Fading Echoes

Chapter 2

WE'RE here at my condo,she's the first woman i've bring here.i never bring Tori here,i have 4 condo's.the another one is near at my school,the two is near at my mother's resto,the third was near at the beach that i always bring Tori,and this last one was my another condo.she's cooking something at the kitchen,i was here in the living room watching some movies because she don't want me to know her secret recipe.i shrugged.

Good thing,i went to grocery last monday before this accident happened.and she's taking so long.is she cooking a lots of food?like there's an occasion.i don't know.

I keep on glancing at the kitchen door when my phone rang.its Tori.

[Honnn!"]I took my phone away because of her scream.i go to my room because Dream might hear it.

"Yes,hon?"Medyo napangiwi pa ako ng sambitin ko 'yun.i don't know,i'm not like this before.if she's calling me,i will automatically smile.

["Why didn't you call me?or even text me?i was worried so when i had time,i called you.what happened?"]Pumikit ako ng mariin.i forgot,s**t.

"I'm so sorry,hon.i was busy on something.anyway,how are you?"Its not a lie.and i don't want her to know about it,she'll gonna be hurt.

["Its difficult but i'm doing well.how about you?you just say,your busy on something...what is it?"]I sat on the edge of my bed.i can't lie.but i don't want her to be hurt just because of me.

I sighed,"Tori,i want to say something...but,don't be mad,okay?"I looked at the ceiling,but i can't just lie to her.she will just more hurt when she knew it from the others.

["What is it?hey,i'm nervous!"]She chuckled but there was nervousness on her voice.

"Yesterdey,when i headed home..."I massaged my head again,"There's woman running and i..."I sighed heavily,feeling so guilty,"Nabangga ko siya."I heard her gasps.

["Omygod!how's she?]

"Well,she had a mental health problem.she always finding me,and s

Keep calling me Nate.i want to be irritated but i just understand her condition because she might just missed someone."]The other line got silent.i look at my phone screen and she's still there.it took more seconds before she answered.

["Stay away from that woman..."]

I TASTED her sinigang.she said she likes sinigang.it was so good.and it was familiar to me.she really good at cooking even if she had mental health problem.

"How is it?"She asked looking nervous.i smiled at her and sipped on the soup.i would like to taste this again and again and again until my last breath.it was so f*****g good.is she a chief?she can be a best chief of the world.

"It taste so good."She smiled widely and she even clap her hands like she won a lotto.

"Thanks...um,my lola teached me how to cooked a good sinigang.but ofcourse,if your cooking,you should've passionate with it and there should be special recipe but we called it secret recipe."She giggled,i smiled.

"Alam mo ba kung anong nagpapasarap sa pagluluto?"I looked at her while sipping again on the soup.it really taste so good.

"I don't know,i'm not good at cooking anyway."I answered honestly.i'm really not into cooking.i tried to cooked but its not that good.its like i'm cooking a poison,tsk.

"You know,if you're cooking something,and if you want it to be good as perfect,you should cooked it all-hearted.alam mo,mas sasarap ang luto mo kapag may baong pagmamahal.yan dapat,okay?"I suddenly stunned and i remembered about a woman in my dream.

I leaned on the sink after i threw my adobo.i cook it for her but it goes bad.it taste so bad.i'm very mad at myself.its like...i'm poisoning my love.oh,f**k it!

And now,she's at the bathroom because she had stomach ache because of me.

"Hey..."I looked at her and ran towards her and hugged tight like she's one year gone after go abroad.

"Are you okay?i'm so sorry about it...i...don't worry,i won't cook─────"She cut me off,she pushed me slowly to sit on one of the stool then she sat on my lap.i hold her waist so she wouldn't fall.

"Its fine,its fine.and i already took my medicine."She smiled at me,"Do you really want to cook?"She asked,i sighed.

"It's fine, it's fine. And I already took my medicine," she smiled at me. "Do you really want to cook?" she asked. I sighed.

"Yeah... but I can't... I don't know how. It would always turn out bad," I shrugged a bit. She chuckled and even pinched my cheeks.

"I'll teach you. But before you cook something, you should be passionate about what you are cooking. You can't cook something very good if you're not passionate about it, okay?" I smiled and nodded. She stood and grabbed my hands, pulling me in front of the sink. She went to the fridge and grabbed some ingredients, putting them on the sink.

"And of course, you should have a special recipe. Always remember that when you're cooking, you should add some love to it so it will turn out well, okay?" she smiled.

The woman in my dream has a voice that sounds like hers. I couldn't see the face of the woman in my dream.

Or it was just a coincidence.

After we ate, I drove her back to the hospital. I just asked if I could take her out for a while, so we shouldn't take too long.

She fell asleep when we arrived there. I was just sitting there, looking at her peacefully sleeping.

Why does she seem so familiar to me?

I tried to remember everything, but I ended up with a headache.

My mom honestly told me that I had an accident before and got amnesia. She didn't say anything about my past life because I only remembered that Tori is my girlfriend, my fiancée.

But why do I keep dreaming about another woman?

Did I have someone I loved before I got into an accident?

Well, I want to know that.

And only one person can help me.

I kept tapping the doorbell button, but no one showed up. I stood in front of her gate for about 2 or 3, or 4 minutes, but it seemed like no one was around.

I clicked it once again, but still no response. So, I turned my back to it and was about to walk away when someone shouted from inside.

I quickly turned around, facing the house's gate again. A door opened and a girl hurriedly ran towards the gate. She opened it and looked surprised when she saw me.

Earlier, she was smiling, but when she saw me, she looked terrified. I could see in her eyes that she was scared, and her eyes widened.

She was about to close the gate again, but I managed to stop it. I faced her with a raised eyebrow. She really looked scared. I noticed her body started to tremble. What the heck is happening to her?

As if I would kill her.

"Let's talk, Austria," I said with an authoritative tone. She bowed her head and managed to clench her trembling fist, as if trying to calm herself.

"I told you everything I knew, Cassius. Please, stop bothering me," she said with a pleading tone. But she's the only one I know who knows everything. I can feel it. She may say that she's said everything, but how her body acts tells me otherwise.

"You don't have to fear anything or anyone, Austria. You just have to tell me the truth, and we're done. That's it. And if you're worried because someone might hurt you or do something bad to you, then don't be. I'll protect you from whoever that person is." She stared at me for a long time. She avoided eye contact and took a deep breath, tightly clenching her fist.

"Cassius, why don't you ask your girlfriend instead, Tori? She───"

"Do you think she will tell me the truth, Austria?" I asked her. She fell silent.

"Now please, just one moment, Austria. Just one," I pleaded. "If you were me, do you think it's okay if you ask me something and I don't answer it honestly?" She bowed her head again and didn't speak.

After a few seconds, she lifted her gaze, and just as she was about to speak, someone from the side interrupted us. We were both surprised when we saw Tori, approaching us with a raised eyebrow.

As she got closer, she hugged me and smiled. She held my cheeks and kissed me in front of her sister.

"I was looking for you everywhere. Luckily, I have the guard's number here in Austria's subdivision," she said, emphasizing the word "Austria."

"You don't usually like asking for numbers from any workers, Tori," I said, touching my forehead. "And why are you here? You have classes, right? Why did you come back so early?"

She looked at me and smiled.

"I was just worried. You weren't answering my calls or my text messages. And I really missed you. But don't worry, I'll be back at Cal in 2 days. But now, I really missed you. Can we go somewhere?" I couldn't resist as she pulled me, but I couldn't help noticing the evil look she gave her sister before we turned away.

I looked back at Austria again. She gave me an apologetic and pitiful smile.