Anna grew up in a catholic orphanage. During those times, she has been scolded multiple times.
The place was managed by the local church, and while they were not beaten or starved, the nuns were quick to discipline them at the slightest offense.
She had anticipated this 'father to be angry.
After all, he has an unmarried daughter who is hiding her pregnancy. She didn't know why, but she expected to be blamed for screwing up. To be slapped or to be called names or to be dragged on the streets.
So the scene before her is something she doesn't understand.
Why is this man not scolding her in the least?
Instead, he was hunched down on the floor, crying as one of his hands covered his gritting teeth. His flamboyant ensemble forgotten, replaced by his obvious distress.
Why? Why is this man crying??
She grew up without her father in the picture. However, she has seen good ones that would drive their children to school every day, unfailingly. Salarymen who would painstakingly save a few coins by not getting something from the office vending machine. They do this so that they can buy "not-on-the-budget-toys" for their kids.
When she was in high school, her classmate's father, an aging short man who sells fried chicken off the sidewalk, went to school and punched their teacher.
The reason? Well, her female classmate mentioned that this teacher made her and her friends change into their PE uniform while he was present in the room.
The next day, after the conversation came up during yesterday's dinner, her classmate's father was at school. It was not even a fight; the small, old guy was hardly even able to hurt their 6 ft gym teacher. However, he did what he could, punching, kicking, biting, and pulling the bigger guy's hair, hurling insults as he was being forcibly taken away.
Later, the father refused a huge settlement and demanded that the teacher be fired from the school. At the time, Anna was hit with the realization that, if that had happened to her, she would not have anyone who would fight for her. So… what the hell is this? She couldn't help but ask herself, as the man continued to cry inconsolably.
"This is all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have allowed you to come here." He said in anguish.
She did not know this man, but somehow, this body that she possessed, it remembers, and was saddened seeing its father in such a state.
"What happened? I told you, you shouldn't be out on your own. Who did this to you?"
She did not answer; she couldn't. He thinks she is his daughter, but she is not. How will she answer a man who is clearly grieving his daughter's pregnancy?
"Secilia, who did this to you?" He asks her sternly, and for some reason, her voice breaks. Here she is, wondering how she will raise this child, and here is someone worried about her situation. This feeling, this tightness in her chest, she is not used to this.
'I-I don't know." She said, telling him the truth. With this, her father cried harder, breaking down as he probably was thinking the worst.
"Did he…., were you…., how could I have let this happen? This is all my fault." He then grabbed her hand and kissed it as the tears continued to fall.
"Oh, Secilia, my poor daughter, I am so, so sorry..., don't worry about anything, everything will be okay, I will protect you."
To hear someone call her Secilia, is as foreign as someone promising to protect her. Sure, she had that relationship with Evan, and that man also promised to love and protect her, but in the end, he didn't.
"Have you spoken about this to anyone?" Her father asked.
"Not that I know of."
"Good, ok, I'm gonna need to go out, and I would like you to stay here. I will need to get help, and when I get back, all of us will talk. Ok?"
"W-who..? W-what are you gonna do?"
"Papa will fix this, you don't need to do anything, just stay here ok?"
As he tried to go, she held onto him. The determined look in his eyes scared her. How does he plan to take care of it?
Is he thinking about what the original owner of this body was previously planning?
"I am keeping this baby." she blurted out.
Her father looked at her. "I-I see, but Secilia, are you sure that is what you want to do? I would never force you to keep it, I mean-"
"I am sure." With her answer, he started tearing up again.
"Oh my poor, poor daughter." And he gave her a tight hug. "Don't worry, Papa is here now, and Papa got connections. It's gonna be okay, and we will get through this." Then he kissed her cheek and started walking towards the door.
-----
True to his word, her father came back in an hour. Anna would have to agree that it was nice having another human being tell her everything would be ok. It gave her a sense of peace she did not know she badly needed.
Transmigrating sure isn't easy, and her overthinking nature is not doing her any good.
Secilia's father was a good man. Her letting her past work against contacting him would have been a big mistake. Not only was the man kind, but he clearly cared for her daughter.
She realized, however, that while Mr. Dela Riva might have meant well, he might have overestimated his ability to fix the problem.
Her suspicion began when she saw who he brought with him. There were two women; the first one looked normal enough, possibly still in her early twenties. This one is wearing a green dress in victorian fashion, complete with shawl, wide skirts, and a beautiful but slightly oversized, flower laden wide brimmed hat.
The second woman is where she got uneasy. The woman is potentially in her forties or fifties. Hard to tell because of the lace veil she is wearing. She is dressed in pure black from head to toe.
Now, Anna wouldn't have been suspicious about the gothic outfit, except that the woman brought along a living, breathing black sheep into the house too.
The animal was dressed impeccably, with a matching cravat and a jacket. Its hair is curled into lovely ringlets, artfully framing its tiny skull.
So there they are, all huddled in the nice and airy drawing room, sipping their tea from their tiny rose-printed teacups, with the sheep just kind of hanging out with them.
Is this normal? Did she get transmigrated into a world where it's fashionable for people to go about visiting acquaintances' homes with their farm animals in tow?
Is this some kind of an animal familiar/contract/compact situation? What then would she do if her next visitor decided to bring a cow?
Her tea has been hovering in her mouth and she keeps looking at her father, but the man seems to be unaffected, and so does everyone in the room.
Realizing she will not get answers, and not wanting to risk offending the guest by asking… 'Why the hell did she bring a sheep into her home?' She sighed and drank from her tea.
That was when the animal decided to scream and quite loudly too.
"BAAAA!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAA!!!!!" Startled, she immediately dropped her teacup. Meanwhile, the Gothic lady quickly stood up and fussed over the sheep.
"What's wrong with it?" She asked.
"Oh, I forgot to offer him tea." The woman answered pleasantly. She then proceeded to grab an unused teacup from the afternoon tray. After that, she poured some hot tea into it, and then finally started putting an ungodly amount of sugar into the mix.
"He likes them extra sweet. "The lady said before placing the teacup on its matching saucer, then placed it on the floor, as if she was offering it to an errant toddler, not a four-legged animal who should be in the barn.
The sheep quickly attacked the drink, enthusiastically making a mess of the floor. She made a mental note to ask Hannah to have those cups thrown out later.
"Oh, you like that, Lady Caroline? I'm so sorry I forgot to offer you a drink." The woman said in a baby-hushing voice as she continued scratching its thick black fur.
Lady Caroline? If it's a female, why is she wearing a cravat?
"Y-you call the sheep Lady Caroline?"
"Oh yes, Oh.... you never met her before, this is my new pet, her name is Lady Caroline, she grew up in a Duke's manor and unfortunately has developed some 'airs' through the years, she only ever answers if you call her a 'lady', otherwise she will give you the cut direct."
The stranger's casual way of speaking to her suggests she has probably met her before, but she doesn't care about that right now. She was more concerned about the sheep's gender rather than its ..uhmm, 'Title'. However, somewhere along this messed-up exchange, she got sidetracked.
"The cut direct?"
From what she knows, 'The cut direct' is said to be the greatest form of humiliation anyone can experience. It happens when you try to talk to someone, and that someone humiliates you by totally ignoring you as if you never existed.
The idea of a sheep ignoring anyone is downright comical.
The woman smiled excitedly, "Yes, she will ignore you the whole time, will not even acknowledge you at all, she could be a bit of a snob. But I have always believed it is a part of her charm, hahahahaha."
Anna stared at the sheep's eyes. Noting its rectangular-shaped pupil. The longer she looked, the weirded out she is.
Of all the shapes a living being's eyes could take, why is it rectangular? It's unnerving.
"It's staring at me."
"Oh, Secillia, you are so silly." The older woman laughed.
Anna closed her eyes. She focused on calming herself before opening them back again.
This is going nowhere. Opening her mouth, she was gonna refocus the conversation when the younger girl suddenly said.
"Your stomach is really big. How far along are you?" The young lady asked with concern in her eyes. She has a comely face, her green dress suits her well, and it matches the color of her eyes; she wasn't able to see it clearly earlier, as the girl was wearing a somewhat elaborate, wide-brimmed hat. Finally, a sensible one.
Anna smiled at the girl. "I am almost due to give birth, maybe by the end of the month." With her response, fire glowed in the younger girl's eyes.
"Oh, a baby born under a full moon, this is so exciting." The younger lady said enthusiastically, before snatching her oversized hat. Flipping it over, she then took out a crystal ball.
Yes, a crystal ball.
It was about the size of the kettle she just used to pour out some tea.
Anna was shocked by the display. It reminded her of those magic shows when some magician in black tuxedo just pulled out a rabbit from his black top hat.
As if pulling out a random object from one's hat is totally normal, the girl started chanting some inaudible language while looking at the crystal ball. Hovering both her hands over it, like some gypsy fortune teller.
In the middle of her chanting, the ball started to roll over. The girl noticed and, with lightning-fast reflexes, caught it, then placed one of the throw pillows underneath it. Then, as if nothing had happened, she continued with her chanting.
Anna stared at the crystal ball, which was now sitting unremarkably still. She then looked at the gothic lady and her father, but found that both were looking intently at the younger girl.
Is there something she is missing?
Still asking herself what the hell is happening, the girl suddenly declared.
"It's a boy!!!" The younger girl announced.
"At last I shall have a male heir!!" Her father declared.
The older lady exclaimed as her father stood up immediately. "Oh, this is exciting news, I will tell my other pet."
Then the gothic lady took her purse and fished out a small, white, struggling mouse.
"Look, Frostbite, she is having a baby boy." Gothic lady whispered to the frantic little thing struggling in her hands. After that, she extended both her arms in her direction so that the mice could see her.
Anna makes eye contact with the poor thing; it does look as if it's crying for help. Meanwhile, everyone was buzzing with excitement, but Anna was speechless. It was taking her a while to process everything wrong with this gathering.
Who are these weirdos? Why did her father bring them here?
Her questions finally got answered when the crystal ball lady turned to the gothic lady and excitedly said.... "Oh, Mother, I am so excited. I'm gonna have a nephew."