Homecoming 4

A day before her birthday was the perfect day for Stellar's mom and her friends to celebrate the holidays. It was a date in between Christmas and New Year, saving them the time and energy from celebrating twice during the busiest time of the year.

As expected, the party would last until everyone was either asleep from tiredness or asleep because of alcohol intoxication.

That night, Stellar opted to stay in the swing. It was at the edge of their property, hanging on a mango tree, far enough from the guests. She picked the place for one reason. Most of the time, her mother's friends were invasive with their line of questioning, so as much as possible, Stellar avoided the crowd.

Such treatment was unhealthy for her mental health, what with how those aunties would ambush her with questions with the sole purpose of finding something to pick on—like how a fresh graduate like her was still unemployed, unlike Cassy who just graduated from law school.

The worst part of those small talks would be when things escalated to those aunties doling out their unsolicited advice, in example, for Stellar to find someone who would marry her.

Deep inside, Stellar thought, why the heck do they care about her career? Why the fudge would she look for someone? She had to move the F on from Beau first. But, of course, she didn't want to be the person who ruined the night by speaking up her mind, so she flashed them a smile and disappeared like a bubble when they got distracted.

"Pssst."

Stellar froze when she heard a hissing sound. Her ears wiggled as if the sound was ticklish. She moved her eyes from left to right, widening her scope of vision. She jerked upon hearing it again.

"Pssst. Talong," a voice akin to a dwarf whispered behind her.

"Did you just call me an eggplant?" Stellar gritted through her teeth. She craned her neck, looking over her shoulders to see who dared call her an eggplant. Her face split in half to match the grin on Holden's face.

Wait a minute? Since when was he perched up on the tree?

"I got here when you went to the toilet," Holden answered the question in Stellar's head.

"How did you know I was thinking about that?"

"Your eyebrows twitched, so I guessed you must be wondering when and how I got in here," he said and pointed to her face.

Subconsciously, Stellar's hand flew to touch her eyebrow, and the two shared a laugh. She then patted the empty space beside her. Holden jumped from the tree, landing on the earthen soil like a ninja.

Sitting down beside Stellar, he dusted his hands and started to push the swing back with his weight.

Stellar's feet brushed against the soil, creating two parallel tracks. She was barefooted and the cool, gritty soil calmed her down. "Okaaay. First of all, why did you call me an eggplant?" She angled her body to face Holden.

"Your hair. The color is that of an eggplant. Next question."

"Hmmm. Why are you up on the tree? Shouldn't you be mingling with other people after all the silence in the seminary."

"Good question," Holden trailed off. "I've always loved silence. Perhaps it was the reason why I answered my calling."

"That makes sense," Stellar agreed. Comfortable silence lingered while the two observed the merrymaking in the backyard until a random thought lit up in Stellar's mind. "How did you know the priesthood was your calling, Brother Holden?"

"I just knew. We were on a field trip and passed by a seminary. My heart stopped beating for a while, and there was nothing but peace in my heart. It felt like I was home, so I made that place my home."

Stellar's mouth formed like an 'O' until Holden pushed her chin up to close her agape mouth. "Wow. That's deep. No wonder you're getting ordained earlier than your batch mates."

"What about you, Star? Have you found your calling?"

"Nope. Not even searching for it." Stellar's shoulder dropped. "I have ideas in my head, but at the back of my mind, I have to consider my mom. I don't want to be another disappointment once I tell her I wanted to pursue the same 'hobby' as my dad's. Oh, I spoke too much," Stellar's voice died down.

She awkwardly smiled at Holden. "How can you do that? I don't usually open up with people." She then bumped him with her shoulders.

"Or maybe," Holden trailed off, he bobbed the side of his head with Stellar's. "Maybe you just need someone to listen."

"Maybe." Stellar forced a small smile before averting her gaze. She pushed the porous rock lodged in her throat down. "It felt nice." Her left eyebrow twitched. "It felt nice to get the words out of my head."

Holden scuffled the top of Stellar's head. "You know, it's never too late to start something you love. It didn't need to occupy most of your time. You can find a stable job and do your 'hobby' on the side. In a way, you won't disappoint her, and you won't compromise your happiness as well. I'm sure your mom wanted to see you succeed more than anybody else in the world."

"I don't know. I don't want to put my hopes up on that thought." Stellar exhaled through pursed lips. "By the way, let me just say this, but you're breezing through this mentorship thing, Brother Holden," Stellar chuckled. She leaned on the backrest of the seat, pulling her knees towards her chin.

Suddenly, the barbeque pit burst into flames when a helper squirted too much gas on it. Stellar and Holden covered their mouths as if others could hear their laughter.

Elbowing Holden, Stellar asked, "He knew what would happen if he put too much gasoline, yet he didn't control himself while pouring it. Have you done something bad that you regret doing? Like that guy."

Holden took a sharp inhale. He tipped his chin and looked at the sky. Stellar wondered what was taking him so long to reply, but knowing how contemplative Holden was, she waited patiently and quietly for his answer.

A part of Stellar was in awe. How wonderful must it be to be as perfect as Holden, who was having a hard time rummaging through his memory to look for something unruly that he might have done in the past. But by the looks of it, he didn't have any.

"That's a tough question." He chuckled. He pinched his nose bridge and took another pause. "I think I have one, but I don't want to categorize it as one."

"Come on," Stellar exasperated. "Brother Holden, if it's bad, then it's bad."

"But you said if I regret it, in which case, I didn't."

"Do you mind sharing what it was?"

"I'm in love with a girl."

"Oookay. You're right. Falling in love was not something you should regret, but yeah. Haha! That is soooo bad. For you." Stellar winced. Initially, she didn't know how to react.

Holden was scheduled to be ordained in a few months' time, so hearing him talk about falling in love with a girl shocked her.

She wondered who the girl was, and that question was clawing its way out of her mouth. Looking around their vicinity, she let out a sigh of relief when not one person was near.

Inching closer to Holden, she looked him in the eye and was about to ask him when he smiled at her, his eyes disappearing as it turned into a crescent moon.

"What's so funny?" Stellar snorted. His smile was infectious. She ended up mirroring the look on his face.

"You're curious to know who the girl is."

"Don't blame me. You're the one who dropped a bomb. Wait a second. Does Aki know about it?"

The smile on Holden's face vanished. His reaction was enough as an answer to Stellar's question. Somehow, a part of her wanted to put the smile back on his face, so she reassured him, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." She held her palm right palm up in a promise.

"It's okay. You don't have to promise anything," Holden said.

To Stellar's surprise, Holden took her hand and curled her fingers into a fist. However, what shook her core was the jolt of electricity coursing through her veins the moment their skins touched.

What the F was that supposed to mean?

She wanted to yank her hand off of him, feeling that he was too sacred to be touching someone as damaged as her. In her confusion, Stellar chanted the words in her head out loud, "Father, forgive me for I have sinned."