But would uncovering the past heal the present?
Or would it only destroy the future?
***
Staring at her face, he had no doubt he had not met her before this day. He tried to search his memory of an instance they might have bumped into each other at another time, but nothing came to mind.
Still, he could not expect to remember everyone he had met before. That was just impossible. But the question remained.
Who was this girl?
"Excuse me." She called his attention, staring into the man holding her hostage as she sat beside him on a bench on the sidewalk.
She tried to identify him, but all she saw was the lower portion of his face. She noticed the tiny stubble of beards on his jawline and a trickle of mustache surrounding his luscious lips. But other than that, he was still a stranger.
"Who are you?" She asked as she adjusted her eyes to the darkness, blinking them several times.
She could not see the rest of what he looked like as the shadows enveloped the night, covering the rest of his facial features.
However, his broad shoulders, wide chest, and muscular arms were prominent in her peripheral vision. She could judge that he could easily hurt her with his evident strength.
On the other hand, he remained gentle in handling the situation, as if he was afraid to hurt or frighten her. Was she mistaken about her assumption? Maybe he was telling her the truth.
"Who I am, does not matter. The important thing is that you are safe." He voiced out as he maintained his distance away from her.
He could not reveal his identity to a total stranger just like her. Besides, it was not relevant to their situation. After getting the information he needed from her, he would never see her again.
"Am I..." She still doubted his words, staring at him more intensely. "...safe?"
She wondered why he would not introduce himself, but she figured she was also a stranger to him. She could not expect him to trust her when she had no plan to reveal herself to him.
"I assure you, you are." It was the only promise he could give her at the moment. "You said you were running away. From whom?" He asked, changing the topic, hoping it would help her relax in his presence.
He was still unsure if she had seen his former men since he did not see anyone else when he found her. Although, he did sense his rogue men before they eventually disappeared from his radar.
If his instinct were correct, it was them. They must have sensed his presence, causing them to lose interest in this girl. Then, they quickly made their escape.
"Three big men were chasing after me. I could not see their faces because it was dark." She related to him what she saw, still puzzled by the event.
She finally confided with him, seeing that she had no other options. Maybe he would have some answers for her, she thought. She continued to tell him about the details of the earlier event. "Did you notice them?" She finally asked.
"I am sorry, but I did not." As much as he wanted to help her, he could not discuss the men she saw.
But he was glad that she barely noticed anything unusual about them. But he still needed a guarantee that she would finally forget this incident.
"You can relax now. I think whoever those men were, they are long gone now." It was the only reassurance that he could give her.
But her statement just confirmed their intel. She had proved his senses were still on point when he detected their presence earlier.
He also knew his men were listening to their conversation. They would know what to do with the information they gathered from her.
"Don't worry. I will take care of those men if I catch them." He smiled at her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.
He could sense his men moving in every direction, searching the premises and tracking where she had last spotted the three men.
He was confident they would catch up and capture them in no time. He would do what he should have done before the situation had gone out of hand.
She suddenly felt comforted by what he said and his kind gesture. "Thanks." There was something about his voice that made her at ease. It made her breathing and heartbeat significantly slow down.
When her fear finally subsided, her curiosity started to kick in. Her inquisitive nature wanted to uncover who the man was, hiding behind the shadow.
"Now, where is your home?" He asked, remembering that it was very late.
He believed she had already shared everything she knew. There was nothing else she could tell him. There was no more point in keeping her and preventing her from leaving.
Suddenly, she remembered that she was still outside in the middle of the night, still out of the safety of her home. Her eyes wandered around, checking on her surrounding.
She then realized that she was just a house away from her doorstep. She breathed a sigh of relief upon the knowledge she was almost home.
She finally pointed it to him. "It is just over there." She quickly stood up from her position.
"Go home. Let me handle this." He told her without moving, keeping his identity behind the cloak of the shadows. "Go!" He ordered using an authoritative voice, putting a slight rasp in his voice.
"Thanks again." Reluctantly she moved away, walking fast toward the direction of her house. Somehow, she felt obligated to follow his command, not wanting to disobey his voice.
She was already a few steps away from him when she realized she still had not seen his face. She could not help her curiosity. Despite the danger, she stopped in her tracks.
"Hey, what is your name again?" She spoke up as she turned around.
She knew she should not bother. But still, she was curious about the man, who she believed saved her from harm and the clutches of death.
However, glancing at the bench where she had left him, he was already gone. There was no trace of him anywhere she looked.
It was like he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.