Author's Note posted below.
Part 3
Chapter 1
Three years later . . .
I was in a serious case of writer's block. They said that one way to overcome the block is to sit down by a relaxing place and eat your favourite food. Well, I was sitting on my wooden chair, staring at the busy streets of New York while eating a box of doughnuts. Still, there was no idea coming into mind.
My fountain pen tapped against the mahogany table while my tongue touched the roof of my mouth. My hair was a mess and my paper was empty. Boy, I was a really messed up writer. I haven't written anything for the past three weeks and it was pure torture.
I decided to stand up and open the windows instead. Cars were honking, people shouting, and everything else screamed busy. I always thought New York was the home of glamour. It turned out that luxury had its price. People strive hard to gain so much. Suddenly I was feeling nostalgic again. Three years passed yet it felt like a mere second.
On the day we first arrived in New York, it was a whirlwind of media. Apart from the fact that I was the long lost daughter of the Mayor, I also wrote great children stories. They deemed me as the Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimms Brother of the twenty first century. I was one of those whose fairy tales never ended up with happily ever after's.
I remembered being so awestruck about the grand mansion. The walls were granite and there were a total of thirty chandeliers. Everything screamed luxury in my new home and I was really freaked out when Sierra's room had a Minnie Mouse mascot. There was a moment of laughter because Grandpa and Grandma's wedding portrait was larger than life, but what's larger than their photo was Grandma's picture frame with One Direction. She talked for days about the time she met the five boys.
Then, the best thing about the house was my mother, Sierra's pictures. They were everywhere! She was so beautiful and the room I have right now was hers. I looked at the bedside table and there I was, an infant in her arms and right next to it is the photograph of Sierra and I, kind of like an imitation.
That's when I got an idea on what to write about.
The Three Year Travel
by Anastasia Rose Steele
Once there was a princess with a white horse. She was very simple and she really loved the moon. However, she was mistreated by the people in the castle, and so she ran away. She left them all behind: her friends, her parents, and her prince.
On the night she travelled with her white horse, she gazed upon the moon and recalled the moment she had with the prince.
They were sitting together on the meadow surrounded by colourful flowers. Fireflies were flying everywhere but they were nothing compared to his eyes. They were bright gold and they turn silver when the night strikes—like the moon. She loved him like the moon, but the moon? It always changes. The prince was mean to her at first, but he changed. He treated her like what she deserved: a stellar princess!
Then the princess got scared since she knew that if he were the moon then he'll always change. She was afraid that one day he'll wake up and cease to love her.
The princess fled with her white horse and for the past three years of travel, she realized that she was the broken one. She met so many people and she'd been to so many places. Of the three year travel, she got to know herself. She fixed who she was and told herself, "Yes, I'm broken but I'm not broken forever."
She stood up and rose as a strong woman.
The princess lived normally in a hut by the beach, enjoying every sunrise and sunset.
At night when no one was looking, the princess would look up to the moon and see it change from full to half to quarter then to full again. She was happy that she wasn't at home anymore. She was happy without him.
I didn't know why but I crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it aside. Something felt so wrong with the story I wrote especially with the last part. It just didn't feel right.
I rolled my eyes and stepped out of my room while pulling my hair up for a messy bun.
How could I make a fairy tale about the past three years? Yes, I was living the life with my grandparents and daughter but something just felt empty. I wasn't friends with Mia anymore since she wrote a novel of how much she hates me for leaving her brother. I was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety. Apparently it never vanishes; I just have to learn how to deal with it. Yes, I was a known author but there was a hole inside me.
It's the hole only he could fill.
While I was on therapy, Christian visited New York and we'd have a great time. That was the first year but for the past visits, he seemed really stoic and cold. He was a great father but he couldn't laugh or crack a joke anymore. No, he didn't come back to the old him but he was really different. He was flat. He was so serious about his company. He's a billionaire now since he won the business presentation contest after we divorced.
I missed him even when he's around. I missed who he was. But I got no one to blame, right?
As soon as I reached the marbled kitchen, I found a lady who was committing a sweet crime.
"Young lady," I warned after clearing my throat.
She stiffened and looked at me with a cringe smile. It was Sierra standing on our Great Dane, Juliana as she reached for the cookies on the tall counter. The dog seemed to agree with what they're doing since she got cookies too.
"Get down from Juliana," I instructed.
"Sorry Mommy," she gave me a grin filled with chocolate. Instead of getting mad, I found myself laughing. She was so cute. Sierra was the replica of Christian. She only got my nose and my infinite imagination. She was wearing her yellow dress and it complimented her copper curls so well.
Juliana barked and I patted her, telling her she's forgiven too.
"Don't do it again, okay? You just brushed your teeth, right?"
"I am so sorry Mommy," she said and I gave her a kiss on the forehead.
We were not alone in the house, of course. There were maids everywhere and they were given an iPod each because Grandma said, "So you never get bored while cleaning and you should support my favourite songs too." Needless to say all the songs in the iPod were chosen by my grandmother.
Sierra's never alone and she's safe as all workers in the house underwent background investigation first.
As soon as Sierra brushed her teeth again she ran around the huge space with Juliana. They were really close. I didn't intend to have a dog let alone a Great Dane, but Grandpa wanted her. She was a rescue dog from an avalanche. She was harmless and she just formed a bond with my daughter.
I sat on the sofa while staring at them both. Sierra was laughing and it sounded like my favourite song. I look at her and see more of Christian every day, I swear.
There were picture frames on the furniture as well—lot of them. Mostly were photos of Grandma with celebrities and my daughter. However, the last picture frame didn't have a picture in it. It was a paper drawn by Sierra. Three stick figures representing a family.
She drew it last year. I asked, "What's this?"
"It's our family picture."
I couldn't find the words to say.
My three year-old added, "My fwend told me that they have family picture. Mommy, Daddy, and fwend. So this is our picture: Mommy, Daddy, and Sierra!"
Now she's four and I still saw her looking at her drawing sadly.
I shook my head and decided to read the paper instead. Maybe I can be able to get an idea from reading something. I took a sip from the mug of coffee but it crashed down the floor when I read the headline. All the maids rush to me full of concerned. The coffee spilled on the floor like a trail of black blood.
Sierra and Juliana stopped playing too. It was as if the world stopped.
RUMOR HAS IT: CEO CHRISTIAN GREY AND POPSTAR CASSIOPEIA DATING?
I was instantly horrified. The words in my mind raced and in the end not one came across the finish line. I was really mortified. I felt my breath shortening. I didn't know what to do. My heart was beating so fast. I was in a panic. I shook my head again and again imagining the horror in my mind: Christian with another girl?
I managed to decline their help politely and I kissed my daughter first before going back to my room.
It was a mess! Everything was! Christian with another girl!
I found the crumpled piece of paper and was grateful that it was still readable.
I grabbed my fountain pen and quickly changed the ending of the story.
At night when no one was looking, the princess would look up to the moon and see it change from full to half to quarter then to full again. She was happy that she wasn't at home anymore. She was happy without him.
I changed it to:
For the past three years she looked up to the sky and saw the moon was always full and never changing. The princess grabbed her white horse to start another journey.
She found her way back to him again.
Author's Note: THANK YOU! I have more than 540 follows and 1,000 reviews because of YOU. Thank you!
As the part 3 goes on then we will know more about Ana and Sierra's life. Next Chapter we will see Christian.
What do you think?
Margo.
