Chapter 02: Her Name is Soul

The human body consists of millions of cells so it could function properly. Just like the human brain, they manage every thought, feeling, and action. It would be easier to accept that. Madaling tanggapin dahil parang ito ang common denominator ng mga tao.

Yes, it would be easier.

Problem is that it's not for Yrina.

Inside her brain, she can without any effort know who controls the pedestal inside her mind. Not only that, she can also see them. Isa-isa silang sumulpot sa tabi ni Yrina. Sa totoo lang, clueless ang unang reaksyon tuwing makikita ang host ng katawan nila. It'll feel new but never distant. They're strange but familiar.

Noong una, titingnan lang sila ni Yrina na tipong normal na makikita o makakasalamuha mo lang sa daan. Hindi papansin dahil hindi kilala. May ilang beses na inakala ni Yrina na bukas ang third eye niya at multo ang nakikita niya pero dahan-dahan niyang naintindihan na parte talaga siya ng pagkatao niya.

It freaked her out, that's normal. She never fully understood how and why it happened, she had many guesses. But eventually, she just accepted the fact that she's now living with eight girls who help her live her normal life. Besides, they feel like family and she needed one so bad.

"Anong pangalan mo?" When Yrina finally caught on with what's happening inside her head, it became easier to welcome the girls.

Yrina has her own system, it's her and the 8 ladies namely Gie, Ruby, Rosie, Iliza, Wind, Soul, Shine, and Eri. Every girl has their different duties and responsibilities. All are obliged to make Yrina happy. She's their only one priority.

It's the weekend and Yrina already feels bad knowing that this day would be a drag. Paano kasi ay wala silang gagawin ngayon. Having a schedule or a routine has been a mandatory for her because it helps her think less. She needs to. It also helps her and the girls to put limits into everything.

She slowly opens her eyes and immediately finds Soul beside her, writing at her usual fast pace. Soul is always the first to wake up and the last to fall asleep. Wherever they go, she always makes sure that she has her pad with them. She tries to journal everything from the moment Yrina opens her eyes up to when she goes to slumber. There are times that she needs to wake up in the middle of the night so she could record Yrina's dreams and nightmares. Schedule and memories, she's in charge of them.

Nakakatawa nga kung iisipin dahil makakalimutin si Soul, the total opposite of her deliverables. Noong una, maiiwanan niya ang scratch pad niya kaya wala siyang maiisulat na memory para sa araw na nakalipas. Nakakalimutan niyang sundin ang daily routine kaya madalas hindi nakakakain o nakakatulog nang maayos si Yrina. It's been hard for Gie and Ruby to train her. Challenging din para Wind dahil ilang beses nagbreakdown si Yrina tuwing natataranta si Soul.

Yrina watches Soul, how from time to time she wrinkles her forehead and slowly finds calmness. "You stopped wearing your hair down."

Halos mabitawan ni Soul ang hawak na notebook nang marinig niya si Yrina. She squints her eyes then goes back to writing. She puffs her cheeks multiple times and peeks towards Yrina, unsure of how to really respond.

"It's easier." Yrina rarely talks to them. Madalas kasi si Gie lang ang mediator nila. Yrina addresses them still, but it's really awkward if it's just the two of them. "I need to move fast, write everything, record them, then plan."

Soul fixes her glasses even though they're already intact. Her pace is slower compared to earlier because now she needs to watch Yrina while she logs the final copy of what happened yesterday.

Yrina watches her again, this time she chooses to stay quiet. She feels like any minute, another girl will wake up and it would be difficult for Soul to finish her tasks.

She notices how Soul will crack her knuckles and shakes them to find relief, and how big her shirt is because she constantly fixes its sleeves. She knows Soul used to wear her oversized brown coat and now she can't remember the last time that she did. Maybe Shine is right, masyado nang comfort and plain ang theme ng wardrobe nilang lahat.

Napangiti siya nang maalala niya kung paano magdabog kahapon si Soul para makakain ng cake. Matagal na kasi nitong nirerequest na bumili sila ng sans rival. She rarely throws tantrums now pero kung hindi mapigilan, madalas dahil lang 'yon sa pagkain.

Yrina appreciates how Soul tries her best so she could remember and stay in her path. You would think that Soul has the easy tasks but they're not. When she met Soul, she crammed everytime and ended up having a panic attack. Lagi niyang nakakalimutan ang mga simpleng bagay tulad ng pagkain o mga importanteng bagay tulad ng birthday niya.

She found Soul hugging a book and a huge bag on her back. Volume 19 was the title of the book she was holding. Tanda niyang nagka-cram siya sa isang exam noon kahit nakapagaral na naman siya noong isang linggo. She was nearing another breakdown when Soul sat beside her.

Her hair was messy, brown and long but it fitted her chubby cheeks and slim-frame glasses. Namumula ang mga pisngi nito na parang kakagaling rin sa iyak. Napangiti si Yrina nang ialok ni Soul ang dulo ng sleeve ng brown coat niya para punasan ang luha.

"It's fluffy. Promise."

Soul has been in charge of Yrina's body clock, that's why she's also in charge of food. May oras na kapag stress si Yrina o nagtatampo si Soul, gagawa siya ng paraan para makain ang mga gusto niyang pagkain. Sans rival ang isa sa paborito niya. She can easily push Gie out of the pedestal and even numb Ruby's disciplinary action once she loses control. May pagkakataon ring nasusuhulan siya nina Eri at Shine kapag gusto nitong maglaro at mag-shopping.

After finishing the memories of yesterday, Soul put the book Volume 22 in the middle of her palms and slowly absorbed it inside her. You can almost hear a click as if she just locked her body as safe and it can be in no one's possession.

"Hungry?"

Pinalakasan ni Yrina ang volume ng pinapanood niya kahit alam naman niyang hindi tatablan ang mga nagtatalo sa likod niya. May oras talaga na gusto niyang tumahimik sila pero hindi rin naman niya agad agad nakokontrol ang mga 'to.

Sumilip siya kay Soul na parang nag-aalala dahil kanina pang nagtatampo sina Shine at Eri. Gie, as usual, is strict in following Yrina's decision but she won't let this behavior slide. Mas dumoble ang kaba niya nang biglang tumahimik ang dalawa–panigurado ay maalin kay Ruby o Iliza ang nagising nila. Nagmadaling pumunta sina Shine at Eri sa tabi ni Gie.

"We discussed this yesterday."

"Pero ang unfair!" Halos pabulong na ang reklamo ni Shine nang ulitin ni Gie ang sinasabi mula pa kanina. "Weekend. Wala tayong gagawin. At nakatipid naman tayo sa groceries kahapon dahil nakasale!"

"Gusto ko lang naman mag-arcade." Nakasimangot at nagmamaktol na si Eri pero mabilis tumuwid ng tao nang samaan ng tingin ni Ruby.

Yrina decided to stay indoors. She wants to go out pero iniisip pa lang niya ang pagod at gastos ay nagkukusa nang bumigay ang mga paa nito. At dahil kay Soul, naalala rin niya na halos wala ng pahinga ang karamihan sa kanila dahil puro aral at project ang inatupag nila noong nakaraang linggo.

Soul lacks sleep. Exhausted na rin sina Gie at Ruby dahil kakadisiplina sa ilan. Pagod na rin si Wind para macontrol ang emosyon ng bawat isa.

After the exam, Yrina tells herself–well, all of them.

As much as she wants to entertain their every request, she still needs to make a final decision that would benefit the majority. And as a rule na kapag gumawa na ng desisyon si Yrina, wala na silang magagawa.

Ruby retreats from her post and joins Iliza in her slumber. Inaya na rin ni Windy sina Eri at Shine para pakalmahin sila. Rosie? Yrina has no idea. She's probably singing or dancing deep inside her head. Hinigit ni Gie si Soul palapit kay Yrina. They both sit on the pedestal while watching Yrina.

"Ano highlight and lowlight natin kahapon, Soul?" Gie asks now that it's quiet.

Soul closes her eyes and moves as if she was holding the book in front of her. She scans the pages with the tip of her fingers and stops where the memory was written. "No lowlights. Or pwede 'yung nagising si Iliza kahapon but we recovered quickly." She turns to another page and smiles, "Candy."

"Candy?"

"Yrina loved the candy."

There's a confusion in Gie's face, which is really not normal because she barely shows one. Mabilis na gumagalaw ang kamay ni Soul, inililipat ang mga pahina. "We saw him before. School lounge. September."

"Bakit mo siya sinulat as memory?"

"Uhm..." Soul scans one more time just to make sure. "Yrina found him cute."

"What?"

What? Yrina finally realizes what they're talking about. That can't be right.

"Mukha kasi siyang cotton candy." Tumaas ang kilay ni Soul. "Pink hoodie and curly hair. Cotton candy."

"Siya rin 'yung nabigay ng candy kahapon?"

"Yup. Even Eri favored him. Candy."

"Paanong naging highlight kung nacutean lang si Yrina sa kanya–"

"Because all of us thought he was cute."

"Excuse me?" Gie says in disbelief. Nagdadalawang isip lalo siya nang maalala niya si Ruby. Soul said all, so it's the nine of them.

"I heard everyone's beats yesterday."

That can't be right, Yrina tells herself again.

It can't be. Because they already swore not to go through this phase ever again.

"Cotton candy."

No.