Quintessential

Every moment is a fresh beginning.

Blaue Blume

“A blue flower was a central symbol of inspiration for the Romanticism movement, and remains an enduring motif in Western art today. It stands for desire, love, and the metaphysical striving for the infinite and unreachable. It symbolizes hope and the beauty of things.”

I read this paragraph over and over, trying to connect the dots as to why a blue rose was carefully placed on my desk, with no name, no note,nothing. I was skeptical at first. It was placed just here while I was gone. It was not there before I go, and p**f, there it was.

I picked it up as its fragile stem limp, almost attracted to the table like magnets. As I picked it up, I felt a sense of sadness. Is this person someone close to me? Trying to tell me something? Or did someone just misplaced it? Or are they trying to get rid of it? I sighed, admiring its beauty. Why would someone get rid of it? Or worse, why, of all people, choose to give it to me?

I frowned. I was still not convinced it’s mine. Whoever gave this, or left it, I would let in my arms and say that “I love you,” even platonically. Heck, Im probably not even that “beautiful” to receive a flower that sumbolizes beauty. Though my anxiety is rising, I just placed it in the small altar in the room, hoping one day it would find its owner and receiver, and it’s definitely not me.

Short story by: Martha Regina
Picture from: Google

"The practice of reading books creates cognitive engagement that improves lots of things, including vocabulary, thinking skills, and concentration. It also can affect empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence, the sum of which helps people stay on the planet longer."

Considering our situation of having suspended classes, many of us are probably bored and have nothing to do except for school works, household chores, etc. During this time, we should encourage ourselves to read more. Explore the capacities of our imagination and try to fill our brains with more knowledge and fantasies. Have a social media detox and give yourself time to feed your soul through reading books that interest you. With this, I created a simple infographic of tips on how to insert reading books into your busy life. Have a lovely day, quints!

[ Source: www.keepingupwiththepenguins.com ]

It was the 31st of October 2019. Dead into the night, shot glasses endlessly clinked as the two young men raised a glass of Scotch for all the good times, and for old time’s sake, and deafening noise and laughter filled the room. People walking by the hallway out the window began to raise suspicion, as their cold stares judged and feared what they were seeing.

“CHEERS! Ah this is some damn good Scotch!” James said as he gulped down the booze. Aaron, who’s been attentive all throughout, poured some more into the shot glass.

“How’s it going there at your new place?” Aaron asked as each sweet drops of Whiskey kissed his lips... probably the only kiss he’s ever had in his lonely life.

“Oh well, samesies. It’s really peaceful there. I don’t get to see many people like I used to to be honest. But hey! I’m happy now,” James told Aaron. “But I really miss you though, my good friend Aaron. I miss everyone.”

“Me too,” Aaron replied.

It’s been a year since the two best friends had this kind of session. A session where they’ll drown themselves with wine and stories of joy, of good memories, of pain, of embarrassment. For James, this evening is beginning to be the best drinking session he’s ever had but for Aaron, it brings back an all-too familiar memory.

It was October 31, 2018. A party was going down. Drunk partygoers raved as they partied hard...like really hard. Proof of it was Aaron and James’ band of friends, taking over the party, claiming the limelight for themselves.

They were drunk as hell. Visions blurry, decisions idiotic— they were clearly out of sorts, and James wanted out already. However, Aaron insisted that he should stay and drink some more.

“Don’t be a wuss, James! Here’s two more glasses!HAHA!” Aaron said as he forced James to take the shot. He did. And he did again. And again. And again. Until he and Aaron were almost knocked out.They waved goodbye to their friends. NO ONE was sober... sober enough to drive decently.

James insisted that he’d drive though. The clueless and drunk Aaron excitedly let him. They got into the car. James started the engine. He revved it up then the car swifts away.

They were banging their heads together as they jammed to Paramore’s hit song “That’s what you get!” It was going smoothly until... a huge truck came swooping in to their path out of a sudden... the stereo was reaching the chorus, singing:THAT’s WHAT YOU GET!

With no time to hit the breaks, James and Aaron’s car CRASHED!

And then...

..Aaron snaps out of the tragic flashback.

Photo retrieved from: Pinterest

Coffee Shop
As my eyes wander around the coffee shop, my eyes met her place. There she is in that same old seat she loved to be whenever she’s here. Still doing the same old thing, with a novel book on her lap. Sipping her favorite cappuccino on her left with her chocolate croissant on her right. while listening to her favorite band and writing on her black notebook.
I am exactly fifteen feet away from her watching her from afar with my regular coffee. It may look creepy but I’m happy by merely seeing her despite the distance. As time ticks by 4:30, it was that time that is filled with happiness and pain. She flashed her beautiful smile as the door opens. It was the same smile she used to give me every time we met. But now it’s different, it’s not for me.
I still can’t find a reason not to let go of her, she taught me something that no one could ever teach me— it is to love writing and reading. I used to despise them. But everything changes when I met her. She is in love with books and writing. little did she know, I’m in love with her as a whole and her love for books. We’d go to these coffee shops to read and write some random stuff, well some may think this is boring but nothing is boring if you love what you’re doing and you are with the one you love. When I was her things come very unusual just like writing a poem and a book for her. But those are the things that can never happen again because the light has taken me away from her.
Years have passed and this is probably the last time, I am going to see her. I’m finally letting her go to finally enter where I am supposed to be. She loved me and taught me to love something I never gave attention to. I wish I gave attention to those two when I was still with the people around me. This is finally the end for me and for us.

Since I’m not really fond of reading books, it has been difficult for me to think of an idea for our page that will help our co-Brahman students to get interested in reading. Luckily, I found something interesting in my room that gave me an idea on what could be the concept of my post for our page.

I was organizing my stuffs this morning when I found an old gift from my classmate in grade school. It was my first ever bookmark personally made by my classmate. It is made out of illustration board that is 7 inches long and 3 inches wide, painted with bright colors like that of a rainbow and those colors were used as its background. On it was a quote inscribed that reads, “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” I used it for a couple of times before and then I somehow forgotten about its existence when I reached Junior High. But what is intriguing about this bookmark is that whenever I see it lying in my study table, it boosts my curiosity to read a book. Its colorful design and decoration pleasing in the eye served as a food starter to my brain that always stimulates my appetite upon reading books. It is effective though, as I can remember, because of the magic of the bookmark I was able to read about 2 to 3 books a week. Sadly, it didn’t last for long and staring at the bookmark now brings back good memories when reading was kind of my hobby before.

From this experience I thought maybe bookmarks really bring magic to people or maybe it’s just my wild imagination that hyped me up to read books before. Anyway, with all of that I come up with an idea of making some bookmarks because I thought maybe it will help you to get interested in reading books too as it is to me when I was still in grade school. I know it’s kinda silly but who knows if it might work or not? You gotta give it a try. Still, I’m going to leave these bookmarks here and let it pull off its magic.

THE FOLLOWING BOOKMARKS ARE PRINTABLE. FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD IT AND MAKE IT YOUR OWN PERSONAL BOOKMARK.
-xoxo Ali❤️