Enamorado

chapter 1

The sky was crying. She could see it's tears streaming over the cloth of the black umbrella she was holding. There was no thunder or lightning that cracked over the clouds. No sounds of the sky's agony. It just cried. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of the sky crying with her and all the other people gathered around them. Just like her, there were no sounds from her lips. No wails and no curses, just like she promised him. She would leave him peacefully. She would forgive him for leaving her. She will be brave.

She will be his brave little princess.

Her father wanted the people to see that she's strong. Everyone has already seen them as powerful, rich and influential. In a very small town such as theirs, that's not only a big privilege but also a big responsibility. People will look up to them. People will talk about them. Whether she likes it or not, she is gonna be the center of attraction. If there's one thing he could give her, aside from the large mansion overlooking a wide, blue ocean, is the strength to face all of these. She sighed, her fingers twitching at the thought of their last conversation. Be strong, he said. Her strength will be the only one that would protect her.

She knows she's not as strong as he think she is. She knows her limits. But she doesn't seem to have a choice in the matter. She began to sob again, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the umbrella. Her gaze ran over the mahogany coffin in front of her. Only did she realize how alone she was right now. She misses her father already. She misses the way they play along the beach when she was younger. She misses the way he pouted whenever she thinks she was winning their game and also the way she would pout at him whenever he gets the upper hand. She misses how his father would still find a way to get home from their company just to tuck her in at night. The only man in her life was now gone.

And she's all on her own.

She straightened up, wiping the tears off her cheeks. A brave princess doesn't cry. Especially on the final days of his beloved king.

"I'm really sorry for your loss, Aria."

She was startled but quickly recovered herself with a smile. The priest has finished giving his final prayer without her noticing. Even the sky stopped crying, though the clouds were still in a gloomy shade. She put the umbrella down then stood, taking a shaky breath. The people who gathered around them were giving their words of condolences. She just smiled and nodded, acknowledging every kind word and every kind gesture given to her. She never thought his father had this many friends and people who cared for him. More people filed in front of her in their black dresses and gloomy expressions. She could recognize a few faces, with emphasis on few. There were some close friends of her own: their maids and housekeepers and family friends. There were people who seems rather familiar: workers in their factory and her father's other businesses, some of her childhood friends she rarely talks to anymore. And there were those she doesn't even know: probably people who live in the small town or some of her father's old friends. But what they are to her doesn't matter. What matters is what they are to her father and the thought they gave to coming here.

At least they're here to mourn with her when there's no one else.

"Thank you very much for being here. Please, know that my father appreciates your presence here." she spoke, trying her best to not make her voice crack. It was Mrs. Keller. Their housemaid and the closest she could have to a mother figure after her real mother left. She hugged her, feeling her warmth against her.

"And I'm sure he's proud that you stayed very strong through all of this." the old woman said, hugging her back.

Aria can't help but chuckle, moving her lips toward the woman's ear. "I would be lying if I said I almost did not have a breakdown. I don't want to be here anymore. I will only miss him more."