Hope for Us (NEWT) [COMPLETED]

Prologue

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Humanity was beautiful...

The everyday difficulties of life were never enough to suffocate its essence.

It was the dawning of a new era.

Amira and Anne Callan, most commonly known as the Callan Sisters in the celebrity world, were both known for their successful entrepreneurship after inheriting their family's fortune, which stretched generations back. They also had their participation in the modeling and acting industry.

Matteo D'Angelo was a young Italian immigrant who traveled to Los Angeles, in order to practice as a dentist, something he no longer wanted to continue doing in his country.

After passing the exam that granted him a license to practice dentistry in America (NBDE), he established his own business. It grew significantly, making it prosper so much that it qualified for an even higher profit as a private dental business exclusively for the famous population.

Coincidentally so, Matteo and Amira first met when she booked her first dental appointment with him.

His eyes fell upon the beautiful young woman, pale skinned, dressed in designer clothing, hair in an updo, and sunglasses shading her eyes. She was majestically elegant, yet her bright and courteous persona radiated an energy impossible to resist.

And the young beauty herself wasn't blind to the attractive doctor. He spoke with a soft, yet firm voice, and he seemed to enjoy his job. He was patient, charismatic, and focused—a fascinating young man. He stood with poise, a charming smile on his face, which in turn allowed his tanned skin to dip slightly on both cheeks, forming two perfect dimples.

They both began dating at the peak of their career, and they couldn't be happier. Young love, and the promise of a successful career, fulfilled their lives.

Anne, on the other hand, found a modeling job opportunity all the way in Alaska.

One afternoon, in Wiseman, she decided to leave her hotel and go downtown. Unbeknownst to her, she would meet someone who would change her life forever.

Janson was a nobody. At least that was what he thought of himself, yet he was always aspiring to be more. He pictured himself sitting at an office, having a long line of employees working under his direction. He pictured it and it came true.

Except that instead of employees, he had customers; instead of an office, he had a taxi; and instead of ordering employees around, he served his passengers in exchange for minimum wage salary. It didn't help his situation that he was living by himself in a small apartment, the cheapest he could afford.

He arrived at the hotel one day, making a stop by the curb, and then the beautiful Anne Callan opened the door to the backseat, and got into the taxi.

With any other passenger on any given day, he hadn't cared about making a good impression, or simply being kind for the time of the ride. It was just another boring, busy afternoon. He'd go out to work, return home late at night, sleep, then wake up the next morning to replay the activities of the previous day for years.

But that day was different. Her face was familiar; he had fancied the star for the longest time, and never expected to see her in person. That somehow made it important—even necessary—for him to go out of his comfort zone and make sure the woman would accept another ride some other time, and ideally, more after that.

They were two people from completely different worlds. It was impossible to picture their worlds colliding—unthinkable even.

But Anne fell deeper than she'd thought. She promised to help him solve his economic hindrance and offered to get him the job of his dreams. She wanted an escape from her materialistically thriving life; it was empty. She wanted to settle down with a family instead of having to worry about looking perfect for the world of entertainment.

And Janson made her the happiest she had been in a long time. Their union even made him put off his dream job for a while, at least until he explored his possibilities in business. Small steps—he called them—all for a greater future. Anne only resented not being able to see him as often as before.

Amira, however, was content with both career and family. Simply because they were the Callan Sisters didn't mean that she and Anne had to have the same aspirations, the same hopes and dreams, or the same self-improvement ideologies. She and Matteo were, in fact, expecting their first child.

And then the most unnatural natural disaster swept across the face of the earth.

A catastrophe of scorching solar flares hit land and sea, frying many satellites, and killing and injuring people and wildlife.

It was unprecedented, ruining the career of many astrophysicists around the globe.

The population had already exceeded the earth's capacity, which tripled the impact of famine and forced eviction in the most affected areas. The big cities posed the greatest danger—them being the most populated.

Desperate measures were taken, but the world was not prepared for what had come upon it.

The government became one, but one is still always divisible by parts of a whole.

Tragedy had no respect for race, gender, age, nor economic status. The world loved its famous icons, but not even money was able to buy security or indemnity for every single one of them.

Janson had luckily gained a job opportunity that held a partnership with the government as soon as he and Anne settled in Wiseman, before everything. Worried about her sister and her family after the disaster, Anne begged Janson to bring them from Los Angeles to Wiseman.

After weeks and weeks of roaming the streets of the large city, watching famine sweep out entire families, unrest and panic taking control, Matteo and Amira were found in a small shelter. Almost all homes had become inhabitable. They lost their jobs; the government had taken most of the people's savings as a means to afford a solution.

The couple had spent every bit of their remaining money trying to survive and uphold the shelter, which didn't succeed very much. They were completely bankrupt.

With Amira being six months pregnant, they didn't think it twice to follow Anne and Janson back to the small town of Wiseman. It wasn't the life full of commodities they used to have, but family was above everything else, and no place better than that for their survival.

Three months later, in their new home just a few blocks away from Anne and Janson's house, Matteo and Amira welcomed their first and only child.

Sara D'Angelo Callan.

Born amidst tragedy, the baby girl brought the family their greatest joy. Her parents were proud, yet terrified. Their miracle baby had been welcomed to a damaged world, and yet, she'd only see it deteriorate even more.

Humanity was beautiful.

But just as everything that existed had a time and place, there was always room for drastic change...

It was, indeed, the dawning of a new era.