Freedom | Chaelisa

" So it starts "

Lalisa Marco Bruschweiler is a 17 years old highschool student living in San Francisco. She is the only daughter of one of city's top chef Marco Bruschweiler. Her father had raised her single handedly in the absence of her mother and given all the love and care in the world. Lisa only has a single photo of her mother who apparently left her when she was born, according to her father.

She often had questions about her mother but seeing the grief in her father's eyes, she stopped asking about her eventually. Even though her father was both her father and mother and she also never felt like she was lacking anything but seeing other kids with their Moms and of course the childhood taunts of her mother leaving because she was born, often made her think why she left?

Now that she's in highschool, she's living a perfect life; loving dad, nice friends, great academic and athletic record. She's still not sure what she she wants to be when she grows up, and she honestly wants someone to make a decision for her, as she doesn't think much about it anyway but her father told her to always remember one thing :

"You have a freedom to choose, to be whoever you want to be, not many people get this opportunity, don't let it go to waste ... follow your dreams, don't let no one tell you otherwise "

She still doesn't get why her father emphasizes on this so much, but she hopes she'll be able to understand him one day.

Other than that there seems to be a void in her seemingly perfect life and that is a certain abstract noun everyone has felt except her " love " She considers it as waste of time and non-real phenomenon. And on account of these beliefs she hasn't dated anyone in her 17 years of being alive on Earth despite of her vast popularity.

Her unchanging, monotonous life however took a drastic change one day, after her father received a phone call.

"So you're saying we're gonna visit my grandfather? " Lisa asked with a raised brow and confusion spread on her face.

She was sitting on a couch opposite to her father and the atmosphere was filled with confusion and questions.

"I'm also quite shocked myself....but hearing his voice after all these years, I just want to fulfill his last wish " Mr Marco said with a smile, his brows arched upward, looking at his daughter for a response.

Apparently, Mr Marco had received a phone call from his father after 15 years.

"If you say so Dad...I mean you never talked about your side of family and your native place and all of a sudden we are going there" She asked while running her hands through her silky blond hair " It's all a bit too sudden..."

Lisa's father looked at his daughter with guilt filled eyes, not knowing what to say at the moment.

"There's a reason I haven't told you about that place and I thought it was better that way...but the situation has changed now" Mr Marco continued with a lump in his throat and his eyes damp with tears "I'll tell you everything when the right time comes... but for now we have to hurry, he doesn't have much time left  and wants to at least meet his granddaughter.... I could feel the sadness and remorse in his voice..."

It was the first time Lisa had seen her strong father get so emotionally unstable, she felt her heart tighten seeing him in this state.

"I understand, Dad" she said with an understanding look and got up to hug him. Both the father and daughter stayed in the emotional hug for a while.

The same evening they were now on their way to a place Lisa knew nothing about, a place she never knew would become so dear to her and the same place she would come to hate in the end.