Chain Reaction (On Hold)

Chapter I

"Wow! Jenny! What a very beautiful flower!" She told her student who was painting a very lovely pink flower. Jenny is only 5 years old but she really has potential.

"Thank you Teacher Ana! When I'm done with this, I'll give it to my Mommy." Jenny said very happily.

"Wow! What a very sweet girl! I'm sure you're going to make your Mommy happy!" Ana said, well, it's actually true. She thought that if ever she had a daughter like Jenny she'd be very happy. But the thought of having a daughter made her sad. The smile plastered on her face suddenly vanished. But she shrugged it off. She doesn't want the children to feel her negative emotions. She felt her phone vibrated, she looked at it, it was Kelly, her bestfriend. She read the text.

[From: Kelly Hermosa

Come here to the office. Like right now naaaa!]

She kind of panicked, thinking that maybe something came up. She placed her IPhone in her pocket again and then went back to the children. "Kids, teacher's going to be back in a while. Can you promise me that you'll behave while I'm gone?" She said with a huge sweet smile.

"YES TEACHER!" The children said in chorus

"Okay, be good boys and girls okay?" And with that she left.

"Hay! Buti nandito ka na. That old man over there wanted to talk to you." Kelly told her the moment she arrived.

"Ha? Sino daw siya?" She asked her friend. She doesn't know the man, why does he want to talk to her? Maybe he's just some client, who wanted to buy some paintings. Aaah. Yes. Maybe that's it.  So she went to the man.

"Uhm, excuse me Sir. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, darling." Then the man faced her, with a big smile. Her brown eyes suddenly opened wide.

"Daaaaad!!! Oh my gosh! I missed you!" She hugged her father. A very tight hug, she haven't seen him since she got married which was more than 2 years ago. Because they were out of the country. Her parents have been staying in the States. Gosh! How she missed them. While she was hugging her Dad, she wanted to cry. But she didn't, because she never cries in front of others. That's just how she is.

"I missed you too darling. So, this is what's keeping you busy?"

"Yep! I'm really enjoying this, plus I have a room there, that's where my painting class is."

"Painting class?? I didn't know you liked teaching." Her Dad seemed surprised.

"Things change Dad. I have a bunch of lovely kids there. And oh! They're probably waiting for me, I told them that I'd be back in while. So Dad, can you stay here for dinner?"

"Oh, yeah sure. Tamang tama, I'll pick up your Mom.  And then we'll have dinner. Invite Ken too."

She was taken aback by what her father said, and for a second she stood still there.

"Hey, anak. What's happening?" Her Dad seemed worried.

"H-huh? Ken? Dad, h-he's busy, a-actually he's been out of the country for a long time now. You know how he is Dad." She said trying to stay calm as possible.

"Aaaw. My daughter misses her husband." Her father teased her. She just laughed, but not of joy, but because she wanted to show her father that he's funny.

"Daaaaad. Anyway, I'll go ahead, just call me okay?" She said with a smile and then went back to her so called classroom.

She's Anastasia Elizabeth Hernandez Guivelondo. A very beautiful 25 year old woman. Fair complexion, long brown hair, tall posture, long legs. She actually looks like a beauty queen. She's an artist and has her own gallery. She also holds painting classes, for children and adults. Most of her students are children, which she loves. They just bring out the best in her everytime. And by teaching them, she feels happy.

The day went by so fast, her class was already finished. She's now fixing her things. "So, how was class?" Kelly asked her, who's fixing her things too. They're about to close. Kelly, on the otherhand, is more of a bussiness woman, she was the one who suggested they open a gallery.

"You know, like the usual. They're so lovely. They make me happy." Ana said with a genuine smile. Really, she always have fun with children, being with them somehow eases the pain she's feeling.

"I'm glad they do. See, ang galing ko talaga. Itong gallery talaga ang happiness mo. Buti nalang I suggested it." Her friend  bragged to her jokingly.

"Ha-ha. Very nice." She said sarcastically.

They finished packing up. Kelly bid her goodbye because her boyfriend, Russel, is there already. Which happens to be her bestfriend too. She was about to call her father when suddenly a car stopped in front of her shop.

"Anaaaaaa!!! Oh gosh. I missed you so much, baby!" It was her Mother. Who just ran out of the car to give her a big big hug.

"Mom naman, you should've waited sa car nalang. I missed you too." She said while hugging her Mother back.

"It's too sad Ken won't be here to join us tonight. Why don't you call him?" And again, nanlamig yung katawan niya. She didn't know what to say.

"M-mom, he's busy. Like what I told Dad, he's out of the country." She said trying to calm herself down again.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry. Let's go."

She didn't ride the same car as her parents'. She has her own car, they went into a nice fancy restaurant. Her Mother told her that she'd be the one to order for her. Which was so alright with her because, well, she missed her Mother kaya pagbigyan na.

When the food arrived, halos lumuwa mata niya, the food was a lot! It's like ten people are going to eat those food.

"Mom, are we expecting someone else? This is too much. We're just three." She said, still looking at the food.

"No, anak, you must eat a lot! Kita mo ang payat payat mo na! Mukha ka nang stick e." Her Mom said with a worried tone.

"Oo nga, what have you been doing? Kita mo yung cheekbones mo, masyado nang labas." Said her Father.

"Tell me anak, pinababayaan ka ba ni Ken? Is he not taking care of you like he's supposed to?" Dagdag pa nung Mom niya.

"Mom! Chill, I've been really busy lately that sometimes I skip meals. And don't worry, I think after this dinner, tataba na agad ako." She said as an excuse. The truth is, she's not really busy. She just doesn't have the appetite.

Their dinner was great. Nagkwentuhan lang sila. And her parents also told her that they'll just be here in a week because there's something her father has to attend to in their company. Although that company is now managed by her eldest cousin. All in all, the night was fun for Ana, being with the one you love the most is the best feeling. They bid their goodbyes and she also promised her Mom that they'll be going shopping before they leave.

The moment she got home, she just parked her car. It was a huge house. Good enough for a big family. But there's only two of them. No, just her. She was living alone in that huge house.

She went inside and switched on some light.  Enough to let her see the way. The house looked so gloomy. It used to be happy, but now, those are just memories. That's one reason why she likes going home late. So that it's all dark and she won't be able to see the house better. Because seeing it reminds her of the pain. When she got to their room, she grabbed some clothes and took a shower. After that she went straight to their bed. Without even turning on the light. For almost 2 years, she did this. Na-master na ata niya ang pagpunta sa kama nang madilim. And with that she dozed off to sleep. This has been her routine for more than a year, get home late, take a shower, sleep. Nope, she doesn't look at the house anymore. Because everything reminded her of him. Memories she wishes to forget. For it is so painful. 

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