Bucket List

It was 1991 when Alliah Torralba met her elder sister's classmate, Jamiro del Torre. She was only 14 years old then, while Jam, Jamiro's nickname, was 4 years older than her. Alliah has 2 sisters, Hyacynt, who was Jamie's classmate, and her younger sister Apple, who happened to be Jam's band member at the acoustic music lounge in Quezon City. Among the brood of the Torralba sisters, Alliah was the most silent type. She's more of books and used to keep herself at home while her two sisters were both outgoing and happy-go-lucky ones. Alliah preferred to be alone most of the time as she was always the center of attention among the three of them. Her two sisters were both popular in their fields. Hyacinth was their school's top notcher in the spelling bee and academic competition, while her younger sister, Apple, was a beautiful, musical, and famous sportsperson who used to compete in almost all beauty and sports contests in their school and nearby competitions in their town. Apple was also a vocalist in their band. Alliah's beauty is less than her younger sister and her academic excellence is average compared to her elder sister's. These made her develop insecurities within herself. She distanced herself from her sisters' crowd to avoid comparison and felt insecure. She found her happiness in reading pocketbooks, cross-stitching, painting, and baking. She is the total opposite of her two siblings. Every time Jam was visiting his classmate Hyacynt, who had been his childhood friend since they were in kinder days, he used to set his eyes on Alliah, who didn't seem to notice him before. Alliah, being a loner type, used to close all the windows in their home every time she heard her sisters' friends' voices outside. She hates noise, especially if it is coming from her sisters' crowd. She would just take a look at them and then leave. She would rather go upstairs and stay in their bedroom. "Alliah! Come downstairs and give some beverages to your sisters' visitors," Mrs. Torralba, their mother's voice, was yelling at her. "I'll be there!" Alliah immediately responds to her nagging mother. Her mother used to call her every time she couldn't find Alliah around, especially when there were visitors around. Mrs. Torralba doesn't even know why Alliah was like that. That's the main reason why she used to scold her. Every time they have visitors, she will instantly disappear. "Why are you hiding in your bedroom? Hurry and like some juice and snacks for your sisters' visitors. They will be doing their assignments later and will be jamming after it," her mother told her. "Alright," Alliah hates arguments, so she made some juice, coffee, and a sandwich for the 3 visitors outside, including Jam. Jam heard how Mrs. Torralba scolded Alliah and as much as he wanted to help her, he couldn't. Alliah doesn't even notice him. She's not a snob person, but he can't easily approach her. It seemed that Alliah had built a wall already on her own and no one could easily read or approach her. She has her world. "Here are your snacks and beverage," Alliah immediately served them and left. "Hey, Alliah, would you like to listen to our jamming later on?" Jam asked her. He was trying to connect with Alliah. "No, thanks. I prefer to read pocketbooks instead," Alliah politely said. It's not her cup of tea to do her sisters' activities. She hated noise a lot. She listens to music, but only instrumental music when she is alone. "You can sit with us," Hyacynt asked her sister Alliah. She knew how her sister distanced herself from them, but then she wanted her to explore and experience the outside world too. She loved her sisters so much, but Alliah seemed to prefer being alone at all times. Jam wanted to get along with Alliah and have a conversation with her. He finds her interesting, but he respects her behavior. She's still young. She's only 14 years old but she has already captured his interest. He wanted to be her friend and invited her to their gigs and even to watch a movie. He is just a bit shy to voice it out with her since Alliah is very aloof. He also didn't want to offend Alliah's parents, since they treated him like a son as well. He gets along with Alliah's sisters and their father is very fond of Jam, since they don't have a son. Jam knew how to get along with Alliah's parents. He respected them like his real parents as well and they treated him like a member of Torralba's family too. Every time there was a gig, Mr. Torralba used to send and fetch them using his jeepney. There were also times that Mr. Torralba is requesting Jam to drink with him at the bar. When Mr. Torralba was drunk. Jam would be the one who drove him back home and asked for an apology from Alliah's mother. Even though Mrs. Torralba used to nag, Jam knew how to calm her like his own mother. One night, it was Alliah who opened the door for them. Jam was almost carrying the drunken Mr. Torralba. Knock! Knock! "What happened to Daddy?" Alliah asked Jam while looking at him with her sharp eyes. Alliah was mad at him at that time. She always thought that Jam was a bad influence on their father. But she's not voicing her inner thoughts to anybody. She knew how her family treated him. "He was drunk," Jam said while scratching his hair. As much as he wanted to have a nice connection with Alliah, his impression of Alliah's eyes seemed to be doomed already. She thought that Jam was of no good at all. Instead of controlling her father to drink, Jam joined him instead. "Hmmph !" Alliah opened the door and let Jam send her father into their living room. Jam carefully laid Mr.Torralba on their couch. Jam smiled when he heard Alliah. "She's so cute," he said to himself. "Why are you smiling?" Alliah asked Jam when she saw him smile. She was annoyed. Jam could no longer control himself and he laughed a bit, making Alliah more annoyed. "Hmmph! "Allah almost bragged at the door when Jam waved goodbye. "Good night Alliah," he said. Even if it was a bad encounter with her, Jam was so happy having their encounter. It was very rare for Alliah to talk to him and he used treasure even if it was something like that. He liked her a lot but he wasn't that ready enough to tell her what he felt. But it was just a memory of the past when Alliah and Jam were just teenagers... it's now 2021... it was 30 years ago. There were so many things that happened to both Alliah and Jam. Will Alliah and Jam have a perfect connection soon? Let's all join their romantic journey which was started in 1991. When both of them didn't even know their fate.