I Am Zita

Chapter 2 "Joaquin"

Two years have passed and I just graduated from high school. Finally, I was free from the system that urges the students to forget about being a child and start acting like an adult. After my father died, I got depressed and locked myself in my room. I was crying night and day asking God to bring my father back. My relationship with my family was fading. I would always have disagreements with them because I would come home late at night, I would get in trouble for picking a fight with the girls in my school, and I would skip classes because I wanted to be alone... I wasn't myself. Isabella is gone now.

I transferred from school to school but all of them kicked me out. They said that I don't fit in their standards. Typical, bullsh*t. But I'm used to it. In the end, my uncle enrolled me in an all-girl private school. At first, I laughed because I know one wrong move and they will kick me out as well, plus he can't barely afford it and he has to buy me that overrated uniform. Though he said he pulled some strings just to get me into that school. Fortunately, there was something different about this mediocracy. It glides through my body like it's a natural thing, it was their arts. Dancing and singing was my favorite thing in the world. I felt it was my destiny to meet this talent. It was my source of solitude. My papa once said, that I should never take away my source of happiness and I should fight for it. That's what I did when I told my mama about my extracurricular activities. Though she did not approved of it, I was determined to continue anyway.

I was a wall flower. I learned to be silent and observant. Nobody knows me and I have no friends in that school. I was okay with it because I get to listen to their stories without even talking to them. I would hear heart aches, sex, joys, laughter, and battles of sexuality. I get to see a lot of young people struggling with their relationships as well as my own. If I was a good writer I will write a book about it.

I do felt lonely at times especially when going home. I watched other girls gets picked up by their parents, their boyfriends, and some just walk with their friends while I just sit there at the edge of a side walk pretending that my father would pick me up soon. I know that is not going to happen but I'm happy when I bluff myself. Sometime I would smile at my silliness... but because of that smile someone took noticed. His name was Joaquin dela Vega. A very handsome looking boy with a voice that captivates your soul. One day, he approached me while I was sitting on the edge of a sidewalk. I was hesitant to talk to him because he was a stranger so without permission, he sat beside me and asked for my name.

Joaquin was persistent. He would wait outside my school just to ask for my name again. He said he tried asking the other girls in my school for my name but nobody knew me. They would just shrug their shoulders and walk away. I took pity on him so I told him my first name. Though, I was not happy being called Maria all the time so I made an exchange, I would tell him my second and third name if he will pick me up after school within 2 months. So he did. He was always there. Alas, I have someone to share my thoughts with, my stories and lessons that I've learned in the past. He was a good listener. I felt like my father have sent him to watch over me and to make me happy. Eventually, I trusted him enough to tell him my whole name. I knew to myself that I was in love with this boy. He was my first and hoped to be my last.

When my mama knew that I was spending time with Joaquin she was furious. She wanted me break up with him. But I couldn't... because I loved him too much. The thought of being away from him makes me want to kill myself. For me, he was the one. My uncle even warned me about the dela Vega's. He said that they are the dogs of a drug syndicate and they kill people. I didn't believed them because Joaquin wasn't anything like that at all. He was sweet and very kind to me. I know he loves me and I do feel it. He wanted to take me away from all this madness and just be together.

So after graduation... I left my family to be with Joaquin, to be free...

Because my heart will always follow him no matter what the consequences are.

TO BE CONTINUED...