JA woke up from a deep sleep. And when she opened her eyes, she saw her brother sitting on her bed, intently looking at her.
“Are you alright sweetie?”, Jareed asked.
“What happened boo?” she asked.
“You fainted, two hours ago and you were unconscious for five minutes. Nanny got panic so she called me. When I got home, you have already regained your consciousness. I asked you if you’re okay, you said you wanted to sleep, so I let you rest. Are you okay now sweetie?”, he asked.
JA just nodded. She quickly had a gaze at her wristwatch, and it was already 4:00 o’ clock in the afternoon. She tried to get up because she remembered she had a class.
“It’s okay sweetie, I already called Lester, that you cannot report to school today, because you’re not feeling well.”, Jareed said.
“Now, tell me, why you became restless? And why you fainted? Did you do the mental telepathy again?”, he asked more seriously this time.
“No, I did not do it boo. I don’t know why I fainted”, she averted her gaze.
Deep inside, she knew she was telling a lie to her brother. She had to do the “white lies” or else her brother would send her to South Korea. She could not tell him that her soul had traveled so far, just to read Zacky’s mind and get into his world. That would surely made her brother furious.
“Are you sure sweetie? If ever you are hiding something, it’s better to tell me now. You know me very well”, Jareed said with a rough voice.
“I am not hiding anything from you boo.”, she muttered.
For the first time, she was lying to her brother, and she was not feeling good. But she had to. She had her own reasons why she lied to him.
After few moments of conversation, Jareed went out of her room.
*************
JA tried to open her laptop because she wanted to start the first chapter of her story, but suddenly she had the “writer’s block” and she lost all her words. She had nothing to do but to shut down her lappy and she laid down in bed.
She was determined to make Zacky the male character of her story.
She was plotting the flow of the story in her mind, until the time where she and Zacky fell in love with each other.
There in the story, Zacky was deeply in love with her and care for her so much. And she felt the same too for Zacky.
She opened her Facebook messenger and read Zacky’s message asking her if she was alright. She also opened the reading platform and read there Zacky’s message asking her the same question.
She felt a sudden spark deep inside her heart especially when she called her ‘dear’ in both messenger and that reading platform. She didn’t understand why, but she felt like she was already falling for him. She suddenly missed him.
She set aside her thoughts and went to her music room to have some music therapy. She was singing the piece of her soul “One Day in Your Life”. But as she was singing, she was thinking of the man in her dreams and Zacky.
***********
Another conversation in messenger with Zacky. They were just chatting each other, no audio call and video call. So it means, they really don’t know each other’s faces and it’s other real voices.
“How are you dear?”, Zacky asked.
JA just answered it casually, but her heart was already beating so fast.
As their conversation went on, she mentioned to him, that she was falling for the character of her story, and that’s him.
“Don’t fall for me. I can only give you nothing but pains. I have this darkest side of me, and you will end up hurting”, he said.
“I will soon disappear, and it will only hurt you”, he added.
She was hurt with what he said. But she just told him that she’s not falling for him, but for the character of her story.
After some time, Zacky asked her.
“Did you eat something?”
JA, said ‘no’ because she really did not eat anything because she lost her appetite.
Suddenly, Zacky became angry, and started to be rude and arrogant.
“It’s time to wake up from your illusions Miss, because I don’t really exist.”
“ I can’t be what you want me to be, because I am not a man”.
Upon reading those messages, JA felt so much pain in her heart. She felt like she was being stabbed by a knife a thousand times.
She was crying silently, as she typed her response to him.
“If you are a woman, then I am a man. I am the brother of your friend”,
Zacky’s reply:
“No, it’s you. Why you are pretending to be your brother?”,
“Because you are pretending too.” she said.
“I am not pretending, I am just telling you the truth that I am a girl, a lady, a woman. And it’s time for you to wake up from your illusions.”, Zacky responded.
JA, was still crying because it really hurt her. She was hurt because she was thinking Zacky as the man in her dreams, who love her so deeply and care for her so much. That’s why she made him the character of the story that she was planning to work on. But they were just illusions as what Zacky told her.
“No, you’re a man, because I once read your mind. Do you want me to read your mind again?” JA asked while tears kept flowing from her eyes.
Suddenly, the rude side of Zacky’s personality was gradually changing into a soft one.
“No, I won’t allow you to do that. It’s bad for your health. Please, promise me you will not do that. I don’t want you to suffer again. Dear, please…” Zacky said.
Zacky sent her plenty of messages, but she did not read them. She was deeply hurt and she cried so hard. She logged out her FB account and put her cellphone inside her bag.
************
It was already 2:30 in the afternoon, so JA had to prepare herself in going to work.
Although, she was not feeling good, but she had to go to school because the kids were waiting for her. She fixed herself and went downstairs.
“I have to go now Nanny, the kids are already waiting for me”, she said.
“Are you sure you won’t eat darling?”, Nanny asked.
She just frowned and bid goodbye to Nanny.
She was out of her mind while driving her car. She was still feeling hurt of what Zacky told her.
“What if she’s not a man?, Can’t she love me back?” And why she cares for me if she doesn’t have feelings for me? Why she pretended to be a man, when she’s not?”
Those thoughts kept on lingering her mind, until she arrived at Bannister Academy.
*********
Inside the classroom.
“Good afternoon teacher JA”, the kids greeted her.
“Good afternoon kids how are you?”, she asked.
“We are fine cher. But why are you so sad?”
“Why you have puffy eyes cher?”, asked Josh.
“Did you cry cher?”, asked Samantha.
“Did you and your boyfriend quarrel cher?”, Chris asked.
The kids were throwing her a lot of questions. She was thinking how to answer them when she was not really feeling good.
“Cher, you know what, Uncle Ace cried last time, when we went home after Chris’ party. He was holding his cellphone and looking at your picture there”, Josh said.
The kids were looking at one another and started giggling.
“Is Uncle Ace your boyfriend cher?”, Josh asked.
JA cleared her throat and started answering the kids’ questions.
“I am not feeling well kids. And I don’t have boyfriend. Josh’s uncle is not my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”
The kids looked at her.
“But we don’t want you to be sad cher. So smile!”, the kids in chorus.
JA smiled upon looking at her cute and adorable kids.
“Teacher is already smiling. You know cher, you look more pretty when you smile”, said Gillian.
The kids agreed.
“Okay, let’s now go to our lesson kids. And after that, I’m going to tell you a beautiful story”, she said.
The kids were clapping and very excited to listen to her story.
She looked at the kids and she felt a sense of happiness deep inside her heart. She couldn’t have imagined how these kids so suddenly attached to her, for just a short period of time. These kids before were suffering from depression, but since she became their teacher, they were already changing gradually. They laugh, play, joke around and talk one another. But anytime, they could be more vulnerable, and depression might happen again. So, they should be treated with utmost love and care by people around them especially their families.
*********
“Teacher, we’re done already with our lesson. So please tell us a story cher”, the kids in chorus.
JA had nothing to do since she promised the kids to tell them a story once they finished the lessons.
“Okay, are you ready to listen kids?”, she asked.
The kids answered all together.
“Yes, yes!”
They were clapping their hands and softly giggling in excitement.
“Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there lived a beautiful princess, named JA.”
The kids were looking at one another.
“The princess’ name is JA cher? You have the same name?” asked Chris.
JA just nodded, and the kids chuckled.
“Please continue cher…please…”, the kids pleaded.
“But princess JA had no friends because everyone doesn’t like her. So she was sad and lonely. She stayed in the palace all day long, and she had nothing to do but to stay in her room and sing her favorite song, “One Day in Your Life”. That’s the piece of her soul.
One day, a handsome prince came to pass by at the palace. He heard the princess’ lovely voice so, he paused for a while and listened to the song. It captivated his heart. So he wanted to meet the princess but he cannot easily enter the palace because there were plenty of guards.”
JA paused for a while. She smiled while looking at the kids who were so serious in listening to the story. She looked at her watch and it’s already 5:00 0’ clock in the afternoon.
‘Let’s continue the story next time kids because it’s already time and your parents are already waiting for you outside”, she said.
The kids were pouting their lips, as they looked at their teacher because they still wanted to hear more.
“Excuse me cher, the song that the princess was singing was “One Day In Your Life”? Is it the song that you sang with us on your first day here and on Chris’ birthday party”, Josh asked.
JA, just nodded and messed up Josh’s hair.
“Is the song, the piece of your soul cher?”, Chris asked.
“So…(the kids in chorus) You are the princess cher!”, they all shouted and clapped their hands.
“We wanted to hear more of the story cher..please..!”, Samantha said.
“Yes, sweetheart. Next time okay?”, she responded.
The kids hugged her and bid goodbye to her as they stepped out of the room.
She kept on smiling as she was looking at her kids. For the meantime, she forgot the pain she was feeling inside.
*********
At home…
JA was scrolling something to read on a certain reading platform, until she received a message from Zacky, asking her if she was alright. She did not respond.
Then another message.
“Dear, are you alright? At least give me a reply that you’re okay…Please.”
“Yes, I care for you, and it’s something that cannot be faked”
“Tell me that you’re alright and I won’t bother you anymore”.
JA was crying upon reading all those messages from Zacky. But she did not want to reply because she was still hurt. She turned off her cellphone and closed her eyes.
“I care for you, and it’s something that cannot be faked”.
These words kept repeating on her mind.