**

Sherry Cuevas was born in a thriving family. As an only child, she was doted on by her parents and had everything given to her.

Despite this kind of treatment, Sherry never had a despicable attitude. She's well mannered and acts gracefully. She is a good child who abides her parents' teachings. She never went against them nor asked anything for her leisure.

Sherry has an easygoing attitude. She did good at school and won some competitions. Being in the student council, she has good relation to almost everybody.

Her dad works as a director in a medium size corporation and her mom works in the finance company. Their family was pretty well-off that her first and second uncle would always knock to their door whenever the as asking for financial help.

Sherry didn't mind it though, because she thought that it was only natural to help your family when they are in need.

It all went down when she received a call from her father. It was just a few weeks after her high school graduation. Her mother was sent to a hospital and was diagnosed with cancer.

It was really abrupt. This brought a huge blow to Sherry's family. All of their savings as well as the funds prepared for her college was spent for her mother's medication. Her father then worked overtime everyday, he also took loans to pay off the hospital bills.

Though her parents was against it, she decided not to enter college and directly work instead. She reasoned that she will only stop for the time being and will eventually continue after a year or two, thus convincing the couple to agree.

Sherry juggled two to three jobs a day and earned enough salary that she could give out several hundreds of dollars to her father each month.

For several months, Sherry's mom was showing an optimistic results with her tests and her condition seemed to become better.

This made the father and daughter to become more hopeful. They prayed to all the Gods they knew and thanked them for their loved one become better. Of course, they asked them to help her fully recover from her illness.

The father was really feeling bad for her daughter to quit school and do odd jobs. Since the wife is getting better, he should let her daughter continue her studies. When the new school year was about to come, he asked her to be enrolled. She reluctantly agreed.

But that opportunity never came.

The month before Sherry's college first semester, her mom's condition suddenly worsened.

After another year and a half years of hospitalization and medication, her mother's succumbed to death.

After the funeral was held, Sherry and her father never had the chance to mourn her mother longer. The bills piled up and the loans were still unpaid. They were forced to leave their house and rented a small apartment in the suburbs.

They worked hard to pay their bills and rarely meet at home. Her father was practically living in the office he's working at because of overtime.

Seasons passed, the two was able to pay off large portion of their debt.

But it wasn't long before her father also weakened and passed away. It was because of his grief and constant worrying about the bills and guilt of not being able to provide for her daughter.

This made Sherry feel that her world crumbled down.

Sherry felt that she could move on from her mother's demise as long as she still has his father, they could weather the storm. But now that he was gone, what will happen to her? What's her reason to fight?

Ever since her mom became ill, Sherry's gradually lost contact to her friends. Though there were still who will send an email or two asking about how she had been.

She never had time to be in a romantic relationship after breaking up with her previous boyfriend when her mother was still hospitalized. She found out that the man had been dating another girl. When she confronted him, the man said that he couldn't bear anymore that they can't see each other often and Sherry had not continued her study.

Sherry cried her heart out all night. Why can't he be more understanding? It's not like she wanted this situation. It's not fair!

Relatives? Yeah, but they were practically invisible to them. There were not even many who attended her mom and dad's funeral. Some were even pretending to be not home when father visited them asking for help. Before, they were in constant contact, especially if they needed monetary help. You would really know one's true color when you are down, Sherry bitterly thought.

She then continued to work hard day and night, dragging her tired body home to and fro everyday. She tried to become happy and forced to let out a smile and laugh from time to time to let herself forget her sufferings.

With the money he received from her dad's insurance and her hard earned money, she was able to pay off the remaining loans.

Thinking of her life for the past years, Sherry couldn't help but release a long sigh.

That night, Sherry looked at her reflection in the mirror. She used to look very energetic and her white skin was soft and supple. Her lips were cherry red and her round eyes has this unique charm. Her hands was never calloused. She had curves that is shown beautifully when she wears dresses.

But now, looking at the girl reflected in the mirror, they were obviously worlds apart. Her skin was now pale and haggard. Her long silky black hair was cut into shoulder length and looked dry. The dark bags under her eyes made her look gloomy. Her hands were full of callouses. The curves were now gone and her body looked like a washboard.

She was not as attractive as she were before.

This was only natural. She grew older as the years went by. And her body became burdened with fatigue and distress.

After her parents' demise, she didn't have enough money to doll herself or have luxurious meals. Every penny went to pay off their bills and loans.

For the first time in 32 years, Sherry bought several bottles of alcohol and few meats. She downed all the alcohols in large gulps. She disregarded the bitter taste of it and forced helself to swallow it while the tears in her eyes continuously streamed down her face until nothing would come out.

Opening her last bottle, she took a look with the room with a blurry eyes. Her lips curved in a small smile.

Sherry, this is the last night. Tomorrow, you are free from worries and burdens. Start anew. Find a husband—no, a boyfriend soon. Become truly happy. Taking a large gulp of the alcohol, she felt the room swayed and became dizzy. Sherry chuckled lightly to herself. Ah, she was really drunk now. She sprawled freely on the floor and soon drifted to sleep.