THE SECRET KEEPER

There were times that life was better to keep things in secret than bringing it to the open so that no miseries happen to families. One of the most kept secret was love affair. Take the case of a family belonging to the higher level of society when the parents were against the relationship. Loise and Omar lived in the same place but hadn't met at all until they were grown up. Since Loise was already a professional, a practicing lawyer her parents Marita and Marion were expecting that their child would not be involved into a controversial relationship. Attending the weekly church service kindled a relationship with the assistant. minister who was on a scholarship grant to become a minister, This situation made Loise uneasy but she cannot hold herself to go to Omar when he was assisting the minister during the Holy Communion and Loise bowed to Omar calmly but their is a strange spark in their eyes when Loise received the Holy Bread from Omar. Loise was raised to be God fearing traditionally practiced by their folks for generations as the church building historical record shows that it was built in the 18th century. How can people missed their Sunday church services and other holidays when the yearly celebrations were held.?One Christmas time when the weeklong MIdnight Mass was held , and Loise was accompanied by their helper Mappy to attend they went to seat on a vacant six meter bench. Omar was putting the Mass Bulletin and he gave a copy to Loise. This is their first encounter. Mappy with a keen observation based on her passed experiences she would assume something strange happened to Loise and Omar. She had to mention it to the parents of Loise that Omar had a special interest to Loise why he was the one putting the Mass Bulletins. Mappy thought Omar was waiting for them and when they were seated on the third row he went to hand a copy to Loise. Mappy didn't say anything but to decide in her mind if she would report this to Marita her mother or to Marion his father. That was how strict Marita and Marion to their child. "They don't want even a fly would land on their child" as the saying goes. Since the Christmas Midnight Mass was held from the last week of November to the 25th of the December and Loise didn't like to miss a single night Omar gave her a copy during that first week. At the second week Mappy noticed that Omar introduced a lady to Loise. Mappy learned that she was the aunt of Omar. Still Mappy was reluctant to tell to Marita and Marion that Loise met Nancy the aunt of Omar. The following days Loise and Nancy became closer that they would talk to each other after the Holy Mass. Mappy didn't know Nancy was inviting Loise to their house. Loise didn't tell this to her Mom or Dad being afraid that they will not agree. Omar's family was not familiar to their household. Loise wanted to know more about Omar. There was a mutual attraction between them that they wanted to discover about and to explore a special relationship since their church allows marriage between members of the church. At the third week Loise left her office early and went to the address Nancy gave her for the birthday party of their niece Carmina a very special occasion for them to know more about each other. Loise learned that Omar was going to London, England to farther his studies in Theology. Loise wanted to meet Omar more often so they talked about it. They decided to join a group meeting for singles. At these meetings they could talked more often and see what they can do about the future. Omar insisted that he would continue his studies but Loise told him that they could take another course of their relationship since Loise wanted to raise a family at her age being the only child. They have gasoline stations to manage and Omar could manage them. The problem was that the family of Loise doesn't agree if they get married since the family of Omar was not that well off. Mappy was told to keep the secret plan of Loise and Omar. Loise was determined to marry Omar and by all means this must be kept secret as they instructed Mappy to keep it. Mappy was living in fear. What happens if her parents will learn about the love affair of Loise Will they accept Omar as their son in law? There will be a big problem since Omar had no fix income and he was going to marry Loise a lawyer and the only heir of their businesses. They don't know that if Loise will not get marry where will their businesses go? The government will seize their properties without any heirs. This was the only chance Loise could marry at her ripe age. On the part of Omar his family had been eyeing a rich family to be attached to. That happened to his cousin who was not also accepted. When they brought it to court the wife declared she loves him so the court was not able to separate them. The same thing they would expect Loise's parents would accept Omar too. Several months passed. Loise can no longer hide that she was pregnant. Everybody in their household the chef the housekeeper and the gardener are tight lipped. Maybe Mappy had told them that they kept the secret as being instructed. Then the most unexpected scenario happened when Loise called for an ambulance that she was going to the hospital. Her parents were startled when they saw the blood dropping on the floor as Loise was going into labor. The ambulance arrived on time to let Loise deliver her baby at the hospital, Her parents were dumbfounded having no information or there was nothing mentioned about Loise's pregnancy or the whereabouts of the father of the child. Loise was successful to hide her condition that she was very happy to become a mother.. Nobody knew that she planned to raise her child alone as her parents didn't like their family. As soon as Loise came out of the hospital Omar was not allowed to visit Loise and the baby. Loise knew that Omar and his family will only take advantage of their social status and Omar will not work too much and that would be an irritant to Loise's parents who had worked so hard in order to accumulate and sustain their businesses. When Loise explained her plan to Marita and Marion they easily agreed. Loise thanked Mappy and their other helpers having kept the secret until the baby was born to be the one to announce what the secret was. Marion's family didn't file any complain or protest in court knowing their case wouldn't be heard as it was a closed case to both families.