ho is this second-to-the-la

came his fears and consen

ng my mouth open, as this r

ested by the

his last

fingers on my face be

, yet I could not understand wh

I was a friend, they hid nothing from me. I used to k

en this another bomb hit

gh our secret camera. Like you, no one dared to go aga

r un

uez, the jai

words my lips could utter, my mind r

to know who ga

too scared for

e Cor

_

lid into my eyes as the sense of grief engulfed me again. This wa

Five years had gone by, and I was already expecting termites to house a thousand colonies in its ba

ne against the late afternoon sun. Tiled roof shingles made of Terracota clay replaced the woven Nipa leaves. The w

lot--my father's inherited property--beside an old Mahogany tree. A wave of anger rose from within me. They alr

leek, black car beside the house. No one in our town co

ts again. However, I gasped in surprise as my eyes fell on the ang

y. R

e said, giving me her

here and why this house was turned into an elegant cottage. Before

r in my wild dreams had I imag

k something from

. I only brought a single backpack, and I checked i

's length, my hands shaki

he

to unravel the clues she started giving me

unspoken question, "you had my heart

ars started trickling into their usual course again.

me like a prisoner," she

eart," I

t I drowned her words in t

d after I released her, her ey

e you more

_

rlorn figure of the one who had robbed me of everything--Jaime Cortes. At the back pew, I saw a familiar figure that my hea

eal my emotion, I just couldn't help myself. The boy who sat next to Alexa looke

unded my gavel against the lectern.

e power to grant reprieves now gra

pain I had gone through before, Jaime's cruelty led me