Somewhere in a house in Naga, there's a room with a fort built by a blanket and held up by a chair and the bed.

Two four year olds sit within while giggling, a flashlight in one's hand, and a book in the other's. You and Tricia read ever so softly about the story of sleeping beauty, every now and then the two of you do your best to hold in your laughs as one of you would read out a word in the wrong way and it would sound funny.

It's the first time you're here on a Saturday night. Then tomorrow after her family finishes church your family will be waiting for them by the local park with a picnic already set up. The two of you are excited about the idea of getting to play together under the sun, her older sister always ends up meeting friends at the local park every Sunday. The older kids play with you and Tricia and although they're hard to catch, it's fun to play tag in the grass.

"Psst, Tricia hindi pa ba tayo matutulog?"

She looks at you in confusion, after all don't you want to finish your favorite book first?

"Ayaw mo muna tapusin yung libro?"

You put on your "Thinking Face", or so Tricia calls it. When you have a hand on your chin with your lips out in a pout- You think it's silly, you always argue that you don't have a thinking face. You only have one face, and it's your face so you would know better than her. It's the only argument the two of you ever get into, and even then its not really that big of a deal.

Tricia would always smile at you and you'd weirdly forget what it was you wanted to say, her eyes would widen when you stare at her after you forgot your words and she'd turn red and look away.

"Medjo inaantok na ako pero gusto pa rin, pero diba may church pa kayo bukas?"

Her mouth forms an "O" like she forgot about church. How could she forget about church? They go every week.

Your best friend is weird but that's okay.

"I'll read to you na lang para mahimbing tulog mo tapos matutulog na rin ako pag natapos ko na yung libro!"

The two of you always find ways to make it work.

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It's 12AM and at seven years old you and Tricia still find yourselves under the blanket fort, but this time you're trading stories instead of reading them. You talk about the funny things that happened in your respective classes, you and her weren't placed in the same class this year and although it made Tricia very sad at first- You promised her that you'd be waiting for her outside of her classroom everyday at home time.

The smile on her face that greets you everyday at 3PM is enough of a reward for you.

Tricia talks about how today, their teacher had introduced the concept of Crushes to them after one of her classmates asked in panic if he was having a heart attack because whenever he looked at his friend his heart would speed up a lot. She explains to the best of her ability what her teacher had said.

"Crush daw is kapag may gusto ka sa tao, kung paano daw gusto ng magulang natin ang isa't isa noong una! Sabi ni teacher malalaman mo daw pag may crush ka sa isang tao kapag gusto mo tumakbo o tumalon o mag burn ng energy kapag nakakausap mo raw siya! The word daw is Kilig.."

You look at her in fascination, your class was boring compared to hers. Your teacher's always absent and its a miracle in your opinion how she still hasn't been replaced by someone else. The two of you keep trading stories until you can no longer ignore the tiredness in your bones, the two of you start to lie down and make yourselves comfortable.

In the silence of the room, under the light of the moon and stars. Tricia asks in a whisper.

"Do you have a crush?"

It kick starts your brain, sleepiness leaving your body as you think very hard about the description your best friend provided you about crushes.

"Yah, I think meron.."

The sleepiness leaves Tricia as well, her eyes widen in surprise as quickly turns her body towards you. Her excitement and curiosity keeping acting like an instant charge to her drained energy as she grabs onto your hand, shaking it while demanding to know who. You spare another moment to think, and with a small nod of sureness you turn your body to face her. With your eyes locked on hers and your hands in one another's- You don't hesitate to say your answer.

"Ikaw."

Tricia looks confused, her mind trying to see how she is your crush. You don't feel like having heart attacks when the two of you are together, you don't seem like you want to run or jump or burn energy when the two of you talk, you never showed any of the signs her teacher listed when you're with her! So you must be lying.

"Wehhh, hindi ka naman kinikilig pag magkasama tayo."

You have the perfect rebuttal for her reasoning.

"Maybe not, pero diba sabi ni teacher mo pag crush mo parang ung feelings ng parents natin sa una?"

She nods along, completely not getting your point.

"I want to make you feel happy like how Tito Jesse makes Tita Leni feel happy, I like your smile like how Tito Jesse likes Tita Leni's smile, and I also like to spend time with you more than I like McDo!"

Tricia laughs at your last statement, you always used to say that there's nothing else on Earth that you like more than McDo Cheeseburger. So she really must be your crush if you like her more than McDo.

The hyper energy dissipates when Tricia's laughter dies down, and when she looks back into your eyes- She holds your hand just a little tighter as she does some introspection of her own about the description of crush that you had provided.

"I think you're my crush too.."

When Leni comes into the room the next morning to find the two of you holding hands in your sleep with matching smiles on your faces- She chalks it up to having had fun at your sleepover last night.

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The door opens a few seconds after you knock, Tricia's eyes are extremely bloodshot despite it having been three weeks since her father's passing. You told her earlier in school that if she needs more time to herself then the sleepover can wait a whole year for all you care, but she said that being alone doesn't help as much as it used to at the first week.

So you headed over to the Robredo household three hours after school, hastily packing your things as well as the meal that your mother told you to give to the family, leaving the house, and commuting to their place taking a bit of time as it's Friday and everyone seems to be heading home after a long week.

You were met by Leni at the door, she's the only one in the living room and although she doesn't look as if she's affected in any way due to the lack of tears or bloodshot eyes- The hug she gives you after you hand her the home cooked meal your mother made lets you know better. She just won't let herself fall apart with three kids looking to her for strength and guidance now. After making sure that she herself is alright with being left alone again, you made your way to Tricia's room.

Looking around, you find that she didn't have the energy to be her usual clean self when it comes to her room. Her notes are scattered on her desk, her school bag by the floor instead of in its usual spot beside her bookshelf, the bed is unmade, and the hamper has clothes hanging off of it. You lead Tricia back to her bed by her hands, tucking her in her blankets tightly before you quickly get to work on setting her room back into its former glory.

You've been coming over since you were three, so it was easy to move and place as if you were the owner of this room yourself. After you had cleaned the room up as best as you could, you head over to the closet, pulling out the blanket you and her had specially reserved for your weekly fort.

Your skin tingles at the feel of eyes on you, you look towards your best friend- Giving her a smile. She smiles back weakly, her eyes shine a bit when she smiled so as small as it is, you take it as a good sign.

You set the fort up in record time, at eighteen years old the blanket no longer weighs as heavily as it once did when you were kids. After stabilizing the fort structure, you take a step back to ensure that everything is indeed okay before heading back to Tricia's side and taking her hand once again.

She moves on her own accord now, gently tossing the blanket off of her body and following your steps towards the fort. You let her move in first as you move to the light switch, engulfing the room in darkness before you make your way to her side inside of the fort.

It's not as spacious as it once was back when you were four year old kids, but it still feels like safety and security.

Tricia scoots over to make space for you, you lie down and adjust accordingly so that she can cling to your side as soon as she can. The two of you stay in the fort that's been a part of your life, silence between the two of you as you simply let the girl beside you take in the feel of having someone else's presence to support her.

"It feels like may nawalang parte sa sarili ko."

She tears up as her voice cracks towards the end. You hold her tightly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before you wipe her tears off of her face as gently as you can.

"I've got you.."

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It's Tricia's birthday in an hour, and the two of you are huddled in your blanket fort inside her room. There's music playing on her phone, and on your screen is a digital copy of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth".

You do your best to seem invested in the book as you read, but the small gift box you've snuck behind your pillow weighs heavily on your mind.

Tricia is a constant in your life, she's been there beside you since you were kids and the two of you have been through thick and thin together. You sincerely hope you're not about to ruin something that's more precious than any riches in the world by taking a chance.

"Ano nasa isip mo? And before you try to deny sana alalahanin mo na four years old pa lang tayo, sobrang close na natin."

One downside to being extremely close is that she can call you out on your bluff before you even try to act.

You look away from her for a moment, keeping your eyes trailed on the blanket ceiling. You close your eyes and take a deep shaky breath.

"No better time than the present anyways."

You turn back to Tricia, and try as you might you're unable to keep your eyes locked on hers so instead you keep them trained on the blanket wall behind her.

"There's something I wanted to give you. But I wasn't sure if ngayon na ba dapat or if I should wait hanggang bukas, sa birthday mo."

The concern in her eyes turns to confusion, you've never once been scared nor reluctant to hand her a present regardless of whether there's an occasion or not. So what makes this so different? Tricia doesn't know how to ask you what it is about the present that's got you so riled up, so she stays quiet with her eyes trained on you in the hopes that you'll provide a larger explanation.

"I'm fidgety kasi it comes with a question I've been meaning to ask for a while now.."

She wracks her brain for possibilities, but she comes up blank on the possible questions that could make you look as pale as paper- The lack of ideas piques Tricia's interest even further.

You reach behind your pillow to pull out a box wrapped in cream paper, a pink ribbon on top standing out against the neutrality of the gift wrap. Your hand is shaky as you slide it over to her side of the fort. Tricia takes it gently, marvelling at the way the ribbon is hand tied, not glued onto the box.

"Pwede ko bang buksan na, o mas mainam ba na hintayin ko na lang bukas?"

You shrug your shoulders, its a gift for her and you've handed it over to her now so ultimately it's her choice to make.

"It's yours to do with as you please."

She runs her fingers across the wrapping, playing with the ribbon for a little while before wordlessly coming to terms with the fact that she can't wait another minute to see what you gotten her. Tricia unties the ribbon, and when she takes off the paper wrap a small card falls onto her stomach. She gently takes it before tenderly setting down the box, she grabs her phone and turns on the flashlight to see what was written.

Happy 25th Birthday, sa hirap at sarap remember: I'll always have your back! :)

A smile appears on her face at the sight of your handwriting, and she reads your message out loud before placing the card in her phonecase. Tricia picks the box back up, placing the gift wrap beside her head as she takes a moment to observe the box.

Suddenly a memory of her Eighteenth birthday comes to the forefront of her mind, and her aura changes from happy to suspicious. Tricia turns to you with an accusatory stare.

"Pag eto may laruan na ipis nanaman-"

You laugh at her distrust, putting a hand out infront of you and waving it to signal a negative as you swear that this time there are no jokes related to your gift.

"Dapat lang." Tricia replies curtly. You chuckle before shaking your head good naturedly.

She takes the lid off of the navy blue box and finds a rose gold necklace inside with a pendant of a book, a stone embedded in the center. It's simple necklace, but undeniably beautiful. Your best friend turns to you, eyes asking a silent question as she knows you didn't just get this because it looked nice. You've never been the kind of person to give a gift just because it looked pretty.

Your heart speeds up, and you can hear your blood rushing in your ears but you don't let the nervousness rule over your determination to come clean.

"A book to signify the first thing we did on our very first sleep over. Di ko alam kung naalala mo pa pero somehow I remember clearly na binabasa natin yung libro mo ng Sleeping Beauty."

"Nung inaantok ka na tas sabi ko babasahin ko sayo yung libro hanggang sa dulo para makatulog ka ng maayos? I can't believe we both still remember that. Halos babies pa tayo noon."

You laugh at her statement, before nodding to signal that yes, that was the memory you were referring to. She holds the necklace in her hands, gently tracing the pendant with her fingers in a gentle and careful manner.

"You really put a lot of thought into this huh?"

You nod at her before replying with a simple "Yeah. I did."

Then you take a breath, the environment is silent as you prepare to admit the next and most crucial part of the gift. It's now or never and you're sure that no matter what happens Tricia will always still be a part of your life. So you rip the band-aid off.

"Last detail: Is the moon shaped Rose Quartz. To signify na its on one of these sleep overs that I discovered that I love you. As more than a friend, as more than a best-friend.."

You've angled your eyes down, unable to keep even the slightest trace of Tricia's eyes in yoir peripherals. So instead you keep your eyes trained on her collarbone, and as your heart beats faster- Your tone has shrunk down to a whisper.

"Hindi ko alam kung yung puppy crush mo sakin noong nasa grade three tayo is just that: A Puppy Crush. Pero para sakin? That was the start of knowing na I like you."

Tricia takes the necklace into her hands before she places the box down on the wrapping paper. She's surprised, but at the same time she wonders why she even is. The two of you had something for the longest time, its just that neither wanted to make a move in fear of losing something that was so deeply rooted in who you both are.

She had liked you for almost as long as you had, dare she say even for as long as you had liked her. But shamefully admits to herself that she never would've found the courage that you had to confess. Tricia would've been content with being just a friend in your eyes so long as she never lost what the two of you had.

A hand finds its way under your chin, tilting your face up before a forehead presses against yours in a manner that was so gentle it almost felt feather-light.

You close your eyes, the fear of the future dissipating as the other woman's touch calms your nerves.

And in the next few moments where Tricia finally finds out what if would feel like to have your lips on hers-

She thanks her lucky stars that she won't have settle for being a friend anymore.

Now that the both of you finally made it where your seven year old selves had only ever reached in their dreams before, there's a different kind of peace within the space of the blanket.

As the two of you pull apart and giggle at the way things seem to have worked out- Someone snags a corner of the blanket and the whole thing comes tumbling down on your heads.

The two of you laugh at the situation until your stomachs hurt, before you even start to move to get yourselves out of the mess.

As you pull your newly declared girlfriend off of the floor, she spares one nostalgic look over at the toppled fort.

"It's not as big as it once was, huh?"

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