In a small village called Gugma, there live a maiden called Daniella. Like her name, she is very beautiful and adorable. Admired by many, she is like a repetition of the past and a perfect replica of her mother's beauty. Men aspired for her with her perfection for she is one very fine woman; slender curvaceous body, silky straight hair, those lips and almond eyes every gentleman would wish to become a wife. “Those are the face I long to touch and those are the eyes I wish would look at me for a minute or two.” These are the word someone from afar talks to himself every time she had a glimpse of her. He continued with a sigh saying, “But my lady, we are like sky and land, two different worlds that would never ever collide no matter how I try. You are a daughter of wealthy merchant man and I am a lowly gardener who looks at you from afar.” Her Father is a good man; he loves her more than anyone else. He has given his life for her. He always shares to his loyal servant; the gardener know how he was so in love with Daniella’s Mom reason why he never married again when she died while giving birth to Daniella. He never wanted anyone to touch nor changed anything from the room she has taken her last breath; that room where a life ended and another one started.
As a routine when they had a heart to heart talk with his Master, his Master repeatedly tell his servant that: “Isabella and Daniella is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love them both and I missed Isabella so much” With teary eyes he also added, “I can’t find myself falling in love with anyone else but her.” Daniella’s father trusted him like a best friend and treated him like a brother. “How lucky you are to have a father like him; a father who can provide you all the material things, a father so kind and a father who loves you more than his life.” The gardener always says.
But the Master’s love for her daughter in contrary of what everyone had expected to last have finally put to an end. For eighteen years, the Master has keep his wife’s room untouchable but he finally decided to let her memories rest and move on. So he started to fix her things, the gardener was there. With teary eyed, one by one, he fix all her photos and personal belongings. There he found this old diary; a dusty diary that contained a life changer reality, a diary belongs to Daniella’s mom. He was reading the content silently when for a sudden he let go a loud yell, crumpled the diary and throw it without any words. Extreme anger was drawn with his face, the expression the gardener has seen for the first time.
He was scared stiff, standing in the room alone, confused and afraid. He leaves the room. Out of curiosity, he read the diary. There he found the painful revelation; Daniella’s mom admitted she is not her father’s child. During pregnancy, she stated how she was in so much pain to see the Master’s kindness and excitement when in fact, the reality remains that the child inside her womb is not his child. Things went like fast-forwards, and he found himself listening how his Master wanted to murder Daniella. How he wanted to make her suffer. The kindest and loving father she has known for eighteen years have now transformed into a hideous beast. He asked the gardener to help him on doing and planning how to end her life. “Oh My Dear Daniella, you never know how my heart feels so crumpled and torn while those words enters my auditory senses.” The gardener on his thought he speaks. As planned, he abducted her one dark and silent night. The sleeping pills his Master put in her drink worked well and like Sleeping Beauty, she is in deep sleep. The gardener hugs her in his arms and kiss her on her forehead, touch her face while she is in deep sleep; those are the things he have done for the first time, thing he wanted to do for a long time. Those words from his master echoed on his mind saying, “take her to the woods and burry her alive.”
In deep silence he told himself “this is my one last chance to become your father and as your father I’ll protect you no matter what it would take, I will defend you. I love you so much my fair lady. I have loved you for a long time.” She was in shock to see him when she woke up in the dark and spooky woods. In fear, her voice trembles while she speak to him “Mr. Gardener, why am I here? Please don’t do anything to me, my father is a wealthy man, he’ll give you anything you want but please don’t hurt me.” She was very scared and he explained to her everything. She never trusted him at first till he handed the diary. Tears were streaming down her face while saying repeatedly, “why God? Why me? Why God? Why me?” in deep confusion, he beg her to run away as fast and as far as she can for anytime his master would come to see her buried in the mud alive. There, poor Daniella, running with the letter he asked her to read only when she reaches her farthest destination. The letter contains the Gardener’s shocking revelation of his claim as his true father. “Yes! I am your biological dad! For how many years I have hope and prayed I can tell the world that I am this beautiful Daniella’s father, me, Daniel.” In his thoughts he says while he took a glimpse of her daughter running away.
He was crying and weeping as he reminisce those happy days when he and her mom were so in love with each other and secretly meet in these woods. Till one time she ended everything, he still remember those words that put him in so much humiliation with his self “You are not rich and my parents would expect me to marry a wealthy man and that man is not you.” That was heartbreaking to hear but he never stops loving her. The wealthy man and Isabella got married but they still end up seeing each other and that’s how they had the beautiful Daniella. Her mom died, he was grief-stricken and with so much desperation, he worked at their house as gardener in order to see her child; Daniella. How he long to hug and kiss her. And wished every time she calls his master Dad, hoping she was actually calling for him. Those eighteen years he remained mouth chained. He have been very happy to see her grow from afar, to see her bloom like a beautiful flower he can just view but can never ever pick. He was so sorry for his child to know everything in such a way. An image of a tall, white man calls him back in his present senses. “Daniel?” he hear him speak; with fear and heartbreak he lift his face and saw his Master in front of him with confused and anguished face. He asked him, “Where is that bastard my wife have died for? The liche who I have feed and educated but turned out not related with me at all?” He never answered but instead, he pulls the trigger and throws the bullet straight through his head. The strong force that hit him made him drop down the ground but in return he did the same, with his gun he hit him on his right chest. He scream in so much anger, “why Daniel? I have trusted you! How could you do this you shameless idiot?” It was very painful for the gardener but he has prepared himself. With weak voice he answered, whispering and silently saying, “the father of the bastard you are talking about is me.. It is me.. Daniel.” With his remaining strength he pulls the trigger and that’s how his Master’s life ended. He closed his eyes and said his last death wish while repeatedly saying in tears, “There are lots of pains and my child is my favorite one.” When he opened his eyes, he realized everything was just a dream. And the dream was just a message from Daniella’s mom to help her keep the concealment of Daniella’s identity and in order to make it possible, he need to burn the diary; the dusty diary, the lone witness of their love and lone witness of his claims. He have found this diary few days past when his Master asked him to fixed and burn some belongings Isabella has left.
With his palm in face he told himself while crying, “This could be your mom’s last wish for me and being your father, I will never keep my hopes up, never again my fair lady.” His messages he spoke to the wind saying, “My Child, I love you more than anyone else but I’ve seen how My Master have guide, love and protected you and though it pains me to stay being known just your gardener, I’m willing to keep it that way because you are a beautiful flower whom blooms in a place she rightfully belongs.” Years have flown so fast and the gardener died without telling Daniella that he is his true father. He didn’t know that his Master’s kind heart knows everything from the start and before Isabella died; she begs for his forgiveness and tell him that a man might knock in courage through his door one day claiming his child. The gardener haven’t had the courage but instead, he have keep his loyalty and friendship towards his master and above all his unconditional love for his daughter knowing that his Master could give him the future and life he could not give.
Daniela's life is full of lies and untold stories but what matters most to a father, regardless of the pain and longing he is feeling is that the life she is in; the life he cannot give - SHE LIKED IT.
