The sounds of the ambulance ringing—screaming, crying, wailing are heard from the streets of the city. Blood was scattered all around the side of the street; lights were flashing brightly, and a loud thud was heard. A girl fighting to keep her consciousness was knocked out from all the blood that was drained out of her. Her head was full of scars, her arms were bruised, and her legs were bleeding. "Patient's name: Carissa—a 25-year-old lady, unconscious from a car accident." A nurse stated. "She was getting chased by the police when the vehicle she was riding crashed into a car." The nurse continued. "Anything about her family? Friends? Partner?" The doctor asked. "None."
~2 years later~
Carissa is back in her hometown and at her university—after four years of throwing her life away, she has finally gotten back on track. She is in her last year at her university and will soon graduate. "OMG, I'm so excited you guys!" Lily—One of Carissa's friends—said excitedly. "We're finally going to graduate. I'm so proud of us," Lily continued. "We should celebrate," Nicole—another friend—concluded. They all agreed and walked together to the restaurant to eat.
A few chit-chats went by when suddenly, "You know, Carissa, you should visit your family when we graduate." Nicole suggested. Carissa shrugged her shoulders as she continued to put dumplings in her mouth. They continued talking when Lily noticed a group of guys looking in their direction. One of the men gave Lily a charming smile, which made Lily giddy. The two quickly noticed their friend's reaction and turned their attention to it. As such, the group of men approached them and confidently asked for their company. While Lily and Nicole were enjoying the night with the two good-looking men, Carissa felt the opposite. As time went by, Carissa couldn't handle her surroundings and had to excuse herself to go home. One of the guys offered to take her home, but she politely declined. Carissa left her friends confused as to why she wanted to go home immediately.
Carissa was walking down the alleyway when she felt an enigmatic atmosphere. Although she was used to walking there at night, there was something different tonight. Her body felt shivers as she felt a presence behind her—as if she was being followed, even though she knew every person in that neighborhood because she had lived there for over 12 years.
She gathered all her courage as she tried to look from behind to see what was causing the strange atmosphere that she'd been feeling since she walked down the alley. "Who's there?" Carissa tried her best to sound brave. Unfortunately, no one answered. She finally arrived at her house and lay down on her bed as she felt drained and anxious.
The next morning came by so quickly. She tried not to be paranoid about what had happened last night, but she felt, once again, as if someone was trying to follow her. She clutched her bag tightly and looked for something that could be used as a weapon. She saw a brick at the side of the street and tossed it behind her without looking. Carissa quickly ran away to the university to make sure she was safe. As she entered the university, she was soon greeted by her friends, noticing how she looked terrified and was catching her breath. "What happened?" asked one of her friends. "Are you alright?" asked another. "Yeah, I'm fine", Carissa answered. "I just ran all the way here because I thought I was going to be late", she lied. They all went with Carissa's explanation and tried not to think too much about it.
Carissa's mind was distracted the whole lecture because of what happened earlier that morning. Did she hit a person? Did she hit something? Is someone following her? If so, who would be following her, and why were they following her? She snapped back to reality as the bell rang, signaling the professors to dismiss their students. "Okay, class, that's all. Thank you and Goodbye!" the professor declared as the students were packing up their things before going home. Carissa exited the university quickly to avoid being followed again. As she was at the exit, she was frozen in place for a moment because of the sight. A familiar vehicle—a motorcycle—she felt a pang in her chest and a tear slowly falling down her face. Her memories were rushing through her head, and she looked around for a bit, unsure what she was looking for or who she was looking for. She was devastated to see no one was around, as if she was expecting something or someone was waiting for her.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Nicole as she noticed her friend starting to tear up. Carissa wiped the tear off her face and forced a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine." Carissa replied as she left her friends confused. While walking down the alley of her street, she felt nervous with the thought that someone was still following her, but luckily, she got home safely without the feeling of someone's presence behind her.
The next day came. Carissa got up, took her journal, and wrote some notes in it. " First, I'm going to the park for a picnic,"—she thought. "Then, I want to go to a cat cafe,"—she continued to plan her day as she was getting ready. She went to the park wearing a white floral dress with puff sleeves. She set up the blanket and put down the basket filled with her favorite snacks and her favorite book.
Carissa was reading quietly when something caught her attention. A familiar scent—she thought. A strong but not too strong scent, a woody scent with a hint of sweetness. Memories once again rushed through her head. The young lad turned around to look for that familiar scent. She saw a young man strolling through the park. Carissa carefully observed the young man—tall, curly hair, prominent features, blue eyes, straight nose, plump lips, and a jawline that could cut someone. He was wearing a navy blue polo shirt with a sweater around his neck. She shook the thought off and tried not to think about it too much. She put her focus back on her book. Although Carissa can't help but to gaze upon the mysterious guy who is now sitting at a bench reading the same book as her. She gathered up all her courage and got up. She tried to walk towards the guy, but her phone rang, an alarm— "Cat Cafe Time!!"—it said. She packed up her things and walked to the cat cafe she'd been wanting to go to ever since, but hadn't gone even once.
Carissa entered the cat cafe and was greeted by all the soft and cuddly cats. She played with some of the cats for a while, and then it occurred to her—she missed her family and hadn't visited them in 6 years. She quickly got up, got her things, and went to her family's house. The thought of leaving her family was killing her. Would her parents be angry and cut her off, or a sense of relief her family would feel and welcome her back? She took a deep breath first before knocking on the door.
Shock was visible on her mom's face as she saw her daughter, who hadn't visited them since she left that place. "Everyone, quick! Carissa's back!" her mother shouted in joy. She sighed in relief at seeing how excited and happy her family was to see her again. She thought about how mad her family would be because of leaving them without any explanation and coming back after 6 years. They hugged each other, sharing each other's company as tears escaped Carissa's eyes. "I'm so sorry for leaving you all. I didn't mean to. I wanted to come home and give a proper explanation-" Carissa was cut off by her father "It's okay. What matters is you're safe, and you are happy," her father stated. "You are, right? Carissa's father chuckled, making sure he was right. "I am. I'm finally graduating in a week!" She smiled cheekily as she announced. "We're so happy for you, sweetheart!" her mother declared as she hugged her tightly. "By the way, did you eat dinner already?" her mother asked and pulled her to the dining room. "Oh, great timing! I'm famished." Carissa confessed. In the middle of their meal, a knock was heard from the living room— "I'll get it," Carissa's brother said before leaving the table.
"Does a Carissa live here?" the strange man asked Carissa's brother. "Carissa! Someone is looking for you." He shouted and left the living room. Carissa came to look for who was searching for her. "Do I know you?" Carissa asked—it was the guy from the park earlier, she had remembered him, but she didn't know who he was, why he was there, and how he knew she was there. "This is yours, right?" the guy asked as he held her book up. "You left it at the park. Your name and address were on the back page, so I used that information to bring it back to its rightful owner. That's all," the guy explained and smiled at Carissa. "Oh, thank you so much, I didn't notice it was missing," Carissa stated. The guy gave the book back to Carissa and was supposed to leave when Carissa spoke again. "What's your name?" The guy chuckled at her question. "I'm Harvey." Carissa smiled at him. "Nice meeting you, Harvey," Carissa said. "Nice meeting you, too, Carissa. Well, then, I should go on my way." Harvey said as he left. Carissa was left there at the door, not noticing how she was smiling.
~The Next Day~
Carissa woke up remembering what had happened the night before. She smiled at herself as she looked for her book as if it wasn't her favorite already. A thought came to her—she quickly got up to take a bath and dressed up. She got ready, took her blanket, her basket, and filled it with her favorite snacks, then grabbed her favorite book. She returned to the park, set up her blanket, and placed her basket with her favorite book, hoping to see Harvey again. She waited for hours until she felt someone standing in front of her. "You're back", it was Harvey. A smile grew on Carissa's face as he lifted her face and looked at the guy. "Yeah," a short response was heard from Carissa. "Do you mind?" Harvey asked, signaling to sit beside her. "No, not at all." Carissa shook her head. As Harvey sat next to Carissa, they talked about the book she was reading— "This is my favorite book. I have read it like 4 times now", Carissa confessed. "4 times?! I've read that only twice," Harvey said while Carissa chuckled at him.
They talked for hours and didn't notice how the time passed by. They must enjoy each other's company that much to not notice how the day is nearly ending. "Oh, the sun is already setting," Carissa said excitedly. Harvey can't look away from Carissa, who's busy admiring the view in front of her. The gentleman smiled at the sight of Carissa enjoying the sunset while the air was brushing through their skin. "Let's do this again sometime," Harvey suddenly spoke, which made Carissa turn to him. "Yeah, we should," Carissa smiled. "We should probably go, it gets really dark here at night", Harvey said, then quickly got up. He helped Carissa stand up as she was wearing a flowy dress. "I'm gonna go now. Thank you for your company", Carissa said before leaving. "No problem. See you again, Carissa."
They both got home safely, both smiling at the thought of each other's existence, hoping they'd see more of one another. The next day came, and Carissa's friends
couldn't help but notice how Carissa was smiling from ear to ear as she was entering their university. "Someone's happy," Lily said as Carissa greeted them. "Not really," Carissa replied shortly. "Really? We've never seen you happy like this in years since you left us," Nicole told her. "It's nothing, guys. Don't worry," Carissa assured her friends. They just nodded in response and went to their designated rooms. As the class ended, Carissa was surprised to see who was waiting for her outside her university—it was Harvey. A smile quickly formed on her face as she saw him—she walked up to him excitedly as he also walked up to her, smiling. "What are you doing here?" Carissa asked, pretending not to care. "I came to see you", Harvey confessed. "Shall we?" Harvey asked as he opened his car door for Carissa. "Where to?" she asked while sitting on the passenger seat. "You'll know when we arrive." Harvey is not giving any hint on where they would go.
They laughed and talked through the whole car ride and didn't notice how quickly the time passed by, and they had already arrived at their destination. "We're here," Harvey declared. Carissa's eyes lit up as she saw that they were now on top of a mountain with a pleasing view of the sunset. She slowly opened the car door and walked towards the view. "Careful, you might fall", Harvey warned her as she walked towards her. "Why did you bring me here?" Carissa asked as he turned to look at Harvey, who was now beside her. "You like staring at sunsets, right?" Harvey asked. "I do. Sunsets make me feel at peace." Carissa started to explain. "When I stare at sunsets, I feel like I can express my feelings to it without talking and explaining much, but it would understand me. It's like we're the only things existing in the world", Carissa confessed. "Well, now, I can also be your sunset. You can freely express yourself around me, you can always come to me, and you don't have to force yourself to talk and explain what you feel. I'm just here for you", Carissa smiled fondly as she felt her heart skip a beat while hearing those words from Harvey. As if for the first time in years, someone sees her, someone understands her. Harvey opened his arms when he saw Carissa starting to tear up, signaling her for a hug. Carissa then hugged him tightly and let all the emotions, all the tears flow. They stayed like that for minutes and talked about their feelings; no one knew, and no one noticed. "Thank you," Carissa smiled at Harvey while her head was leaning on Harvey's shoulder. "Anytime," Harvey replied, looking down at Carissa.
The day ended quickly,y and they both decided to go home after a tiring but fulfilling day. Harvey drove Carissa home, and she stopped for a moment, trying to process things as she saw a familiar face outside her house, waiting for her. Memories circled through Carissa's mind as she saw who was waiting for her.
~Flashback~
*Ring *Ring *Ring, the school bell rang, causing the students to panic. As the students were running around in a catastrophe, one student was leaning on the door of one of the classrooms—Enigma. While she was staring, laughing at the catastrophe she caused, someone caught her attention—a young blonde girl with fair skin who was calm in the midst of the disaster. "Calm down, okay? Let's follow the instructions of the professors to avoid conflict, alright?"— Carissa. Enigma saw how Carissa tried to help her friend calm down, but her friend couldn't help it and ran away along with the crowd. As Carissa looked in Enigma's direction, she felt nervous. "Does she know I pulled the alarm?" Enigma thought. "Why are you so chill about this?" Why are you still laughing when there's a crisis happening?" Enigma was confused about how Carissa approached her; she couldn't answer. "Calm down, students. It was just a false alarm. Unfortunately, someone pulled it for a prank. The student who pulled the prank will get a warning. That is all, you can now proceed to your classrooms. Thank you!" The principal proclaimed. Carissa raised an eyebrow at Enigma as she heard the announcement and quickly concluded that Enigma might be responsible for the prank. "What?" Enigma asked, scoffing. "So, you are the prankster." Carissa finally said. "I don't know what you're talking about", Enigma replied, trying to sound cold as she left the young girl behind. As time goes by, they hang out more often.
"Hey, it's okay. You're not perfect, nobody's perfect, everybody makes mistakes, okay?" Enigma comforted Carissa as she saw the results of her Math test—94%. "I can't even make it to 95%" Carissa continued to cry. "My parents will be disappointed in me. They will no longer see me as their perfect child. I'm a failure." Carissa cried out. "They're not going to be disappointed in you, alright?" They love you for who you are. Your parents won't care if you got one exam that is not a 95%" Enigma tried to lift her mood. For a moment, they stayed silent.
"Come on," Enigma stood up, offering her hand to Carissa, who was still sitting. "Where are we going?" Carissa asked, "To have some fun." Enigma smirked at Carissa as they ran away."What are we doing here?" Carissa asked nervously while they were sneaking around the convenience store. "Just act naturally," Enigma told her as she grabbed 4 bottles of alcohol and hid them in her bag. She then grabbed a bottle of water and gave it to the counter. "Just this, please," she said. The cashier did not notice anything as they were too busy scrolling through their phones.
They left the convenience store and entered a room hidden in a dark alleyway. Enigma entered casually while Carissa just followed her inside; they both were greeted by a lot of people—neglected teens, rebels, and unwanted by their families, like them. "Hey guys, this is Carissa. She will be joining us just for today." Enigma announced. They started drinking, smoking, and playing cards; Carissa was sitting beside Enigma, declining every drink and cigarette she was offered. "Try this." Enigma offered a glass to Carissa. "I don't drink". Carissa respectfully declined her friend. "Just try it, forget about your worries tonight, alright? Just feel the freedom," Enigma said, persuading her. Carissa took the glass and drank it in one go. She screamed in satisfaction as she felt the alcohol flow through her body.
After a few drinks, Carissa and Enigma were the only ones left conscious. "Thank you for tonight," Carissa told Enigma as they were both leaning on the sofa. They stared deeply into each other's eyes for a few minutes. "I like you." Enigma's sudden confession left Carissa completely shocked. They didn't notice the time and how many drinks they had, especially Carissa—this was the first time she had done this. Days. Months and years went by, and Carissa started to drink and hang out more often with Enigma's friends; she even started to smoke. As Carissa started to lose herself, she was slowly failing in school, too, but she didn't care anymore because the only thing that mattered to her now was Enigma. They both flunked out of school, so they decided to leave their hometown and live with each other.
Because of their situation—dropped out, has no family, no plan, no nothing, they couldn't find any jobs, they could only think of one solution—stealing. They lived their lives for 4 years on money they didn't earn, and they haven't been caught, not even once. Not until— "Carissa just throw them anything you could find. Just keep them distracted." Enigma shouted while she was driving the motorcycle as they were running away from the cops after stealing from a jewelry store. Enigma didn't care about the speed they were at, as long as they could escape the cops. Unfortunately, Enigma lost control, making them crash; Carissa flew through the air, her back hitting the ground hard. Enigma's first thought was "Where is Carissa?" "Is she hurt?" As she
was using all her strength to go to Carissa and save her, the cops were able to get to her first, which left her with no choice but to leave her. No matter how she loved Carissa, she didn't want to end up in jail.
After years of looking for Carissa, Enigma finally found her. She tried to approach her many times, but she just couldn't. Thoughts were circling through her mind—" What if she hates me?" "What will she do when she finally sees me?" "Does she still love me?" The first time she attempted to approach Carissa, she came off as a stalker. She followed Carissa while she was walking home. Enigma quickly hid behind the trash can when Carissa turned. "Who is there?" Enigma was torn between revealing herself to Carissa or waiting for another moment. She sighed in defeat and walked home.
The next day, Enigma tried to approach Carissa once again but failed miserably. She scared Carissa, making her throw a brick at her. The brick hit her forehead, making it blee,d but she didn't care. She tried to catch up with Carissa, but she ran away.
~End of Flashback~
Tears started to flow from Carissa's eyes at the sight of Enigma waiting for her outside her house. Harvey quickly noticed it and pulled Carissa for a hug, even though he had no idea why Carissa was crying. Carissa built up all the courage she had and left the car. She walked up to Enigma, trying to look strong, but ended up falling for her all over again despite what had happened to them for the past few years, as she pulled her for a hug. "I'm sorry. I should've come for you sooner. I was just afraid that you might hate me for leaving you alone. Let me explain, please." Enigma begged for Carissa's forgiveness. Although Carissa wanted to hug her back, she tried not to as she was afraid she might hurt her again and end up losing herself all over again, after years of building herself from nothing. "You don't have to explain anything. It's all in the past; you can't change it anymore. You can leave now." Carissa said, trying her best not to break down in front of her. "Please-" Enigma was cut off by Harvey, who had just left the car. "She told you to leave already." Enigma scoffed, "Who's this guy?" she asked. "Don't mind him, please just leave." Carissa almost begs her as she feels her tears forming in her eyes. Enigma tried to argue, but finally left the two.
Carissa offered for Harvey to come inside her house to rest first before going home. She immediately broke down as they entered the house. She tries to explain what happened to both of them, "I loved her, and the worst part is, despite all the things she has done to me, I flunked out of school, I left my family and friends here without any explanation, just to be with her—I still love her so much". Harvey let Carissa cry hard.
A few moments had passed. Carissa cried herself to sleep, and Harvey left silently to avoid waking her up.
Carissa woke up on the sofa. She didn't notice Harvey had left, but she saw a note on the table—"Good Morning, sorry I left without saying goodbye, I didn't want to wake you up. Anyway, I'll give you space for now so that you can decide who you want to be with, if it's with me or her. I'm not forcing you into anything, just so you know, I'll respect your decision no matter what :). -Harvey"—it says. Even though she knows she's been hurt so many times, she still wants to be with one person only—Enigma. She opens her phone and is about to text her when she sees a notification from her— "I'm sorry. I realize now the damage I have done to you, and I don't want to hurt you anymore, so I will leave for your peace of mind. I hope you know that I love you, I really do, and I hope you'll be happy always. Goodbye." Tears start to flow out of her eyes again as she sits there on her sofa and cries her heart out as she reads the message she got from the person she was willing to risk it all, the one person she will always go back to no matter how many times she's been hurt, the one person she was willing to give her life for.
~The End~