guys, here's the 3rd chapter of my internet novel... Hehe... Hope you like it!

---

CHAPTER 3: "A Shocking Truth"

Saturday morning, they all played - Jack and Anna with their friends Justin, Marvin, Erica, Marie and Pamela. They all went to one place to another the whole day, only stopping for short rests and meals. Of course, they went home for meals. A quick break after a meal and off they go again to turn on every block they pass by, run as fast as they could when playing tag, going to the grassy field by the river, throwing little pieces of rocks to the river, and many more I tell you. They have not stopped laughing, talking, shouting and playing since the morning. But, what do you expect, these are kids in a very safe community. But, as the sun set and the sky got dark, little by little stars began to appear. The clouds moved so that the bright moon could be seen in all its wonder. The river sparkled as if it had pearls under it.

They all went to the field by the river and just sat there... amazing how they could finally stop playing. They all just stared to the sky, amazed. As time passed by, faint sounds of parents calling their children could be heard.

A faint "Marvin!", "Justin!", "Marie!", "Erica!" and "Pam!" could be heard from the houses behind them. And, of course the children who were called said their goodnights and went home. Jack and Anna didn't worry why their names wasn't called because they were too mesmerized by the beauty of nature, even at night, that lies before them. The night which they were so afraid of when they were little now seemed so beautiful that they didn't want it to stop.

"Hey... this day was fun... yet tiring... haha..." whispered Anna looking at the river now being glided upon by bright fireflies.

"Yeah... it is... but, it was all because you were there..." whispered Jack in a voice which was extremely hard to hear. And, he stood up and walked towards the river. He slowly put his hand above the water and slowly a few fireflies got near it. He held the fireflies loosely in his palm and walked towards Anna.

"Wow... a firefly! I never seen one this close before... Teach me how to catch them!!!" said Anna excitedly and Jack took her hand and put the firefly on it.

"Hold it carefully... Don't squeeze them, okay?" smiled Jack. And a loud "ANNA!" was heard from the house nearby.

"Coming! Jack, teach me how to catch them tomorrow, okay? I've got to go home now... My dad's pretty upset, now... Sorry, good night!" And off she went with her hand holding the firefly given her.

"Oh... okay... bye! goodnight..." whispered Jack and he walked back home.

When Jack was getting near his house, shouts could be heard from Anna's house.

"WHY WERE YOU OUT SO LATE!? WHY COULDN'T YOU BE LIKE HER FOR ONCE?! BE RESPONSIBLE LIKE YOUR SISTER FOR ONCE!!!" was the shout he was able to hear.

He wondered why someone in Anna's house would be this mad and he also wondered if Anna had a sister because he has never seen her before. He crept to the side of the house's gate and peeped to see if he could see something. He looked at the windows which were revealing brightly lit rooms inside, but they were all covered with curtains. So, he saw nothing but silhouettes moving. With a curious mind unsatisfied he went home and found that the shouting have stopped. He went up to his room and looked outside the window.

To his surprise, Anna's room was lit and a sobbing Anna came in. He never saw this extremely happy girl cry (he didn't even imagine that this girl would cry like that). Anna had eyes flowing with tears making her happy face look so sad and dull. Jack just looked at her and could do nothing because of his fear that the crying would become worse. This greatly troubled him up to the second he fell asleep. And in his dreams he could still see this girl weeping.

Then, morning came, and Sunday it was. A supposedly fine day for leisure. A voice called out from outside the room, "Jack, wake up! Time to go to church!" was the call. He stood up, took a bath, ate breakfast and got ready for church. When he went outside his room, he saw his parents were all ready to go. As they went to church, Jack still wondered what the shouting last night was all about, and why Anna was crying like that. He didn't forget it until they got to church.

To his surprise, he saw Anna there in a very simple yet elegant attire. She wore a blue dress with a white belt tied around her waist. Her hair was tied up very neatly with a light blue ribbon. She wore earrings of simple design in a greenish-blue color. But, to Jack's surprise, she didn't have any evidence of being sad on her. She was still smiling to everyone and happily went on her way through the service. After the service, Jack greeted Anna good morning.

"Good morning, Anna. You look nice today..." said Jack in a very embarrassed tone.

"Good morning, too! I didn't know you were going to this church too... This is very queer, don't you think? Looks like God wanted us to meet..." was her reply.

"Yeah... hey, what happened..." and Jack cut his sentence thinking if it was good to bring that up.

"About what?" asked Anna.

"Oh, Anna! You look very pretty today! You really look like your mother... and you remind me very much of your sister... Oh, how she smiled at people, talked to people and made everyone around her comfortable..." said a voice from behind them.

"Oh, thank you..." was Anna's reply and she was called by his father. It was time to go home.

"So, um... Jack, see you later, then?"

"Yeah... later."

And off she went. Again, this Anna's-sister thing came up. "Anna has a sister? Where is she, then? Maybe she's working abroad?" Jack thought. Later on, Jack also went home with his family and found that Anna was not home yet. He slept the whole day, until he was called by his mom because a girl was looking for him.

"Jack! Our neighbor's here to see you!"

"Coming!"

So he went down with his messy hair and saw Anna waving at him. She invited him to go somewhere she wanted him to see. So, they went to the riverbank again that night. Like before, the sky was as amazing and the river was as beautiful. Anna took out a picture of her and a woman. They looked very happy together.

"I suppose you heard my dad shouting last night... so, I figured you might be curious..." said Anna.

Jack cut her sentence and said, "Huh? No, it's alright... It's none of my business, anyway... Hehehe..." and he chuckled.

"No... I want to tell you this..." and Anna held the picture in front of them. "This is my sister. I really loved her... but..." and tears flowed in her eyes.

"but... last year... she... she was hit by a car around here. It was very dark that night and it was raining so the driver didn't see us walking. We were walking from this store because I wanted to buy something... so, I asked my sister to accompany me. But, when we were going home... I tripped and a car was coming. She pushed me away from the road but she was hit by the car.... she didn't die yet.... that time." and Anna was now crying.

"Oh, I'm sorry... But, you don't have to tell me this..." and Jack held out his hand and helped Anna get on her feet. They walked home together with Anna crying all the way. As they were nearing their homes rain slowly poured down on them. They ran as fast as they could to get home and Jack slipped.

Anna laughed at how Jack looked with mud on his clothes and on his face. Jack laughed along. She helped him stand up and they went home. They got home safe and sound and proceeded to their rooms to wash up and sleep.

Jack's mind was now a little at ease because at least he now knows Anna has.. had a sister. But, Anna said, "she didn't die yet... that time." gave him a real thing to think about. What does she mean? He slept anyway and the next day came.

---

Hehe... That's all of it! Hope you liked it! The next chapter will be more exciting... It'll be about how they... should I tell you? I should. It's not really a spoiler, it'll be more of a cliffhanger, I think... Hehe...

It'll be about how they'll seem to fall in love... Yikee!!!! And how Anna's sister really died... Mwahahaha! It'll be sad and nice, I hope! hehe... so, watch out! Hehe... bye!