Just Live

Chapter 1

"Anak, wag ka ng tumuloy. Kahit man lang isama mo ang mga kapatid mo or magsama ka ng kaibigan mo."

RJ stopped packing his duffel bag and turned to his mother.

"Ma, I pushed for this trip to happen with the reason being that I want to do something on my own. Kaya ko, Ma, promise."

"Pero, RJ, paano kung biglang may mangyari sayo? Paano kung kailanganin mo ng tulong and you have no one to ask help from because you're in the middle of nowhere? And, God forbid, paano kapag bigla ka na namang himatayin while you're out there hiking up the mountain?" Rio argued, almost running out of breath for talking too fast to get her objection across.

"Edi, hihingi ako ng tulong sa mga black bear roaming around the mountain," RJ replied while laughing, hoping to make the mood lighter in the room.

"RJ," his father warned from the door.

"Sorry po," he quickly said, turning serious. "Ma, Dad, nothing is going to happen to me. I've been cleared and I promise I won't do anything that's too vigorous for me. Please, Ma, after this uuwi agad ako. I'll continue studying, I'll stay put in one place. Just let me go out there."

"Why can't you bring one of your friends with you? Yun lang, anak, okay na ako dun. Hindi na kita pipigilan, magkaron ka lang ng kasama," his mom pleaded again.

Sighing subtly, RJ sat on his bed to face both of his parents.

"Mom, Dad, almost a year ago, I didn't think I could walk again. I didn't think I could play any sport again. I didn't think I could do anything for myself again, but the fact that I'm here packing my own stuff to go on this trip? Ma, hayaan mo na ako. I just want to make the most out of the time I was given."

Rio shook her head and walked out of his room. RJ turned to his father who just gave him a pat on the shoulder and followed his wife.

Before turning into the hallway, Richard stopped and looked back at his son.

"RJ, alam ko you're gonna be hiking and the phone service is bad in the mountains, but the moment you don't answer our phone calls within 2 hours, I will make sure we send people, including your mother and I, looking for you. No expense spared."

RJ nodded, "Yes, Dad."

He finished packing and tried to comfort his mother with words during dinner. As a mother, nothing could really lessen her worry and it most likely will still be there until he arrives home safe and healthy.

At the crack of dawn, RJ got into his four-door Jeep Wrangler and drove out of their garage to begin his four-hour drive to the Rocky Mountains in Western Canada.

The drive was quiet and steady, considering it was barely 4 o'clock in the morning so there weren't many cars on the road. Pine trees lined the highway and he was on the lookout for wildlife possibly crossing the road.

Almost 3 hours into the drive, RJ found himself thinking about that fateful day once more, almost 2 years ago. The day when his team was hoping for him to win the championship title for them. The day when university agents from Ivy League schools were on the bleachers, watching his every move, with numerous offers at every tip of his fingers. All he had to do was finish the game and choose an offer that appealed to him the most. Unfortunately, he didn't.

RJ lost consciousness in the middle of the football field and what they thought to be a head injury turned out to be a ruptured aneurysm. An undetected one, at that. Every second of the trip to the hospital counted, and just when things couldn't get any worse, he suffered a hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident; a stroke.

The university's top athlete, the well-known Richard Faulkerson Jr., was out of the public eye for over a year.

RJ sighed and let out a grateful smile as the sun rose behind him from the East. He was finally back on track and, miraculously, now fully recovered. He took another deep breath as the sight of snow-covered mountains showed up in front of him, with turquoise-colored lakes on either side of the highway. It was a little past 6 in the morning when he pulled over on the side of the road to take a picture of the view and he noted a lone car also parked not too far ahead.

He shrugged it off, thinking it was another person taking a picture. RJ took a couple of photos before walking back to his car when he caught a petite figure in the corner of his eyes. A girl was in the lake and was walking towards the middle, with the water gradually reaching her knee.

And then, it dawned on him. She's gonna drown herself, he thought.

"Oh shit!" He muttered to himself as he put his phone away and ran into the lake.

"Ma'am, what are you doing?!" He said as he quickly grabbed the girl by the waist and carried her closer to land.

"What the f..??? Who the hell are you?!?" The girl said as she squirmed out of his arms. "Put me down!!"

"Not until we get back on land!"

"We ARE on land! This is harassment!"

"I'm not gonna let you drown yourself, okay?!"

"Who said I was gonna drown myself?? Put me down right now, mister! Or I'm seriously going to file charges!"

The girl squirmed some more, making him unsteady. He almost fell backwards with him still carrying the girl by the waist like a sack of sand so he carefully put her down, not even 2 meters from where he picked her up.

The girl turned around and he saw the most beautiful and expressive brown eyes he has ever seen. Her cheekbones were perfectly defined on her face and her lips, looking so soft and inviting, looked perfect just below her perfect looking nose.

Her beauty mesmerized him and her shouting brought him back to reality.

". . . the hell is your problem?? Mind your own damn business!"

"I couldn't just let you drown yourself! Stop shouting!" He replied to her.

"Really? Drown? You think I'd be able to drown myself here?" The girl stood with her hands on her waist, her furious tone still lingering around.

"Yes! You were about to run off to the middle of the lake and drown yourself."

"Look at your feet," the girl said.

"What?"

"Just look at your feet!"

RJ did as told and looked as his feet. There was nothing unusual, except the water was nice and cold.

"Look back at your car," the girl instructed again.

He did as told once more and looked at her confused. Both their cars were still there, about more than 10 metes away.

"We're in the middle of the freakin lake and the water hasn't reached our knees yet. This lake is freakin meant to be shallow and I was testing how deep the water goes," she said with conviction on the latter part.

RJ looked around and realized it was, indeed, true. They were standing in the middle of the lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with the water level between his ankle and his knees. With his cheeks blushing, he slowly looked at her and smiled, scratching his head.

"Oh..sorry," he said with a peace sign.

"Juskolord," the girl muttered and began walking to her car.

"Wait up! Are you Filipino?" RJ asked as he walked quickly behind her.

"Hindi!!"