Las Cosas Series #1: Ashes From Our Past

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are all product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the permission of the author. Plagiarism is a SERIOUS crime! -- Authors Note: Expect for grammatical and typographical errors. This story contains mature contents. Be aware! I am open for critiques and constructive criticisms, but if you'll just "bash" my work, kindly keep your comment/s to yourself. You are very free to leave. That's all. Enjoy reading. Sonrisa! -D. Matilde READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! Prologo: After a giant fire, embers from it scatters all around but the memory from the traumatic fire doesn’t end there. Ashes are all over place, acting as an evidence of how the raging fire ate up everything. "Here comes number 13! Look at that strong gallops! He made his way out... and—" Naputol ang pagsasalita ng Emcee nang magsinghapan ang mga tao. "Lastis!" Sigaw ko at pabarag na napatayo sa upuan. Galing dito sa kinatatayuan ko ay kitang-kita ko ang pagbagsak ng kabayo ko sa race track. s**t! Ang rider nito na si Claudius ay tinulungan ng emergency team na naka stand-by. Parang may kung anong gumuho sa loob ko sabay ng pagbagsak ni Lastis. I knew that this isn't a good idea but papa pushed this through. He wanted Lastis to compete in this annual horse race dito sa Las Cosas. I told him about our stallion's condition but he was persistent. And look what happened. Just look how our horse proved him wrong. Agad akong tumakbo pababa sa bench, we are in an open stadium. Pinuntahan ko kung nasaan si Lastis and found a veterinarian aiding him. I stopped on tracks when I saw how unmoving my horse is. No... The race ended and so does my horse's life. Lastis died in this race, he did the best he could but his body couldn't fight anymore. 'Rest and run in peace, Lastis.' I grieved after knowing that they can't revive Lastis anymore. Bago itong trahedya ngayon ay namatay din ang isa pa naming kabayo. Lastis' death brought me doom. A back to back death of our horses. And I bet I will receive a scold from my father. Ipapamukha na naman nito sa akin kung gaano siya ka dismaya sa akin--how damn of a disapointment I am. How can I be a failure? Wala na yata akong nagawang tama. Will I ever do something good in this lifetime? I bet not. Mga lalaki kadalasan ang nagdadala ng rancho, mga lalaki rin kadalasan ang narito sa karera at ako lang ang babae dito sa hanay namin ng mga may-ari. It didn't waver me though, I even got to make acquaintance with some of them. May-ari ng mga rancho ang ilan sa kanila dito sa Las Cosas ang iba'y taga ibang bayan pa. Good thing is that they didn't belittle me because of my gender. It is unusual here in Las Cosas for a woman at my age to handle a ranch dahil nasanay na ang mga tao na mga matatandang don ang uma-attend ng karera at nangangalaga ng rancho. I'm here to break the norm. I graduated with a course of Business Administration and ended up being a manager of our own ranch here in Las Cosas. My father wouldn't entrust me with our businesses other than the ranch dahil nga raw baka "pumalya" na naman ako at ako pa ang magpapabagsak ng kompanya niya. I didn't complain. Alam ko naman kung hanggang saan lang ang kaya ko and I don't think I can bare facing my father's rage when I drag his company and reputation through the mud. He'll just hate me more. Oh how I wish he's warm to me like how a father should be to his child. Maybe I'm just so unfortunate.