Tears Of Cinderella

Chapter 26: Another Once Upon a Time...

Steffanie adjusted her eye glasses. Hindi na kasi niya gaanong maaninaw ang kanyang pinipinta. She was currently in the veranda of her home in Frontera, trying to paint the beauty of the indigo sky during sunset.

All throughout these five years, painting pa rin ang naging ang stress reliever niya. Somehow, the paints and colors gave her a sense of peace and serenity. 

Ibinaba na niya ang hawak na paint brush. Maggagabi na. Tapos na ang takip-silim. Tapos na rin ang painting session niya ngayong araw.

Iniligpit na niya ang kanyang mga gamit. Hindi na niya kasi gustong maabutan pa ng dilim. Her eye sight had gone worse. Sa gabi'y kailangan na niyang magsuot ng salamin para ganap na makakakita. Napabuntong hininga siya. Ilang taon na lang ang bibilingin bago ganap na siyang mabubulag.

Her disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa, had taken a toll to her eyesight all throughout these past years. Lalo lamang itong lumala. Sunubukan niya itong ipagamot pero pare-pareho lamang ang sinasabi ng mga dokor. They all said that her disease was currently incurable. Walang pang naiimbento ang modernong medisina para tuluyang gumaling siya. All they have right now were meds that could delay its effects. But it was just delaying the inevitable. Sooner or later, the darkness will soon consume her world. Kaya ngayon pa lang ay todo-todo na siya kung magbanat ng buto. She's paving the future of her little girl.

She may be the hottest supermodel these days, but she knew it wouldn't last. The limelight was such a delicate spot, one false move and you will be booted out. Magkaganoon man, she needed to make the best out of it. She needed to strike while the iron was still hot.

Nag-inat siya. She felt so stiff.

She could hardly get a day off these days. Palagi na lamang siyang nasa trabaho. Kung wala siya sa fashion show, nasa pictorial naman siya. It was really tiring, pero sabi nga niya, she needed this job.

She looked at the large collection of magazines in her room. Puro mukha niya ang naroroon. From the front cover, to feature story, to ads, to fashion editorials; lahat iyon ay napagdaanan na niya. In fact, ELITE magazine dubbed her as the supermodel of the year.

She suddenly felt so proud to her achievements. Who knew that the timid girl from once-upon a time will be the world's highest paid supermodel? Ni kahit siya ay hindi naisip na magaganap ito sa buhay niya.

Naalala pa niya ang mga pangyayaring nagtulak sa kaniya para marating ang kinatatayuan niya ngayon. That night when Gareth left her, she sought help from Valerie. Hindi niya alam noon kung anong gagawin. She tried contacting Sofia but she was always out of reached. Alam na niya ngayon kung bakit. May sariling pinagdadaanan pala ang kaibigan.

Valerie gave her a shoulder to cry on, a roof to shelter her and food to nourish her. Kailangang-kailangan niya iyon noon para maging safe ang ipinagdadalang anak.

She became her assistant at her shop. But after only a month's stay, napansin niyang bumaba ang sales ni Valerie. Nalaman na lang niya noon na si Gareth pala ang humahadlang para makabenta sila. Apparently, someone from the grapevine said that the Prince was spreading harmful rumours about the shop.

Galit-galit siya noon. Hindi lamang kasi ito ang unang pangingialam nito. Nagsimula ito nang hindi siya nakapagmartsa sa graduation niya sa University of Pendragon. For some unknown reasons, the guards wouldn't let her in. Pero alam niya kung sino ang nasa likod ng mga bagay na iyon. It doesn't need for a person to be smart para malaman iyon. But the good thing was, nakuha pa rin niya ang Diploma at Transcript of Records niya.

So with that, nagpaalam na siya kay Valerie. Hindi niya sinabi kung bakit. She wouldn't want her friend to hate her lalo na't siya ang dahilan ng pagkalugi nito.