CHAPTER ONE

Today's early evening was the time everyone expected to see the supposed partial solar eclipse. It was announced a week before, and today, I and Camil went to sit at our favorite location -- just in front of the Berelin River with our sun shades.

We stayed there until it was time. We watched how the moon blotted out half the sun's golden glare -- a grey, mild hue saturating the entire atmosphere. It was really beautiful and relieving. Quite the perfect moment for two love birds to sit and get loved up.

I had my head on his shoulder, throwing stones and having lovey dovey discussions for some time, while I prepared my mind to let out what I had discovered earlier. The rhythm finally changed when  the heavy words left my mouth.

"I'm pregnant."

I felt a worm-like rush within his body when l said that. I took a peek at his face. His eyes bulged out, and his body grew hot.

"What's the matter, Camil?" I asked.

"I -- I just never expected this," he said.

"Sure you didn't," I said. "I purposely kept it, though."

"Why?"

"I just felt, this could strike an assurance that we wouldn't leave each other," I said.

"That was a daft move, Olivia." He forcibly threw a stone into the river and got up. "You know we aren't prepared for this, we both know." He walked towards the river.

"Listen." I got up. "We could work things out. We could make a family, even if we don't have so much. I want to be stuck with you."

"You don't get the point, Olivia." He turned to me. "That baby you carry needs a comfortable life, which we are not yet ready to afford. I'm just a canteen boy that spends his whole day washing dishes, come on."

I felt his last words, but I was still stuck in my optimism. "So, what do you suggest we do about this?"

"I really don't know," he said, going ever nearer to the river bank. "I know you --"

We suddenly heard a deafening clap of thunder. It sounded like a large rock falling on a zinc sheet. Then the moon blotted the sun a bit more, dowsing the surrounding in partial darkness. I began to panic, my legs trembling.

"Hey," Camil called me from the river. "It's just an atmospheric reaction to the eclipse okay?"

I swallowed hard, still scared, but I forced calm upon myself.

"I think we should go home now," I said.

"When we aren't done here?" He said.

"We could finish up the discussion back home," I said.

"Chill, Olivia." He picked up a stone and threw into the river.

At that moment, things became quite serious. We saw a trail of lightning traveling within the darkening clouds, accompanied by a monstrous clap of thunder. It was getting ever darker, and we were loosing sight of each other. What was left was his apparition still stubbornly standing before the river. Rain began to fall.

"Let's go, now," I yelled.

"Okay, okay." He picked one last stone and threw it into the river. It was as though the stones were what aggravated the rage of the elements. A gust of wind blew against us, almost blowing me naked. The clouds got ever darker and heavier. Then the sounds of the thunder deepened into a growling sound. We saw the clouds drooping down and spiralling, lightning trailing. We couldn't see each other anymore.

"Camil -- Camil!" I called.

"Olivia, where are you?" He yelled.

Then we began to hear a heavy whoosh sound coming from afar, but approaching us with an enormous speed.

"Olivia, run. I'm coming after you."

Though I couldn't see him, but I hoped he was running too. I looked at what was coming, a swirling dark monster. I took to my heels, running into the woods that separated our residential area from the river. The tornado kept coming, like it was in search of me particularly.

"Olivia, run, run!" I heard his voice, until it got muffled by the sweeping sounds of the tornado, and I sensed something bad had happened.

I couldn't run too far, cause it was extremely fast. I hid behind one of the trees in the woods, hoping it would just pass by without hurting me. The tornado bent and uprooted trees, as  well as other items, swirling them in it's pool of darkness. I shut my eyes with my hands, expecting the worst.

Miraculously, I got home when everything had calmed. I got home without Camil. After that day, I always visited the river, calling his name and hoping he'd answer. I still had you in me while I visited the river, for months, until I finally birthed you, Frances.

Olivia looked down at Frances to see if she was sleeping. Frances laid her head on her mom's laps, in bed.

"Reason why you've refused to see another man?" Frances said. "You keep waiting for dad. What makes you think he'd come back?"

"I know he will baby. I know he's not dead," Olivia said.

"I hope so too," Frances said. "But I really need a father though."

Olivia paused for a few seconds. "Its late already. You have to sleep now, so you can meet up with time tomorrow. Mr. Yamato is very Stern with this, you know."

Frances yawned. "That bookshop is beginning to be a pain in my ass."

Olivia chuckled. "Good night baby." She got up and left.

Frances yawned. "Good night mom." She turned off the lamp and shut her eyes.

Frances worked as a salesclerk at the Soft View Bookstore, along Huxely Street, Boston. The bookstore was well known, not because it was a large establishment, but due to the style of book display ordered by Mr. Yamato -- nearly half of the books were displayed outside in a heavy show glass. This could be the most reason why each morning of a working day wore Frances out. She just hated everything about the book store.

She arrived a bit late at the bookstore. From the glass door, she could see Mr. Yamato handing a bundle of books to someone. She swallowed hard and got in.

"There she is," Mr. Yamato said. "Hope you slept well."

She heard a snigger and saw it was from the boy buying the books. He was quite good-looking, but she gave him a hard stare for his interference and sighed.

"Come package this properly," Mr. Yamato said.

"No, no, don't bother," the boy said, taking his backpack off his shoulders to put in the books. "I don't need more favours. Having these favourites is a bunch."

"And you're welcome," Mr. Yamato smiled at him. "See you some other time."

"Sure." He walked to where Frances stood. "Sorry for that," he whispered.

Frances still had her face straight. He smiled and walked out.

"What's he  going to do with that amount of books?" Frances said, walking towards the counter where Mr. Yamato stood.

"A lot of horror books for a young lad," Mr. Yamato said. "But you know, preferences could be quite funny. Come record this now. I have somewhere to go." He checked his watch.

Frances took over the counter and began to record the sales on a book there, while Mr. Yamato headed for the door.

A while later the door was pushed open, and when Frances heard the stringent voice, she knew it was Clarissa, Mr. Yamato's loud daughter. No one would believe her dad owns a bookstore because she was an enemy to books. Her looks alone told of some crazy ass girl -- purple-red hair with a lot of eye shadows.

"Saw dad leaving the door before I got here. I just had to hide at a corner. It's quite weird meeting him at the door," she said, going to one of the shelves. 

Frances watched her pick a book, mumbled the name and stuffed it back wrongly.

"You had better placed it the way you picked it, Rissa," Frances said.

"Bah!" She put it in properly and walked to the counter. "What you got there? I'm hungry already."

"Then wait for daddy to return," Frances said.

"You're treating me badly you know," Clarissa said. "Anyway, guess what."

"What?" Frances asked.

"I've been selected as one of the few that'd be representing Yuletide High School in the upcoming ballet contest."

"Oh, that's great," Frances said.

"I can see you're not happy with that. But wait till you see the four walls of college though."

Frances felt that. It was a downgrading remark, aimed at her not being able to go to school, due to her mother's incapability to train her there. But on the brighter side, she was home-schooled by her mom, and she read alot of books as well. When juxtaposed, she was quite better than Clarissa upstairs.

"Standing before me here is a product of Yuletide High School, I see." Frances snorted. "Try again, I'm better of here."

"Good for you then," Clarissa said.

The door went open and the young lad that had earlier bought those books walked in. It was as though Frances was seeing him for the first time, because there were a lot of things she didn't notice on him earlier. He was quite tall for a guy around nineteen, Frances thought. His eyes were large and piercing, but Frances warded off his good looks immediately. His eyes were centered on Frances, and it made Clarissa look at the both of them almost simultaneously.

He placed his hands on the counter. "I felt you were pissed off by what happened earlier."

"A sec please, you know him?" Clarissa asked.

"Oh Rissa." Frances rubbed her forehead in frustration. "I can't believe you came back just for this." She said to him.

"I just felt I did something wrong there," he said.

"I see that everyday," Frances said. "Don't bother about it."

"But you'd cease to see that after I've given you this!" He took out a digital watch from his pocket and placed it on the counter. "My Dream-Cold watch. You'd come earlier than expected." He winked.

"What's going on here?" Clarissa said.

"This is just a watch," Frances said. "And, If you must know, I hate alarms."

"It's no alarm," he said. "Just use that button at the top before you go to bed, in the morning, you know what I'm saying."

"Dream Cold," Frances muttered, staring at the watch on the counter.

"See you later." He pushed the watch closer and left.

"Who -- what was that?" Clarissa asked.

"I'm drained already Rissa, I don't want to discuss it."

"I don't care what's going between you both, but that guy isn't someone you should sound so cold to. He's cute!" She said.

"And I'm not apologetic about it," Frances said.

"Are you grabbing this opportunity or I should do it myself?" Clarissa asked.

"Whatever you wish," Frances said. She picked up the watch to look at the button, but resisted the urge to touch it. She'd show it to her mom first before using it.

She returned back home in the evening, but didn't see her mother anywhere in the house. She came back to the living room and saw a note on the television set -- 'meet me at the river'. It left her wondering what her mother would be doing at the river by that time of the evening. She took the watch along with her to the river.

She saw her sitting a distance from the river, her hands dug into the sand heap she sat on, watching the setting of the golden sun. Frances could sense she resisted the urge to throw stones into the river, because Olivia had told her severally that she strongly believed the river hated stones. Sounded funny, but Frances obliged to that.

"Still believing he'd come back?" Frances said, joining her to seat.

"That aside, I just enjoy viewing the sun set," Olivia said.

"You're being too lonely mom. Go get a man to yourself, same way I've got one," Frances said.

"Hey!" Olivia said. "You've started having sex right?" She gave a witty smile.

"Mom stop it. I just made the joke to calm your attention, I don't even know him, not even his name, so chill."

"Seems you've been having lucid dreams lately, Frances."

"No dream here. I came a bit late to work -- saw him buying a lot of books from Mr. Yamato --"

"And he gave you a wink?"

"No. He did something annoying at first -- sniggering while Mr. Yamato said some words to me. He left and came back later to give me this." She took out the watch and showed it to Olivia.

"Oh, a gift at first sight," Olivia said.

"Not just a gift. He said I wouldn't be late to work with it beside my bed."

"Don't know how it'd do that but that's a nice one, if it really works. He's such a nice dude." She peered at the watch. "What's that button?" She pointed her finger towards it.

"No, don't touch it. He told me to do so until it's time to retire to bed."

"Oh. Shows he really cares. Since I've refused to bring a man home, maybe you should do that."

"Not so fast mommy. Besides it's getting dark. We should go back home now." Frances got up, pulling her mother's arm.

They both got up and headed back home.

Frances couldn't wait for 9:00 pm -- the time she normally retired to bed. She kept the watch on a drawer beside her bed, staring at the time periodically, as well as the button she was supposed to click.

The time finally came. It was around 9:01 pm. She wasn't feeling sleepy at all, but still she laid in bed and clicked on the button. The watch made a gentle whoosh sound and a hologram was projected from it. The hologram comprised of a planetary system having about seven planets revolving around a central star. It was unusually beautiful that she thought what was meant to call her up from sleep early might be the cause of her waking up late in the morning, because, definitely, she could stay up all night watching it.

Five minutes later, she saw a large, spinning whorl gradually emerging from beneath. Then she watched the planets spiralling into it. The whorl grew larger and larger as it swallowed the planets. She suddenly began feeling drowsy while she watched the drama, yawning and trying to keep her eyes wide. When the star spiralled into the whorl at last, Frances's eyes began to deem unrestrained. The whorl gradually began a disappearance, and her eyes got ever heavier. She finally fell into deep slumber when it disappeared.