Chasing Light Through Darkness By Caleb Snow 11

Chasing Light Through Darkness By Caleb Snow 11 Summary

 

After winning the National Creative Design Competition Award, Anna instinctively wanted to share her success with Isaac Lucas. However, when she opened their chat, she saw an old message from him explaining he wouldn’t be home for a few days due to Alma’s grandma being sick. Hesitating, Anna chose not to reply, and Isaac did not follow up. The silence between them felt heavy, and Anna suddenly questioned whether her feelings for Isaac had faded amid their recent cold war.

 

Instead of reaching out to Isaac, Anna posted a photo of herself holding the trophy on Instagram, captioning it with a message about following her dreams. As friends congratulated her, Anna noticed a comment tagging Isaac, written by Alma Bailey, praising Anna as “incredible.” This led to a sharp phone call from Isaac, who was hurt and angry that Anna hadn’t told him about her win directly. He accused her of not caring and expressed frustration that he only learned about her achievement through others.

 

The tense conversation was interrupted by Alma’s playful but intrusive voice, defending Isaac and downplaying Anna’s feelings. Alma’s presence was a constant source of conflict, as Isaac often sided with her over Anna, calling Anna immature and dismissing her passions. Despite Anna’s love for photography and her hopes that Isaac would notice, Alma was the only one who engaged with her posts, further complicating their relationship.

 

Isaac’s dismissive and harsh words about Anna’s interests and his constant siding with Alma left Anna feeling drained and defeated. When Isaac expected her to back down from the argument, Anna simply admitted, “I don’t know anymore,” signaling her exhaustion and uncertainty about their relationship.

 

Continue Regular Chapter Reading Below

BOOK 2 – Chapter 1

After receiving the National Creative Design Competition Award, an overwhelming urge to share the news with Isaac Lucas surged through me. It felt natural, almost instinctive, to want him to know about this moment of triumph.

I opened our chat window, hoping to reach out, but my eyes landed on a message Isaac had sent a week earlier: [Anna, Alma’s grandma is sick again, so I won’t be home for the next couple of days.] I paused, hesitating. I didn’t reply.

Isaac didn’t follow up.

Caught up in the whirlwind of the competition, I had nearly forgotten the cause of our last cold war. The silence between us felt heavy, hollow even, and suddenly the desire to share my victory with him evaporated. A strange emptiness settled inside me, and I wondered if, somewhere along the way, my feelings for Isaac had quietly faded.

Closing the chat, I turned away and instead posted a photo on Instagram. The image showed me clutching the trophy, standing proudly on the stage, bathed in a dramatic mix of light and shadow that made me look like I was truly glowing. The caption read, “On the road to my dreams, I want to be my own star.”

As the likes and comments began to pour in, I felt a flicker of warmth. Friends praised me, calling me brilliant and amazing, while some expressed envy over my accomplishment. Their words lifted me, but then I noticed a comment tagging Isaac. It was from Alma Bailey.

“Isaac, look! Your wife is incredible,” she wrote.

Barely thirty seconds later, my phone rang. Isaac’s voice came through, sharp and demanding. “Anna, what do you mean by this?!” he asked, his tone a mix of hurt and anger.

“You entered such a huge design competition and didn’t even tell me! I had to hear from someone else that my girlfriend won first place. Do you even care about me?” His words hit me harder than I expected.

It had been a long time since I’d heard his voice, and despite the tension, a strange daze washed over me.

Isaac’s frustration spilled out in a rush. “Do you know how many people have congratulated me? I have no idea what for! If it weren’t for Alma, I wouldn’t even know you won an award!” His voice cracked slightly. “If you don’t tell me you won today, how will I even know who you are tomorrow?”

“Anna, what exactly are you trying to do?” His tone was sharp, confused, and almost desperate.

Before I could respond, a familiar, playful female voice interrupted from the other end. “Isaac, don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions—you’ll scare Anna!” Alma’s voice was light, teasing.

I could almost hear her patting Isaac’s shoulder as she continued, speaking to me with an air of authority, as if she owned the house. “Anna, don’t be mad at Isaac. That’s just how he gets sometimes. Actually, he’s pretty happy. He was even smug when he heard you won, saying he wanted to celebrate with you when you got back.”

Isaac’s dismissive reply came swiftly. “Who wants to celebrate with her? She doesn’t care about me at all. What’s there to celebrate?” He sounded bitter.

Alma chimed in, “You’re the only one who speaks up for her. Honestly, if you ask me, she deserves to be ignored—”

“Isaac.” I cut him off abruptly.

It was always like this. Whenever Isaac was around, Alma was never far behind. No matter how many times I confronted them, no matter how many arguments I had with Isaac, he always seemed to side with Alma. He’d call me immature, narrow-minded, unable to understand his world.

Even though I loved taking photos and sharing them daily—especially hoping Isaac would notice—the only person who ever responded was Alma. And whenever I got upset and told Alma to stop meddling with Isaac’s phone or invading our privacy, Isaac would snap at me, saying things like, “Can’t you stop thinking such filthy things?”

“Who cares about the stuff you share anyway?”

“Every day, it’s just pictures of flowers, grass, or stray cats and dogs on the street. Anna, can’t you come up with something new?”

“I’m so annoyed with you. I have important things to do every day; I don’t have time to deal with you all the time!”

But this time, I felt drained—too exhausted to keep fighting. The fire inside me flickered and dimmed.

So, when Isaac waited for me to back down, I simply said, “I don’t know anymore.”

Conclusion

 

The chapter closes on a poignant note of emotional exhaustion and quiet resignation. Anna’s victory, which should have been a moment of shared joy, instead highlights the growing distance and unresolved tension between her and Isaac. Their conversation, laced with frustration and misunderstanding, reveals how deeply the silence and lack of communication have worn on both of them. The presence of Alma as an interfering force further complicates their fragile connection, leaving Anna feeling isolated and unsure of where she stands in Isaac’s world.

 

Despite the ache of their strained relationship, there remains a subtle undercurrent of longing and vulnerability. Anna’s final words, “I don’t know anymore,” capture the uncertainty and pain of loving someone while feeling unseen and unheard. This chapter delicately explores the complexities of love, pride, and identity, portraying how even in moments of personal triumph, emotional wounds can cast long shadows. It leaves readers with a sense of hope mingled with sadness, waiting to see if the light of understanding can eventually break through the darkness between them.

 

What to Expect in Next Chapter?

 

The next chapter promises to delve deeper into the fragile and complicated dynamics between Anna and Isaac, as the walls they’ve built around their relationship threaten to crumble under the weight of unspoken emotions and misunderstandings. The tension sparked by Anna’s victory and the ensuing confrontation will likely force both of them to confront not only their feelings but also the influence Alma wields over their lives. Readers can anticipate a poignant exploration of trust, jealousy, and the struggle to be seen and valued by the ones we love.

 

As the emotional distance grows, Anna’s internal conflict about her identity and her place in Isaac’s world will become even more pronounced. The next chapter may reveal cracks in Isaac’s defenses, exposing vulnerabilities beneath his bitterness, while Anna grapples with the painful question of whether their love can survive the shadows that have settled between them. The coming moments will test their resilience and may lead to revelations that challenge everything they thought they knew about each other.