<<5>>
* There's no such thing as failure until you fail to learn a lesson. *
***
----- Mira ------
The day I met Joseph, is one I'll never forget.
We've been in the same school for about a year and despite being the student's president, I never knew him since we weren't classmates and I was an introvert, who barely related with others. Due to all of this, I never knew him until that day.
It was during break time on that particular day, I was in class pretending to study, though I wasn't able to as the pain in my stomach was becoming too much to bear. I’d been having the pain for about a month now, but it never got this intense. As time went on, I felt my consciousness begin to slip from me and my vision became blurry. It was at that moment, I heard a voice, close yet so distant calling out to me. “ Are you okay? ” The voice was like the sweetest music to my ears and for several seconds, I was hypnotized by it. “ You okay? ” The question came again and this time, I was about to answer, but my words were caught up in my throat. I found myself slowly slipping into darkness and right before I blanked out I heard the words. “ Hold on. ”
It's funny how those words have been one of the things that has been keeping me going all these years. “ Hold on. ” Two simple, yet profound words.
The next time I woke up, I was in a hospital's room. “ How did I get here? ” I'd wondered until I heard that voice right beside me. “ Are you awake? ” I nodded, staring at him and for the very first time I was able to notice his features. Tall, dark brown curly hair, well defined jaws and gray eyes. He was handsome, there was no doubt of that. I didn't know I'd been staring at him for too long until he made an awkward cough.
“ Would you like a glass of water? ” I nodded, feeling dehydrated.
He reached out to the nearby table and poured me a glass of water from the transparent glass kettle. “ Here. ” I sat up slowly and received the glass gracefully. The water was lukewarm, exactly the way I like it.
A middle aged female doctor walked in later on and gave me my diagnosis – Peptic Ulcer. My heart had sinked at the realization.
The orphanage was sued as a result, as the investigation proved I'd not been well taken care of. The case was settled later on and they started treating me better after.
From that very day of our meeting, Joseph and I became friends. He came around to my class everyday to check up on me and often offered to pay for my lunch, which I refused at first as I wasn't used to freebies. But as time went on with his persistence, I relented and soon we became very close friends and then best friends.
It was then I realized the reality of the whole thing. I'd never thought being best friends with the student's president was a big deal until the girls turned against me as they believed I'd snatched their guy. I always wondered how that was possible since Joseph had told me he was single, but you never know.
Nevertheless, I paid little or no attention to them or the false rumors they spread around.
Months into our friendship, I started gaining insights into Joseph's life. How his parents divorced at his early age of 7 and how he was left alone with his Nanny. He wasn't abandoned completely, as he received a monthly allowance from his Dad who also paid his fees and the house he lived in belonged to him too.
I believe the similarities in our experiences brought us closer, though he wasn't completely abandoned as I was since he was brought up by a Nanny who loved him as her very own son.
As months wore on, I began to see Joseph as someone more than a best friend, I began to see him as a brother I never had and as a father figure, though he was too young to be one, but was more than matured to be seen as one. I believe the saying about pain making us stronger and matured, is true in his case as he was too mature for his age. Probably not a bad thing though.
As years rolled by, I'd already started to see myself as Joseph's girlfriend until he introduced me to Vera Lynn. His girlfriend.
I was happy for him, despite being heartbroken. Afterall, best friends are people who always want us to be happy even if it hurts them. This was until I accidentally stumbled on Vera Lynn and her friend's secret plot against him.
For days, weeks, I was lost not knowing what to do. Should I tell him? Should I not? I considered the pros and cons and decided not to, but to simply hope for the best. Who would have thought that not telling him would be worse than telling him.
I wished I'd known better, but it's much too late for regret, isn't it?
I guess so.
If one thing though, I'm not ready to lose my best friend and for that, I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get him back.
But how and where do I start from since the odds are against me? How?
.....
A/N : Interesting isn't it?
Take care, y'all
> * Nothing worthwhile in life comes easy. * **** ------ Mira ----- Taking a taxi from Joseph's street, I soon arrived at the orphanage. After paying for the fare, I stood for some minutes in front of the big building, recalling the first time I was brought there. “ Precious Kids. ” I remember staring at those words feeling broken and disheartened. As someone who was raised in a rich home with loving parents. I'd never thought that a day would come when I'll have to end up in a substandard hotel. Even as a young child, the realization that I had just moved from grace to grass, from privileged to underprivileged had hit me greatly. It would have been better if I hadn't tasted wealth than to end up this way. But well, I'd accepted my destiny after a really long time, haven't I? The noise in the building didn't surprise me as I navigated my way to my room. The girls were chatting as always. I was probably the only one who didn't have anyone to talk to there as they see me a
> * Everybody has a dream, but not everyone is willing to put in the hard work and discipline required to achieve their dreams. * **** ----- Joseph ----- It's always said, the betrayal of a friend hurts more than a stranger's as you are never prepared for it. To think my lifelong friendship with Miranda all came down to this moment that I finally saw her true colors. Over the past few days I've been in doubt, not wanting to believe she's really guilty. But now, seeing the evidence right in front of my eyes, it hurts. Despite the fact that I've got all this evidence, somewhere deep in my heart, I still believe Mira is innocent, but the question in my mind is how can she be? Recalling the pain and longing in her eyes, when I’d thrown her out earlier made my heart ache. I desperately want to believe she's innocent, but how can I? It would have been easy to say she's innocent, if she hadn't acted out of jealousy once. I desperately want to go to her and tell her I'm s
> * Do the right thing even when no one is watching. — Oprah Winfrey. * *** ----- Mira ------ It's been one week since I'd last heard from Jose. Though we've been in no contact for almost three weeks, it still feels different, especially after our last encounter. The memory of how he'd thrown me out of his room the other day still haunts me, though I knew he’d only done that because he was pissed. Yet, it didn't stop it from hurting. “ How could he? ” As much as I try to make excuses for him, it still doesn't change the fact that he'd hurt me. I've always heard that being sensitive and understanding is a bad thing, I'd never known how true that was until now. On one hand, I'm very well aware of how hurt he is by what happened, but yet it still doesn't give him the right to treat me the way he did. It doesn't. My alarm clock went off indicating the end of my ten minute break. I went back to my desk and plopped my butt on my study chair, as I opened my bi
> * You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. --- Steve jobs. * **** ----- Joseph ----- I sat on my bed after breakfast, feeling confused and lost. I'd thought my decision had been set and unchangeable until the conversation I had with Nanny. “ Am I really blinded by Vera's words, that I'm failing to see the truth? ” “ Am I paying more attention to logic than to my heart? ” ‘ Always listen to your heart, Jose. ’ Mira's words from two years ago rang in my mind, making me wonder if I'm really doing that. Am I really not listening to my heart? Is that why I've been way too confused? “ What should I do, Lord? ” I stared at the painting of Mira, I had hung on the wall with mixed thoughts. I desperately wanted to believe that Mira's innocent and Nanny's right. But how can I do that, when all odds are against her? Especially now that believing in her will mean betraying my girlfriend. “ I'll never hurt you, Jose. You know
> * If you live each day as if it were your last, then one day you most certainly will be right. * *** —Joseph — I arrived at the canteen in no time and found it crowded as usual - it was filled up with my school mates; chatting, gisting, laughing and eating. I covered my hair and half of my face with a hoodie, trying hard to go on unnoticed but failed. “ Isn't that Joseph Winfrey? ” I heard a girl say and all eyes Immediately turned on me. “ Yes, it's him. ” “ What do you think he's doing here? ” “ What do you think? ” “ Haven't you seen how depressed Vera Lynn had been ever since he was suspended. ” “ Oh… I wouldn't be surprised if he came here to see her. ” “ What do you expect? ” Ignoring the chatters around me, I walked into the canteen in search of Vera and soon found her at our usual spot. Vera Lynn, she lived up to the beauty of her name as she's an epitome of beauty. With straight brownish black long hair, well blossomed pink lips
>* You gotta find what you love. *****----- Joseph ------Vera was dressed in the school's uniform; light purple shirt, dark purple flay skirt, white pop socks and black flat shoes. Her long hair covered half of her face as she scrolled through her phone with her well manicured fingers. She didn't notice my presence even when I stood right beside her. “ Hey Babe. ” She looked up immediately, I didn't miss the beautiful smile that made its way to her lips the moment she saw me. “ Hey, Joe… ” She stood up and crashed into my embrace, hugging me tightly. “ I've missed you a lot. "Her words made my heart swell with wonder and pride. “ Me too. ” I replied, patting her hair.We remained in that position for minutes in silence until she spoke up, “ I've missed your presence greatly. ” I sighed, breaking the hug. “ Let's have a seat. ” I pulled her towards the chair and we both took a seat side by side. “ Have you ordered? ”“ Not yet, I was waiting for you. ” she said w
> * If dreams were easy, everyone would make it happen. * *** ------ Mira ------ Saturday, I headed to the restaurant earlier than usual today, since I now have less commitments. The sky was clear and beautiful. I'd always loved staring up at the sky as a child. An almost forgotten memory from my childhood flashed in my mind. I was 4 years old and popularly known as the Daddy's girl. It was on my birthday and we had a picnic at the beach. Though old enough to move around, I stay clung to my Dad like a koala. “ Dad, what are those little shiny things in the sky? ” “ They are called stars, Ira. ” “ What are stars? ” “ They are huge, glowing balls of gasses and each one of them is bigger than the earth. ” “ Really, Dad? ” “ Yes, Ira and you know what? ” “ What's it, Dad? ” “ There are about 200 billion trillion stars in the universe and God knows them all by name. ” “ Wow. ” I remembered the companionable silence that had reigned between us, before I spoke u
> * There's power in momentum. * **** ------ Mira ------ I rolled on my bed for the time being, not able to sleep despite being exhausted. Though it's been several hours since Felicia and I spoke, I couldn't stop pondering on her plan. Though it appeared perfect and flawless from a stranger's point of view, when I looked at it from a close range, I could see the many flaws in it. She'd asked me to appear defeated and deflated, as this way, Vera and her friends will be able to relent thinking they've won. Then, I'll use that opportunity to penetrate into their circle and sow discord among them. It seemed very simple and concise, but is it really? Definitely not. First because Vera isn't just a beauty, but a very intelligent, smart and cunning one, her friends were also the same. So why wouldn't they suspect if I started being friendly and docile towards them? They definitely aren't stupid. Because if they were, they wouldn't have succeeded in capturing the hea