Once In A Lifetime

Chapter 2: Stranger in the Heart

"A mother's love is something
We keep locked deep down
In our hearts...."
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The sun had not yet risen, and the world outside remained a quiet, colorless void when Denise was startled awake by the sharp trill of her alarm clock. The shrill sound pierced through her dreams, scattering them like dry leaves in the wind. Drowsy and reluctant, she groped for the clock, silencing it with a heavy hand.

For a moment, she lay there, staring at the ceiling, the weight of yesterday pressing down on her.

She wouldn't be going to school today-not without a parent or guardian. That was the principal's condition. But there was no one to take her. No one to stand beside her, the way parents had rushed to their children's sides yesterday in the school clinic.

She had promised Dr. Lacerna she would bring someone. Yet, deep inside, she knew she had no one to bring.

The day before, chaos had erupted in the chemistry lab. What was supposed to be a simple experiment had turned into an accident. Denise and four other students had found themselves caught in the heart of the disaster. In their eagerness, they had mishandled the chemicals, triggering a sudden burst of fire. It had been quick but wild-smoke billowing, flames licking the edges of their reality. Panic had spread like the fire itself, sending students fleeing from nearby classrooms.

The fire was subdued quickly, leaving only minimal damage. Yet, the aftermath remained. The scent of burnt chemicals. The scattered glass. The echoes of screaming students.

And the waiting parents.

Denise had watched from the clinic bed as mothers and fathers rushed to embrace their children, touching their faces, brushing their hair, whispering reassurances. Love, warmth, and concern filled the room like a presence of its own - all paraded before her searching heart.

But for Denise, there was no one. No familiar arms wrapping around her. No frantic voice calling her name.

Her grandparents were too old, too frail to come. Besides, they had never been the kind to visit her school. She had grown used to it. Or at least, she thought she had.

She had felt nothing. Not envy, not longing. Just... bereft of everything.

And yet, there was a hollow space inside her-a silent, aching void. She could not name it, but it was there, growing.

Life had moved on, but where was it taking her? She had the answer. It was towards an empty direction.

The investigation had followed soon after.

Dr. Lacerna, the school principal, had been a picture of controlled distress. She had watched over them in the clinic, her face drawn with worry, her hands twitching as though she wished she could protect them from what came next.

The police had arrived, taking statements, recording details. Denise's classmates had each responded in their own way.

Norianna, trembling, her long hair still singed from the flames.

Benjie, silent, blood seeping through the bandage on his temple.

Caroline, the campus beauty, sobbing into their chemistry teacher's arms.

Kevin, ever the storyteller, animatedly recounting every detail with a voice that barely masked his nerves.

And Denise? She had sat there, composed, unmoved. But her mind had been far away, drifting to places even she didn't understand.

Once the questioning ended, the students were excused, given a few days to recover. Relief had washed over them. But as Denise was about to leave, she was called back.

She retraced her steps, her heart strangely heavy.

"You may take a seat, Miss Romano."

Dr. Lacerna's voice was gentle but firm. Denise obeyed, lowering herself into the chair with careful control.

"Are you okay, Denise?"

A simple question. Yet, it carried weight, pressing against something inside her. She nodded, eyes fixed on the floor, afraid that if she met the principal's gaze, the truth would spill from her like an open wound.

"I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk, I'm always here."

Denise felt the warmth of a hand covering hers. It was a soft, reassuring touch. A touch that reminded her of something she had never truly known.

"I'm fine, Ma'am," she lied.

She had managed, yes. But she had never been fine.

Dr. Lacerna studied her, as if searching for the cracks beneath the surface.

"You're a brave girl, Denise. But even the brave need someone to stand with them."

Denise swallowed. The words should have meant nothing, yet they stirred something inside her.

"I need to speak with your grandparents about the accident. Please bring them when you return to school. Can you do that?"

"I will try, Ma'am."

"Good. And Denise?"

She paused at the doorway.

"It's nobody's fault. Don't carry this alone, okay?"

Denise nodded, then reached for the door handle. But something made her glance back.

For a moment, she saw something unfamiliar in Dr. Lacerna's expression-something foreign yet strangely familiar.

Concern.

Not just the careful concern of a principal for her student. It was deeper than that. Almost... motherly.

Denise's heart clenched.

She had never known a mother's love. She had never known her mother at all. And yet, for the first time, she felt a flicker of something she couldn't name. A whisper of what could have been.

She closed the door behind her, slowly, deliberately.

Just like she had closed off her heart long ago.

No one-not even Dr. Lacerna - could take the space that belonged to the stranger she had always loved.❤️
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