Life was hard.

I had been living paycheck to paycheck, saving every peso while working two jobs just to make ends meet: a cook at a popular fast-food chain during the day and a food delivery rider at night. All of it was for my sister.

She was in her second year of nursing, and I had promised myself that, no matter how tired I became, I would never let her stop studying. Not after Typhoon Noru took both of our parents four years ago.

The hardest part of being a perfectionist was that I put everything into every burger, serving of fries and pieces of crispy chicken. I wanted every order to make someone’s day a little better and give them the familiar taste they had always loved.

In the kitchen, I had already lost track of time since I clocked in at 7 a.m.

I glanced at my Sioami Active 5 watch to check the time while frying chicken parts in the fryer.

“It’s already ten minutes to 3 p.m, where is the afternoon shift?”

Then a notification popped up.

Kuya… I need Php 15,000 for my remaining balance before semestral finals po.

I stared at the amount for a sec. Fifteen thousand pesos wasn’t easy to find, especially when bills and food prices were steadily rising.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, of course not directly to the sizzling chicken in front of me but to the side.

“Earl, is the UltraMeal Chicken done?” My co-worker called.

I plated the chicken while another crew member added the fries and steak burger.

“Radz!” I called, sliding the dish through the small opening that divides the kitchen and counter.

Radz came and took the dish.

“Thanks, Earl.”

Before leaving, I fried an extra batch for the afternoon shift. Rush hour would hit soon, and I didn’t want them to start the shift behind the clock.

I walked towards the employee pantry, where we took our ten-minute breaks and kept our personal belongings in lockers. I unlocked mine and immediately reached inside my sling bag for my phone. Then I opened GoCash to check how much money I had left.

Php 7,678.50.

“Tsk. Still short”

I opened Messenger.

Let’s discuss it when I pick you up at 8pm. Don’t buy dinner. We’ll eat together when we get home. 

I placed my phone back in my bag and changed into a FoodBamboo green, long-sleeved rider uniform. I grabbed my helmet and clocked out.

I opened the FoodBamboo app and checked available online orders from the fast-food chain I worked in; one appeared on the platform and I immediately accepted it. I covered the lower half of my face, put on my helmet, and rode my Yamaha Mio Fazzio towards the Rider Pickup counter.

After ten minutes the order was ready for pickup.

“Oy, Earl. 2 UltraMeals and 2 PepsiTop.”

I received the order and tapped “Received” on the app which started the fifteen minute countdown.

“Thanks, Ella.”

“Drive safe, Earl.” She smiled.

“Will do, El.”

I placed the order onto the FoodBamboo delivery box mounted behind my seat and drove through the traffic to the first location of my order.

Five hours and twenty minutes later, I sat beside the bustling night market, eating my third banana cue.

I checked my smartwatch.

8:20 p.m.

“Tae.”

My phone showed several missed calls and messages from Avaia.

Kuya! Where in God’s creation are you right now?

Coming.Ten minutes.

Then my phone chimed with another order: one Premium Medium Vanilla Latte from the nearest GreenClock.

I checked the location of the recipient, which was pinned at a residential area of Las Villas Del Cielo Subdivision.

Wasn’t there a GreenClock branch near that area?

The app showed a Php 60 tip, while the customer noted an additional Php 500 once the order had been received.

My eyes widened.

Is this a scam? In all my days as a delivery rider, no one had ever tipped Php 500 - not in this economy.

I took a bite of the banana cue in my right hand.

Still, the Php 205 order had already been paid for by card. Maybe the customer just really loves this branch’s coffee? If that Php 500 tip was real, I could buy one for my sister on the way home.

I accepted the order, paid for the banana cue, and thanked the vendor. Before starting my motorcycle, I messaged Avaia 

Av, I accepted another order. The customer promised an additional Php 500 tip.

Isn’t that a scam, Kuya? 500 pesos is suspicious.

Worth a shot? 

Fine. But you owe me a GreenClock Coffee.

K.

Five minutes later, I arrived and picked up the order. I tapped the “Receive” on the app and headed towards the customer's address. 

Since Avaia’s school was along the delivery route, I decided to pick her up on the way.

I arrived at the campus and found her inside a waiting shed, still wearing her nursing uniform.

“Well, well.” Avaia gave me a stern look. “Someone said ten minutes?”

“Can’t you have any consideration for your darling brother?”

She immediately went to the delivery box.

“Where’s my coffee?”

“After I get the tip.”

She just rolled her eyes, took the spare helmet and put it on. 

“Hurry up. You’d better deliver that order quickly, servant.”

I turned toward her.

“What’s with that tone? Give me that helmet, you insolent witch!”

“Oh, so you're now calling me a witch now, huh?”

She pinched my sides.

“OW! Okay, you win!”

Avaia climbed onto the seat behind me. 

“Thank you for picking me up, Kuya,” she said quietly

“Always.”

“But I still won’t forgive you for forgetting my coffee.”

“I said—”

“Gosh. Here comes the yapping again.” 

She glanced at the delivery timer on my mounted phone.

“You have nine minutes left to deliver that order. Hurry up, servant. My coffee money can’t wait.”

We pulled back into traffic.

Halfway to the customer’s address, rain began to pour.

I spotted several motorists sheltering from the downpour beneath an overpass. I quickly steered my Fazzio towards them and pulled over, grateful for escaping the rain.

Avaia climbed off the motorcycle and removed her helmet. Before anyone could recognize her, she pulled a face mask over the lower half of her face. 

“Seriously?” I asked. “Even under an overpass?”

“I look terrible when I’m wet.”

I rolled my eyes. 

“Influencers..”

She punched my shoulder.

Several of her nursing-school videos had gone viral. In good months, her earnings helped cover our groceries, although neither of us enjoyed the unwanted attention.

I lifted the seat and opened the U-box beneath it. From inside, I took out two raincoats, a plastic covering for the storage box, and a ziplock bag for my phone. I handed Avaia her pink raincoat before putting on my own. Then secured the plastic around the storage box, and slipped my phone into the Ziplock before returning it to the phone holder.

The delivery pin continued blinking on the map, showing an estimated travel time of five minutes. I exhaled and wiped the rain from my visor.

Avaia removed her face mask, put her helmet back on, and climbed onto the motorcycle behind me.

We pulled back into traffic.

“Dang this rain… Is a typhoon making landfall tonight?”

I checked the side mirror. Avaia’s face was hidden inside the helmet.

“Are you okay?”

She couldn’t hear me, so I gave her a thumbs-up.

Avaia nodded.

Under the  heavy rainfall the road before me started to flood.

Well, what do you expect of our city’s drainage system? It’s one of the worst.

I slowed down, watching for potholes and open drainage canals hidden beneath the floodwater. One wrong move could land both of us in the hospital.

Gosh, just thinking about the medical bills made my chest tighten. Not to mention how much income I would lose if an injury kept me from working for even a few days.

A few meters away, a traffic light hung over the next intersection. I finally made it out of the flooded downtown and stopped at the red light.

I glanced at my phone. Only three minutes left to deliver the order.

I hope this Php 500 is worth it.

The light turned green, and I drove into the intersection. Avaia tightened her arms around my waist.

A burst of light hit my eyes.

A horn blared.

“KUYA!” Avaia screamed.

Before I could react, something slammed into us.

My body struck the wet pavement. I skidded across the road as the side of my helmet scraped against the concrete.

For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe.

An accident… Someone hit us.

I forced myself upright.

Pieces of familiar black plastic lay scattered before me across the intersection.

Then I saw a patch of pink beside my shattered Fazzio.

“Avaia…”

She lay motionless on the pavement, still wearing the raincoat I had given her.

I staggered toward her, but my legs gave out after only a few steps.

A sudden sharp pain tore through my chest. My vision blurred, and I coughed out something warm that I couldn’t clearly see through the rain.

Still, I crawled.

“God…”

I reached Avaia and touched her fingers. 

They were still warm.

Her chest moved faintly beneath the pink raincoat.

She was breathing.

My trembling fingers closed around hers.

“I’m sorry…”

The rain drowned my voice. Tears flowed from my eyes as I begged.

“Please… stay with her.”

Then everything went dark.

“Kael…”

Something slammed into my face, jolting me awake.

“RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPING BEAUTY!”  Someone shouted, laughing as I clawed at whatever was covering my face.

I finally tore the pillow away and threw it onto the wooden floor.

“MATT!” I shouted.

My chest heaved as I dragged in one breath after another.

His laughter stopped.

Then the memories struck.

The rain.

The blaring horn.

The impact.

The crushing pressure against my lungs.

Avaia lying beneath the rain.

Her warm fingers.

I could breathe now, yet another part of me was still lying in that intersection.

Dying.

“The accident…”

“Huh? What in the name of the Seven Gods are you mumbling about, Kael?” Matthew asked. “You’re pale as snow—as if you saw a Mordren.”

I glanced up and tilted my head.

I knew him. I was certain of that.

Yet when I searched my memories, I couldn’t find a single place or moment we had shared.

Then why had I called him Matt?

Matthew’s grin faded. He studied me with his gray eyes, then pressed the back of his hand against my forehead.

“Well, you aren’t hot…”

“Boys! We’re going to be late for Spring Mass. Matthew, is Kael awake yet?”

Matthew’s concerned expression disappeared. His grin returned.

“YES, MOM! He was dreaming about Diana’s—”

Before I understood what I was doing, I snatched the pillow from the floor and hurled it straight at him.

“I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, MATTHEW!”

Matthew ducked. The pillow sailed over his head as he turned and fled from the bedroom, laughing like a villain.

My body knew exactly how to chase him, as though we had done this countless times before.

The problem was that I couldn’t remember one of them.