Three

[Music Recommendation: "The Name of Life" by Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away OST)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

"Three things," he continued. "One—characterization. All the characters you created are so alive. Except for the two I mentioned a while ago. But for the others— even the villain—they're very well-thought of, and complex enough that made them seem like real people. And that's great characterization right there—when you're able to bring a character to life. From speech patterns, the way they walk, to the way they react to certain scenarios."

"Awwww… really? Thank you," I held back my tears to thank him.

"Don't cry yet. I'm still not done," he told me.

It seemed that he heard my sniffing.

"Yes, I'm not crying. What's next?" I tried to lie but my clogged nose gave me away. Kai chuckled before he continued.

"Second was the main plot," he said. "I have to admit, I did not expect that plot twist. Actually, most of the scenes are unpredictable. Yet, it wasn't too frustrating not knowing the whole truth as the story progressed. You did great in pacing the story—when to give hints and answer certain mysteries. There's always something new to look forward to and never a boring part. Really, great job."

"Ha-ha-ha! Yes. I don't even remember how I came up with it." I found myself laughing as I wiped my tears off. Truthfully, when I wrote them, words just flowed and I found myself writing one scene to another. And as I wrote them, I kept on discovering more—about the characters, the world, and the whole story. Until somehow, they just magically fitted into a great plot that I didn't even imagine before I started writing.

"Third, and your strongest point out of the three—emotions. The way you wrote emotional scenes… it's impossible not to feel what the characters are feeling. I have no words to describe how great they all are."

Alas, I burst out crying. Waves of emotions flooded my heart. I couldn't help but reminisce about the hardships I experienced while writing the story. Plus the fact that my mom didn't believe that I had the potential. Having someone confirm it for me, aside from Hora which was my best friend, felt like a huge chunk of doubt was removed in my chest. Ever since mom said that I wouldn't make it, I began to have doubts about myself. But hearing the unbiased Kai tell me all those compliments, along with the feedback, it meant a lot for me. It helped me regain my confidence in myself.

"Waaaa… sniff… thank you so much… sniff… I'll keep on working hard to improve my writing."

"Yeah. Goodluck."

I cried a little more after that and he calmed me down. Seriously, I should feel embarrassed by the amount of times I've cried while Kai's on the other line. I was embarrassed but I couldn't stop myself. I must have sounded so ugly. But he's really nice. And so mature for his age. How I wished all men were like him.

After speaking with Kai, I felt inspired to write another story. This time, it won't be fanfic but an original. Lots of ideas flowed in my head and I went over my desk to write them immediately in my ideas notebook—or else I'll forget them. I jotted them all down, from scenes I just thought of, to characters, and punch lines I wanted them to say. I didn't even notice that it was already midnight. I went on for a few more hours until I felt sleepy and went to bed.

Few days passed with me enjoying myself in conceptualizing my next story. Mom was still giving me the silent treatment which I happily returned with the same behavior. Dad said she needed time so I'm giving her time to change her mind. As much as I loved mom, this time, I vowed to myself that I wouldn't yield to her. I'm prepared to get out of the house, get a part time job and earn myself to pay for my own tuition in college if she still didn't agree with my dream.

On the night before my birthday, a few minutes until midnight, I received a weird text message from Kai.

"3." Yes, just that number. I wondered what he meant? Maybe he sent it incorrectly? Or was it incomplete?

Then after a minute, another text came in.

"2," it said.

"Oh wait! Is he doing a countdown?" I chuckled as soon as I realized. "Wow! That's so sweet of him."

I held myself back from replying. I didn't wanna ruin his plan.

Another minute passed by.

"1." Yes, just one last minute till midnight.

And another minute passed.

"Happy birthday, Senara."

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!" I screamed to myself and buried my face on the pillow of my bed. "My heart… I can die peacefully now." Just kidding, of course.

I tossed and rolled around the bed like some crazy fan girl.

"Kai… why are you so sweet and kind? If you continue doing that, I'd get my hopes up, you know?"

When I finally calmed down, I replied to him.

"Thank you so much." I also added a blushing and crying emoji this time.

"You're still awake? Go to sleep now, tiny pumpkin, so you can grow. I'm off to sleep, too. Good night."

"I said I'm not tiny. Anyway, thanks again. Sleep well!"

"Did he stay up until midnight just so he could greet me? There's no way he'd go that far, right? Yeah, that's impossible." I asked myself and answered my own question. Yeah, there's just no way.

Then a few seconds later, I also got a text greeting from Hora and Ken.

"Happy birthday, Sena!" Hora's message was filled with lots of emojis while Ken's was simple.

I replied to them both with a big thanks. I couldn't believe they all stayed up so late just to greet me at midnight. I'm so blessed with such great friends. I love them all so much.

Happy with the warm greetings I received, I laid myself to bed and slept peacefully.