ECHOES OF TIME

"Ganda," I whispered to myself as I got ready because I had a dinner date with Theo, my boyfriend. While I was getting ready, my cellphone suddenly rang. It was a message from Theo saying, "I'm here." I hurriedly went downstairs because he was already waiting for me. As I descended, I immediately saw him looking at me. "Love," I called him. "Let's go," he said. "This place is beautiful, love," I praised the restaurant where he brought me. "Of course, it's a lovely place for my beautiful lady," he replied. "Enough of that, let's eat." That was just one of the beautiful memories he gave me, which now only brings tears to my eyes. I thought he was the man meant for me, the person I would spend my lifetime with. But it turns out, he wasn't. He said he would study abroad and introduce me to his parents once he finished his studies. Yes, we weren't accepted by his parents, but mine accepted us. I waited for him for more than two years, not caring about the passing days or hours. But when he returned, he already had someone else. "Theo," I called his name, seeing him kissing another woman whom I didn't know. He immediately turned towards me and pushed the woman away. "Amara?" "Who is she?" I asked him. "Let me explain," he replied. "Answer my question, Theo." "Well, I'm his girlfriend, and you're?" the woman answered. "Girlfriend?" "Amara," she didn't finish speaking as I slapped her. "What do you think you're doing?" I shouted at the woman and ran away from that place. I didn't know what else to do. How could he do this? Why did he replace me? Was it because I was poor? I continued running, and my tears kept flowing. As my tears continued to flow, I struggled to see where I was running, making it difficult for me to notice the car heading in my direction, which ended up hitting me. "Hey, help that girl!" "Is she okay?" "Call an ambulance, quickly!" These were the shouts of people around me before I lost consciousness. "Who is this woman?" "Is she still alive?" These were the voices I heard around me, waking me up. "Wait, am I in heaven?" I asked myself. "Miss, what are you doing here? Why were you sleeping by the river?" asked a woman wearing traditional clothing. "What place is this?" "You are in Nicosaa, miss." "Nicosaa? I've never heard of this place before," I muttered to myself. "And why are you dressed like that? Aren't you wearing aesthetic clothes?" "Aesthetic? What do you mean by 'aesthetic,' miss?" "Oh, you don't know? It's already 2023, you know." "2023?" "Yes, it's the year 2023. Are you not up to date with the news?" "What are you talking about, miss? The year is only 1875." "Huh? 1875?" Where am I? Shouldn't I be dead by now? What place is this? The two women who found me brought me to their house. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but the question still lingered in my mind: how did I end up here? I was hit by a car, so shouldn't I be in the hospital? Why am I here? "Miss, it seems like you're deep in thought," the woman asked. "By the way, I'm Sierra," she introduced herself. "And I'm Tierra," her companion introduced herself as well. "Ah, I'm Amara. Are you sure you're not playing a prank on me?" I replied. "What do you mean by a prank?" Sierra asked, while Tierra furrowed her brow. "What I mean is, are you sure we're in the year 1875? Because I don't believe it," I explained. "Yes, miss, it is indeed 1875. The King of Nicosaa is Aldous, Aldous Nevarde," Tierra said. "A king? Is that so?" I asked. "Yes, miss. And why were you sleeping by the river earlier?" Sierra asked. In fact, I also don't know why I ended up here. I was just in Manila earlier, and then I found myself here," I explained. "Manila?" they both exclaimed, looking at me with surprise. "Manila, don't you know that place?" I asked, and they just shook their heads. "Amara, we don't know where you came from, but what I'm certain of is that you need to clean yourself up and change your clothes," Sierra said, holding her nose. I sniffed myself and realized that she was right. I needed to take a bath.