It's All Coming Back

Every student hugged their friends after the graduation ceremony.

My eyes welled when my classmates approached and gave me a hug, especially Merry and Zai-zai.

“I’ll miss you both,” I said. “Let’s finish college and conquer life together!”

“Can I join your quest?” Jiro’s voice made me look behind.

I almost forgot that we were officially a couple. Several days after the JS Prom, Frea approached me and explained everything. So did Jiro. And I had to come clean as well. That was it! After admitting our feelings for each other, we made it official.

“Of course!” I said and smiled at him. He walked closer and kissed me on the cheek, an act that most attendees of the event witnessed and cheered about.

The ceremony ended peacefully, but the day wasn’t over. Everyone was invited to the after-party at the school quadrangle.

Though I was surrounded by the sea of people, I enjoyed it, knowing that it might be the last night I would be mingling with them.

To formally start the occasion, Uncle Ted and Aunt Raquel went onstage to give their opening remarks and raised a toast. Of course, as minors, we weren’t allowed to drink. So, we only raised our juice glasses. I was enjoying my chit-chat with my friends when he called me.

“Riri, our dearest future daughter-in-law, would you join us here, please?”

I was petrified hearing that. Even the crowd was stunned, but they recovered after a few seconds and clapped their hands.

“Riri?” Aunt Raquel called me once more.

Though trembling in nervousness, I went on stage and stood beside them. My cheeks burned in a blissful embarrassment.

They took each of my hands and held them in theirs.

Aunt Raquel smiled at me. “Sweetheart, your parents may not be here…yet—their flight was just a bit delayed—but we want you to remember that you are a daughter to us. Our friendship with your parents has given you to us. I have always wanted to have a daughter. And heavens gave me you.”

I was still absorbing her speech when the crowd went into hysteria. They shouted in excitement. I glanced at them to see where they were looking. And when I looked behind me, Jiro was there!

Kneeling on one foot!

Holding a box of  a diamond ring in his hand.

Uncle Ted placed the microphone to his son’s mouth.

“Jian Airi ‘Riri’ Resan. I won’t make this long; everyone here knows how crazy I am for you. I just need an answer.” He smiled before popping the question. “Will you marry me?”

Airi jolted back to consciousness when the car door slammed.

‘Is that another dream sequence?’ she asked herself. ‘But it seemed so real. Something inside me screams that it was real!’

She struggled to open her eyelids that were heavy due to the drug she inhaled.

“Make sure to tie her once inside!”

Aling Crising’s order over the phone even shook her awake.

‘Why is she doing this to me?’

Her tears fell on the seat as she was lying on her side.

“Why is that old woman so bossy?!” One of the kidnappers hit the steering wheel with his arm.

“Relax,” the other one said. “Just think of the money, okay?” Airi could visualize him tapping his companion on the shoulder. “That girl in the backseat is a treasure chest. She’s the fiancée of Jiro Sondian, son of a business tycoon. A billionaire.”

“Why are you following that woman’s order when we can have the money for ourselves?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do we have to wait for her here when we can find a different place to keep this girl? Then, we’ll negotiate with the Sondians.”

“That’s pretty smart but still lacking. We’ll wait for the hag to come here. Unalive her. And boom! We transfer to a new location and negotiate.”

“Great! With the bossy hag gone, no one will ever find out who we are. And no one will come after us and our money!”

The two laughed maniacally, thinking that they had a solid, brilliant plan.

**

Airi’s wrist stung because of the tight rope tied to it. The goons sat her on a monoblock chair, tying her hands to the post behind her.

Cigarette smoke filled the already compressed air, mixing with the dust and hint of mold. She almost choked at the unsanitary surroundings, making her hold her breath for some time. She didn’t want them to know that she had already regained consciousness.

After half an hour of pretense, the wood door creaked, signaling Aling Crising’s arrival.

“Is she awake?” she asked. Her sweet tone, the tone she would often use with Airi, could no longer be traced. The woman talking seemed to be a different person if Airi didn’t know her prior.

“Not yet,” one of the abductors replied. “The drug must’ve been too strong.”

Airi's ears were filled with the sound of running water from a faucet filling a steel bucket. Then, heavy footsteps followed. The soles of Aling Crising’s doll shoes pressed against the wood-tiled floor.

Then, splash!

Her half-asleep senses were awakened by the cold water, which also entered her scalp and soaked her upper torso. She groaned, still pretending to have just woken up.

“Wake up, Faintyrella!”

Airi was even stunned. She had heard that word before.

The old woman kicked Airi’s foot, so she slowly raised her head.

“Aling Crising? Did you come to rescue me?” she asked. She had to feign she hadn’t heard anything, especially about her plan and that of the goons.

“What made you think so?” Her sharp tone pinched Airi’s heart. She was used to hearing her soft, motherly voice every time she talked to her. “I thought you were smart. How come you can’t discern what’s going on?” The old woman’s sarcasm hit her harder.

“Please, help me. I need to get out of here.” She dropped her act and let her tears fall. Her heart was about to explode due to its nonstop hard beat. Fear, anxiety, and an unnamed emotion enveloped the most fragile part of her body. “I didn’t do anything wrong to you.”

“Are you sure about that?” She smirked. “Do you want me to remind you?”

She slowly walked closer to Airi, and she snatched her jaw and pressed her fingers on her cheeks. Her wrinkly and bony fingers were so strong that her nails dug lightly into her skin. Aling Crising tilted Airi's head so that she could look at her straight into her eyes. 

“Oh, I almost forgot… you have amnesia!” She then let go of Airi’s face, swinging it to the right. “You are the one who has forgotten some of your memories while Jiro is faking it. And your so-called besties are on it, too.”

“You’re lying!” Airi struggled to get loose from the tie.

“Look at you being smart yet gullible.” Her teasing made Airi cry even more. She was hurting not only physically but also emotionally. She trembled at the idea that those people she loved had betrayed her. She could feel her heart being ripped apart by an invisible dagger.

“I considered you as a mother back in the villa. Why are you doing this to me?! Where did the caring and hands-on Aling Crising go?”

The old woman let out a long, insulting laugh.

“Did I ask you to see me that way?” Her voice was soft but taunting. “I don’t want you to be my daughter! I only have one daughter, who was killed by you and Jiro!!!”