"Move to Aegea?"
"Yeah," she replied, tapping her finger on the desk as she looked toward the board.
Anathasia took a deep breath, letting herself calm down before slumping against the desk as she glanced at me.
"What that woman said… really pissed me off…"
"Sorry. I was talking impulsively…" she muttered, looking at me.
"What?" I gently shook my head before reaching over to ruffle her hair, pinching her cheek lightly.
"It's fine, alright? Even I was annoyed about what she said," I smiled, booping her nose.
"Besides, the fact that you didn't outright erase her on a whim is more than impressive enough."
"So don't beat yourself up over it, alright?"
She nodded, but still didn't forget to add—
"That woman was still annoying though…"
A small laugh escaped my lips as I watched her puff her cheeks out while staring at the board.
Minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the meeting finally ended.
Apparently, Anathasia and I were the ones who had donated the most to the school.
"The school would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Abe for their generous donations over the past few years," Sir Batumbakal announced.
Everyone turned their heads toward us as a seven-digit number appeared on the screen above the board.
After the meeting ended, we started walking back toward the parking lot.
A feminine voice suddenly called out behind us.
"Excuse me—! Mr. and Mrs. Abe?"
[Who's that?]
[Miss Santos. The mother of that girl Francesca told us about a few days ago, I'm sure,] Anathasia replied before turning around as we stopped.
"Yes? What is it?" she asked with a polite smile as the woman finally caught up to us.
"You are… Francesca's parents, yes?"
I slowly turned to face her as well.
"That would be us, yes. Is there anything we can help you with?"
The woman panted, clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath.
Anathasia instinctively stepped closer, concern in her eyes.
"I'm sorry…" the woman muttered, raising a hand. "I didn't mean to make you worry," she said between breaths.
"I just wanted to thank the two of you… for raising your daughter properly."
Anathasia and I paused, exchanging a glance before she turned back to the woman.
"Um… what exactly do you—"
"Francesca saved my daughter… from taking her own life."
We both froze, our eyes widening.
"Francesca… your daughter," the woman choked, her voice sounding like it might break. "She saw what I didn't… what I couldn't."
"And she immediately acted before everything was too late."
Tears began to roll down the woman's face as she spoke, the desperation in her voice tightening something in my chest.
"She… saved my daughter."
"Fran… did that?" Anathasia muttered, her hands frozen mid-air as she was about to help the woman, or Mrs. Santos to her feet.
Mrs. Santos nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
Without another word, I stepped forward and handed her a handkerchief, which she reluctantly accepted.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience…" she stammered, dabbing at her eyes.
"It's not an issue, Mrs. Santos…?"
She nodded.
With a small smile, I nodded back while Anathasia stood beside me.
"Please take your time," I continued gently. "Then we can discuss the matter once you've calmed down, alright?"
Mrs. Santos nodded again.
Anathasia and I helped her toward a bench by the side of the quad, letting her sit and catch her breath.
Anathasia sat beside her, gently rubbing her back while I remained standing next to the bench as the woman slowly calmed herself down a few minutes later.
[Francesca… helped someone. Without telling us.] Anathasia's voice echoed in my mind.
[She…]
[Mhm,] I replied with a subtle nod as she glanced at me. [Just like her older sister.]
Though faint, I noticed a small smile form on Anathasia's lips.
Her eyes glistened slightly before she blinked the emotion away.
I gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at me for a moment before her expression softened and she nodded.
Mrs. Santos eventually calmed down a few minutes later. Her voice still sounded a little shaky, but it was steady enough for her to continue.
"My daughter… never showed any signs," she said quietly.
"She was happy."
She paused, lowering her gaze.
"Or at least… she looked happy."
A brief silence passed.
"I don't understand where I fell short… I was so sure my daughter was fine."
"And the next thing I know," she continued, turning toward Anathasia before glancing at me, "Francesca was standing beside her while she cried… holding your daughter's hand tightly."
She swallowed and wiped her tears with the handkerchief I had given her.
"My own child didn't trust me enough to tell me everything."
Tears continued to fall from her eyes, her jaw tightening.
"All because she was scared I would be disappointed in her… just because of a few numbers in her report card."
A quiet sob escaped her.
Anathasia gently held her hand while she continued speaking.
"If it wasn't for your daughter… I might have lost the only person who kept me going."
Another sob escaped her throat.
"It was Francesca who helped my daughter and me finally talk about her struggles."
A faint smile appeared on Mrs. Santos's lips.
"I'm forever indebted to your daughter… she's a wonderful child."
She bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you… thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Abe."
—
After Mrs. Santos finished speaking, she bid us farewell as we continued toward the parking lot.
The silence during the drive home said enough.
When we pulled into the driveway, Lena was in front of the house watering the flowers with a hose. She looked up and smiled when she saw us.
As we stepped out of the car, she called out.
"Mom, Dad. Welcome back. How was the PTA?"
She gently set the hose down while the faucet near the house shut off automatically.
Or rather, she had quietly turned it off herself.
"Well," Anathasia smiled as Lena walked toward her. "It was… fine, I guess? They mistook us for a teenage couple again though," she sighed.
"Where's Fran?"
Lena glanced toward the sliding glass doors leading into the living room.
"She's inside. I think she's playing a game."
She turned back to us, tilting her head slightly.
"Why do Mom and Dad look… happy?"
Anathasia immediately shook her head, waving her hand dismissively.
"It's nothing," she said. "It's just…"
"Your little sister did something," I chimed in while loosening my tie.
"Something?" Lena crossed her arms, her brows furrowing. "What does that mean…?"
"She helped someone, Lena," Anathasia said, her expression softening as the small smile remained on her face.
A brief pause passed.
"She helped a classmate who was about to hurt themselves."
Lena's arms slowly fell back to her sides, her eyes widening.
"Wait, what…?"
I stepped forward and reached out to pat her head before ruffling her hair slightly.
"Let's talk about it inside, okay?" I said with a smile. "I think talking to Fran herself might help."
She raised an eyebrow but nodded as the three of us headed inside.
From the hallway, faint sounds of explosions and engines echoed from the living room.
The moment we stepped inside, Fran was sitting on the floor, a controller in her hand as she stared intently at the screen, her tongue sticking out slightly.
"Yes! First nuke dropped!" she suddenly exclaimed, jumping to her feet and raising her hand while still holding the controller.
"Um… Fran?" Anathasia called.
Francesca slowly turned her head toward the doorway where we stood. The moment she saw us, she immediately sat back down on the couch as her expression shifted.
"Mom… Dad…"
Her eyes slowly drifted toward Lena standing behind us.
"And big sis…"
"What's the matter?"
The three of us paused.
Then Lena walked past us and headed straight for Francesca, ruffling her hair.
"What are you even doing, dolt? What happened to studying?"
"I mean—" Francesca stammered. "I finished a few minutes ago, so I figured— ow…"
Lena pinched Francesca's cheek before letting it go a moment later and sitting beside her younger sister.
Anathasia chuckled softly as she walked over to the other couch.
"I think she deserves a little break from all that studying," I added as I walked over, stopping in front of my daughters before gently pinching each of their cheeks.
Then I pulled back and took a seat beside Anathasia.
Francesca glanced at her older sister, then at us while rubbing her temple lightly.
"What's going on? Did something happen?" she asked, tilting her head.
Lena looked back at us.
I glanced at Anathasia. She nodded slightly before meeting Francesca's gaze.
"Mrs. Santos told us, you know."
A small pause followed.
"About what you did."