Library

Maghanap

Home / Romance Maikling Kwento / Yearning For A Home / Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Lahat ng Kabanata ng Yearning For A Home: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

Chapter 1

Children's quarrels flare up quickly—and fade just as fast.The two girls who had been fighting ran off laughing and shoving each other, with the other child's father following behind.Only Samantha remained, standing where she was, quietly watching me.Her gaze wasn't intense, but it wasn't calm either."How have you been all these years?" she asked.I treated her the same way I did every other parent and gave a polite nod."Teaching is demanding, but the students are fairly well-behaved.""Lisa's mom," I continued, "you should talk with Lisa more at home. She admitted her mistake this time, but if she hits someone again, the other parents won't let it go so easily."Her throat moved as she swallowed, then she suddenly changed the subject."I mean… these past years, have you ever—""Mom!"Instinctively, I stepped back. Lisa's voice came from the far end of the hallway."Come on! Let's go home! Dad will be unhappy if we're late!"The hand Samantha had raised stopped in mida

Chapter 2

As the noise of students leaving school rose from the playground, I was suddenly reminded of the first time I met Samantha in my sophomore year of high school. It, too, was because of a fight.I had punched my deskmate for calling me a bastard. She had beaten up the PE rep for calling her a jinx.Two stubborn people who refused to admit fault—and had no parents to call—were made to stand together beneath the flagpole, on display before the entire school.Amid the principal's scolding, she noticed the cotton stuffed into my bleeding nose and the cut on my index finger from shattered glass.Her dark eyes narrowed. "You lost the fight?"I raised a brow. "I skipped breakfast this morning. Next time, I'll beat him until he begs."She paused, then said lightly, "Next time you fight, come find me. I'll make sure you win."Thomas lifted his hand."Hold on. You fought because your deskmate ran his mouth. Why did she fight?"I rubbed the scar on my finger, my gaze sliding down past the

Chapter 3

But just when Samantha and I had finally saved enough money for studying abroad, fate played a cruel joke on us.Samantha's mother took a sudden turn for the worse and was admitted to the ICU.Every cent we had saved went straight into her treatment. We borrowed heavily from others, but it still wasn't enough. Her condition kept fluctuating. Samantha stayed by the ICU doors day and night, unable to leave.I skipped all my classes and worked from morning till night, sleeping only three hours a day. Every dollar I earned went straight to her.During that time, neither of us had the energy to talk about the future. Our text messages were filled with nothing but critical condition notices from the hospital and my daily transfer records.The future felt too distant. The present alone was already exhausting.Fortunately, the heavens did not push us too far. Before the final list was confirmed, her mother's condition stabilized.Six months of unbearable tension suddenly loosened.She

Chapter 4

Samantha's mother and I still had to live. We had rent to pay and medicine to buy.The only way was to work day and night, then sleep through classes to make up for it.Thomas frowned again."That's her mother. Why are you the one taking care of her, buying medicine, and earning money to support her?"She goes to Abrerica and just enjoys herself? No job, no income, and she doesn't give you a cent?"I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I answered softly, "Yeah."When she first went abroad, she called me every day, sighing about how expensive everything was, how she couldn't find a job, how she never had enough to eat.Zane complained too, saying life there was nothing like home—that even our days in the orphanage had been better than studying abroad.I felt sorry for them. I squeezed money out of my own teeth and transferred it to them, supporting their living expenses.Later, the calls grew fewer and fewer. After half a year, they only took the money and no longer repli

Chapter 5

Samantha snapped her head up. Her lips were pressed tight, her eyes so dark they looked like black holes.I knew her well. She had grown up poor, and whenever money was involved, she carried a deep sense of inferiority.During those years in university, every time she saw the relatives and neighbors who had lent her money, she humbled herself to the dust.And for all these years, she and her mother had lived almost entirely on what I earned."Adam, I used your money. I wronged you," she said. "How do you want me to make it up to you? Is this life enough?"With that, she pulled a folding fruit knife from her backpack.Without hesitation, she drove it into her lower abdomen.Blood burst out in a horrifying spray. Zane screamed and shouted for an ambulance.The people around us panicked, and chaos erupted.I stood there in a daze, my vision flooded with red.The woman I had loved through my entire youth held her wound with one hand and reached up with the other to touch Zane's f

Chapter 6

Thomas immediately put on a smile, greeted her, and returned to his desk.I offered a faint smile of my own."Lisa's mother, is something wrong with Lisa?"She didn't come inside. Instead, she took out a slim, narrow box from her pocket and held it out to me against the light."Adam, this is for you."Thomas froze for a moment, looking from me to her, then at the small box.I didn't take it.The words scar removal on the package were strikingly clear. Something bought by an entrepreneur like her was bound to be expensive.But I no longer needed it."Thank you, but school policy forbids us from accepting gifts from parents. I'm sorry," I said politely.She ignored that and walked over, forcing the box into my hand.Our fingers brushed. I pulled back at once, and the ointment fell to the floor.She picked it up and tried to press it into my hand again."This works very well. Even if it can't remove the scars completely, it can still—"I stepped aside and explained calmly, "

Chapter 7

"Where is the homeroom teacher of Class Three? Come out here! Why did you make my daughter stand as punishment? She already said she was sorry—why won't you let her go!"By that hour, most of the students had already left, but the teachers were still in their offices.I didn't stop writing. Only after I finished the last word did I stand up and answer, "Lisa's father, I am the homeroom teacher of Class Three."Zane stormed toward me in fury, but the moment he saw my face, all the color drained from his own.Ten years had passed, and he had grown much heavier.Back when we were in the orphanage, food came in fixed portions. If you wanted to be full, you had to fight for it.He had been small and thin, often unable to compete with the bigger kids. So I would grab him and run, snatch food, and stuff it into his mouth first—only after he said he couldn't eat anymore would I put any in mine.Even when he went abroad, he was still skinny, standing beside Samantha like a pitiful little

Chapter 8

Samantha's gaze was cold—just like it had been that spring ten years ago."Zane," she said, "I warned you. If you dared to come and cause trouble for Adam, I would not let you off."His face drained of color, inch by inch.But that wasn't enough for me.I narrowed my eyes, grabbed his collar, and slapped him hard across the face."I'll return those words to you," I said. "If I'd known you would covet another man's girlfriend, I never should have taken care of you when we were kids. I should've let you starve in the orphanage and ended it there."Once again, the one taken away by the police was me.Because of that slap. Because I was a teacher, and Zane was a student's parent—a parent who had even contributed to the school, someone no one dared offend.A teacher who had tried to dissuade me sighed."We teachers are, in the end, just in the service industry. You worked so hard to get a permanent position—why destroy your own future?"I said nothing. But on the way to the police

Chapter 9

People really do change."I'm sorry… we're going through the divorce procedure, and Zane hasn't been very stable lately…"Before Samantha could finish, she flicked away her cigarette and crushed it underfoot."Where are you living now? It's late. I'll take you home."I shook my head. "No need. I don't want any connection with you ever again."She fell silent.After a long while, when the wind picked up, she spoke softly, "My mom wants to see you."Samantha's mother did not live with their family of three.After marriage, Zane and Samantha's mother had developed deep conflicts. For the sake of her own household, Samantha bought her mother a separate villa.She then hired several caregivers and medical staff, telling outsiders it was a special medical team arranged for her mother's illness.When we arrived, weeds had grown wild in the courtyard. From inside came the old woman's loud, furious curses."Get away from me! Don't touch me! You're all bastards trying to dig out my he

Chapter 10

I brought Samantha's mom back to my little rented apartment.Samantha had insisted that her mom and I stay in the villa, but I refused. My debts weren't cleared, I didn't have the money for a house, and this tiny apartment had only one bed—no fancy medical equipment or luxuries. Yet, when Mom stepped inside, she looked around and, finally satisfied, sat on the edge of the bed with a smile."This is perfect. I can sleep with Adam again."I turned off the lights and, just like ten years ago, curled up in her arms.She suddenly spoke, her tone half-teasing, half-serious."You know, I don't actually have Alzheimer's. I did it on purpose. I just couldn't accept how Samantha treated you. I wanted to make her and Zane suffer a little."Exhausted, I mumbled, half-asleep, "I know.""How do you know?""We've lived together for so many years. I know what you're thinking."Before sleep claimed me, she patted my back gently."Adam, sleep well. Tomorrow morning, I'll fry you an egg. Yo

I-scan ang code para mabasa sa App

DMCA.com Protection Status