Chapter 3 Dark Road

She bought something at the mall for her sister Shen. She granted the simple request of her younger sister.

"Are we going home? Shen asked.

She is already rubbing her eyes. Obviously drowsy and leaning against the back seat of the car.

"Yes little sissy," Jasmine smiled  as she answered.

She know her sister enjoyed the day. Then she fixed herself sitting on the driver's seat and turned the key to start the engine. It was just as the heavy downpour stopped. Jasmine was driving slowly. The road to their home was paved. Despite of the sharp lightning and loud thunder they left rather than to be get more delayed and  drive too late at night on the road. On that city it would take an hour and thirty-minutes to travel. They are an hour's drive from the city. It was only half past eight in the evening. From time to time she looks at her sister at the backseat. Shen was asleep covering her ears. Because it avoid hearing the thunder roaring. In a few minutes they will arrive. It was quiet around their sitio, There were few vehicles she meet along the way upon driving. She looking at both sides of the road. All she saw was the sugarcane plantation of Hacienda Andrea which is  owned by them and named after her stepmom. The sugarcane field is long before reaching the gate with the guard house up to the top of the hill where the mansion is. There was a large wood barrier blocking vehicles. Jasmine wonders because this is not their guard house yet. The road was the national high way that every vehicles passed on. It didn't have barrier when she and Shen passed that road on that same day morning.

'Why is there a barrier?' she's asking it to herself.

Jasmine got to stopped driving and peek out the window. The soldiers came out of the darkness and lit her up. She was frightened by the sudden appearance of the soldiers.

"Check point," said by one soldier who got closer on her window.

Even though she wasn't a bad person, she was still nervous. She wasn't used to be having soldiers blocking them to check on the cars.

"That's Gov.'s car," said by the other ine who peeped at her.

From behind it, Captain Jake appeared handling with bouquet of red roses.

"What the hell, you scared me!" Even though she was annoyed, she just laughed and shouted.

" Am I scary?" smiling reply to her.

"Huh! You've always surprised me since the first we've again."

"You too. Do I still look shocker." Jake was already laughing because he knew that Jasmine was holding back her shock.

"Flowers for you."

"You're so good at suprising, you're really here on the road to hand me a rose flowers. Where it's dark and you're still with battalions of soldiers."

She felt a little annoyed but thrilled and happy too. And even seemed like she wanted to pinch Jake because of the nervousness she was feeling.

"We're destined here so the next few nights we'll always be here for the check point. I missed you, you were the first one I went to the mansion earlier when we arrived here. But Aunt Andrea told to just call you."

Jake refers to his stepmom who was left in the mansion with the housemates. She remembered Jake's missed call that Shen seen earlier.

"Thank you for the flowers, that even made my chest throb again."

"Are you alone?" Jake asked.

"I was with Shen in the back of my driver's seat, asleep tired earlier on travel. Goodbye, I have to go."

Jasmine slowly closes the window of her Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. She shuddered at the young man's last glance at her. It was as if she still wanted her to stay long. But she can't any longer she was melting talking with Jake.

'Hmmm! But I need to leave. Jasmine stop being flirt' she scolded herself.

She gone away not further in the distance. At their first guard house she stopped and waiting while the guard is opening the gate. Her phone rang and Jake's number was there calling.

'Captain Jake Montalbe!' She reads the caller's name on the phone screen.

"Yes, Captain. Anything? I'll just go there."

"Can I follow you," it said softly.

"Oh! okay I'll be ahead and follow me to the mansion, aren't you in duty. Is it okay you'll be gone their at your post."

"I'll just look at you." Jake answered.

She smiled at what she heard. What she did not know was. Jake has been uneasy since the day they met. It also think of her and got even overjoyed upon knowing he would be assigned for the operation at Brgy. Kawayan. Jake knows the place well. It was there that he and Jasmine used to be classmates before their family moved to the city. At the time his father was also a soldier.

"Why would you do that," she answered.

Jasmine's car was going up the hill while Jake at the entrance on the first guard house.  The mandion was beautifully placed on top of the hill. It is surrounded by large street lights. Surrounding the lower front is a vast plain of five hundred hectares of sugarcane plantation. The government road will be next to it. Where they are stationed Jake plans to build govenment a base for soldiers  check point station.

"Mang Lito, please turn on the generator to turn on all the lights on the road up here to the mansion. I have a visitor coming to let you in as well. Please!" Jasmine ordere to one of their guard.

She's pointing to the generator that has a power supply to all the lights posted way up to the mansion.

Yes maam," the guard replied quickly.

She quickly entered the mansion's gate and picked up her sister who was still sound asleep.  She knew Jake would be coming in a few minutes. She looked at the mirror and  fix herself a little.

To look good and beautiful that's all she wanted when she face her visitor. Jake was already on his way up to the mansion. The young man was nervous. She seems to be overwhelmed by a beautiful beauty like Jasmine. He is brave when it comes to encounters but he is just coward when it comes to courtship. He has never been able to flirt even once. If she had ever been women before because they were the ones approaching the him. He doesn't have to flirt anymore he is like a grain of a rice that chicken liked to get close.

''What is up to, it is up to' he said it to himself.

While Jasmine was all prepared for Jake's coming. Though she fixed herself in a hurry but she did it well

'I dont think this is so necessary to a woman," she whispered too.

Jasmine hasn't been artistic since then so she knows she has nothing to worry about it. The gate was already open when Jake has arrived. She immediately saw it servicecar. She's standing at the terrace and waiting for her visitor to get off. It turned off the car's engine and peeked out the window and waved his hand to her. She hurriedly run downstair to meet Jake and introduce to her stepmom Andrea.