When Love Complicates

"In the face of uncertainty, courage blooms, an ember that ignites the soul. It dares us to take that first step into the unknown, where the extraordinary awaits. Amidst the shadows of fear, true strength emerges, and a remarkable journey begins."

Not me, looking outside the window, eagerly awaiting the rain. I love the comforting sound and the earthy smell of sand and water that accompanies it. My name is Mary, and I'm a 17-year-old high schooler in Grade 12. Soon, I will be done with highschool and face the real world out there. I am the first daughter, and t,he eldest child of the Benso? Don't. I, have, two younger siblings, Beck, ,who is 10 years old, and Anna, who is just 5 years old. They can be quite the handful. Being the first daughter and eldest child isn't always easy. I often find myself going through unfamiliar territory, trying to understand and adapt to the demands of my world. As my mum would always say, "The first daughter is like a second mum to her siblings." Beck, being the older one of the two, tends to bully Anna a lot. As the responsible big sister, I often find myself bearing the blame for his actions, from mum blaming me for not watching after them to her blaming me for not scolding Beck when ever he hurts Anna, and whenever I scold him she gets mad at me for hitting her son. It's a challenging role to Me. My father on the other hand is a successful businessman and a loving father. I'm grateful to have him in my life. My mum is a nurse, and her presence brings a sense of comfort and warmth to our family.

I started cooking for the house at the age of ten, doing more household chores and sacrificing my social life to help care for Beck when he was just a baby. He was such an adorable little bundle back then, but now I wish he can go back to being the little baby he was because use he gives me more headaches than solving complex mathematical equations. I remember a particular incident that happened when he was six months old. Mum asked me to take him back to his rib so that he could sleep, giving both of us a much-needed rest. I was carrying him carefully, when I suddenly slipped and fell ,to the ground. Before I could even open my eyes, I saw Beck crying on the floor. Mum rushed over to where we were picking him up, and tried to console him. But his cries continued, she started caressing his hair to stop him from crying because he always loved that. That's when she noticed the deep cut on his forehead. She turned to me, who was still struggling to get up, and sternly said,who will make sure your dad knows about this." With those words, she left the room. In pain and feeling misunderstood, I just stood there watching her shout. Until she told me to leave and stop standing still like a stick.schoolsquietly walked into my room, closed the door and fell on my b cu ion be until I drifted off to sleep. As remem red those memories I just smiled. I understood why mum always did that. She did the same to me according to what dad told me. It's not easy to birth a child and watch them hurt, so it's normal she acts like that. It's all out of love.

Morning arrived with the rising sun,.. signaling it was time to go to school. I heard Mum's voice calling us from the living room, and as I rose from my bed looking like a witch with my hair scattered all over my face, I was still struggling to get up from my bed when the realization hit me, "Oh no, it's Monday again." I said, pouting my lips to the front and walking to the bathroom to wash up. Mum had always taught us to say a prayer as soon as we wake up, even if it was just a simple "Thank you, Lord." I always did that before heading to the bathroom. I couldn't deny the fact that I disliked school immensely, but whenever I remembered a certain someone, it gave me the motivation to face the day.

His name is Tom, and we are in the same class. Tom is really cute and tall, he is also incredibly intelligent, and his parents happen to own the school. Consequently, he rarely has time for friends, as his goal is always to be the top student. Whenever we bump into each other at the library, reading and studying together, it feels like pure bliss. He possesses good manners and a calm personality or is it because I haven't gotten to know him much yet. He always has something interesting to talk about. His smile and the scent of his cologne have a profound effect on me. But, as is the case in most dramas, there is always a girl trying to capture his attention. In my world, her name is Sarah, and she has two sidekicks, Lola and June. Sarah, Lola, and June are one of the hottest girls in my school, and they seem to have almost all the guys in my class wrapped around their fingers. Sarah is not a bully or a bad person actually, but she's undeniably beautiful, her long straight black hair, brown eyes and skinny body is my rival in more ways than one. Sarah and her followers are incredibly talented, and they possess an irresistible allure that makes them popular among the opposite gender. Sarah can paint any manner of things, it's a gift but she looks so cool with it, Lola can sing, she's got a very nice voice she is currently auditioning at a big music entertainment industry and June on the other hand is a writer.

I just got back from reading at the library and I was really stressed I just entered the classroom and sat down on my sit and laid my head backwards on my chair to relax a bit before the next class period when I noticed someone staring at me, I sighted Tom looking at me, and lately I've noticed Tom looking at me more frequently but I thought I was only being delusional I also noticed whenever our eyes meet, he quickly averts his gaze. Of course, girls my age often interpret this as a sign of interest, a green light. With each passing day, my hopes grew stronger that someday he would gather the courage to ask me out, and we can start seeing each other, despite my mother's advice falling on deaf ears. I've fallen deeply in love with him, all those thoughts kept on coming into my mind and I just couldn't wait for him to walk up to me and be like, "be mine", aish that's cringe, I said in my mind and letting my body act it's one on the outside, swinging my legs and blushing holding my cheeks and trying to keep myself from laughing I didn't even care if anyone was looking I was in my own world.

It's been weeks now and I've waited patiently, hoping he would make a move. But I could no longer contain my feelings; I needed to take matters into my own hands and propel our relationship forward.

"I like you,"I said to him looking down and shy. I finally mustered up the courage to tell him, fueled by the glimmers of hope he had given me. He looked into my eyes and smiled, and in that moment, I eagerly anticipated his response so that we could finally begin going out.