DealWithMr.Rafael

Ella Jane pouted when the prince charming suddenly disappeared from her sight. Just a moment ago, he was holding her hand. Even the flowers around her slowly faded away, along with their sweet scent.

What’s happening?

But then, the charming prince came back and held her hand again. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it.

“I thought you were going to leave me, Your Highness,” she said with a smile.

“I will never leave you,” the prince replied, which made her stomach flutter. This is the first time that someone promised to her like that.

“Pinky promise?”

“Pinky promise.”

But then his smile changed. The smile that made her heart race was gone; it was replaced with dripping blood from his lips. Everything happened so fast. The next thing she knew, he was biting her neck and the only thing she could do was to scream and ask for help.

“Hey, Ella Jane! Let go of my hand! What’s wrong with you? Are you a vampire now? You’re really crazy!”

She quickly sat up when she heard her mother yelling. She opened her eyes wide and looked around.

She let out a sigh. It was only a dream.

“Get up now, our barangay captain is looking for you,” her mother said.

She lay back down on the bed.

It was almost perfect—a prince, but why did he have to turn into a vampire?

“WHY me?” Ella Jane politely asked their Brgy. Captain, who was currently cleaning his glasses.

She wondered why he suddenly came to their house. At first, she thought she had done something wrong or she'd gotten into trouble. But she couldn’t remember anything like that.

She had been living in their barangay for twenty-six years and had never been involved in any problem. She rarely even joined community activities unless her presence was really needed. She was fine living quietly. She didn’t mind if people didn’t know her well. What mattered was, she was happy.

She turned back to Captain. He had already explained the reason why he came, but still his visit cut her dream.

“Why not?” the captain asked back as he put on his glasses again. He fixed his hair and sat properly. “You graduated in Education, right? What’s stopping you from using it?”

She pressed her lips tightly, trying not to speak. She didn’t want to remember anything about her college course. She regretted choosing it. She could have taken something else, why did it have to be Education? She doesn’t love this course, that’s the reason why. She doesn’t have any option left.

She shook her head and pressed her lips tighter.

“Huh?” Captain asked, surprised, taking off his glasses again. “Oh, sorry, Ella. I thought Education was really your course—”

“It really was, Captain.” She answered sadly and looked at her Mom. She doesn’t have any regrets that she chose to follow her Mom's suggestion, but it seems like she’s not happy anymore.

“Then why not accept my offer? I came to you because I thought you’d say yes,” he said, just as her mother entered the room carrying juice for him.

“Thanks, Mare,” Captain said.

Mare? So her mother and Captain were kumare at kumpare? Ella glanced at both of them, still smiling at each other. She shook her head again.

“She’ll accept it, Cap. I’m sure—”

“Mare, I want your daughter to decide for herself,” Captain interrupted after drinking the juice. “She’s the one who’ll work at the Day Care Center. She’ll face the children and not us. So, it’s better if she will be the one to decide.”

“Well, you’re right, Kap,” her mother agreed.

The captain looked at her. “So, Ella, will you accept it? We will pay you well. It can help with your family’s expenses.”

She looked down and answered, “I’ll think about it, Kap.”

The captain stood and shook her hand. “Alright, think about it well. Come to my house or in the Barangay Hall once you’ve decided. I’ll wait for you tomorrow. If you don’t come, then I’ll take it as a no, and I’ll just look for someone else.”

“Say yes, my child. The captain himself came to ask you. You can’t turn him down,” her mother said later.

If her heart were the one to decide, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to deal with anything related to her course. It had caused her too much pain already. She didn’t want more tears.

At least, little by little, she had walked away from her past. If she accepted the teaching job, it would feel like tying a rope around her own neck.

Since she was left alone, she promised herself to forget everything connected to Kenneth. She didn’t want to remember him, the man who cheated on her. The one who gave her a first heart break.

That’s why she was torn. Should she accept or refuse?

“Mama, I—”

“My child,” her mother called, sitting on her bed and combing her long hair with her fingers. “Don’t you think it’s time to let go?”

Let go? Time? Ella smiled bitterly.

It had been a long time since she tried to forget, but the pain still lingered. She wanted to let go, but if she took that job, it would bring everything back.

“If you want to move on, face the things you fear. Show him that none of it matters anymore. Show him you’re no longer hurting. You’ll never know until you try,” her mother said, then tied her hair and fixed the curtains by the window.

“I don’t think you’ve really moved on. You won’t even open your window to let the sunlight in,” her mother added.

“Mama, that doesn’t mean—”

“Think of our family too, Ella Jane. I’m the only one working for us now and I’m old. No one even asks me to do laundry anymore because they think I can’t. Don’t you think it’s time for you to help too?”

Maybe this was it. Maybe it was time. Maybe her mother was right.

She closed her eyes, and Kenneth’s face appeared. Even in the dark, she saw his smile. His lips moved, speaking words she couldn’t hear until suddenly, his voice grew loud and clear.

It was like music, those words of his. Music she didn’t want to hear again. Promises she wanted to bury forever.

She opened her eyes quickly. She wanted to avoid it all, but her mother was right. She had to face it, face everything she had avoided because of Kenneth. Only then could she move forward.

Early the next day, she got dressed. Her decision was final. She would face the path she once turned away from.

Two years was enough, two years of grieving and waiting for Kenneth to come back. She was done. Even if he comes back, she wouldn’t be fooled again. She was wiser now.

She fixed herself in front of the mirror and made a face. She would never fall for him again.

After getting ready, she hurried to the Barangay Hall. The captain was probably waiting.

But when she entered his office, she froze.

She saw their captain talking to a man smiling.

“Thank you, Cap. I won’t waste this chance to teach the kids in our barangay,” the man said.