The Photo Shoot
"My fishes! I brought our savior," Leo shouted from the door, grabbing everyone's attention.
Everyone jumped in excitement out of sheer relief and joy at the good news that their CEO had just given them. The makeup artist held Yu Sha's hand and dragged her away.
40 minutes later, a stunning lady in a strapless floor-length lace, beaded in flower embellished sweetheart neckline dress walked in. The first layer of the dress was in gold color silk material, evenly coming down to the floor. The second layer, a white veil material, was 3 cm shorter than the first layer. To top off the dress, the third layer was a see-through black veil fluttering high to low style. The third layer was shorter than the first two layers.
Yu Sha looked as lovely as someone descended from heaven but emitted an aura as lonely as the moon that would constantly chase after the sun, her lover. Her glittering silver eyes twinkled like the stars in the Milky Way galaxy under the night skies. Her thick long luscious hair draped down her body and flew like feathers making her look like a mermaid who just rose from the sea.
She walked carefully to the backdrop and when she stood in front of all the lights, she looked so ethereal and enchanted all the people in the studio. They were in awe of her beauty. Although this is not the first time they saw her, she always made them speechless every time she came to their rescue. The energy she emitted off and with her look, they even felt the loneliness of the lonely moon goddess who constantly longed for the sun. After a few shots, Yu Sha changed into three more dresses. Once the photo shoot was over, she hurriedly headed home to get ready for her trip the next day.
*
Su Na was packing for the trip. While in the midst of stuffing the organized items into the suitcase, she paused and sat on her bed as she took a stroll down memory lane.
She recalled how she met Yu Sha at the hospital when they both were about 6 years old. Su Na was walking with her grandmother to see her mother who had a serious heart condition. Her mother was hospitalized and needed to undergo surgery, but they did not have enough money for the surgery, so they delayed the treatment for years.
The elevator door opened and a frail girl in her hospital gown, holding an I.V bag in her arm like a baby, looked around suspiciously as if she was running away from her pursuer. After she was sure of the hallway being safe, she ran sneakily across to the receptionist's desk, aligning herself along the desk wall so that no one noticed her. When she was sure the hospital staff did not notice her, she moved along the wall and made her way to the entrance door.
Seeing the frail little girl who walked past Su Na and her grandmother out the hospital entrance, Su Na looked up and said, "Grandma, you go first, I have to go to the vending machine." She wanted to follow the frail girl and see what was wrong.
"I can come with you. I don't want you to get lost," the elderly grandma replied while looking down at her cute granddaughter.
"No, I'm a big girl, I can go by myself. I've been here many times, I won't get lost," the little Su Na replied with a determined tone. She let herself free from her grandma's hand, waited for her grandma to leave before following the girl.
The frail little girl made her way out of the hospital and into a secluded field nearby. She let herself loose once when she is sure no one she knew was tailing her until a voice shouted from behind her.
"Hey! I.V bags are not meant to be held on the arms like a baby when it is connected to your arms!"
The frail little girl, who thought she was safe, turned around and saw a little girl with a Miss President Council look, frowning at her.
She was a little startled. "Ah... I... but the bag… is… almost done." She paused for a few seconds and frowned. "Who are you?" She demanded. Before the young Su Na could reply, the frail girl jerked the I.V line from her arm with a domineering tone. "There it is now done."
Little Su Na was shocked and left teary-eyed. "What did you do that for?" She had seen her fair share of pain and suffering. She was afraid of something bad happening to the girl. She remembered, her mother usually was always connected to monitors and I.V bags, and the nurses and doctors had said that the liquid in the bag would help keep her mother from being very sick. Little Su Na didn't know that those words were a way of the adult to reassure the children, so when she saw the I.V bag torn off, she got nervous and scared. "Do you want to be sicker than you are now?"
Confused at why a stranger would be on her, the frail girl stared at her for several moments. "Well... it doesn't really matter. There isn't much left in the bag. You haven't told me yet, who you are? And didn't your mother tell you not to talk to strangers?"
As soon as Su Na heard the word mother, an image of her sick mother on the hospital bed popped in her mind. A glimpse of sadness appeared in her eyes. "Ah... my mother has been sick for a long time and is at the hospital."
When Yu Sha heard this, she felt so bad that she could not find the right word to say. They both stood in silence, visibly looking sad and depressed.
After a few minutes of internal struggle, Yu Sha initiated the first move. "Let's go back."
"Hmm." Su Na nodded. The two little girls walked back to the hospital together.
**
At a certain corporation, a man in his mid-twenties, with spiky hairs and jaded color eyes adjourned a stakeholder meeting. After everyone left, he turned around facing the big glass window pondering over the meeting that just ended.