Rachel froze as she stared at the body of a man laying on the shore. She wanted to scream but no sound escaped her lips. She just stood there, silent, unable to think clearly until it hits her.
When she came to her senses, the first thing she did was approached the man to check if he was still alive. His skin was pale because of the cold but then she noticed a body of a plastic white table beside him. Rachel thought that he might've used it to float in the vast sea.
Rachel gently slapped his face to wake him and said, "Hey, wake up!" but no response so she started shaking him. Still no sign of consciousness.
"I might still be able to revive him," she thought to herself and immediately checked if he was breathing but couldn't hear anything. She then took used her finger to check if he has a pulse on his wrist but to her dismay, there is none. After that, she begin chest compression and performed rescue breathing, but still no signs of movement.
She continued doing that, refusing to lose hope until the man suddenly coughed water out of his body. The man instinctively sat down as he continued coughing. Meanwhile, a smile formed on her lips as she gently rubbed his back.
"I'm glad you're alive," she said and sighed in relief.
"Where… where am I?" he queried in between his coughs. Meanwhile, a tear that escaped his left eye caught Rachel's attention.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
The man paused as he tried to remember what happened to him, but as soon as he forced himself, his head suddenly ache causing him to whimper in pain.
"Oh no, don't force yourself!"
At this moment, the other people by the beach noticed them and immediately ran in their direction in curiosity.
"Oh my gosh, what happened?"
"Is he okay?"
"He's bleeding!"
Some of them started murmuring as they surrounded the two.
Rachel turned around and said, "Do you have a handkerchief?"
A woman stepped in and handed her a pink handkerchief. "Here, use this."
"Thank you," she replied and used it to stop the bleeding from his head. "It seems like you hit your head somewhere after drowning. It's a good thing you manage to survive until here. Don't worry about anything yet and let's get you treated, okay?" she told him with a reassuring smile.
The man who was still in pain, holding his head, slowly nodded as he stared at her with his eyes full of questions. The people from the beach seemed to have called for help because soon enough, they came to bring him to Batanes Hospital. It was a good thing, health care was available on the island.
The man lost consciousness as they brought him to the stretcher probably because of tiredness and head trauma. "At least he's safe now," Rachel thought.
Rachel looked at his face and realized how attractive he was. He has strong brows, long eyelashes, thin pale lips, deep eyes, a sharp nose, and jet-black hair. His wonderfully fit figure is visible through his satin long-sleeve white shirt. He looked like someone who stepped right out of a romance novel. Anyone who'd see him would feel the same.
Aside from that, he looked like someone who came from a rich family because he was wearing expensive pieces of jewelry that Rachel could recognize.
"What could've happened to him? How could a guy like him end up in this kind of situation?" she pondered to herself and looked at the sea then glance at the man who was being carried inside the vehicle.
Her daydreaming stopped when a man from the rescue team appeared in front of her.
"Excuse me, Miss. Are you the one who saved that man?" he queried while holding his pen and notebook. The man is probably in his 40s but he's bulk and seemed like he has been taking care of himself.
Rachel nodded her head. "Yes, I am."
"Did you see what happened before you found him?"
"He was actually floating in the water. At first, I thought he was just an object floating aimlessly, but when I walked near, I realized he was an unconscious person. It didn't seem like he had been like that for long so I tried to revive him."
"That's a good response, Miss. Thank you so much for saving that man's life. May I know your name?" he questioned and write down something in his notebook.
"It's Rachel Yoo. I am a tourist here. Do you know who he is?" she asked out of curiosity. Who wouldn't be interested in such a fine man?
"I see. We couldn't find anyone who can identify the man. We will have to wait until he's conscious," he replied.
"Alright then. Please call me if you need help. Here's my number," she said and took her calling card from her wallet.
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you that just in case he asked for you. Thank you again, Miss," he responded and smiled before leaving with the others.
Just after the man left, she heard someone calling her name.
"Sister Rachel!"
She turned around and saw the three girls running towards her. It seems like they just woke up. Rachel smiled and walked towards them.
"What happened?"
"Why are there so many people here?"
"Yeah, and the ambulance was here too! Did someone got involved in an accident or something?"
Rachel nodded her head and replied, "I'll tell you later. First, lest wake up Carmela," then she pointed at Carmela who was still sleeping in the sand.
—
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe that happened!" Marie exclaimed and sipped her coffee while her palm was on her chest. "This is making my heart beat so fast! Terrifying!"
They are currently on Casa Ystelle's porch, having their dinner after sending Carmela to her apartment since she's still drunk. It turns out she was renting a lodge near Casa Ystelle and some people there know her.
"I told you, you should stop drinking too much coffee," Nina told her while laughing.
"Why? Am I wrong? If I were in Sis's position, I'd run away thinking he's dead!" Marie replied with her face as pale as snow.
"Marie is right. Sis is so brave! She's a hero!" Lia said, her eyes shining while staring at Rachel.
Rachel chuckled in embarrassment and sipped her lemonade. "I am no hero. I just did what a normal person would do," she replied.
"So we are abnormal?" Marie cried jokingly.
"No! That's not what I meant. You were just not accustomed to that kind of situation. I actually took a class for this and I'm glad it paid off," she explained and smiled.
"Woah! We need to take that class too so we could kiss a hot guy too!" Nina said while blushing, taking Marie and Lia's attention.
"Hot guy?" they said in unison.
Marie nodded in response. "That's right. I heard from the people there that the guy is saved was so hot! Right sis?" she looked at Rachel with a mischievous smile.
Rachel's face turned red upon hearing what Marie said. She didn't think of that until Marie mentioned it. Now, she realized that the man was her first kiss although not romantically. She immediately wash away her thoughts and try to keep it all clean and pure.
"Look she's blushing!"
"Come one, tell us, sis!"
Rachel heaved a deep sigh and replied, "Yes he is handsome but don't think of it that way."
"It's too bad we didn't see his face. Why didn't you take a picture?" Nina asked.
"If you were in my position, you wouldn't be able to think of that," she replied and chuckled.
"Sis is right. How could you think of taking a picture of a man who's about to die?" Lia uttered and shook her head in disappointment at Nina.
"I was just joking! Come on," Nina replied and pouted her lips. They all laughed as they continued teasing each other.
Meanwhile, Rachel couldn't help but wonder how the guy is right now. "I hope he's okay. I want to visit him though. I wonder what's his name," she thought to herself and took a bite of her bread.
—
end of Chapter 4