My Scientific Love (PUBLISHED BOOK UNDER HOWLING WOLF'S)

MSL #43

Secret

"Stay here with Aunt Williana and Rylea. Mommy just needs to buy some gifts. It's Christmas tomorrow, and I want to get presents for you all. Don't you want that?"

They all pouted at me. I don't know why, but whenever they frown, it's hard for me to let them be sad.

"I'll be back."

"Is that a promise?"

"Don't call it a promise, Mom... Based on the book, 90% of people break their promises. So yeah, goodbye, Mom! Bring us chilis!"

Camaeron dragged his siblings away. I got into my car and drove to the mall. I needed to buy gifts for my loved ones to thank them for their support. I started by shopping for my children. I went to the children's section and picked out various items and clothes.

"What does Ronan like? A jacket..." I noticed that Ronan loves jackets. He saves them, and I don't know why.

"For Evanthine..." I suddenly thought of a chocolate-themed shirt. I bought the shirt that looked like chocolate.

"And for Camaeron..." I quickly chose some books. I know he loves to collect them.

"Aha! This is for my princess." I picked up a painting. Levi loves painting.

After finishing there, I paid for the items and headed to the men's section. I looked for pants and shirts that I could gift to Dad. I also picked out gifts for Krich, Rald, Janus, and Caldrin.

I suddenly spotted a beautiful men's shirt. I bought it.

"It's for Simon," I whispered.

I went to the women's section and bought elegant dresses for Mom, Williana, Raya, and Cynthia. I also bought some dresses for myself. After finishing my shopping, I decided to eat at a restaurant.

"Dating yourself is really a good idea."

After eating, I left the mall and got into my car. I put all the gifts in the backseat. I had spent all my salary on presents.

I stopped by a flower shop and bought a marigold for Simon's grave. After purchasing it, I drove to the cemetery.

"Finally, this is where my home is."

I got out of the car and brought all the items with me. I also took the gift wrappers and paper bags I bought. I wanted to wrap the gifts here so the children wouldn't see them.

"Hello, Simon..." I ran to his grave and sat beside it. I started wrapping the gifts for them.

"Merry Christmas, Simon. This is our 8th Christmas without you by my side, but I'm still hoping you'll come back into my arms." I smiled while writing the letter for my gift.

"Being a mother is really tiring, isn't it? Especially now, with you not here to help me. If only I could turn back time when you were still alive, I would have done it. I'd have done it a long time ago." I sighed.

"I'm still hoping, Simon. That one day I'll wake up, and you'll still be alive. Still hoping that one day... we'll have a family photo with our children because, after all, that was our dream, right? Our dream... our dream together. But why did you leave me alone? It's not fair." I continued wrapping the gifts while crying.

"When I was pregnant... it was really hard. From the first month, I was always throwing up and craving strange foods. Luckily, Janus was there. In the 3rd month, we traveled around Luzon, remember? Your dream of conducting programs on each island because you wanted a cleaner environment? I did it. I've done it in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao... and guess what? There's less trash in the Philippines now! The Philippines is beautiful! We did a great job!"