early, so I dropped by the canteen and stayed there for a while. My phone beeped and Charles' name, one of my close friends, appeared. On normal days, we weren't allowed to use our phones inside the school campus. Once a teacher catches you using your phone, it'll be confiscated and you'll receive a sanction. But since there weren't any classes today, we were allowed to do so.

Charles:

Hey, are you at school already?

Me:

Yeah. Here at the canteen. Wait for you here

Minutes later, he arrived together with Jude. A friend of mine too.

"Did Russel already talk to you?" Jude suddenly asked me out of the blue.

"Talk to me about what?" I'm clueless about what they're talking about, but my classmates have been asking me the same thing. Charles gave him a stare that probably hid a message. I just shrugged it off.

"Did you ask your mom to write you a letter? Some of my friends told me that it's the highlight of our retreat." Charles asked while we were on our way to our classroom.

"Yeah. But it was my sister who wrote the letter. Mom even sealed the envelope just to make sure I won't sneak reading it." I laughed a bit. Charles did too.

"It was Dad who wrote the letter for me." Charles uttered something that caught me by surprise. I knew he wasn't on good terms with his dad, but I felt relieved knowing that he did this for his son. I just patted his shoulder as a response.

When we arrived at our classroom, some of our classroom including Russel were already there. I gave his group a small smile when I noticed that Jain was chatting with them. His group started teasing him after that. I just ignored them.

We were on our way to the school bus when Jain asked me if Russel had already talked to me.

"You're the second person who's asked me that today. What's with Russel talking to me?" I asked back. I'm starting to get irritated with their repeating questions.

"Wow. Russel moves slowly. I can't answer that as much as I want to. Just wait for him." Jain replied.

Honestly, I'm not really interested in what Russel has to say. I guess it's too early to be thinking about love.

I sat by the window beside Charles. Jain sat in front of us together with Jude. Charles fell asleep while leaning on me. He was a bit heavy, but I didn't want to wake him up.

I caught Russel staring at us, so I gave him a small smile. He looked away, so I did the same too.

-----

Mom was right; our teachers arranged a lot of activities for our retreat. From laughing hard during play time to crying pails of tears during the last sessions. My group won almost all the games. I'm a competitive person especially when the prizes are candies.

"Before we call it a night, it's time for the final activity - reading the letters made by your family." Sir Joseph, our moderator announced. My classmates quickly reacted; even one of them said "more crying time" which made us all laugh.

"I want you to look for your own space so you can concentrate while reading. Avoid talking with your friends and just internalise the letter. Your letters are special because your family made it for you." Sir Joseph added.

I chose to sit near the corner and Charles sat a few spaces away from me. I took a glance at him and noticed that he was trembling while opening his letter. I really wanted to comfort him, but the moment I read the first lines of my letter, my emotions escaped from their cage once again.

It was like they're in front of me, telling me what they wrote on the letter.

"Dear Luna,

When you were born, you brought nothing but light and joy to our family. You are the blessing that strengthened us more.

We are so proud of you, Luna. Although we can sense that you're scared to take risks, we are amazed that you thrive to make leaps of faith. As much as we want you to stay as our little Luna, time will come that we have to set you free. We have to let you spread your own wings so you'll learn how to fly on your own. But always remember that you have us; no matter how high you've already flown, we'll be your wings when you think you can't fly anymore.

You are our family's most favorite gift.

You are our ray of sunshine, Luna.

We love you.

Love,

Dad, Mom, Leanne, Noah, Jonah"