Miguel regained his consciousness in transit. His bleary eyes searched around, only to see a familiar face. He had never expected to see Mr. Kingsley. But the man was siting beside him, watching as the medic attended to him.

“How do you feel?” The medic asked.

“I’m… alright.” I’m alive.

Miguel was so thankful. He really thought that he was going to die.

When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, Miguel was turned over to the doctors for further examination.

Andre, Kasumi, and Toni arrived at the same time. They waited together with Henry while the check-up was ongoing.

Police officers passed by and went to get the statements from the victims.

Henry’s eyes travelled to them as he maintained an impassive expression. “Find out what they know.”

“I’m on it.” Kasumi replied.

Except for a contusion, everything seemed normal according to the tests. The doctors allowed Miguel to go after they made sure that he was truly alright.

Henry and Andre left after hearing this. There were pressing matters that needed more attention.

“I’ll leave you to take him back.” Tony listened to Kasumi’s instructions.

His immediate supervisor also left the hospital eventually.

When Tony started to drive the car, he noticed that his passenger seemed to be in a daze. He knew that it was not his place to comment, but he felt that the young man needed a support after a traumatic experience.

“I worked for years as a marine. We were trained for combat, and how to shoot a gun. But no amount of training had prepared me from the initial shock of witnessing the deaths of people around me. To this day, those memories still haunt me.”

Tony stopped at the red light and looked at Miguel through the rearview mirror.

“It is alright to be scared. Do not bottle up your emotions. I may not be best at comforting people. But if you need someone to talk to, you can approach me.”

Miguel took a deep breath.

“Thank you.” The gratitude was reflected in his eyes.

Miguel was not in the right state of mind to make a conversation, but he appreciated it.

In a comfortable silence, Tony continued to drive. After some time, they were finally able to reach the villa.

The shock must have settled late, for Miguel found his knees buckling when he got out of the car.

Fortunately, the marine had been quick to stabilize him after falling off balance.

Miguel thanked Tony again before trudging slowly inside the mansion. It took all his strength just to climb the stairs.

His first thought was to wash away all the dirt clinging to his body.

Inside the bathroom, he undressed quickly and stood under the shower.

But the warmth of the water eventually made him breakdown to his knees.

His tears and the water mixed together in an endless flow.

Alone in a faraway country, with no one to rely on, Miguel felt so scared, so tired, so weak. All of the fatigue and exhaustion from the past few months had caused his dam to break.

Every day, for the past few months, he told himself to take it one day at a time.

He convinced himself that the problems would eventually go away; that his papa will become strong again; that he would take his papa to explore new places when he goes home for a vacation.

He would let his papa see places that only the privileged could go to. A five-star hotel in a beautiful beach perhaps. Whatever his papa wanted; he would do his best to fulfill. He promised that he would earn enough money to make this happen.

He didn’t know how many minutes had passed, but the water falling over his body had already become cold.

Miguel closed the shower off, and got out of the glass cubicle. With his pruney fingers, he wiped his body with a towel. After changing his clothes, he noticed his sling bag on the bed.

The cash was still there.

He had promised to call Marian after sending the remittance.

Miguel contemplated whether to call her. He was worried. His best friend had an uncanny talent of knowing when he was upset.

He did not want her to know because Marian would be unable to keep quiet once she learns that something had happened to him. They once both joked around that Marian was his knight in shining armor. Her sharp tongue would cut the kids who would make fun of Miguel’s poor situation.

A deep inhale later, Miguel was finally able to stabilize his emotion.

His breakdown in the bathroom helped in a way. Now he felt like he could speak through the phone without sounding off.

He first sent a chat message to see if Marian was online.

Her response was a call.

Miguel allowed the phone to ring three times before pressing the green button.

“Hello Miguel!” Came Marian’s soft voice.

“Marian, how are you?” Miguel sat on the bed.

“I’m doing well. Also, uncle was able to sit down today, unassisted.” She excitedly reported.

“I’m glad. That’s great news.” Miguel smiled. “Papa, is he asleep?”

“Ah yes. Do you want me to wake him -”

“No. No. Let him rest. I can call again some time to talk to him.” Miguel quickly refused. He knew that if he heard his papa’s voice right now, he would cry again.

Marian sighed. “He had just fallen asleep. I think he is still in pain, but he is holding it in. I feel sad when he tries to do things by himself. I want to help him. Uncle misses you and asks about you all the time.”

“I know.” Miguel felt upset. He wished he was there to take care of his papa. “I saw his messages. Thank you for helping him learn how to use sns.”

“Yeah, it helped keep his mood from plummeting when he read comics on the app that I downloaded in his phone.”

“Marian, I…” Miguel stared at the bag beside him.

“What is it Anghelo?” It was as though she knew that something was troubling Miguel. She always had this uncanny ability.

“I… I told you yesterday that I was going to send the remittance, remember?”

“Yes.”

“Well the thing is… I wasn’t able to send it today because… the bank closed. But I will find a way to send the money as soon as I can. I just have to…”

“Anghelo.” Marian felt how stressed he was from the past months trying to raise funds just to get his father’s treatment started. “Do not worry too much. Rest well tonight. You need it.”

“I… yes. I will. Thanks Marian.” Miguel bit his lip.

He was almost tempted to tell Marian what happened today. But they had a lot of problem right now. He did not want to become a burden and add more to it.

“Good night, Miguel.”