Outside an extravagant looking bungalow in the province. Julia stood quietly. After years of being separated, she's finally going to see her again.
Julia opened the door and stepped in, once inside she was greeted by the few household maids
"Where she is?" Julia asked
"She's in her bedroom Miss Julia" one of the maids answered
Julia thanked her and went ahead to the bedroom. Once there, she knocked and gently opened the door
She went in and saw Brenda busily writing on her desk
"Brenda..."
Brenda looked up and saw Julia standing by the doorway. She placed down her pen and spoke, "What are you doing back here?"
"I came back for you" was all Julia could say
Brenda stood and faced the window, "Why? You have nothing to gain by going back here" she said coldly, "I'm grateful that you stayed with me during my mental rehabilitation but when I got better, I told you to leave so you can finally be free to choose a life you want to live, away from me"
Julia stood silently. She could see the guilt still heavily hanging on Brenda's shoulders.
What happened to her back then was unfortunate. Brenda was young and was used to the life of wealth and leisure. She got every material thing she wanted but never got what she needed, the feeling of being loved. Then a young man came into her life and turned everything around.
An obsession happened that was blown into a mental breakdown. In her moments of insanity, she sought revenge for the wrong reasons.
"I hurt a lot of people. They saw me as a friend and I played with that, abusing the trust they gave me. I'm a worthless human being" Brenda said, head bowed in self-pity
"That's not true. You're not worthless" Julia defended, "Yes, you made bad mistakes in the past but you've changed Brenda. You're a good person now"
Brenda turned to Julia, "I shot you and I almost killed someone Julia! How does that make me a good person!?" she questioned, slamming her fists on the window sill
Julia quickly went to Brenda and held her hand, "You've been making up for your mistakes for the past five years. You're trying to be better. You are a better now."
Brenda started crying as she looked at Julia's eyes filled with understanding and no trace of blame whatsoever
"How could you still care for me after what happened? You're like a prisoner when you were with me"
Julia sighed, "At first I was with you out of deep familial debt. Your parents helped my family out of poverty, providing my parents with jobs that sustained our daily needs. When my parents died in that fire, I had nowhere to go and your parents took me in, provided me with shelter and education as long as I worked for them then I met you"
Tears continuously stained Brenda's cheeks as she listened on
"We became best friends and despite the fact that I'm your personal caretaker, you treated me equally. I could have left anytime I wanted to but I didn't" Julia said as she cupped Brenda's cheeks and wiped away her tears, "I stayed because I fell in love with you"
Julia gently let go of Brenda and stepped back, "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
Brenda turned away. It's true, she had always known about Julia's feelings for her but she also knew well that she could never return them.
"You know that I couldn't return your feelings even if I wanted to" Brenda said frankly
"I know."
"Then why did you come back?"
"You said you wanted me to live a life that I wanted. While I was away, I realized that the life I wanted to live is right next to you" Julia said with confidence, "Even if you don't return my feelings, I don't care. All I want to do is to be with you"
Brenda's heart was touched ever so deeply. Admittedly, telling Julia to leave was the hardest thing she had to do. With all the things that happened to her, losing all her friends, her parents cutting all contact with her during her rehabilitation until now and learning to stand on her own two feet and provide for herself. Julia was a precious bright spot, the only good thing that remained in her life.
"Okay" Brenda simply answered, she couldn't deny herself from happiness anymore, and Julia was that, her happiness.
Julia was a bit surprised at Brenda's simple reply, "Okay?"
Brenda nodded and embraced Julia as tight as she could while Julia held her closely, gently stroking her hair
"Thank you Julia" Brenda whispered and smiled, "For always being there for me"
Julia smiled filled with content and bliss as she closed her eyes and held the woman she loved in her arms.