Wind (a novel)

Chapter Thirteen - The Search

Paulo's heart pounded as he gripped the steering wheel, his mind racing faster than the rain that pelted the windshield of his car.

It had been four days since he last heard anything from Annie. Four days since their fight, and now, the silence was unbearable. Her mother's worried voice still echoed in his head—"She never made it home, Paulo. She was supposed to be here by now."

Panic had quickly turned into action. Paulo had reported her as missing to the local police, but there was only so much they could do without knowing where she had gone. That's when Paulo took matters into his own hands, tracing every possible place Annie might have gone after leaving his apartment. He visited small inns and motels, inquiring about a woman named Annie Delos Reyes, describing her as best he could: a woman with soft brown hair, kind eyes, and a spirit that sometimes seemed as fragile as glass.

Finally after 36 hours, five inns, and countless dead ends later, he finally found a lead.

It was a Sunday morning. He should be in church, but finding Annie is the most important thing in his life right now.

The front desk clerk at a modest inn had remembered Annie. She had checked in for four nights and had been seen leaving Friday morning. Paulo's stomach twisted with both relief and dread when the clerk mentioned where she had gone—Manjuyod Sandbar in Negros Oriental, seven hours away.

Manjuyod. Paulo had only heard of the place in passing. He knew it was beautiful, a stretch of white sandbars that appeared and disappeared with the tide, surrounded by the sea. But in this weather? The storm that raged through Cebu over the weekend had been intensifying. If Annie had gone there to escape... God, what if something had happened to her?

The innkeeper told him she mentioned nothing about the storm. Paulo doubted Annie had known what was coming. The tropical storm had been unpredictable, forming almost out of nowhere. He cursed under his breath as he sped toward the nearest Coast Guard station, the rain slashing against his windshield, his heart lodged in his throat.

After arriving, Paulo rushed into the small Coast Guard outpost, his clothes soaked through by the downpour. The station was bustling, officers busy tracking boats and monitoring the turbulent sea. He approached the officer in charge, barely managing to control his panic.

"I need help," Paulo said, breathless. "A friend of mine—she's out at the Manjuyod Sandbar. She went there before the storm hit. I think she might be stranded."

The officer, a stout man with a weathered face, looked at him with concern. "The sandbars are treacherous in this weather. We've been warning tourists to stay clear of that area. If she's there now, she could be in serious danger."

Paulo's chest tightened. "Can you send someone to check? Please. She's been gone for days. I—I don't know if she's still safe."

The officer nodded. "We'll send a team out as soon as the weather allows it. The storm is still strong, but we'll do our best."

Paulo clenched his fists, feeling utterly helpless. Every minute felt like a lifetime. Annie... why did you go there? His mind flooded with memories of her—the warmth of her smile, the way her eyes softened when she looked at him. He couldn't lose her. Not like this. Not when he hadn't even had the chance to make things right.

Paulo can't take it anymore. He approached the Coast Guard OIC once again and said, "Can I come with you?"