"Mga sis, tingnan niyo 'to." I said to my sisters, Amaris and Amira, when I showed them the catalogue of a woman locked in a tight embrace as she modeled for a lingerie. "Grabe, kailangan ba talaga ganyan ang pulupot nya sa lalaki?"

Amaris and Amira both looked at each other and shook their heads before flopping on the bed with me.

"Malamang, Mara! Mga modelo yan eh! Kailangan i-market nila ang ineendorso nila! Atsaka, all for the show lang yan!" Said Amaris, who was older than Amira and me by four seconds and two seconds respectively, and rolled her eyes.
She yawned and closed her eyes.

Amaris, Amira and I are identical triplets.

Yup. You read it right.

We have the same hazel eyes, fair complexion and slim figures.

People often mistake us for each other since we were kids.

But as we grow older, we developed our own identities and differences.

Come, eight years old, I discovered I have become bored and lost interest in movies so I devoted myself to reading and engrossing myself in books.

My sisters urged me to try writing but it just didn't ring a bell to me.

I just grew fascinated on every page of the book that I became hooked on.

Amira, on the other hand, loves to play with colors and doodles.

I sometimes found her room filled with paintings of random sceneries and people.

She was also mostly seen with her face always made up but when in the university, she sees to it that she will never wear such artsy stuff on her face.

She planned to stay plain in public and wear makeup only in family occasions.

Amaris, the eldest, can be seen with either an earphone or her favorite companion, her guitar.

She's the musically inclined one among the three of us.

She knows all the latest music and trends.

You wouldn't be surprised to see her jamming her head to the upbeat music that's playing on her earphone.

But, like Amira, she doesn't show her talent to the public.

She is already satisfied with being plain and boring like us.

That's the other thing we share in common.

We tend to hid to the world our capabilities.

We're afraid people will judge us if we wouldn't reach their standards and expectations.

And also, we wanted to remain anonymous.

Our mom, Almira Siozon, used to be a talented beauty queen.

She was hailed Miss Philippines- Earth way back her younger days.

Our mom can sing and is perpetually beautiful.

Us, daughters, took pride that we inherit her genes and her talents seemed to be equally distributed among us.

Before she met Dad, Ernesto Palermo, she was on her reign.

It was on the third month of their relationship when she got pregnant with us.

People didn't remain to support her.

Only few stayed and wished her well.

It was her story that got us thinking about our own future.

Yes, we are equipped with these God-given talents and beautiful genes.

But, what if we failed?

Will we also go thru the same hardship as she was?

I sighed.

"Why the sad face, Mara?" Amira, the ever thoughtful one, asked.

"I just missed Mom." I said and she draped an arm over my waist on the bed.

"Aww, sis. Onga pala, death anniv ni mom this weekend." Amira said and she got teary-eyed too.

"Let's visit her then." Amaris butted in and joined us on my bed.

"How about Dad? Shall we invite him over?" I asked them.

Both shook their heads no.

Ever since Mom died when we were fifteen years old due to leukemia, Dad forgot about us.

He did mourn for her loss.

But what got us angry was he found a new wife so soon, not long after mom passed away.

Yes, he didn't let a year pass without marrying his younger girlfriend.

We were suspicious that they were just waiting for her to die just so they can live happily.

And with that, we three promised to help each other until our hairs turn grey.

One thing I loved being a triplet.

You instantly have a bestfriend for life.

Not one, but two!

And now that we're on our first year in college in our respective courses, life has become tougher.

We started to look for part-time jobs.

Luckily, we found one.

Me, as a Student Assistant in the Library, Amaris as a bartender and Amira as a barista in a nearby coffee shop.

On that note, as if on cue, our phones started to ring for message notifications.

"Oh, geez. I have to go. Nagpapasalo si Hailey sa shift nya ngayon. Double shift ako sa coffee shop, mga sis. Don't wait up! Bye, love you! See you tomorrow!" Amira groaned and stood up. She hurried to her room to shower and change.

"Mine too. Leona asked me to come and help her for the soft opening of our bar in the QC branch. Sorry, sissy. Gotta go! See ya tom! Love you!" Amaris said and kissed me on my cheeks before speeding off to her room as well.

"Thank heavens, I don't have to worry about the library." I mumbled and yawned.

I better catch some sleep!