Chapter-1 Childhood
1547 Words
For years, Elena thought the boy from the park was just a fever dream of her childhood—a fading memory of a "White Rabbit" candy and a crying stranger. She didn't realize that while she was busy surviving, someone else was busy searching.
Nicko hadn't just moved on. He had carried a piece of her with him across every city, through every expensive private school, and into the very hospital where Elena now struggled to keep her scholarship. He wasn't just a random guy with an umbrella; he was the son of the Alcasid Medical Group—the very family that owned the halls she scrubbed as a student nurse.
The truth wasn't hidden in a computer or a file. It was hidden in a pocket, close to a heart that she once promised to "fix."The school clinic smelled like rubbing alcohol and old air conditioning. My head was throbbing, but the warmth of a hand on my forehead made my eyes snap open.
It was him. Nicko.
He was sitting on a plastic stool by my cot, his expensive watch catching the dim light. He looked tired—but relieved.
"Gising ka na pala," he whispered. His voice was like velvet against the quiet room.
"Anong... anong nangyari?" I tried to sit up, but the world tilted.
"You fainted. Low blood sugar? Or maybe just 'over-studying' for Ms. Donavan’s class?" He reached for a glass of water on the side table. "Drink."
I took the glass, my fingers brushing his. That electric spark was there again.
"How do you know my name, Nicko? My full name?" I looked him dead in the eye. "And don't tell me it was just a guess."
He went silent. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall and the distant rain outside.
Slowly, he reached into the inner pocket of his blazer. He pulled out a small, rectangular object protected by a clear plastic sleeve. It looked like a piece of old, yellowed paper.
He handed it to me.
My heart stopped.
It was a drawing. A crude, crayon-colored hospital with a lopsided sun in the corner. In the bottom right, in messy 8-year-old handwriting, it said: "Elena’s Hospital - Para kay Lola."
"You... you kept it?" My voice cracked.
"I told you back then, Elena. I wished you could fix my heart, too." He leaned closer, his shadow falling over me. "I’ve spent ten years looking for the girl who gave me a White Rabbit candy when I had nothing left."
"Nicko, I—I'm just a scholar. I'm poor. You’re..."
"I'm the boy from the park," he interrupted, his gaze intense. "And you’re the girl who told me the world wasn't so bad."
He reached out and tucked a stray hair behind my ear.
"I didn't just find you by accident, Elena. I made sure our paths crossed. Because this time? I’m not letting the wind blow you away."
Wait. He planned this? The umbrella, the meeting, the 'chance' encounter at the shed... it was all him?
"Is this a game to you?"
I whispered, feeling a mix of kilig and fear.
"No," he said, his face inches from mine.
"This is the sequel."
The sequel to our unfinished story.
The silence in the clinic was heavy, broken only by the sound of my own pulse. I looked at the yellowed drawing in my hand—the dream of a girl who didn't know how hard the world could be.
"Bakit, Nicko?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Bakit mo 'to ginagawa?"
"Because I never got to say thank you," he replied, his gaze never leaving mine. "And because I wanted to see if the girl who wanted to save the world... still had that spark in her eyes."
I looked away, clutching the plastic sleeve.
"The girl in that drawing is gone, Nicko. Now, I'm just a Nursing student trying not to get kicked out of school."
He stood up, his tall frame blocking the light from the hallway. He looked like a king in a room made of cheap linoleum.
"Is that what you think?" He stepped closer, leaning his hand on the bedframe, pinning me in. "You think a uniform and a few years of hardship changed who you are?"
Stop. Don't look at his lips. Elena, focus!
"Nicko, look at us," I said, gesturing to his designer suit and my stained scrubs. "You’re the 'Prince' of this hospital. I’m just the girl who cleans the floors and prays for a passing grade. Our story ended in 2008."
He let out a short, dry laugh. It wasn't mean—it was frustrated.
"Then let's write a new one."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, silver key. He pressed it into my palm, his warm skin lingering against mine.
"Anong... ano 'to?"
"The key to the West Wing Library," he said softly. "It’s private. No terror teachers. No distractions. Just you, your books, and... me."
My heart did a somersault. A private library? With him?
"I can't. If Ms. Donavan finds out—"
"Ms. Donavan works for my father, Elena," he interrupted, his voice dropping to a dangerous, protective octave. "No one is going to touch your scholarship. Not while I’m here."
He turned to leave, but stopped at the door, looking back over his shoulder.
"By the way... the White Rabbit candy? I still have the wrapper from that day, too. It’s in my safe."
OMGGGGG!!!! He kept the wrapper?!!!
I sat there, frozen, holding the key like it was made of gold.
Sign na ba 'to? O ito na yung umpisa ng pagbagsak ko?
I looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. As I stood up to leave, my phone vibrated. A text from an unknown number:
"Don't get too comfortable, Elena. The Alcasids don't marry scholars. They use them. - S."
My blood ran cold.
The air in the West Wing Library was cool and smelled of old leather and expensive cologne. I stood by the mahogany desk, clutching the silver key.
Nicko was leaning against the window, the moonlight catching the sharp line of his jaw. He looked at me with an intensity that made my skin crawl—not with fear, but with a guilt I couldn't explain.
"You don't remember, do you?" His voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through the silence like a blade.
"Remember what, Nicko? The park? The drawing?" I dropped the key onto the desk with a loud clack. "I was eight. I was hungry. My Lola was dying. Do you think I had time to romanticize a boy I met for ten minutes?"
He flinched as if I had slapped him. The "Prince of Alcasid Medical" finally looked human. Vulnerable.
"It wasn't just ten minutes to me, Elena."
"Well, it was to me!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "Habang tinitingnan mo yung drawing na 'yan sa air-conditioned mong kwarto, ako, naglalako ng kakanin sa kalsada. Habang iniisip mo yung 'promise,' ako, iniisip ko kung may pambili ba kami ng gamot."
Ouch. Bakit ang sakit sabihin nun? I saw his hand tighten into a fist at his side. He walked toward me, his steps heavy. I backed up until I hit the bookshelf, trapped between a thousand stories and the man who wanted to be mine.
"I didn't just 'look' at the drawing, Elena," he hissed, leaning down until our noses almost touched. "I tracked down every Magdallena in this province. I bought this hospital because I knew your scholarship application was at the top of the pile. I became the man I am... so I could be the man you needed."
I felt a tear slip down my cheek.
"I didn't ask for a hero, Nicko. I asked for a life. And I forgot you because I had to."
He reached out, his thumb catching the tear on my face. His touch was so gentle it made my heart ache.
"Then let me remind you," he murmured. "Hindi mo kailangang alalahanin yung bata sa park. Tumingin ka lang sa akin ngayon. Start from zero. I'll make you remember me... even if it takes another ten years."
My breath hitched. He’s not giving up. He’s actually doubling down.
Suddenly, the library door swung open.
"Nicko? What is she doing here?"
A woman stood there—tall, wearing a dress that cost more than my entire tuition. It was Sabrina. The heiress. The woman the Alcasid family actually wanted for him.
"Get out, Elena," Sabrina sneered, her eyes flashing with hate. "Before I make sure your Lola’s 'charity' treatment is canceled."
What? Charity? I thought I was paying for that with my scholarship!
I looked at Nicko, my heart breaking all over again.
"Is it true?" I whispered. "Is my Lola’s life just another one of your 'reminders'?"
- Writer
