Chapter 13

I RETURNED to Kuya Vince's house in a daze. Ate Clara immediately approached me, her face filled with worry, as she saw my continuous crying. She held both sides of my face and looked into my eyes.

"What happened?" Ate Clara asked, concern was evident in her voice.

I smiled bitterly. "I saw him again. He's alive," I said.

"Why isn't he with you? And why are you crying? Are those tears of joy?" My sister asked, probing further.

I turned away from my sister and leaned against the pillar outside Kuya Vince's house. I looked into the distance. I'm glad that he's still alive and fine. But he seems like a total stranger to me. I can't bring myself to embrace him or even touch him. It was as if in his second life, he had taken away my right to enter his life again. I can't blame him.

"He acted like a total stranger to me earlier in the marketplace," I said. I looked up into the dimming sky, preventing my tears from falling down again. I don't want to feel this way.

"Don't worry, the day will