Chapter 37 Promise

• Lucas can’t the deny the fact that Sia brought changes in his life. Her presence in his life stitched the absence of a mother and the warmth that comes with it.
• Sia gave him love a mother would give her son and the love a companion would give to her partner. Regardless of her background, she was a girl enriched with wits yet adorned with a soft heart.
• Lucas suddenly felt as if the air carries the soft smell of Sia’s body and slowly the issues that spurred him to visit the park drifted his mind. All he could feel is comfort and Sia’s silky voice as she told him stories about herself.
• While Lucas’s mind wandered off, he felt someone tap his shoulders lightly. He craned his head and saw a young lady, who he assumes to have seen before but can’t tell where.
• “Hello Mister. Your jacket fell off…” The lady mused, handing him his Jacket. “I think it must have fallen off for some minutes now because it’s covered with dust. Someone might have stepped on it.”
• “T-thank you Ms.” Lucas stammered, boring his eyes at her. His mind was raking to recollect where he has seen the lady before.
• “Ain’t you feeling cold? The weather is cold somehow.” The lady said, smiling sheepishly.
• “N…not exactly. Ahh…ah maybe it’s because I took some liquor.” Lucas hurled, dusting his jacket.
• “Yeah, maybe that’s why…”
• While the lady was still speaking a little girls voice called from behind her.
• “Chaperone!”
• Both Lucas and the lady ran their eyes behind and there stands Nica with a gauze wrapped around her right knee.
• Seeing her made Lucas’s heart dance around in his chest. He remembers the girl from the last time and the lady standing beside him.
• The fierce little girl. Although this time around she isn’t with her friend Abbey.
• Nica scrambled toward them, facing her chaperone incognizant of Lucas’s presence.
• “The nurse have staunch the blood. See it’s not bleeding again.” She rasped twirling her leg for her chaperone to see.
• The chaperone hunkered down and held her leg, looking at the wrapped wound.
• “This is a big lesson. Next time, you watch how you play.” The chaperone warned.
• “What happened to her?” Lucas asked.
• Hearing someone’s voice beside them, Nica sprang her head and saw Lucas. Her face creased in a smile immediately.
• “Fine uncle!!” She cheered, making Lucas smile.
• The girl is very good in recognizing people’s face especially if it has not been long.
• “You remember me, kid?” He asked crossing the distance between them and running his hand on Nica's hair.
• “Yes. The one that took my ball.” She spouted curtly and Lucas brushed into laughter.
• “I didn’t take your ball. Your friend threw it at me, didn’t I tell you?” He asked, smiles danced in his eyes at the sight of Nica. Lucas felt so light as though his heavy thoughts and laden heart has been cleared at the sight of the girl.
• “Oh, please don’t listen to her rasps. She talks a lot.” The chaperone said, giggling.
• “I can tell she does. But I’m certainly enjoying her talks.” Lucas said. He hunkered down and dolloped Nica in his arms.
• “Yay!! Fine uncle carried me!! I’ll tell Abbey!!” She rasped out, enraptured by Lucas’s act.
• “Hey, pretty kid. How have you been?” He asked, smooching her cheeks.
• “I’m…I’m playing and then, I wounded my knee. It stings.” She spouted, pushing her lips in a pout.
• “The heck! What happened to her knee?” Lucas asked the chaperone who bisected her brow, staring at Nica.
• “Who hurt you, Nica?” She asked her.
• Face palming , Nica whispered, “Me. But It was my bad.”
• The chaperone laughed at her response, “she slipped from the porch stairs and fell. She was practically riding her bicycle on the stairs. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to admonish her. When I returned I saw her crying and blood oozing from her knee. That’s why I rushed her here for some treatments.” The chaperone explained, tucking her hands in her Jacket pocket.
• “Shit! That’s bad.” Lucas cursed. He looked at Nica and said, “kid don’t you want to walk again?”
• “I want to, uncle!” Nica babbled.
• “You want to and you were riding on the stairs? That could have crippled you. Don’t do it again. Can you promise me that?” He asked and Nica promised, crossing her heart.
• “I won’t do it again, fine uncle.” She promise.
• “Not sure she can keep to her word ‘cause she plays a lot. Roughly actually.” The chaperone butted in.
• Lucas looked back at Nica and said, “from today henceforth I'll be checking up on you to see if you keep to your promise. Hear me?”
• “Okay uncle. If I do it, will you take me to an ocean? I want to see how it looks.” Nica asked.
• “Until I see you keep to your promise then I’ll work on taking to see an ocean. So for now, I can’t promise you that.” Lucas's baritone voice boomed.
• He looked at the chaperone who was smiling and asked, “where do you people live and why does she call you a chaperone?”
• The lady sighed, “an orphanage, a few meters from here. It’s just a small orphanage so only a few people knows about it. And we basically have a few kids there. So I and my sister look after the kids there.” She said truthfully.
• However, Lucas felt sad knowing that such a bright kid is an orphan. He looked at Nica and sighed in his heart. He’s not the one for kids but ever since he met the little girl, his notion for kids changed.
• Huffs, Lucas nodded. “Can I know the place? I'd like to be visiting the kids there.” He asked.
• The chaperone inclined her head in a nod and programmed the address in Lucas’s phone note pad when he handed it to her.
• He put Nica down from his arms, ruffling her hair.
• “So kid, now I know where you stay and I’ll definitely be coming to be check up on you to see if you keep to your promise. “ He said.
• “Yay!! Fine uncle will be visiting me. I promise I’ll be a goooood… girl!” Nica cheered happily making the chaperone and Lucas to erupt into laughter.
• “Oh, please. We should get going because staying here listening to Nica's words will definitely make us lose track of time.” The chaperone wheezed.
• Lucas nodded with soft smiles on his face. He waved at Nica who giggled as they walked away.
• He sank into the bleachers, looking at the address as the chaperone’s words about Nica being an orphan crushed him.
• He lost his parents when he was seventeen, at least then he was becoming an adult and had spent some time with his parents. But Nica doesn’t know hers much less spending time with them.
• Lucas concluded inwardly to be paying them a visit whenever he has time. Moreover, the girl is like an antidote to him ‘cause whenever he's angry and meets the girl, his mood lightens up.
• **
• Danika was in her boutique for regular inspection when she heard Isabel’s voice call out to her.
• Isabel rushed forward with her phone in her hand, her eyes bulged looking at Danika.
• “What’s the problem? Why are you acting as though you’ve gone mad, Isabel?” Danika asked rashly.
• “Have you heard the recent news?” Isabel asked, eyes never straying from Danika’s.
• “What bloody news are you referring?” Danika impatiently asked.
• “It’s about your fiancé, Lucas Evangelista. Bloggers are speculating that his company might fold due to the current financial crisis. Some of the shareholders sold their shares recently. And some people herald that a message was sent to the company’s social media account saying his ‘days are numbered!” Isabel reported, running out of breath.
• “What!?” Danika squealed with bulging eyes.