I ran towards Philip. I was excited to see him. He seemed more mature than the last time I saw him. He opened his arms and I hugged him tight. Philip was my childhood friend. His father was one of the Church officials who my father trusted most. We used to be neighbors so we watched each other grow. But over four years ago, his father resigned from his post and they moved to another country. The last time we saw each other was the night before that tragic incident. It was probably a good thing. If he was there that night, who knows what would have happened to him. He would've died trying to protect me.
"Philip! I've missed you!" I exclaimed. I was really happy to see him.
"I've missed you too. I thought you'd forgotten about me." He said while wrapping me in a tight embrace.
"Who's this?" It was Ethan. I forgot about them and didn't notice them approaching.
I freed myself from Philip's hug and introduced him. "This is Philip, my childhood friend." I faced Philip and introduced the others. "These are my friends: Ethan, Kai, Christian, Jeremy and Marcus."
"You're Krista's childhood friend? It's nice to meet you." Christian said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too. Yes, we grew up together. She's more than just a friend to me, though. We're actually engaged."
"Really?" The others gave a look of surprise. Kai, on the other hand, looked like he didn't care.
"Stop it." I said. "You still say that silly joke?" I laughed. Philip laughed along. "My father would be happy to see you. Let's go." Then I turned to the others. "Sorry. I can't hang out with you today, maybe next time. Bye."
As expected, my father was pleased that Philip came to visit. His father had some business in the city and he tagged along. They were staying at a family friend's home.
The next few days had been joyful and confusing. I was really happy because Philip had been spending time with me after school. I took him to my favorite places. It had been four years since they left and a lot had changed since then. He was a great companion. We talked a lot and laughed a lot. I haven't felt so carefree in a long time. It was like we were kids again – with no worries and fears. We were inseparable. Those couple of days was great, but I felt very confused. Kai had been making me feel very confused. I thought we had gotten extremely close. I mean, we had become best friends, right? But the past few days, he had been avoiding me. He never talked to me at lunch. He never greeted me in the hallway. He never came to the library in the morning. It was like things went back to how they were before we became friends. He became that cold, distant person I couldn't touch no matter how hard I tried to reach. Weekend came in a blink and I thought he had forgotten the promise we made to Amelia.
"You came!" I couldn't hide the excitement I was feeling. He was waiting for me by his car on the driveway. "You should have parked somewhere else though. Someone might see and get suspicious. It's a good thing my father's not here. Let's go."
He got in the car without saying a word. I felt like I was shattering. His cold treatment to me was making me feel lonely, outcast. We drove in silence for hours. To me, it felt like years. I was afraid. I was afraid our friendship would be ending. I was afraid of the possibility of being alone again. I had Philip, but his visit was temporary. I was fighting back the tears the entire journey. Kai never looked my way, not even once. Did I do something wrong?
When we arrived at the cabin, Amelia was sitting by the front porch. She got up and ran to us. I hugged her and we got inside. Kai spent the entire day observing Amelia again. I never knew what he was trying to see exactly. He was gentle and friendly with her. His smile was warm, a smile I haven't seen for days. His smile disappeared every time he turned to me. He didn't talk to me. It was like I was invisible. It hurt a lot. I couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to wander in the forest. The greens and the colorful flowers made me feel a little less heartbroken. The chirping of the birds was like a melody, so soothing and comforting. So what if I'd be alone again? I survived for years; I could survive a few years more. I was so lost in thought that I jumped when I heard the cracking sound of the branches. I turned around to see Kai standing a few meters behind me.
"You scared me! I told you not to appear so suddenly. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I scolded him.
"It's getting dark. Let's go home for now." He said emotionlessly.
"You go home. I'm staying with Amelia. I already told my father I'd be spending the night with my cousin and she agreed to cover for me." I said without looking at him. I was afraid to see him looking so indifferent towards me, I might cry in front of him.
"Alright. I'll come back early tomorrow." Then he left. Just like that, he was out of sight.
That night, I fell asleep with tears in my eyes. "He doesn't care about me anymore." It was all I could think of. What other reasons could there be? "Maybe he's tired of always having to rescue me." That was a possibility. No matter the reason, one thing couldn't be changed: goodbye was coming.
I felt someone tugging my shoulder. Sunlight hit my face and I could faintly hear someone calling my name. "Krista! Wake up! Wake up." I opened my eyes and Kai's face was the first thing I saw. He was leaning close, too close. I slightly pushed him away.
"What is wrong with you? I'm still sleepy." I said, trying to sound annoyed.
"Where is Amelia?" He asked. The urgency was evident in his voice.
"She was sleeping beside me last night. Maybe she's playing around somewhere nearby."
"I looked around. She's not here."
"What?!" I immediately got out of bed and went running outside the house. "Amelia! Amelia!" My voice cracked. I had no energy. I was drained from all the crying the night before. "When did you come? How long has she been gone?" I asked Kai.
"I arrived less than an hour ago. When I saw she wasn't in the cabin, I tried searching for her in the perimeter. I couldn't find her, so I went to wake you up. Regarding your other question, I should be the one asking you that." He said. That moment, he looked scary.
"I don't know. When I went to sleep, she was beside me. I didn't notice her getting out." I sighed. We had to find her. There were still so many questions needed to be answered. "I'll go get changed and we'll look for her."
We started searching for her. It was a good thing I brought a map of the property. The property was massive and I just knew it wouldn't be easy. I brought my backpack filled with food and my medicine kit, in case Amelia got hurt. The thought of her alone and scared was making me anxious. We searched the entire day but we couldn't find her. Then, the skies turned dark and the wind blew hard. A storm was coming. We were a ways away from the cabin we were staying at and there was no way we could make it in time. I suggested taking shelter in one of the other cabins. We found the nearest one just in time for the rain to start pouring. We went in and Kai started the fire in the furnace. I went to the bedroom and found a few blankets. The blankets were dusty but we didn't have a choice. The storm was getting stronger and despite the fire, it was freezing. I wrapped the blanket around myself and coughed a little from the dust.
"What do we do now? What if something bad happened to her?" I was a little frantic.
"There's nothing else we can do. We can't keep looking for her in this storm. Why don't you stay here and I'll go look for her by myself." Kai rose from his seat.
"No! Don't leave me." I protested. "Just listen to this storm. The wind is blowing so loudly and the rain is pouring too hard. Even for you, it'll be difficult. Plus, what if something bad happens to you too? What will I do then?" I reasoned. I couldn't tell him that I just really didn't want him to leave me alone.
He sat down and closed his eyes. I watched him and wondered what was wrong. Why was he mad at me? What did I do? Was something bothering him? He sat there like a statue, a breathtaking one. Then, his eyes flew open and he looked at me. I was frozen for a moment. I averted my eyes and started humming to myself. I hoped that he didn't think anything of it. I mean, we were friends. What's wrong with a friend looking at her friend?
I risked a glance at his direction. He was staring at me. My heart started pounding. I almost forgot how to breathe.