I woke up feeling like my head was being hit so I closed my eyes tightly and opened my eyes again to see where I was.
My back also hurt a bit because of the pallet I was lying on.
I can't remember anything even if I try hard but it just gives me a headache.
I got up slowly but it felt like something was pinching me so I felt my side and realized that I had a bandage on it and it turned out that I had a wound.
As well as my head there is also a bandage I am wearing a white t-shirt that is only slightly loose on me and a pair of denim pants.
I looked around the small room, there wasn't much in it except for the small cabinet and next to the pallet was a vanity table with a mirror and some women's equipment, meaning it was a woman's room.
The bedroom door was just a thin curtain, I stood up and I was about to step out. I saw that there was someone who was still sleeping in the small living room, an elderly woman and a young girl were still sleeping soundly, maybe it was the people who live in this house.
I looked at the girl with the dress turned aside and I could clearly see the smoothness of her thigh I could see her white underwear I looked in another direction because my body felt different from what I was seeing.
So I walked to the door and it was easy to open so I slowly went out. When I came out, I was immediately exposed to fresh air and the house where I was staying was by the sea.
It was still dark so it was probably only five in the morning.
Where am I, why am I here, I'm trying to remember who I am but my head hurts even more, I look around and it looks like I'm on an island and it's a beautiful place, I walk without knowing where I'm going.
I feel like I just want to walk my legs that I probably haven't walked in a few days.
I was still walking one by one and holding my wounded side, I passed a small boat behind this ocean and mountains.
The air was still cold and I felt a little cold but I just walked with my feet without direction.
I got to the end of the island where there was a rock and I sat down here and I tried to remember again but like before my head just hurt like it was being split open, who am I and what am I doing here why do I have wounds? Questions that have no answers and I'll just wait until I have something to remember.
While I was looking at the ocean that I had been sitting here for quite some time, I thought that maybe someone at home was looking for me.
It was like someone came to my mind and called me by a name, Raphael this is what I heard in my mind so I smiled bitterly.
My head hurt but I managed to close my eyes and force myself to remember.
Someone suddenly called me so I looked at it.
"Sir!" A sweet voice called to me and I saw the girl from before who was obviously tired, she was still holding her knee. I stood up and approached her.
"Mom and I thought you were going to leave and you were just here." I smiled a little because her voice was so beautiful that it was stinging my ears.
"I'm sorry if I worried you, I just walked my feet." I pointed at her, she just smiled and just looked at me.
"It's okay, come on, let's go home first so you can eat breakfast." She came to me and took my hand and we started walking so I just followed.
I felt a strange warmth when our skins touched, but it seemed like I was the only one who felt it.
A tall girl held my hand while I followed her with a tight grip.
The strong wind swayed her long hair which was a strange reddish color and the color only got brighter because of the sunlight when I watched her I didn't realize that we had stopped so she let go of my hand .
"We're here, come on in." I nodded to her and followed her inside the house.
"Mom, we're here." She called her mother.
"It's good that you woke up and you don't feel anything anymore?" I just looked at the woman who spoke and then I nodded and they led me to the kitchen with a round table and four wooden chairs.
This house is unique because the whole house is made of wood and bamboo.
A typical seaside residence.
They sat me down and the steaming and fragrant smell of the soup made me hungry.
"Eat first so we can talk son." I nodded, my stomach rumbled which made the girl giggle softly so I smiled at her.
"You're really hungry so eat a lot so you can regain your strength." Her manner was so polite that I nodded again and I started to eat. They also had a very good soup rice porridge with green vegetables as an ingredient.
The other food is fried egg and fried fish which is said to be called d***g. There is also fried tomato with fish sauce for the sauce.
A delicious breakfast was the first thing I ate after waking up from what I think was a long sleep.
"Son, what happened to you and why did you end up here on our island?" I looked at Aling Nely who introduced me and her daughter's name was Heart.
It turns out that they are the only two together here and peacefully living here on the island.
There is a house on the other side of the island but it is far away from Aling Nely's story.
"I'm sorry, I can't answer your question, I can't remember anything, the only thing I remember is my name, other than that, I'm trying hard, so my head just hurts." I answered, they looked at each other and then looked at me at the same time.
"Oh! son, it's sad what happened to you. I hope you remember that I'm sure your family is already looking for you." I nodded at Aling Nely so I could remember who I was.
"My name is Raphael." I said again making the girl and her mother smile.
"But son, I won't let our neighbors and neighboring islands know because there is a rumor that there is a group of armed men looking for a man, at first I didn't pay attention to that but I remembered you maybe they are looking for you Your life might be in danger, especially since you had two gunshot wounds when we found you." I was surprised by Aling Nely's words and I looked at Heart who could see sadness on her beautiful face.
"Shouldn't you have told them that you might be the one to get hurt because you helped me." I don't know but I felt fear for the mother and daughter.
"No son, I'm not afraid. I'll protect you, and then our lives will be in danger." Aling Nely's words seem to mean something.
So I thought that the lives of this mother and daughter are also in danger, so they are no longer afraid of what might happen and their embracing me is what will bring more disaster to their quiet lives.
"I'll check with the neighbors later so we can find out what's going on." Aling Nely continued so I just nodded.
"What is the name of this place?" I have a good question.
"Isla Malinao is the name of this place, there are neighboring islands here and the largest island is Isla Puerto Luna. It belongs to the Leviste family, the richest family in Bicol. We are in Catanduanes." Aling Nely's explanation made me nod and I thought about the last name he mentioned so I swallowed and felt like I wanted to remember something so I held my head.
"Are you okay brother?" Heart asked so I looked at it and immediately shook my head so she just nodded and continued eating.
"The surname Leviste is familiar to me." I showed Aling Nely so he looked at me.
"They are the rich family that owns this island and they let our neighbors live in this place for free." Aling Nely's story made me nod.
Since we finished breakfast, I left the house first and went to the back house, I was amazed looking at the vegetables planted here in the back house.
There was a well on the other side of the house and I saw the mother and daughter helping each other to harvest so I approached them.
"I'll help you." I told them but Aling Nely just shook her head.
"Oh, maybe you'll just get carried away and then your wound won't heal yet." It refused so I held my wound and just nodded.
"We can handle this, just rest." Heart said to me smiling then she followed her mother.
I just followed it with a look that he was quite big for his age of sixteen years old, I also noticed that she did not look like her mother and it was obvious that she had a race. Maybe her father is a foreigner.
I just continued to walk around and I was still amazed as I looked around.
I got to the beach and looked up at a coconut tree, it had fruits and I swallowed.
The tree was familiar to me when suddenly a memory came to my mind.
"Raphael you might fall out of the tree!" A woman with a worried face shouted.
It suddenly screamed as the young man fell into the coconut tree.
I woke up suddenly and holding my head I remember the time I fell from the coconut tree. My mother's face almost lost color because of my fall but I just laughed because I had a strange experience. I smiled and took a deep breath as I remembered that part and my memory seems to be slowly coming back.
I remembered my mother her face is Neriza Del luna Leviste and this place is the only one owned by our family.
I looked at the other side of the island that was just a dot in my vision. It looks like I landed in this place, but I still can't remember why I'm here. There's only one thing on my mind right now. Someone wants to kill me, and that's a gunshot wound. my thighs and sides are the evidence.
I clenched my fist and looked at the part of the house when Heart came out and looked around and when she turned her attention to me, she waved.
I just shook my head and waited for her to come to me.
"I thought where did you get to?" She looked casual and laughed modestly.
"I just took a nice walk here." I told her and sat down on the edge of the coconut tree so she also sat down and looked at the ocean.
"Sometimes it's boring because I've been here my whole life." Her story made me shake my head.
"Haven't you been to the village yet?" I asked her so she slightly shook her head.
"I've been there once but never again." She said so I nodded.
"Are you studying?" I asked so she looked at me and nodded.
"I'm in grade six with a teacher who comes here every Friday and Saturday and she teaches us." I nodded and I couldn't believe that there was poverty in this place, ultimate education was hard to come by.
"You're sixteen, why are you still in sixth grade?" I asked so she laughed a little.
"I've been in grade six for a few years now so I know very well what we studied." She was frowning a bit but when she looked at me, she immediately smiled.
"Why don't you continue your studies on the other island?" I asked her but she just shook her head.
"Mom said it's not allowed, I know how to write and read so that's enough." I could see a little sadness in her eyes so I just shook my head.
Aling Nely seems to be preventing Heart from experiencing a different life, I wondered why her mother would just stop her.
I want to know who these people really are and why they are so afraid to leave this island.
