A Trip Down Memory Lane

Chapter Eleven: That Day...

Around 4:30 in the afternoon, we finally arrived in the house. We found the door locked. It means the other three girls were not around still.

"Damn, I think I forgot my Psych notebook at our house," Zieg said as he searched his bag. "I will get it there. Come with me."

"Huh? Why?"

"I can't leave you alone here."

"I can take care of myself."

"Okay. Say 'Hi' to Frankie for me please?"

"The who?"

"You don't know him, do you?"

"No. Idea. At. All."

"He lives here with us, you can't see him, though. But we know if he's around when suddenly the ambiance becomes cold."

"A ghost? Oh, shut up. I don't believe you."

He called Suzy, trying to convince me that Frankie is true and he put it in loudspeaker so I can hear it too.

"Hello? Problem?" Suzy said, from the other line.

"Nika is wondering who is Frankie," Zieg replied.

"Why Nika, you saw him - or feel?"

"No, Zieg is trying to fool me but I'm not buying it."

"Well, it's true... Well, gotta go. I got something to do. Zieg will explain to you. Bye." Suzy hung up.

He grinned and said, " See? Told ya. Okay. I gotta go. Locked the do-"

I rushed to the front door, "Wait! I'm coming too!"

"I thought..."

I lied, "Actually I'm coming with you. I'm just messing with you. Hehe."

We finally reached their house. It's farther than I expected and the place is high! I guess it's the highest part of Cherry Hills.

"Welcome!" He said as he opened the door.

"Woah! It's nice here."

"Thanks. Feel at home."

"Uhm... Just the two of you lived here?"

"Yeah. Mom is in Taiwan. She works there as a DH(Domestic Helper). She only comes back here every Christmas. If lucky, during our birthdays, either mine or Zoe's. While Dad... he passed away two years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay... Wait, what time is it? Come with me. Quick!"

He grabbed me in the wrist all the way to their rooftop. When we reached there, we saw the majestic scenery of 'sun-meets-the-sea'. It was one of the best sunsets I've ever seen!

"Woah! It's so beautiful!" I said in awe.

"IKR? Whenever I feel depressed, I just came here to shake it off like TSwift. Plus ice cream? Best moment ever!"

"Wow! I couldn't disagree. What a place."

We sat in a bench there to enjoy the view. Aside from the sunset, the downtown area is sparkling with its lights and the sea is so calm.

"Nika?"

"Hmm?"

"Earlier... I saw you flinched when we saved the kid, how are you feeling now?"

"I'm good... I just remembered something."

"Remembered something? What was it? If you don't mind."

Oh, sh*t. Should I share it to him? He's harmless, isn't he? My family trusts him, I should trust him too, right?

"I was a victim of the same kind of tragedy ten years ago - with a friend."

"A friend? Who's this?" he asked.

"Let me tell you a story before that... My mother died ten years ago due to leukemia."

"Uh-hmm."

"I was devastated back then especially to her burial. I wanted to escape from my misery that I attempted to jump off the bridge to the raging river."

Zieg was surprised to what he heard that made him leaned back away from me. "Weh? Are you for real? In a young age, you thought that?"

"Ugh... yeah. It's embarrassing right?"

"You're unbelievable... Anyway, please continue."

"But a boy saw me that he dragged me off the bridge's railings and brought me in a park. He said that he saw me crying, looking distressed, that he followed me and anticipated what I should've done."

"Woah, that boy is a hero. Give that boy a cookie."

"He then explained to me what might happen. If I die out there, will my mom come back to life? Obviously, the answer is no. It will make the situation worse."

"The boy was a preacher too? Hahaha... But to be fair, I will tell the same thing."

"Those words brought me back to earth. And I promised to him that my life will go on and will make my Mom proud. I owed him a lot."

"That's nice," he then tapped my back. "Where is this boy anyway? Name?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't get any personal info about him. All I had was his hanky he gave me when I was crying and then I gave him my cross bracelet with rose-shaped beads as my gratitude."

"Aaww. But what a waste if you don't know who's that boy. Have you ever wondered if who's he now? If you already met him already, something like that."

"Of course. It bothers me sometimes."

"By the way, what happened to the both of you back then?"

"He said that he'll take me home, but a reckless driver drove past to the pedestrian lane that hit many people, including us. What I remembered is, he pushed me away that I only got minor injuries, but the trauma still haunts me."

"Geez, how tragic. I wonder what happened to that boy."

"Yeah, me too. When I got back my consciousness, I was already in one of the hospitals in the Metro so I do not know how they were. According to the news reports, the driver was drunk that caused seven injured people and unfortunately... three individuals died."

"Whaat?" his eyes widen and he covered his mouth with his right hand.

I'm still hopeful, "How I wish he's okay."

"Yea, who knows you'll meet again and you are destined and ended up with each other? What a love story it might be! Haha."

"Hey shut up. We didn't know him yet, and you're thinking that we'll end up with each other?"

"Who knows? Only God knows," he smiled.

Maybe... he's right.