Accidentally Yours

The Car

Alice woke up in her bedroom, her vision blurry.

“What just happened?” she muttered, hearing footsteps rushing toward her.

“Ali, are you alright?” Janine asked, kneeling beside her to help her sit up.

“I think so,” Alice replied, placing her hand on her forehead.

“You scared us. Ano ba ang nangyayari sa'yo?” Janine pressed, worried clearly in her voice.

“I don’t know,” Alice whispered as fragmented memories flooded her mind.

“Magpatingin ka na kaya. Parang nababaliw ka na,” Sabrina said, arms crossed as she stood in front of them.

“I don’t think a doctor can help me,” Alice murmured, looking down at her hands.

“And who can?” Sabrina shot back.

“I don’t know…”

---

Days passed, and Alice had almost finished reading the book she had been obsessing over.

She tried everything the book suggested—rituals, incantations, even meditation—but nothing worked. She still here in 2024

“Scam talaga 'tong libro,” she grumbled, taking a swig from the leftover alcohol her friends had left from their recent gathering.

The senate hearing was only days away, and she needed to leave this time before that day arrived.

Then, she heard the doorbell ring.

She watched as one of her maids opened the door.

“Ma’am, delivery po,” her maid announced.

“What is it?” Alice asked, walking toward the door. She saw a deliveryman standing next to an old car parked outside.

“Pinapadeliver po itong kotse kay Alice Guo,” the deliveryman said.

“Ako si Alice,” she replied with a polite smile. The deliveryman handed her a form, and she quickly signed it.

Once the car was officially hers, she stood in front of it for a moment. It was a 2014 model, exactly like the one her cousin Sheila had owned.

Just what I needed

She opened the door and got inside. Alice knew she shouldn’t be driving—especially after drinking—but she didn't care, going back to her time was more important. She turned the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life.

“Now what?” she muttered.

She drove aimlessly around the city for a while, unsure of what she was even trying to accomplish. She needed to go back to the past but how

“Kung ibangga ko nalang kaya ito?” she thought bitterly.

Hunger crept up on her, so she decided to stop at a Jollibee drive-thru.

After getting her food, she parked her car and ate in silence. The sight of the ketchup next to her fries triggered a memory—the accident. Her blood had mixed with ketchup on the pavement, and her KuyaMiguel had come running toward her. Screaming for help

That's it!

Call her crazy—or maybe a little drunk—but she thought maybe, just maybe, if she returned to the site of the accident, something might change.

She tossed her food onto the passenger seat and started the car again.

---

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros was in her office, reviewing papers. The NBI had sent over evidence about Alice, and Risa was struggling to reconcile the kind, hospitable woman who had toured her around Bamban with the potential criminal she was reading about.