I was full of doubts. My chaotic mind was slowly swallowing my whole being, leaving me hopeless.

While staring at the letter, I feel nothing but coldness, as though something uncanny showed in each of the letters that were written there. My palms were sweating and trembling. It was the worst feeling and I hate it. I hate it so much.

I have been thinking about nothing but this letter since last night. Who's that man? Why did he give me this letter? What is he trying to tell me?

I swallowed hard as I felt the throbbing in my head. It was unbearable. I squeezed my eyes shut, almost hurting them. My grip tightened around the piece of paper. I exhaled excessively multiple times.

I was catching my breath when the throbbing pain had slowly subsided.

I dropped my gaze to the letter. It became a bit crumpled. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to the cabinet. I rummaged through it until I found the small box. I hid the letter inside it.

When I was about to close the box, suddenly, I heard a rustling sound that came from my window.

I was paralyzed to my spot for a whole five seconds, fingers trembling. Even my breathing halted inside my lungs. A terrifying thoughts invaded my mind.

It was almost midnight. What could it be?

Or should I say... who could it be?

Slowly, I walked towards the window. I know that it was impossible for whoever is in there to see me because my room was dark, but that thought didn't help to erase my unexplainable fear.

I peeked at the window. I didn't even notice that my breathing had stopped. I tried to be as careful as possible. It was dark outside but there was a little light coming from a post.

I gasped when I saw a silhouette passed through the plants in our small garden. It was hard to tell if it was a human or some kind of animal because of darkness. I don't fucking know. Apart from that, the shadow moved fastly. It came from our garden and disappeared all of a sudden.

I went out of my room and ran. I switched all the light. A gasp escaped my lips when I saw the footprints on the garden, as though someone went here.

I roamed my eyes around the street, looking for any possible trace of that person.

And there...

A very tall man was standing at Sol's house. I didn't even think about it. I came to him, heart pounding aggressively inside my chest, as though begging me to release it.

"Who are you?!" Raging mad, I screamed at him. It made him froze. His massive back was all I could see. But slowly, he turned around to face me.

He was just staring at me for awhile. While my anger couldn't just easily disappear.

"What were you doing in our garden?! You went there, right?! Don't fucking deny it! I saw you!"

His forehead creased as he remained staring at me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he hissed, barely opening his mouth. I could almost hear annoyance in his voice.

"It was you! I saw you coming out from our garden! Who are you?! What did you do?!" I was unbelievably angry. My emotions went up severely when I think about the letter.

"I don't even know what you are talking about. I didn't go there," he mumbled. His voice was serious and cold.

I shook my head, teeth clenching. "I fucking saw you! I'm gonna call the police! I'll send you to jail!"

His forehead creased even more. He licked his lower lip as his

eyes smoldering with unmasked anger.

"Will you please calm down for a second? I don't even know what–"

"I won't let you get away with it! It was you! I'm fucking sure!"

I just stopped when I saw Sol coming out from her house. Her brows furrowed while looking at us.

"Nath– Y-Yula? What's happening? Rael? Why are you... what..." Her eyes filled with worry.

"I saw him!" My emotions were too overwhelming that suppressing a small sob from escaping my throat became too hard for me. "H-He tried to break into our house! It was him! I'm sure because there's no other people here other than him!"

Sol gasped. She looked at the man. "R-Rael?" Her voice was doubtful but there was a hint of fear.

I watched how the man clenched his jaw tightly while looking around.

Sol went to me and enveloped me in her arms. She caressed my arm.

"Yula, hush now. You're safe here..." Sol whispered but my tears wouldn't stop.

"I'm gonna call the police!" I screamed repeatedly but the man was only giving me a cold stare.

"N-No. Please, calm down, darling. Rael is my nephew."

"No! I can't be wrong! It was him! I know what I saw!" I glared murderously at this man. My pulse sped up and I was breathing very shallow. "It was you, right?! Tell me the fucking truth! What were you doing there at this midnight?!"

He shot me a hostile glare, eyes hardened. "You're just probably tired that's why you're hallucinating," he said menacingly under his breath.

I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed. I tried to steady my breathing but it didn't work.

"Yula, please... don't shout, darling. It was not him. I'm sure. You were just probably imagining things," Sol said softly while caressing my arm.

I shook my head, not believing any of those words. "No! I'm sure with what I saw! It was impossible for that person to just disappear in just a blink of an eye because I immediately went out of our house to see it then I... I saw him! I don't know why he was there but I'm fucking sure it was him! He left a lot of footprints!"

"Yula, please. Listen, it was not him, okay? Calm down. Let's talk about this when you're–"

"No! I can't calm down! If it not was you, then who could the fuck it be?!"

The man stared at me for a long time before he blew a sigh. He looked away before answering.

"I don't know... but it was not me..."  he whispered under his breath.

But his voice made me even more skeptical about him... as though he was trying to avoid something.

"There's nothing special or important thing happened in your life before the accident, Yula. So if I were you, I wouldn't even bother to think about my past. I and Papa are both farmers. We are poor. If there's anything we can consider special, that is when you became the mayor's mistress," my brother casually said.

I pursed my lips as I tried to decipher his words. Why did I do that? I've been hearing about this many times but I can't make myself believe in any of those rumors. I can never accept that I once ruined a family. I heard that the mayor has three children and his wife has a chronic disease.

Why did I let that happen? What was I thinking?

Whenever I try to remember anything, even just a bit from my past, I never succeeded. It just gives me a severe headache.

"That was a long time ago, Kevin. It was your sister's mistake. We should forget about that." My father emphasized each word.

"What? I didn't say anything! It was not my intention to offend her. I'm just trying to tell you, Yula. And besides, when you became his mistress, we were able to pay our debts! We were able to buy two carabaos! You know what? I've been thinking that if ever you weren't got into an accident, we might have been living in a mansion right now. But well, life sucks."

I didn't bother to say anything after what my brother said. His words kept on playing in my ears, almost making me feel awful.

I couldn't even get my eyes off the pictures that were hanging on the wall. There was a picture of me when I was five years old. Even the day when I graduated from senior high school. I always stare at these pictures everyday, hoping that it would give me even just a glimpse of my life before.

I spend most of my time making colorful crochet pouches. Because I do not have anything to do, I thought of something that would entertain me and make profit out of it. I searched on the internet the things which are easy to learn, and crochet pouch caught my attention. I watched tutorials until I perfectly learned how to make one. And now, it somehow became my small business.

"I just can't believe that you accused Rael! Does he look like someone who would break into someone's house? My god, Yula!" Lucille laughed annoyingly.

I pouted. "I don't know him personally, Lucille. And that was the first time I ever saw him," I said defensively.

"Well. I can't blame Yula, though. We couldn't tell just by someone's appearance if he's capable of commiting a crime. Even if they're ugly or not!" Nessa shrugged.

I didn't say anything. I continued crocheting a small pouch.

"But Rael is such a hottie, right, Yula?" Nessa smirked at me.

I furrowed my brows. "I'm not even thinking about that."

I don't care about people's physical appearance. If you're beautiful, fine. If you're ugly, it's even more fine!

"What do you mean you don't think about it? I don't believe you! Why? Do you like Simoun that much that you don't even find any other guy handsome anymore? My gosh! I'm sorry to say this but Simoun is worst than a monsoon!"

"Simoun is kind, Nessa."

"Of course, he would only show you his good side! But I know and I can feel it that he looks down on people like us! Don't you see it?"

"But you and Rael would be a perfect couple, Yula," Lucille muttered all of a sudden.

"What are you even talking about?" I felt a bit uncomfortable about what she said.

"Nothing. I just thought about it." She was still smirking at me.

I just laughed it off.

"You should sell these online, Yula! I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate it. They are so beautiful. Look! I love this one! I will buy this."

I've also thought about posting my products online but I'm still hesitating. I know that selling online has a lot of pros and cons, and the process is a bit complicated for me. Our neighbors buy my products and some of my mother's friends. I can only sell few because I'm the only one who makes these.

I saw a cute image of a bear on the internet. I became determined to make my own little bear crochet pouch.

It was kinda hard for me to follow its small diagram. I really wanted to finish it but I failed twice. I ended up starting from scratch to make my own pattern.

I sewed the bottom of the two ovals together with a long strand of yarn. I left a small yet enough space for the mouth and nose after sewing the buttons on the bear's face. This resulted in an adorable bear pouch. This is designed to hold phones but also works for other small items.

Probably around next week, I will sell these.

"How have you been, Yula?" That is what the owner of the store always says whenever she sees me.

"I'm doing great," I responded quietly because I do not even know how I feel.

"Do not worry, dear. God will never leave you. You will remember everything when the right time comes. Just have faith in Him."

All I can do was to offer her a smile. I muttered a small thank you when she handed me my change.

It was still six o'clock in the morning. The rising sun emitted a rosy hue across the sky.

"Good morning, Yula! What did you buy?" Nestor greeted me with a smile while sweeping their garden.

"Good morning! I just bought coffee and few eggs for our breakfast."

"I see! Don't forget your birthday gift for me, okay?" He was referring to the crochet pouch.

"Of course, I won't."

It was just a short walk as the store was not that far from our house.

I walked slowly when I saw the house that's almost across ours. I can't help but look at it.

A very tall man was topless. It was Rael, Sol's nephew.

He was trim build, not overly muscular with a disheveled dark brown hair. His complexion was warmer than gold. And like any other day, I noticed that he was watering their plants.

Embarrassment filled me whenever I think about what transpired few days ago. I feel so ashame that I accused him. My parents were disappointed when they heard about it. They said that Rael is such a nice guy and will never do such thing.

They said that it was probably some dude who has nothing to do in life.

I already apologized to Rael for what happened. He was not mad nor anything. He said that he understands. But recently, I can feel that he's been trying to avoid me.

I saw his aunt who just got out from their house. She was holding a cup. I think it was a coffee. When she saw me, she waved her hand and smiled. I responded in kind.

My gaze turned, once more, to her nephew. He was still looking at me so I smiled a little but I felt cold when he didn't reciprocate it. His gaze remained cold and impassive. I felt a bit of awkwardness.

He was so rude.

I just avoided his eyes and continued walking.

I thought that I would have a peaceful sleep tonight but I was completely wrong. I never expected that I would have this kind of dream after dreaming about a certain name recently.

But this time... it was not just a whisper.

It was a man.

I couldn't see his face. The only thing that was vivid to me was the dark woods. I do not understand what was happening. I do not understand why I keep on running... away from the man.

My heart was throbbing in my ears. I wanted to scream but something was stopping me for my mind was clouded with fear. The beast holding me captive took control of my entire being.

All I want was to get away from him. But it feels like I cannot able to escape from him even how fast I tried to run. He was just standing there, watching me, while I keep on running and running... and running. Our distance remained the same. Everytime I look over my shoulder to see if he's gone, he was still there.

And the gun that he was holding was the only thing I could remember.

"Where did you get those?" I asked, confusion filled my voice. A bouquet of blue and red roses was placed on our table. There was also a small pink teddy bear beside it. I just woke up and those were the first thing I have noticed in our small living room.

My mother shrugged her shoulders while looking at the flowers. "They are from Simoun. They are so beautiful, aren't they?"

I pouted. I walked over to the flowers and inspect it. They were so beautiful to look at, I admit. But I just can't help but feel a bit confused because this is the first time that Simoun sent flowers. Usually, he will just drop by in our house if he has something to give. And I didn't receive any message from him that he sent me these stuff.

"Are you sure that they are from Simoun?" My voice was filled with doubt. I opened my phone to type a message for Simoun.

- Did you send flowers?

Just a seconds had passed, I received a reply from him.

Simoun:

- No. Why? Have you eaten your breakfast?

I pursed my lips, staring at the flowers.

"Simoun did not send these, Ma. Are you the one who received it?" I asked my mother.

She nodded. "Yes. From the delivery boy. I just signed it. And he said the name of the sender is Simoun."

"But Simoun told me that he did not send anything, Ma. I asked him." Now, my voice was hard but the fear laced in it was vivid.

Her brows furrowed as she blinked. "W-What? But the delivery boy said that..."

I swallowed as fear crept in my skin. "Why did you receive it? You should have called me."

"I-I did not know, Yula."

"Good morning."

A cold and rough voice made me stopped. It was Rael. He was standing in our door. He put down the gallon of water. His eyes drifted on the flowers but he immediately looked at me.

"Thank you so much, Rael. Please, put it in the kitchen. Come here," my mother said as she left.

Rael stared at me for a moment before he averted his gaze, following my mother inside the kitchen. As much as I did not want to, my eyes seemed to have their own mind as they automatically followed him.

We decided to throw the stuff away because we were not sure who sent those.

But after a few days, I noticed something unusual. While I was combing my hair infront of the mirror, I noticed a small red light coming from the clock which was hanging on the wall. My brows furrowed in confusion as I stared at it more. Slowly, I put down my comb and stood up.

My steps were slow as I walked over to the wall clock, staring at the red dot.

Pulse beating in my ears as my stomach churning.

I grabbed the monoblock chair and stepped on it to reach the wall clock. My hands were trembling as I stared at it.

I went out of my room with the clock in my hand. I went to our garden where my father and some of his friends were. They were drinking some beers. Rael was also there.

"Dad!" My voice shook miserably. My father stood up from his seat immediately as soon as he saw the fear in my eyes. I also noticed Rael stood up.

Dad dropped his gaze on the wall clock in my hand.

"I-It has a camera!" I uttered, voice laced with fear. My father started inspecting the wall clock in his hand.

Rael walked over to us. His jaw was clenched tightly while looking at me.

My tears were unstoppable. I was hardly breathing. I swallowed as I hugged myself.

Rael took the wall clock from my father and he examined it himself. He started breaking the clock and I gasped when he pulled out a small red light which was connected in a small cable.

It was a small hidden camera.

"What is that? Why is it there?" My father asked in a confused tone.

Rael looked at my father. Suddenly, he snapped his eyes at me. I could not describe the emotion in his eyes but I can clearly tell that there was anger in them.

"Someone put this here. Someone is watching you secretly..." Rael's voice was filled with indignance.

Terror sucked the very breath from my mouth as pulse beating in my ears, blocking out all other sound.

"W-What?" My voice was numb with shock. Rael's jaw tightened repeatedly as he looked away.

I felt so lost as they continued examining the wall clock. I do not know what to feel. Anger, fear and even mistrust were overpowering me. I could not even open my mouth when they asked me. I could see their lips moving but my ears became numb.

"Yula! Yula! Can you hear me?"

Someone shook my shoulder which made me pulled out from my thoughts. My mother's eyes were full or worry. My gaze drifted to the man beside her.

Rael was silent but his eyes were full of darkness. Even though they have different colors, darkness was extremely strong and intense.

"When did you buy this wall clock." Rael asked in a stern voice. His eyes remained staring into mine.

I blinked as I tried to find answer. "I bought that two weeks ago." My tone was tired and weak.

His jaw tightened mercilessly. He let out a deep sigh.

"I think it is not a camera? It is probably just some sort of design?" my father's friend commented.

"This is a camera. I can't be wrong," I responded in a firm voice.

"But who will put it there if it is really a camera? What is their motive?" My father furrowed his brows.

"Where did you buy this?" Rael asked. His eyes fixed on mine.

"A-At the night market."

Rael pressed his lips together. When he looked away, he stared at the horizon as though he was in deep thoughts.

My mother accompanied me in my room. They already threw the wall clock away. They also had stopped drinking beers. My father's friends had already left and Rael was the only one who stayed. He was talking to my father.

I could not sleep after what happened. My eyes kept on finding a possible small red dot. I was so paranoid. I feel like someone was watching me. I could not even be comfortable in my own room anymore.

I was still lost even in the next morning. The fear in my heart was still overpowering my whole system. I could not even talk to my parents. My thoughts were in disarray.

I felt someone entered the kitchen. I immediately looked away when I saw Rael. He was holding some plastic bags and he put those down on the table as I continued washing the dishes. My mother asked him to accompany her at the wet market because my brother and my father were not here.

"Can I drink water?" I heard him uttered in a soft voice. I swallowed hardly as I quietly grabbed a glass. I wiped it with a clean towel before I filled it with water. I did not look at him but I could feel him watching me intently causing my hand to shake in discomfort.

"H-Here," I whispered as I put down the glass near him. I did not spare him a glance.

"Thank you..." he said gently.

I just nodded my head slightly before I went back to the dishes. Suddenly, I felt his presence beside me. My heart pounded ridiculously inside my chest. It was so fast that I thought I would lose my balance especially when I noticed our distance. I felt like I was on fire and like I might spontaneously combust at any moment.

I trembled when I felt the warmth of his body behind mine.

"Let me do it," he whispered. I let him washed the glass he used. I did not even notice that my breathing had stopped as I watched him carefully rinsed the glass. He put it beside him when he was done but he remained on his spot.

Slowly, I looked at him. His eyes were tired, I can tell. I swallowed hard. His eyes were weak as though he was in pain.

"How are you?" he whispered huskily.

My lips parted a bit as my heart was beating so loudly I thought he would hear it.

"I-I am okay." I do not know why his question brought a lot of pain in my heart. It hurts that I wanted to cry.

I saw how his eyes weakened even more. "Please, do not worry about anything."

I could not talk. This feels like a sweet torture.

"Yula..." His voice was almost begging. "Can I... hug you?"

I found myself swallowing nervously. I stared into his tired eyes. But he immediately took a step back, aggressively running his fingers through his hair.

"I am sorry. Just..." He sighed excessively, averting his gaze. "Just forget about it," he whispered before he turned his back on me, leaving me alone.