I woke up thinking it was finna be a normal day.
Our house wasn't big. We wasn't rich either. Just a regular family tryna get by. My boyfriend and I had been together for a while, but distance was our biggest enemy. We only met three times in real life. The rest? Phone calls, voice notes, late-night texts, and missing each other through a screen.
So tell me why that morning turned my whole life upside down.
Mama told me to get dressed nice.
"People coming," she said.
I ain't think much of it.
Until I saw the cars.
One car.
Two cars.
Three cars.
Then more.
I stood by the window looking confused as hell.
"Who all these people?"
Nobody answered me.
Then I saw them carrying gifts.
Big baskets.
Food.
Boxes.
Cash envelopes.
Jewelry.
A whole lotta stuff.
My stomach dropped.
Ain't no way.
Then Mama looked at me and said,
"They coming to merisik."
I froze.
"Huh?"
I thought she was joking.
She wasn't.
Apparently some rich family had seen me before. Well, not exactly the son.
His father.
The father had seen me outside with my mom one day and decided I was the girl he wanted for his son.
Crazy, right?
I didn't even know these people.
Yet they were sitting in my house talking about marriage.
The first visit ended with discussions and negotiations. Then my parents mentioned the amount they wanted.
The amount was huge.
So huge I thought the family would disappear and never come back.
Instead?
They came back again.
And this time they brought even more.
More gifts.
More cash.
A ring.
Even my siblings got rings because of the langkahan tradition.
By then there were so many people that our house couldn't fit everybody.
The road outside looked like a parking lot.
Cars everywhere.
People everywhere.
We even rented two giant canopies because there wasn't enough space.
And the craziest part?
This wasn't even the wedding.
This was just the proposal.
The beginning.
Everybody looked happy.
Everybody except me.
Because the whole time, all I could think about was him.
My boyfriend.
The one waiting for my messages.
The one who didn't even know what was happening.
The one I actually loved.
That night I made a decision.
A stupid one.
A reckless one.
But it felt right at the time.
I packed a bag.
Waited until nobody was paying attention.
And ran.
Straight to my friend's house.
My phone kept blowing up.
Mama.
Papa.
My siblings.
Everybody calling.
Everybody angry.
I ignored all of it.
I just sat there shaking.
Wondering how my life got turned into a marriage arrangement overnight.
Back at home?
Chaos.
Pure chaos.
My family was furious.
At one point they even discussed replacing me with my older sister.
Yeah.
My sister.
The moment she heard that, she burst into tears.
She already had a boyfriend too.
And she didn't wanna get married young.
Not like this.
Not to a stranger.
Not because I ran away.
The whole situation got messy real quick.
Eventually I came home.
I couldn't hide forever.
Everybody sat me down.
Everybody had something to say.
Some were angry.
Some were disappointed.
Some just looked tired.
I listened.
For the first time since this whole thing started, I actually listened.
And after all the arguments, tears, and drama...
The proposal was cancelled.
Just like that.
No wedding.
No engagement.
No rich family.
No stranger husband.
Nothing.
I should've felt relieved.
And part of me did.
But another part of me knew this wasn't the end.
Because once people start talking about marriage...
They don't stop.
And deep down, I had a feeling this story was only beginning...
