The Love That Found Me

PROLOGUE

It was a trip to Cebu, a cosmopolitan province in the central part of the country, and we were travelling by a ship. I was playing on the deck with my nanny when suddenly we heard a loud blast coming from the other side of the ship. The ground shook for a bit and the next thing I knew, my nanny was nowhere to be found. People were pushing each other in panic. Some were frantically grabbing life vest. Some were even snatching it from the other. It was chaotic. As a young scared girl with no clue what to do next, I began to cry in a corner. Mommy was right; I should have stayed inside the cabin.

Then, a young man came to me and gave me his own life vest. I was horrified I could not even move. Seeing this, he move wrap the vest onto me.

“B-but what about you?” I asked, sniffing.

The young man said, “I know how to swim, I got better chances”. We held hands as we fought off the rush of passengers.

Then, the inevitable happened. The ship gradually sank.

“Jump!” he exclaimed and I did.

As I have a floater around me, I just sank a little and resurfaced short after. I looked around but couldn’t find the young man. I was sure he submerged into the waters. I cried at the thought that he got drowned and it's because of me.

However, not a moment later he sprang out of the water and swam closer to me. He embraced me protectively as we float in the vast sea.

Even with a life vest, I could not move so much as I did not know how to swim. I relied to the young man’s movement. Soon, I found another life vest floating. I grabbed it and gave it to him. He really looked exhausted from hours of treading.

"What’s your name, Munchkin?" he asked.

“Adelaide” I answered. It was a rule from my parents to never disclose our family name to strangers as it might put me in danger. Being one of the wealthiest families in the country, a lot of bad people had been after us.

Never trust a stranger.

“Nice name. Mine’s Vincent. Vincent Buenvenida.” He said, smiling.

“Nice to meet you, Brother Vincent, and thank you for saving me.” I said. As we talked some more, I found out that Vincent was about to go to college in Cebu.

There were a lot of uncertainties in the ocean that time but he kept on assuring me that things will be just fine. His words were soothing. Soon enough we both fell into silence.

We stayed floating until the twilight. I noticed Vincent closing his eyes. He's probably asleep, I thought. So, I closed my eyes too and fervently uttered a prayer.

Growing up, I had seen my parents being devoted to God. I was raised in the same faith. I was told that God is good and He could make everything possible.

So, I prayed that we’d be rescued soon. I also prayed for my Mom and Nana. I would like to believe they were alive and safe somewhere.

Of course, I did not forget to thank God for sending Brother Vincent to save me. I also thanked Him that we are in a non-shark infested region of the country and were safe from any ocean predator. Brother Vincent told me that.

As darkness slowly invaded my vision, I heard an engine getting closer to us. I squinted at the strong light that was hitting my face. A man in a uniform yelled “we got two survivors here! Quick!”

More men jumped into the waters and pulled us closer to the boat. We were rescued!

Thank God!

As soon as we got to the boat, another commotion happened when Vincent collapsed. I heard he had fever and was rushed to the nearest hospital. That was the last time I heard of him.

As for me, I found my mom waiting in the survivor's tent. We hugged and cried and kissed each other. We only got separated for several hours, yet it felt like I haven't seen her in years.

Then after two days, we found found out that my nanny didn't make it.