3. I Hope So

-Lucy's POV-

I caught the air of my lungs. Are my eyes deceiving me?  I covered my mouth in disbelief. Oh my God! Scars. Too many of them. Who the hell are you? I could feel my whole body trembling. I couldn't control it. I have never felt so weak my entire life. He shouted at me "Common Miss! Come and join me! Don't miss the fun! It's almost dark!" With all the scars on his back, how could this man still put on a smile? I felt numb all over. If the situation my family broke my heart, this man made me feel more than that. Tears were filling up the sides of my eyes once again and without knowing it I was already crying. I'm such a cry baby! Then, I felt a brush on my cheeks and when I looked up, it was Mr. Wise Man. "Don't feel sorry." he whispered. "I don't want to see any lady crying. It reminds me of my mother. It reminds me of how she cried when I was younger. I don't want to cause you any pain. I just want you to see what you are missing." He slowly walked away, but then I called out to catch his attention. I caught up with him touching his back "Wa-wait!" I was taken aback for I could feel every carved scar on his back. When I realized what I was touching I immediately removed it from where it was lying. "I-I.." He faced me again. "Don’t! Don’t pity me. I didn’t show you my scars to pity me. I showed it to you to make you see your worth and not think irrationally if things don’t go your way. I don’t have any idea of what you are going through, but I want to make you realize that there is more to life than what you see of it for now.” It started to drizzle. This fine young man has deep dark brown eyes that can drown you if you don't look away. His prominent jaw line spoke of dominion that can catch anybody's attention. Adonis is that you? I was in trance when I heard him say “Well, the sky is getting dark and it might rain really hard. I think it is time for you to go home now. I wish you good day, Miss." He turned and left. I turned to go home, but I couldn't seem to understand the words my heart conveys. The cold atmosphere was emphasized by the heavy rain. I was about to enter the house when I turned to see where Mr. Wise Man was. I couldn't help but admire him for he was strong enough to face his endeavors and just like that I ran back to him, to the man who literally saved my life "Mr. Wise Man!!" I shouted. Astonished he went back his track to meet me in the middle and asked with worried eyes "What are you doing? Are you really trying to get yourself killed? You might catch colds you should go home." He truly was worried. It was all over his face. Without a word I embraced him "Help me, please." I sobbed right in his arms as he embraced me back and not just that...IT FELT LIKE HOME.

I went inside the house with heavy feet. I didn't wish this moment to end. My moment with Mr. Wise Man. I watched him walk away from the windowpane until he was out of my sight. I sighed sadly. Will I see you again?  Will you stay true to your promise that you will come back for me? I hope so. I turned and looked around the house. It was quiet. I am back to reality. What happened to me today with Mr. Wise Man seemed like a dream, a fantasy out from a Mangga Magazine.  Since my parent’s divorce everything changed. My dad has a family of his own and my mother has turned into a complete mess. She started drinking and has been dating different men and to top it all I still have two younger siblings to take care of. I was in range when I got back home this morning seeing my mother got beaten by her so-called boyfriend. I got so mad by what has become of her that I wasn’t able to control myself and slapped her on the face. Now, I feel guilty of what I did even though I know at that moment it was the right thing to do to make her wake up and see what she is doing to herself. I was drowned by my thoughts until I heard my mother's voice. "Lucy? Oh my god! Where have you been? I was so worried about you." She hurriedly came to me and hugged me tight as if her life depended on it. "I am so sorry. I am so sorry for giving you pain. I-I didn't mean to. I got so invested with my own pain that I became selfish. I became weak.” I pulled away from the hug, “Today, I met a man who saved my life, mom.” I started, “To be honest I wanted to lose myself. I literally tried to commit suicide and just screw it all. I became like you, I became weak. I became invested with my anger, but this man stopped me from doing so. He made me realize that there is more to life than what I see of it for now. I also wanted to make you see that mom, that’s why I slapped you on the face. However, even though I thought that was the right thing to do, it was still wrong. You are my mother, and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.” My mother covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes and hugged me again. “No,no,no, dear. You have not done anything wrong. I am the one who is at fault. Like you said I am your mother. I should be the one responsible for everything, not you. You have done nothing but save my ass, you know. After what happened awhile ago, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a disgraceful woman. Lucy, I will not promise because I suck at it, but I will do my best to turn things around. I’m not saying that I’m going to become the best mother in the world, but I will act as one. Please give a chance to do so.”  I hugged her tightly and closed my eyes. “How can I not? We missed you mom. Lucas and Lacey have also been yearning for you. We all have.” My mother was nodding slowly “I know dear, I know.” All the pain inside my heart, all the doubts and fears just washed away. The face of Mr. Wise Man came to mind. Thank you, Mr. Wise Man. Thank you.