Sometime In July (2024 edition)

Chapter Thirteen

For the next two weeks, Seth and Yssa were inseparable. Seth showed up at school during every break and always picked her up after classes. Twice, he stayed the night at her apartment, and once, he asked his sister, Jeanne, if Yssa could sleep over at their house. Jeanne had no problem with it, as long as they slept in separate rooms. However, that night, after the house had fallen quiet, Seth snuck into Yssa's room. Their whispers turned into kisses, and they made love for hours, their connection deepening with each stolen moment. Afterward, Seth would quietly slip back to his own room, his heart full of the memories they had just made.

They went to the movies nine times over the whole period, something Seth had never done before. On one weekend, they stayed at Seth's family home in Cavite, spending a lazy afternoon on the beach. He read her stories and poems he'd written, and they sang together while he played his guitar.

Everything felt perfect, until one Wednesday evening. They watched Samurai X in the living room with Elisha when the piercing sound of fire truck sirens filled the air. The blaring noise swallowed the quiet evening and sent everyone rushing outside. As they hurried to the street, Seth sprinted ahead, running toward the inferno just a few blocks away. Yssa watched in shock as he raced away.

"What's wrong with him?" Yssa asked Jeanne, pulling Elisha closer.

Jeanne's expression was unreadable. "It's the Schmidt's home," she said quietly. "Where Kristina used to live."

The words struck Yssa like a blow. Without thinking, she ran after Seth.

"Yssa, wait!" Jeanne called after her, but Yssa didn't stop.

When she reached the scene, she saw Seth talking with a woman she assumed to be Kristina's mother. Before Yssa could react, Seth dashed into the burning house, disappearing into the flames.

"Seth! Seth!" she screamed, panic rising in her chest. But he didn't hear her.

By now, Jeanne and Elisha had caught up with her.

"He went inside," Yssa said, her voice trembling.

Jeanne's face went pale. "That boy..."

Through tears, Kristina's mother explained, "He's trying to save Kristina's things."

"What?!" Jeanne exclaimed, but Yssa couldn't tear her eyes away from the house.

Inside, the smoke was thick, suffocating. Seth knew where to go—he had been there countless times. But the smoke made it hard to see, hard to breathe. He reached the home's library, just as the fire began to consume the curtains. Through the window, he could hear Yssa calling out to him.

"Seth, you've got to get out!"

But Seth wasn't ready to leave. In one corner of the room, he spotted a bag. He grabbed it and filled it with everything on the library table—Kristina's poetry books, her novels, the pens and notepads she used for writing, and a silver-framed montage of childhood photos of the two of them. It was all he had left of her.

Kristina, he thought.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the burning curtain toward him. The fire had been put out, but the smoke still stung his eyes and lungs. He moved toward the door, but just as his hand touched the knob, the ceiling above him began to collapse. He struggled with the door, his hand burning from the heat. Wrapping the scorched curtain around his hand, he tried again. It was jammed. His only way out now was the window.

"Seth, please come out!" Yssa's voice was desperate.

He made for the window, but as he ran, the ceiling above him gave way. He barely had time to react before it came crashing down, pinning him to the floor. He was slipping into unconsciousness when two firefighters dragged him to safety, pulling him through the window.