“The Melody That Unlocked the Past”
The name of the maid was Elara. Her hands, though still young, were already rough from washing and cleaning. She was the newest maid in the De Alva mansion, a name as heavy as gold. She sent her salary to her sick mother in the province. Elara’s only treasure was an old lullaby taught to her by her mother—a melody that served as a blanket on a cold night and a cure for her loneliness.
Her employer, Liam De Alva, was a young billionaire. Handsome, intelligent, but always with a trace of sadness in his eyes. He lost his mother at a young age, and her memory served as both his inspiration and his cross to bear. Liam was set to marry Katrina, a woman as beautiful as a diamond, but just as hard and cold. For Liam, the marriage was a business merger. For Katrina, it was a crown.
One evening, their grand engagement party was held at the mansion. Hundreds of guests, all from high society, attended. Elara was busy serving, quietly moving on the sidelines, a shadow amidst the extravagance.
Katrina noticed how politely Liam smiled at Elara when she handed him a glass of champagne. A small spark of jealousy and pride ignited in Katrina’s heart. She needed to remind everyone, especially this lowly maid, who was the queen of that night.
In the midst of the celebration, Katrina took the microphone. “May I have your attention, please!” she announced, her voice sweet but laced with venom. “We have a special number tonight. A hidden talent from our staff!”
All eyes turned to her. Katrina smiled and pointed at Elara. “Our dear Elara will serenade us all!”
The murmurs turned into laughter. Elara, who was busy picking up plates, froze. The blood seemed to drain from her face.
“Come here, Elara. Don’t be shy,” Katrina said, commanding.
“Katrina, that’s enough,” Liam reprimanded, sensing the cruelty behind the joke.
“Oh, darling, it’s just for fun!” Katrina replied, already pulling Elara toward the small stage. “Don’t ruin the night.”
Elara could do nothing. She stood before hundreds of pairs of judging eyes, her knees trembling. What could she sing? She didn’t know any popular songs. Her mind was a blank page.
She closed her eyes. In her mind, she was back in their little hut, in her mother’s arms. And there, a melody she heard. The only melody she knew by heart.
Trembling, she began to sing. A simple lullaby. A song with no words, just a soft melody full of pure love. Her voice, unused to singing in front of people, echoed throughout the hall.
The guests’ laughter slowly subsided, replaced by awe. Elara’s voice was pure. Every note pierced the heart. The melody was simple yet held a unique weight.
Katrina, who was waiting for Elara to be humiliated, gaped. This was not what she expected.
But the most intense reaction came from Liam.
At the very first note of the song, he froze. His breathing quickened. That melody… it was familiar. With every note Elara sang, a door in his memory slowly opened. The image of his mother, sitting beside his bed, singing him the very same tune, suddenly became clear.
It was “Himig ng Bituin” (Melody of the Star), the lullaby his mother had composed only for him. A secret song that only the two of them knew.
When Elara finished singing, a deafening silence enveloped the hall. And then, the sound of a shattering glass. Liam had dropped his champagne flute.
He ignored the shocked Katrina. He ignored the guests. He walked toward the stage, his eyes filled with tears he couldn’t stop.
“Where…” he asked Elara, his voice broken. “Where did you learn that song?”
Confused, Elara answered. “T-this is the lullaby my mother always sang to me.”
“What is your mother’s name?” Liam quickly asked.
“Lita. Lita Santos.”
That name was the last piece of the puzzle. Lita… his mother’s most trusted personal maid and closest friend. The woman who suddenly vanished after his mother passed away, with no one knowing where she went.
Liam remembered his mother’s instruction before she died. “Liam, my son, the Melody of the Star is for you. But I shared it with Lita too. So that if I ever disappear, there will be someone who will still sing it for you, to remind you of my love.”
That night did not end with the party. Liam and Katrina’s engagement ended that very night. Instead of celebrating, Liam immediately sought out Aling Lita. They found her in a small house in the province, weakened by illness.
The following days were filled with revelations and healing. Liam brought the best doctors for Aling Lita. And beside her bed, with Elara, he listened to Aling Lita’s stories about his mother—stories he had never heard, memories that filled the gaps in his heart. He learned that Aling Lita left out of fear of Liam’s father, who did not want anything to remind him of his wife.
One afternoon, as they were together in the hospital garden, Liam asked Elara.
“Could you sing it again?”
Elara smiled. And as she sang the “Himig ng Bituin,” it was no longer just a lullaby from a mother to her son. It became the melody of three people connected by the past, separated by fate, and reunited by a song full of love.
Katrina’s plan to humiliate Elara failed. Instead, that song tore down the walls that Liam had long built around his heart. He didn’t just discover a maid, but a lost connection to his past and a new beginning for his future.