Cocoon

PART ONE

PART ONE

Introduction:

"I'm not going to school tomorrow Mom." fifteen year old Cheska declared while having dinner with her mom, Rienna, who just smiled wryly, choosing to ignore the fact that her daughter wasn't even asking her parental permission.

"Why not sweetie? Didn't your first day of school go well this year?" she asked her daughter calmly.

"NO Mom, it was the opposite of 'well.' It was the worst! I knew High school would be a dreadful moment in my life." Cheska complained frantically.

Rienna tried to stop herself from laughing. Instead, she reacted with a cough that looked like she swallowed her food wrong. "Oh really? Well... what happened today that made it dreadful?"

Cheska wondered whether she was in the mood to talk about the incident with her mom, then decided to just get it over with because if she doesn't do it now, her mom would find a way to make her spill the beans. She sighed then mumbled quietly, "It's... it's because of Jason."

"Jason...?"

"Jason Hale."

Rienna blinked once, "Isn't that the boy you had a..."

"...huge major crush on since 5th Grade... YES MOM! That's him." Cheska groaned, feeling the embarrassment she felt a while ago swell up inside her again.

"Okay, so what happened with Jason?"

"Aly and I were walking at the hallways, heading for our next class. You know, we were just talking and minding our own business. Then..." Cheska frowned on cue, "We saw him with his friends about to pass by us, and..."

"And...?"

"I was thinking whether or not to wave at him. Aly was encouraging me to do it even though I was too shy to do so. BUT then, when I actually had the guts to wave at him, I SLIPPED because of a small puddle in front of me and fell flat on my butt right in front of him, his friends, and EVERYONE else in the hallway. So for the rest of the day, everyone called me 'Pink Slip.' UGH! It was horrifying mom! I've managed to be a loser on the first day, what lame old record." Cheska complained frantically and rather quickly too that Rienna had to make an effort to understand every word she uttered.

"Well, that is rather unfortunate... but honey, it's not the end of the world. There's still hope."

Cheska rolled her eyes at her mom, "Easy for you to say, Mom. You weren't the one who slipped in front of the whole student body."

Rienna laughed, "Yes, but that doesn't mean I was never embarrassed." she countered, "Let me tell you a story, honey."

"This better not be a fairytale like the ones you used to tell me before bed. I'm not a little kid anymore mom."

"No honey, don't worry. It's the tale of the infamous Pandora's Box." Rienna told her.

"Pandora's Box... isn't that the Box of Misfortune, or something?" Cheska remarked.

"In a sense, yes. You see, Pandora was, according to Greek Mythology, the first woman on Earth when Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create her. She was given beauty from Aphrodite, Wisdom from Athena, and Speech from Hermes."

"So?"

Rienna just smiled at her daughter, the impatience of the Youth, she thought to herself.

"One day, Prometheus stole fire from Olympus. Zeus got so angry that he gave Pandora to that Prometheus's brother. He also sent Pandora a beautifully designed box and told her not to open it under any circumstance. But because of her curiosity and because of how beautiful the box looked, she was compelled to open the box.

It was a terrible decision because all the evil you could think of, the things nightmares were made of, unleashed into the earth and the Dark Ages started in Greek. But... one thing remained inside the jar." Rienna narrated.

"What?"

"Hope. When all else fails and all evil breaks lose in your life, hope still remains, honey. It may stand alone, but stand it will."

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As they washed and kept the table together, Rienna noticed that Cheska became really quiet after the tale. She wondered whether her daughter was becoming hopeful, and making plans to make up for her little slip.

Well, she prayed her daughter wouldn't lose hope. After all, what Cheska went through was nothing yet compared to what she had, especially when it came to Love and Second chances.

She closed her eyes and flashbacked to that moment in her life when she felt free, and when hope didn't have to stand alone.

It stood with Love.

 [End of Introduction]

*Writer's Note: Please become a fan and continue reading the chapters to come. Your support is really appreciated, especially since I'm still a newbie. Thank you!