Femme Fatale

"That's what her magic. She could still see the sunset, even on those darkest days." - Atticus VERA With my cold hands and trembling feet, I bitterly roamed my eyes around the very busy streets of Manila. It's already nighttime, yet a little girl like me is still walking all alone in this broad city. This place was like a paradise to me before, but now, it has become the silent witness of my pitiful situation. The paradise I loved suddenly became a hellish world for me. Ironic, isn't it? As I took every step forward, I could clearly hear the grumbling of my stomach, but I decided to ignore it. Oh, I don't even remember when was the last time I ate. I just lose my appetite every time I think about all the bad things that are happening in my life right now. If only food could mend my aching heart, I would even drown myself into it. But no, nothing can replace what I lost. Nothing can complete the emptiness in me. Although born extremely rich, at a very young age, I had already experienced a lot of pain and struggles. My father passed away a year ago and earlier today the doctor just told me that my mother is already in heaven too. They left me all alone, helpless and lonely. The fact that I'm an only child and I don't even know if I still have any relatives or not, saddens me even more. My mind is completely clouded right now, and I don't really know where I'm heading to. And I just wanted an escape for a little while. No, scratch that, all I really wanted was to forget all this and bring back the old me. The old us. But I know I can't. I tried wiping away the tears falling from my already swollen round eyes. And as I took a step forward, suddenly my knees started wobbling, making me stumble on the ground. I cried harder. I know I'm strong, but I must admit that I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. After all, I am just a child. A child who has to force herself to be a little mature, at least. Why am I suffering all of this? Why did my parents leave me this early? Why did he rob the child of me at this young age? Those questions run through my mind like a broken record. I'm not usually like this. I usually see the brighter side to everything, but not until fate took away everything I have. Fate just robbed my chance of enjoying my childhood. I let go of long deep breaths just to calm my chaotic heart and mind. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. With all my might, I got up. Even though my heart is still breaking, for the ninth time I started wiping my tears and even managed to smile a little. I smiled even though it hurts. I smiled even though the pain was still killing me inside. I smiled despite the fact that there was no reason for me to smile. Nothing's left to me, even the most genuine smile I had before. I know that I was not raised by my parents as a weak girl. I was raised to become a strong and independent woman in the future. But no one ever told nor taught me how to bear the pain of losing my parents. It may take forever for me to heal and to fully recover, but I should overcome all of these. No matter how hard it is to find a reason to start again. No matter how hard it is to live with an aching heart and a broken soul. I know I can. I just have to bear the pain and believe that it will be over soon. It's foolish as it sounds, maybe, but I have to live every day in this endless nightmare. After all, I can only depend on myself starting from now on. It's heartbreaking to know that I am now an orphan. Life definitely doesn't give me a choice. Because I am Vera Paige Claudette, the only heiress who's meant to run what my parents left to me. A freaking multi-million clothing empire.