CHAPTER TWO
A BRAND NEW LIFE
Four heavy Italian leather trolleys stood beside a sleek and
slender fair skinned woman standing five feet and four inches high wearing a
classic blue and orange geometric print shirt dress and a pair of summer dainty
silver sandals, she patiently waited in front of the arrival area at a local
airport. Dana Tiocson with a pair of Gucci oversized sunglasses on her sweet
fine silky bronze toned face hailed a taxi cab under the scorching heat of the
afternoon sun.
Dana
just flew in from New York, she had just accepted a two year contract from a
large British pharmaceutical company who branched out in the east, she had been
working for one of the best hospital in the US for the past eight years, now in
her mid thirties Dana after twenty five years decided to move back to her native
land.
Dr. Dana
Tiocson a graduate of New York University Medical school, a paediatrician is
the middle child of a widow who migrated in the US in the eighties and
remarried an American national; her mother had two more children in her second
marriage. Dana has been struggling emotionally; she is trying to recover from a
horrible past. She was hoping that maybe with the new environment, she will be
able to put back together her broken self and put the past behind her.
Dana opened the door of her new pad in the middle of the
city, she took a deep breath, exhaled and whispered to herself, “So this must
be the smell of a new life....”. Dana flung her branded leather bag on the
couch and shut the door behind her, on her way to the bathroom she heard her
mobile ringing, she stopped and turned around wondering who could be calling
her at this time when the times zones from where she was and where she came
from are truly far apart, taking a deep breath she curiously answered “Hello?”....
The maid led Dana to
the pool side of a three story luxurious and lavish home of one of her very closest relatives, she stood in the middle
of the living room trying to find a familiar face in the crowd. It’s been so
long since she went to a gathering where most of the people don’t know her. It
was a very private party among very close foreign friends and relatives whom she
has not seen for a couple of years now. As she walked through the crowd of
unfamiliar faces suddenly the room gave her a sense of nostalgia.
She had a flash of her childhood days. Her father was teaching her and her sister to
ride a bike, while in a trance she accidentally bumped into a tall and dark
handsome intellectual looking man. They both locked in a gazed for a few seconds
as the man swiftly reached out to steady her, and as soon as both of them got
back to their senses the handsome stranger broke the silence and introduced himself
as John and offered a handshake, Dana took the handshake with a weak response
due to a travel jet lag.
Hours passed and to Dana’s amazement she found herself
enjoying a very light conversation with this stranger whose outside appearance
seems to show a very serious persona. And as the flow of the conversation got
deeper, it made Dana realized that John’s family seems to have close ties with her
cousin’s family.
John could not remember how far back he had really enjoyed
talking to a stranger, especially to a woman, when truthful he knew how hard it
is for someone like him to open up and talk about life. Although most of the time
he was surrounded by empowered women, but most of them seem to be in the middle
of a gender identity crisis, due to their tiger like personalities that eventually
sends any man in his good mind to his fierce defense.
Suddenly out of nowhere the host of the party Dana’s cousin
Jeana approached them with a big grin on her face and said in a very well
mannered voice, “Hello cousin, so it seems you have met the man of the hour.”
Dana answered in a surprised but teasing manner “ Man of the
hour, oh really? So to whom do I owe the honor of speaking to you?”
John answered with a heartily laugh “Jeana, so tell me how
long has it been, two days...? Well were enjoying a no brainer conversation
here really, so let’s not drag in complicated things shall we....”
“Oh I don’t know John, it’s your aura it seems to give off
royalty can’t help but get royalty flushed, must be that broad shoulders and
manly features,” Jeana said with a few hand gestures, “ and you my dearest
cousin, whom I have not laid eyes for the longest time, you seem to have
blossom to a rare species over time, come and give sweet me a hug.”
“Lovely to see you too cuz,” Dana said as she locked herself
in a tight embrace.
“Now as much as I want to stay for chit chat,” she whispered
“ I can see that people are still the same, the party always starts at
midnight, well I have no choice but be the door man for awhile, Dana sweetie I’ll
get back to you later” she waved as she walked towards the door.
And as the night went on, Dana knew in her heart that she
was right where she needed to be.
