Anna's full name, Annalissa Katherine Joseph, was given to her by her ever loving mother, Katherine Valentine. Yes, she had an unusual name that made her teased and constantly picked on especially on Valentine's day each year. She was a girl with long black hair and golden brown eyes that shone with warmth and kindness that mixed well with her slender and tall frame. She had a medium sized nose and a smile that always lit up faces she helped in their times of trouble. Katherine learnt to grow strong in love and in grace as she grew up.As an orphan, Katherine was never quite loved, Katherine always had a weak heart though a strong soul.
Katherine moved away from the orphanage when she turned 17 and did numerous jobs just to survive. From being a maid to baking or from toilet cleaning or babysitting, she did what she could and always remembered to thank God for all that happened. Whether bad or good. She was a joy to all around her. Then one day as she was working as a cashier in a coffee shop, a man walked in. The man was slightly taller than her and had thick eyebrows that covered these expressive wide blue eyes that matched a shaggy head of brown-blonde hair. He ordered his drink, a medium sized cup of hot chocolate. Not your ordinary coffee customer. She was intrigued and joked about how real coffee lovers drink coffee, not hot chocolate and that's how they started.They introduced themselves, Katherine Valentine and David Joseph.
That was the week before Valentine's day and for the first time in her life, she celebrated the date with true joy and with her true love. For it was 3 years after being together that he proposed to her. He had knocked on her door on Valentine's day to pick her up for their supposed day out with a small velvety lilac coloured pouch tucked inside a same coloured musical box that played their favourite song. They had planned a picnic and when they had eaten, he gave it to her and she smiled, wept and hugged him as she said "Yes!" repeatedly into his ear. Guess what she gave him in return that valentine's day other than saying yes? It was a small ornamental piece of two people at a table. A man with a cup of hot chocolate and a woman smiling as their hands reached out to each other across the table, there was an inscription at the bottom saying: "Chocolate gives us temporary contentment, True love gives us an everlasting joy."
They were in love, true love and had always remained truthful and pure with each other. So when they got married, ever word rang strong and true as they agreed with each word until "death do us part." They celebrated together with the rest of the congregation of their church and David's family. Katherine had her bridesmaids and best friends and they were all the family she could ever hope for.
No surprise, when it came time she found she was with child, both Katherine and David beamed with a joy only parents could ever hope to give. Annalissa Katherine Joseph was a gift from the Lord as Katherine had promised herself that this child would be loved and cherished as long as she could help it. Annalissa was a beautiful mix of both her parents, having skin that was fair and glowing with a tint of brown, eyes that sparkled blue, hair a dark golden and a smile that equaled that of her mother's.
It was on Annalissa's 7th birthday party that a man came to the house with the ring of the doorbell. Opening it her mother, Katherine was shocked to hear from him that he was her father. He never mentioned his name but he started shouting things Annalissa could never forget. "You are MY daughter and she is MY grandchild! You cannot ask me to leave now that I've found you. You can never leave me! NEVER! I have searched for far too long to be put away like that!" His eyes were filled with rage and his body swaying unstably as he took foot after foot. The man mumbled a few things under his breath before pulling out a gun. Then the party went wild and screams were heard all around as he took his steps towards the small child who stood in a corner of the yard with a white sundress and a frightened face. Katherine ran to her child as her husband got thrown to the side from trying to stop him. Her back to the man and on her knees, she told her child: " Please don't be afraid, whatever happens know that love heals the broken and that I'll always be with you and so will God. I will always love you Anna, mommy will always be watching out for you." Katherine wiped the tears of her daughter's eyes as she turned to face the man with the gun.
"Do not harm her please i beg of you." she pleaded as she stood up and walk further and further in front of Anna to the man. "You will come with me my child. YES! You will come with me and we will be happy! You and I, FOREVER!" he smiled a distraught smile as he pulled the trigger once and then twice.
These are memories dear Annalisa could remember as clear as the brightest day. Though muffled and fuzzy, she recalls her dad's shouts and the sight or bright red on her mother's white dress and the man's clothes as the lay on the grass apart from each other, silent and unmoving. She recalls her hesitant movements towards her mother as she stained her own white dress hugging Katherine and shouting for her to wake up. Then she remembers her father slowly coming to wrap his arms around the both of them and sobbing silently as he held them tight. There are some things one could never forget.
Annalissa stared at her father silently as he took in the plates to wash. They had finished every single morsel on their plates with contentment. She understood. She knew the pain and hurt he felt and the responsibility that he was thrown with. She felt the same anger and sorrow for the man who took her mother away. However, her mother's last words to her had made her stronger, had made her want to be the best she could be and forgive the man in love. Though God had taken her mother, she still had her father and they were stronger now. They found out later that year when papers were all filed and settled that the man had lost his own daughter when she went missing and became mentally ill. Nevertheless, she forgave him. Not only because she understood his pain and his illness but because she knew she needed to forgive in order for her to heal.
She knew her mother was always there for her and that God had supplied each need her father and her had. Anna had many good friends and she was able to share her story with a few friends who had troubles of their own. So in a way, she was proud of her mother because her mother was the reason she, her father and so many others could be helped and made stronger. Katherine was a hero in a sense but to Anna, she would always remain the loving mother who sacrificed herself out of pure love.
She knew her mother was always there for her and that God had supplied each need her father and her had. Anna had many good friends and she was able to share her story with a few friends who had troubles of their own. So in a way, she was proud of her mother because her mother was the reason she, her father and so many others could be helped and made stronger. Katherine was a hero in a sense but to Anna, she would always remain the loving mother who sacrificed herself out of pure love.
So, Anna smiled. She smiled as she heard the rushing waters and clash of plates being put together as she turned her head to a small ornament on the round coffee table next to the couch. She stared at the two people at a table, a man with a cup of hot chocolate and a woman smiling as their hands reached out to each other across the table, there was a small ring next to it and a picture of a toddler Annalissa inside a picture frame standing just behind it. At the bottom of the ornament it held a saying that she knew all too well, one that she would never forget for the rest of her life.........
"Chocolate gives us temporary contentment, True love gives us an everlasting joy."
