In Love With You

Chapter 103

 All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart...

Marianne went to Yangmei the next day with Jason...  Michael knew something was wrong but he respected her decision to be alone for a while and supported her when she asked to solve her problem her own way for now...

For the week that followed, Jason took Sarah to some scenic spots within the city for her compositions since it was still winter and although it did not snow where they were, the weather was icy cold and Jason feared for her health...  Jason observed intently how she worked with her cameras with ease and professionalism that he wondered about the outcome of the pictures captured in it...  By the time she finished, she was shivering and Jason took her to one of the pavilions massaging both her shoulders and arms until she was warm enough...

Jason :  Do you want coffee?

Sarah :  Uh-uh...  (Shaking her head...)  Bad for the heart...  But I will not refuse a nice glass of juice...  (Giving Jason a smile that warmed his heart...)

When Jason returned with his coffee and her juice, he found her tinkering with her camera changing the film inside...  He did not approach her immediately and while he observed her, she stood taking one of the antique chairs to position and standing at an angle, focused her camera and... ~click~...  She took another position and again... ~click~...

Jason :  Hey!!!  (Handing her the juice...)  How could you find beauty in an old empty chair?

Sarah :  (Laughing at his observation...)  I am not taking the picture of the chair itself but I'm trying to capture the story that went with that chair...  That's the beauty of the camera...  Did you know that it was Ate Ally who inspired me to take up photography?  Before, I thought taking pictures was just capturing images that you like but when I saw her movie for the first time, I even cried in a scene where it was suppose to be funny...  It would be hard for people around her to discern what's truly hidden in those eyes because they were not with her when she was growing up and they had not seen just how much she had suffered but the camera couldn't hide it...  She would not admit because she buried it with hatred deep inside her heart but the camera captured all of them...  Her pain, her anger and her longing for her mom who abandoned her...  It was fascinating how the camera had revealed what she had hidden all these years...  She supported me and even bought this for me...  (Showing him her Nikon camera... Then taking out the digital camera from her bag...)  And this was a gift from Kuya David for the wonderful pictures of Ate Ally I took for him...  He even used some of my pictures in the cover of his latest album...  I even got paid for it...  $400.00...  (She was proud of it and Jason could somehow feel it and was proud of her too...)

Jason :  Sarah, did your mom ever tell you what happened to Ally's mother?

Sarah :  No...  why do you ask?

Jason :  I'm just curious...  Seemed impossible that Ally doesn't even know what her mom looked like...

Sarah :  As far as I could remember, we never mentioned anything about her mom while we were growing up...  I think my uncle or is it Abuelo who burned all her pictures because he couldn't stand what his only son was doing to himself...

Jason :  You mean he waited for her?

Sarah :  Well, he must have...  But I'm sure even in his last hour he never did forget about her...  I used to be with Ate Ally in the hospital to watch over uncle...  Once, when he thought we were asleep, I heard him say "You are so like your mother, my Anya...  My princess..."  I thought Uncle was dreaming because I heard another name but later on, I found out that he called her Anya only when they are alone...