"Give your heart to a nice guy.
"A nice guy loves his mother.
"A nice guy is nice to children and animals.
"A nice guy is openly and sincerely concerned with the welfare of others.
"A nice guy is house-trained.
"A nice guy is spiritual.
"A nice guy is chivalrous.
"A nice guy is nice even if you aren't.
"A nice guy is nice to your friends.
"A nice guy sticks up for the right ones.
"A nice guy will never break your heart."
But I don't know if a nice guy will save this wretched life of mine now.
I'm beyond saving, anyway.
***
One night in Atlanta, Georgia.
The highway is dyed with a pitch-black hue, and is only illuminated by the moonlight and the headlights coming from the vehicles that pass through the highway itself.
The general silence that prevails in this highway is about to be broken by a sharp and loud word of caution coming from two people.
"WATCH OUT!"
A twenty-something couple notices a speeding truck that is about to hit a girl who has disheveled hair and slightly-torn clothes, just sedately standing in the middle of the street at a time where there are not many vehicles passing through this thoroughfare.
With their unusually quick reflexes, the guy and the girl are able to catch each of the girl's arms, fifteen seconds before the truck would have reduced the girl to a lifeless mass of flesh; and get her out of harm's way.
The three all just lie momentarily on the sidewalk, with the girl with the tattered clothes being on top of the couple, albeit lethargic and unconscious.
"Looks like she's OK," the man comments.
"But look at her face! It's… unsettling. More like… it's already robbed of life! We simply don't know what's happening to her!" the woman airs her concern.
"Sounds like a nice time to send her to a hospital!"
"Uh-huh. We're loaded anyway, and saving this poor girl won't hurt our wallets in the long term."
The couple then do the obvious and sensible thing: Send the girl to the nearest possible hospital, which in their case, is Emmanuel Slacie Memorial Medical Center.
***
This is something we didn't expect to happen.
We, Frederick Keith Nighy and Leigh Ann Kimble, more popularly known as the country singer duo Brave Ad 65, has just wrapped up our performance at our usual joint, Mushy Baby's Drift Country Bar and Restaurant.
We were about to go home to our apartment and call it a night when we suddenly spotted a girl just lethargically standing in the middle of the highway the bar is located in.
She was about to get hit by a truck, so our impulses kicked in and got the girl out of harm's way.
And judging from the face she showed, it seems she wanted to end her own life.
But not on our watch!
We then both agreed to send her to the nearest hospital, which took us seven minutes on foot.
Oh, the girl just dropped something – more like gravity made it drop by itself.
It's a plain-white index card with very feminine handwriting, and it's headlined by the sentence "Give Your Heart to a Nice Guy", and followed by a list of things the "nice guy" does.
Strangely and coincidentally enough…
All those bullet points are applicable to me.
Well, in this harsh world of ours, we as a collective of humans have to still keep up our moral and ethical standards if we need to survive.
I am a nice guy because this is what I truly am, and not as a facade to deceive others and wreck their lives.
Now I wonder if that handwriting is definitely hers.
Guess I'll ask her once she recovers.
While I still carried the girl like a princess, Leigh agreed to keep the card until the girl recovers.
No sooner did we reach the emergency department of Emmanuel Slacie Memorial Medical Center.
The doctors on standby quickly noticed us, and thus we cut to the chase.
"We just rescued her from being hit by a truck! Can you please do something about her?"
"Alright, we're on it. We'll tell you how she's doing once we administer our first aid. For the meantime, you can wait at the nearby lounge."
"Thank you, sir."
Fifteen minutes later, we were given good news by the doctors.
"Her condition's stable, but she needs a full night of recovery. She'll be discharged tomorrow morning."
We then breathed sighs of relief before we uttered, "Thank goodness."
"By the way, you guys know her?"
I replied, "We met her for the first time."
"Oh. From her looks, she must've been homeless for some time now. You sure you can cover her hospital fees and stuff?"
Leigh did the answering. "No worries. We're loaded singers, anyway."
"Good. So then… good night, you two."
Today, we are given another round of good news, just as we go back to the hospital after a good night's sleep at our apartment.
The doctors say the girl we just rescued only got away with minor injuries, and she is indeed eligible for a discharge any time now. They also say it's up to us if we will take her in or not.
And thus, after a brief non-verbal agreement, Leigh and I decide to take the plunge and take her in.
Right now, we're back in our apartment with the girl in tow.
She's wearing a fresh set of clothes that were donated to the hospital, as her tattered clothes were deemed unsafe for daily use.
We just keep a close eye on her as she's still asleep in our bed.
Truth be told, the face she makes while sleeping is so adorable.
Leigh pretty much thinks the same way, as I can sense a slight blush in her face as her stares at the girl become suspiciously (?) longer.
Ten minutes later, she opens her eyelids slightly.
We don't want to startle her, as the possible trauma of last night might still remain in her immediate memory bank.
And thus…
"Good morning."
We greet her in the calmest yet most encouraging tone we can do.
She just rubs her eyes as she gradually realizes where she is now.
"Wait… a minute. Where… am I? Am… I…"
Since we've just saved a woman, and someone like Leigh is better-equipped to handle woman-to-woman matters, I leave the rest to her.
The woman just emanates a sudden gasp before exclaiming…
"W-Where is this? Heaven? Hell? Or somewhere in between? Please tell me! Am I still alive?"
Leigh just placates her by gently placing her own hands on each of her shoulders.
"Please… calm down. Rest assured… you are still 100% alive. And my partner and I… we sent you to the hospital last night, no strings attached!"
The woman indeed calms down as she gazes at every nook and cranny of our apartment unit.
"So… you just saved me… a full-blown wrecked wretch of a woman."
Well, judging by how lethargic she was when she just stood in the middle of a highway, her self-pitying is right on point.
"And we did that on instinct."
"Well then… it might be too early to say 'thank you', but you indeed saved my life! I… I'll stay here with you!"
No sooner does the woman give Leigh a heartfelt hug.
And because I took part in saving her, I naturally hug them both.
We three are interlocked in the hug for a few minutes until Leigh decides to let it go.
The woman gradually gets her smile back, as she can readily feel the relaxing and comfortable aura our apartment has.
She then takes the initiative.
"Guess it's time to reveal who I am to my saviors. I'm Aurora Hart… and I'm a runaway from everything."
Not just a plain, run-of-the-mill runaway who has lost something but not everything?
Since we've just rescued her, peppering her with so many questions right now is not the best course of action.
Well then, it's my turn.
"I'm Frederick Keith Nighy. You can call me Fred."
"And I'm Leigh Ann Kimble. Just a simple Leigh is fine."
"We form the country singer duo Brave Ad 65. And by the way… you dropped this."
I show her the white index card about giving one's heart to a nice guy.
"T-Thank you. I thought I lost it forever. This… is my one and only lifeline now."
"So then… I wanna ask you something else. W-Why are there lots of Korean products in your pantry?"
I readily reply, "Oh, these? They're gifts from a Korean fan… who went all the way here from Seoul to personally give these to us, not just witnessing us perform live."
Wondrous awe is clearly written on her face as she can spot packs of infernally spicy instant noodles, delicious choco pies that are beautifully wrapped individually, and even packs of gummy vitamin candies portraying a certain popular penguin mascot.
"I think… I'm in the mood for the spicy noodles. I've actually tried these before, you know."
"Alright, one bowl of spicy noodles for breakfast with luncheon meat, coming up!"