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Angie Suh asked me to go out to the nearest fast-food chain today, and luckily, Mom agreed to let me go. A new set of fresh clothes awaited me as I got out of the shower so there was no use denying that I did not enjoy Angie's company because I obviously did. She was a cheerful chattering box compared to my semi-mute state. Somehow, she helped me open up a bit of myself.

Standing on the front porch, I waited for her to come. Crowded places may not be as bad as before because surely I'm getting better. Everyone around me says so.

Angie is a 12th grader like me but she's been capable of going to school. In a couple of months, graduation will come knocking in, and seeing that I have missed far too many activities this year, I was bound to fail. Not that I was a bad student, bad things kept me from doing good frequently, that's all.

Plus, there's a part of me I chose to leave behind. It was a huge chunk of who I was that once I stopped doing it, I couldn't truly figure out how to live day by day. 

I brushed off the dust on the porch and sat there, thinking about the time I first met Angie a few weeks ago.

__ __ __

"Hi, are you new here!?" called a voice from afar.

I looked around then, holding my phone too tightly. I eyed the surrounding fields around me, scanning the nearby lake, the looming frangipani trees on one part and sycamores on the other, ducks squeaking in the distance, clouds forming up above in slow breezy whooshing of winds, and then a feminine figure inching closer a few meters away. I got terrified, cautious, helpless.

My eyes started blurring as I squat there like a stone statue. The brooding silence rang in my ear and I ran away then, looking like a fool. Knowing how much of an oddball I've become, of course, I frantically scurried away darkened with thoughts. With scenarios that could make things worse.

Fear got the best of me for I was all alone there, I had escaped from the house one afternoon when Mom was asleep. Suffocated from being stuck at home then,  so I decided to put on my slippers and roam around the grounds near my place thinking no one would notice me spacing out.

But somebody obviously did. Angie found me. She was a good runner who grew curious of a girl appearing in her town, a girl of her age whom she has never seen before. For certain she wouldn't have chased me if it wasn't for me being such a klutz.

"Hey!" she called out again after seeing me sprint crazily.

Not grasping the reason why I would do so, she watched me fall to the ground. My groans and squeaks were loud enough for her to undoubtedly hear. She sprung on her heels and rushed to my side, concerned to see me bawling my eyes out.

"Are you okay? Why were you running away so fast?" she stepped closer, curious to see me cowering. "Can you speak?"

"You-you're going to harm me? I-I'm sorry, I won't go out again, I—"

She paced around, unbelieving the situation of me doubting her. "—I'm no bad person. My name is Angie."

I looked up at her, fluttering my eyes open and pulling down my arms after realizing she did not forcibly grab my hair or dab a punch the moment she got to me, maybe a sharp object to my stomach did not seem to alarmingly appear sooner or later either.

"Why are you here?" I replied shakily. "You-you should go back."

"Hey, that's not a very good way of befriending someone," she complained chuckling.

I scooted farther from her, clutching my wounded knees now piled up in dirt and blood.

"You hurt yourself pretty badly there," she pointed worriedly. "Where do you live?"

I gulped, not caring to tuck behind the hair covering my face. "You don't have to know."

"What will make you believe that I don't have any intention of hurting you?" she asked, stepping away from me so I could gain a better view of her.

She seemed taller, perked up with bold freckles and a bobbed hair. Angie wore a beige cardigan, earth-toned flannel shoes, a pale purple headband, and a blank stare. When I did not reply, she sighed and took out a pack of gummy bears.

"I like gummy bears, do you?" she said tearing it open and popping a red one to her mouth.

I didn't make a sound which caused her to toss it to me. Because of those gummy bears, I never would have allowed her to escort me back home only to find out the next day she had visited again to get to know me. The moment my Mom saw her, they both clicked very well and I knew then that she really did not mean any harm.

Right now, all I could ever be towards her was grateful. Aside from the blue memento appearing out of the blue, she also did the same. But this time, Angie was real while Mark was not.

__ __ __

PRESENT

"You're all dressed up, I should have worn something similar," she jokingly scratched her head seeing me entertain myself watching the slow motion of the fleecy clouds.

She sat down with me, stopping me from getting up. I gazed at her and looked down at my clothes. I wore a huge white shirt, baggy plain pants, and white shoes. 

"You're kidding around again. Are we not leaving yet?" I asked confused.

She smiled, shaking her head and cupping her other cheek. "That boy you told me about, do you really not plan on finding him? What if he's still alive?"

"And if he's not?" I croaked.

The thought of it made my stomach churn.

She squeezed my shoulder and spoke, "Then at least you tried."

"He didn't want me to."

She brushed my hair, calming my surging mind. "I guess he just wanted to keep you from hurting, but seeing how all this is playing out, I figured you ought to get over it now instead of me seeing you like this all the time."

"And how do I do that?"

She clicked her tongue as if she offered the easiest way out of this. "Find out the truth or perhaps leave all those baggage on your shoulders and forget about him completely."

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