Nikola did not stay any longer here. After we ate, she stayed for few minutes before she left. I just got the chance to ask about her when we were on our way home.

"Her car had some problem yesterday. And Rael was the one who fixed it. I did not expect that she will be here again. From what I know, she is from the other town."

I pouted when I heard Lucille.

"And did you hear them?! They are texting each other!" Nessa gasped.

"Tss! But Rael is not always relying to her! I heard him! That woman is very obvious! She does not know how to be hard to get!"

"Well, are you even going to act hard to get if Rael is infront of you?"

Their conversation about that went long. I just remained quite about it because I do not have anything to say to that rude man.

As I reached home, I took a shower before I made myself busy with making crochet pouch. I put the money that I earn from selling these pouches in my piggy bank. Once I made it full, I will give it to my parents to pay for our debt. I know that will not be enough but at least I am trying.

I did not notice that the sun had already set. When I checked outside, it was already dark and the sky was a bit gloomy. I was in our living room when Mama entered. I did not expect the man behind her.

Rael had some plastic bags on his hands which I concluded were the groceries my mother had bought.

I immediately looked away and focused on the crochet pouch I was making.

And why is he here?

"Darling, can you please get some snacks for Rael? We still have chocolate cake there, right?" Mama told me so I was left with no choice but to obey her.

I glanced at Rael when I stood up. I caught him staring at me. I heard Mama telling him to sit while waiting for me. What is he doing here?

He followed me in the kitchen to put the groceries in there.

"Thank you so much, Rael. I will take care of this." I heard Mama.

"It is nothing, Lourdes."

I quietly sliced the cake and made orange juice for him because I am a nice neighbor.

When I came back in the living room, he was already sitting on the sofa. He fixed his posture when he saw me.

I raised a brow at him.

I put the plate infront of him together with the juice and quietly went back to where I was sitting earlier. This is our house. Why would I be the one who should adjust?

"Can I buy this one?" His voice was soft.

I looked at him. I did not notice that he was holding the crochet pouch, the one with a bear. His expression was unreadable. I could not tell if he was serious with what he had said or what.

He was wearing a simple white v-neck shirt and chino shorts. His hair was slightly disheveled.

"For whom?" I asked in a calm voice, meeting his intense eyes.

"For me," he whispered softly.

"That design does not suit you," I could not help but commented.

He pouted, dropping his gaze on the other crochet pouches on the table.

"Which of these suits me then?" he asked me.

I averted my gaze and tried to think about what design suits him. But the designs were all colorful. I have just noticed right at this moment that the bear was the only design that can be considered for a man.

But that design does not suit him. And it is far from his personality to have this kind of crochet pouch. Suit himself. I am not forcing him to buy so if he ever realizes that the crocheting pouch is ugly, that is his problem.

"Are you really going to buy one?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

His forehead creased. "I will. Don't you want me to buy one?"

I did not argue with him.

"This is a business. You should not ask for a discount, okay?" I told him if ever he was planning to ask for a discount.

His thick brows met. "I am not asking for a discount."

"I am just telling you. Do not be like Lucille who almost wants to get these pouches for free." I pouted. "I think that design is perfect for you. I am sure you are into colorful things."

"It does not matter to me," his voice was tender.

"That costs one hundred." I smiled sweetly.

He stared at me longer than he should before he averted his gaze. "Okay..." he whispered as he took out his leather wallet from his pocket.

I pouted as I continued crocheting, waiting for his payment.

"I can get the change tomorrow," he uttered making me looked at him.

A one thousand peso bill was in his hand.

"That is too big, Rael."

He pouted. I could clearly see that he was suppressing his lips to lift up. I creased my brows.

"I do not have change for that," I said and went back to crocheting.

I heard him sighed deeply. I looked up at him when he stood up from his seat.

"Wait for me. I will be quick," he said and walked away. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Love." I looked at where the voice came from. Simoun had just entered our house while Rael was on his way to the door. Simoun was frowning at him.

I put down the crochet pouch and stood up. Simoun went to me and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"I did not expect that you have a visitor. Who is he?" Simoun asked in a firm tone.

"Uhm..." I quickly glanced at Rael who was now staring at me through his cold eyes. His both hands were dug into his pockets.

"H-He is Rael. He is our neighbor, Simoun," I answered, smiling a bit.

"Really? Anyway, I brought you some pizza, donut, ice cream and pasta from my favorite restaurant. Yup. I know. Too many foods but I have a lot of money. And didn't you mention yesterday that you wanted fruit cake? And because I love you, of course, I bought one for you."

My eyes were drifting from them. Rael was just watching us. I do not even know how to make him leave.

"Bro, I think you can leave now? Her boyfriend is here. You should go home."

My jaw dropped at Simoun's words.

I saw Rael's brow raised. His eyes darkened as he stared at Simoun.

"I am sorry. Do not worry. I do not have any bad intention," Rael uttered in a casual tone.

"That's good to know then. I just do not want any man being near to my girlfriend," Simoun stated rudely.

"Uhm." I decided to insert myself. "Rael, you can pay the pouch tomorrow." I smiled a bit.

He pouted as he stared at me for a moment before he looked away and nodded a bit. "Okay..." he whispered.

I watched as he disappeared from my sight before I glanced at Simoun who was looking at where Rael exited.

"Let's go? Mama is in their room. My father is not yet home," I said before leading the way.

Simoun had a lot of stories to share. While we were eating, he has been talking while I was just listening.

"Mom wants me to settle down already. I'm turning 30 this year. And I told her that I am just waiting for you to be ready," he said suddenly which made me so shocked.

I felt like I could not even swallow the donut. I grabbed the juice and gulped it down.

"I am not rushing you. Especially now that you can't remember anything. I will wait until you can remember everything before we get married. You are the only woman I want, Yula. I will wait for you," he continued which made me shocked even more.

"Simoun, I still have not made you my boyfriend." I stared directly into his eyes.

He nodded. "I know. But I am sure that you will eventually. It is better for us to have our plan for our future."

My lips parted, blinking multiple times at his words. He stared at me and suddenly, his eyes flashed with annoyance but it immediately vanished.

"Do not tell me you have no plans in marrying me?" He laughed and shook his head. "I am just kidding. I know that you will never do that. I am rich. You will never find someone like me," he said with confidence.

If Sol did not come, I was probably going insane everything that Simoun has been telling me. My mind could even process his words at all.

I stood up to find out why Sol knocked

"Yula, can I ask for your help, dear? I am going to the small market tonight. I forgot to buy some stuff because I was not able to bring my list. And Rael has migraine so he can't come with me," she said while glancing at Simoun every so often.

"Oh. Is that so?" I looked at Simoun. He stood up and checked on us. His palm rested on my back gently.

"What is it?"

"Oh! I did not know you have a visitor, dear. Uhm, I think I can go by myself. I can manage, Yula. Even though my back is hurting, I still can manage to carry the things that I will buy."

I shook my head immediately. "I will go with you. Do not worry."

"I can drive you. So you will not need to commute," Simoun volunteered which made Sol shook her head immediately.

"No need, dear. I do not want to bother you. I think it is better for you if you will go home. It is very dangerous if you are going home late in the evening."

I silently agreed to Sol. And I wanted Simoun to leave. I feel like our conversation about marriage made me so exhausted. I could not bring myself to listen to him anymore.

"Go home now, dear. You know how dangerous this place is."

"Sol is right, Simoun." I smiled a bit.

"Uhm, okay. But I can drive you to wherever you are going and then I will just go home straight as soon as I dropped you off."

I was about to say something when Sol talked.

"There is no need for that, dear. It is fine with us. You should leave now. You might get stuck on traffic."

I watched Simoun's car slowly disappeared. Sol went home to get the list of the things she needed to buy. I went to their house.

I saw Rael coming out from their house. Sol was behind him. When he saw me, he just stared at me through serious eyes.

"Rael can drive us. He said that his head does not hurt that much. Come here, dear," Sol told me and help my arm.

I looked at Rael who was walking infront of us. I furrowed my brows.

"What are we going to use?" I asked Sol.

"I burrowed Lando's owner. And has your visitor left already?"

"Yes. He just left few minutes ago."

She nodded and smiled. "That is good then," she whispered.

We were just silent while we were on the car. I should not have came with them. Rael is here. But Sol did not let me not to go with them. She said that it is better for me to go outside even once in a while.

Rael was behind us. He was carrying all the things Sol had bought. I offered my help but he did not let me. We did not even talk until we reached home. I did not have anything to say. And I think his mood was not good because whenever my eyes glanced at him, his forehead was always in creased.

When I reached home, I just read Simoun's message.

Simoun:

– I just got home safely. I love you.

I heaved a deep sigh and typed immediately.

– Ok.

I put down my phone on the bed before I went to the bathroom to take a shower.

"This is a lot. We even have two cakes! Is someone having birthday every single day?"

I saw my brother peeking at the boxes on the table.

"Yeah. I think we have to give the other to our neighbors. Won't Simoun be angry?" My mother looked at me. I sat and grabbed one donut.

"Why would he be mad? We are just being a good neighbors," my brother said.

"Okay! We will give this one cake to Nessa. And this donut for Sol. Yula, you give these to them, okay?"

I nodded at my mother. The box with six donuts is for Sol. I gave it to them first before I went to Nessa.

There was no one in their garden so I went inside and knocked on the door. I waited for a moment before it opened. I smiled at Sol. My eyes drifted behind her. I saw Rael, his back on us. He was talking to his phone.

"Yula, you are here! What is it, dear? Do you need anything?"

Rael drifted his eyes on our direction. His forehead creased as he put down his phone and walked away. I think he was going to his room.

"Uhm," I brought my eyes back to Sol. "These are some donuts. We have a lot in our house. So we thought to give some to you."

She took the donuts from my hand with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh! Thank you very much, dear. This is my favorite. Oh! You came here in a perfect time! Come inside, dear. I cooked sweet coconut soup. You should taste it."

I was not able to refuse when she took my hand and pulled me. Their house is simple like ours. There was no extravagant things.

She made me sat while she stirred the sweet coconut soup. I roamed my eyes around the surrounding, thinking that Rael will enter any moment now. But the minutes had passed, I did not see him.

I wonder what he was doing?

"I am sure that when you taste it, your memory will be back," Sol uttered as she put down the bowl infront of me.

I smiled at her words.

"I hope so," I answered in a soft voice.

Our conversation went long as we ate the sweet coconut soup. It tasted good actually. Not too sweet. Just perfect for my taste.

"Rael's mother is my sister. Since he was a kid, I have been taking care of him," that is what Sol said when I asked about Rael's parents.

"My mother said that you just moved in here a couple of months ago. They said that you are not really from here?" I asked curiously.

"Uhm, I mean..." She looked away, scratching her head. "We do not permanent house. We just rented some apartment. Our house was sold few years ago." She smiled at me before she grabbed her juice and sipped on it.

I pouted and nodded slightly. "Does Rael have a sibling?"

"He does not have any sibling," she said almost immediately.

I did not see Rael until I decided to go home after we ate.

But I did not know that he was just at their garden. I saw him there when I went outside. His back was my view. And he seemed to be in deep thoughts while looking at the dark sky dotted with stars.

The sky was surrounded by brilliant stars that stretched to infinity. And the crescent moon bathed in the light of the sun made it more stunning.

My steps slowed down as I did not want to grab his attention. But I failed because he suddenly glanced at my direction.

His hands was dug into his pockets as he watched me through serious eyes. His stare was cold, almost making me freeze.

"Uhm, I-I will go now," I uttered softly in a small voice.

He averted his gaze. "Is that man your boyfriend?" suddenly, he asked in a low voice.

My lips parted a bit, not expecting him to say those words or to say something at all. He glanced at me again when he noticed that I was silent.

"N-No. H-He is still courting me," I whispered under my breath.

"When will you make him your boyfriend, then? It seems to me that your parents like him very much for you," he uttered, not looking at me.

"Simoun is gentleman and very kind. He is not hard to like."

"So why don't you make him your boyfriend? You just mentioned that he is not hard to like. Then marry him because I think he is ready to make you his wife."

I could not even understand his tone that he used. Sarcastic? Cold? Mocking? I do not know.

"I am not ready to get married." I pouted, dropping my gaze on my feet. "And he knows that. I told him. He said that he is willing to wait until I am ready."

Silence wrapped around us for a moment. He was just looking infront of him like he did not want to glance at me or what.

"What will you do once your memory comes back?" he breathed. Finally, he shifted his eyes at me. His eyes were hooded as though he was tired.

"I honestly do not know..." I bit my lower lip as I looked away.

We fell in silence again. I stared at him. I was wondering why he was in deep thoughts and I do not know why I wanted to know about it. I wanted to hear his thoughts. I thought he had completely ignored me but suddenly, he sighed deeply.

"You should go home now," he whispered huskily after a moment of silence.

But I thought that I am going to have a peaceful sleep tonight. But I was wrong...

The man was there, again. My tears were falling as I tried to run as fast as I could. I whimpered and my legs collapsed underneath me. I want to wake up. I want to scream but a strong force was stopping me, holding me. I was very scared. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to escape.

"Yula! Yula! Oh my god! My daughter!"

I felt a pair of hands holding me, shaking me as though they were trying to wake me up. I felt the beads of sweat forming in my forehead when I sat on the bed.

I was hardly breathing. My heart leaped into my throat as I shook with fear. I could feel nothing but absolute dread.

I could not stop myself from sobbing like a kid because of fear. I hugged my mother tightly.

"Ma... I-I am scared. I am scared. Ma..." My arms around her tightened more. She was caressing my back as she planted kisses on my hair, trying to soothe me.

Why is that? What is happening? I do not understand. I do not know. Who is that man? Why is he showing in my dreams? What is my connection to him? Do I know him? Does he know me? What is my relationship to him? I do not want this... I do not even know what I am so afraid of.

Where is that man? Is he real? Why am I so afraid of his mere presence? What happened to us? I have so many questions in my head and I know that it is impossible for me to answer them at this moment.

"Shh... calm down, honey. I am here, okay? Mama is here. Please, hush now," Mama whispered in my ear. But that did not give me peace in my heart. Everytime that man flashed in my mind, all I could feel is fear and nothing else.

I can't go back to sleep. I can't and I do not want yo. Mama slept beside me because my fear never left me. I was just staring blankly at the dark ceiling of my room. I could not even close my eyes even for a second, scared that the man would suddenly show up.

I could not just keep everything to myself so I decided to tell my mother about it. Even though I know that I will not get any answer from her. All I wanted was to pour out what I was feeling.

"That is just probably a dream, hija. And it does not have anything to do with your life. You should not think about it. Forget about it. That was nothing, my love. Believe me," she said in a calm voice.

I swallowed and shook my head. "No. I can feel that he is part of my life. He is connected to me, Mama. W-Why do I feel so scared of him if he is just nothing in my life? As if my dream is trying to tell me something?"

I could clearly see the pity from my mother's eyes. She heaved a deep sigh as she squeezed my hand gently.

"Do not worry, my love. Nobody can ever hurt you here. We will keep you safe. You are safe here. Whatever you are worrying about now, do not let it stay in your mind for so long. You should not be scared as long as we are here." She smiled at me as if telling me that everything will be fine.

I tried so hard to not be affected by my dream. I taught myself to not be overpowered by that stranger man... with no face... the man I do not know anything about.

But I was able to forget about that when I heard my father that he was letting me to grab the job that Danica has offered to me. I happily told to Nessa and Lucille about that.

"Oh my god! Really?! You will be rich, Yula! Finally!" Nessa was smiling widely after hearing the news.

"I heard that ten thousand is not even the highest money that you can earn in that bar! God! Treat us some beers when we visit that club, okay?!" Lucille giggled.

"Of course. That is not a problem. But you know, I have to save money first before I could treat you," I smiled at them.

After a few moments, I saw a familiar car parked on the road. I watched as a woman climbed out of it. She was wearing a white dress and carrying a box just like the othe day.

"That woman is here again? Doesn't she have a work or anything?" Nessa commented with annoyance in her tone.

"Her father is a lawyer. She does not have to work," Lucille said.

"Really? Who told you?"

"My ex, Paulito, knows her."

"She's a lawyer's daughter yet she is ignorant. Who would even wear a white dress in a farm?"

Nikola had a huge smile of her face when she approached us.

"Hi, girls! And yes, I am here again," she giggled.

"He is still there. You should just wait for him," Lucille told her.

"I know. I saw him. He does not have any idea that I will be here. I'm gonna surprise him and I am sure that he will be shocked to see me here because I told him that we have an outing with my friends today." Her smile could not be wiped away.

When the farmers, together with Rael, are walking towards here, Nikola's smile got even wider.

"Does she think she is his wife? She acts like one!" Nessa whispered beside me when Nikola wiped Rael's forehead with her handkerchief. I saw how Rael tried to avoid causing Nikola to put down the handkerchief in her side. She even took a small step away from him.

I looked away and tried my best to ignore them. I made myself busy with talking to Nessa instead.

Nikola did not stay longer herr. When she came to Rael awhile ago, she did not come back here in the hut. She went straight to her car and left. I was a bit confused but I shrugged it off.

The following days, I did not see Nikola. She has not visited since that day. It has been almost a week now. That made me curious and confused at the same time. I wonder what happened. Or maybe she probably got busy with her own life and she does have not enough time for Rael at all.

But I am sure that they are texting each other always. They are probably calling each other and talking the whole time.

And I confirmed that when I witnessed something that I should never see. A scene that I will never forget as long as I am breathing.