Sino ba ang mag-aakalang ang isang tahimik na dalagang nangangarap lang ng diploma at simpleng buhay ay mapapadpad sa mundo ng mamahaling mansyon, lihim na kasunduan, at isang lalaking mas mailap pa sa ulan sa tag-araw? Si Gabriela Navarro - isang rebeldeng anak, pasaway na estudyante sa buhay, pero magiging sentro ng isang di-pangkaraniwang kuwento ng sakripisyo, kalayaan, at (abracadabra!) pag-ibig.
Nagsimula ang lahat sa isang kontratang hindi niya ginusto, isang papel na nilagdaan niya nang may bigat sa dibdib, pero tinanggap alang-alang sa pamilya. Isang desisyong hinding-hindi niya inakala. Akala niya, iyon na ang katapusan ng kanyang mga pangarap-ang maging isang mahusay na accountant, magkaroon ng tahimik na buhay na walang inaalala, at mabuhay nang walang takot sa utang. Pero nasira ang lahat ng iyon dahil may ibang plano si Mr. Gordon de Guzman, isang misteryosong negosyante na sadyang kinatatakutan mo-parang ang boss mo sa isang horror movie na hindi mo alam kung kailan susulpot.
Hindi niya ito pinangarap. Hindi rin niya ito hiniling.
Pero isang araw, basta na lang dinala si Gabbi ng kapalaran sa isang pamilyar ngunit banyagang mundo-ang mansyon ni Gordon. Isang mundo ng katahimikan na nakakabingi, mga lihim na tila nakasabit sa bawat sulok, at mga tanong na ayaw sagutin ng kahit sinong naroon. Parang isang malaking bahay-ampunan ng misteryo.
May kasunduang pinasukan. May pangakong binitiwan. Mayroon din bang sumpa na kaakibat ang lahat ng ito?
Sa isang mansyon na tila walang oras, kung saan ang bawat minuto ay tila oras, sa ilalim ng mga ilaw na walang init, nagsimula ang kuwento ng isang dalaga at isang lalaking hindi kailanman nagtanong kung ano ang tama-dahil pareho silang abala sa ginagawa nilang mali. O tama rin ba, sa bandang huli?
Hindi natin alam. Pero ang alam natin-minsan, ang pinakaimportanteng mga kuwento ay nagsisimula sa mga bagay na hindi natin naiintindihan, sa mga desisyong tila mali sa umpisa, pero nagbubunga ng mga bagay na higit pa sa ating inaasahan.
Author, blogger, spin writer, SEO, artist, designer, all rolled in one -- that's me! I have a thousand and one ideas that is bursting in my mind and I want to share it with everybody. Hoping ang praying that some my of dreams, ideas, fantasies and whatnots can make, in a good way, a big difference in one's life. I consider myself, a jack-of-all-trade, whilst trying to make a dent in our world to make it a better place to live in.
Born in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, Philippines. I've worked for twenty odd years, in 2 leading publishing house in the Philippines (Vibal and Diwa), as a layout artist, illustrator and art director. Somewhere along the line, I established my own DTP shop, specializing in book layout and design. Not long after, I started writing and producing my own e-magazines. My first book, titled "Kritterlund" is all about the world of ants running in parallel to us, and, wheeww, it has been and still is a-work-in-progress for almost 20 years (and running). By then, by offshoot, I started making comic strips out of it (Ants World, Silent Witness, David's Adventure, etc.), and turning it into a humor-fantasy book.
Finally, I discovered that I have this itch for writing. I started writing in social media sites until I said, what the heck -- if I'm this serious in writing, I might as well publish my own books. And thus, the author in me was born. Nope, I'm not a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious author, but just someone who just loves to write. My former boss once told me that I have a talent for writing, so here I am. Of course, and I admit, I have a waaaay lot to learn, when it comes to writing and everything. Ugh! Even my grammar is always faulty. But one thing I'm sure -- I write from the heart. Everything I write comes from the goodness of my heart. That's why, I'm a hopeless romantic ergo I like writing romance-comedy stories, especially with kilig-to-the-bones narratives. Although not everybody will admit it, everyone of us are romantic fools. That's why I love to write love stories that will make a profound impact in one's life.
Uhm, every once in a while, I write non-fiction books, too. But don't hold your breath waiting for a new one.
Happily, writing and producing my own books has become my safe haven.
