Monday,November 1974

I continued with my part time job. The pay was 60 dollars a month. It greatly helped with our family's condition. We were able to eat three times a day. And the food was enough.

The brown paper bag incident continued. It mainly contained food and energy drinks with the small note that says (Vincent S). He never gave me money again though, but that wasn't important to me anymore.

What I wanted was to meet him. I wanted to know, who this mysterious person is. My silent Prince. But I never got the chance. Every time I tried to arrive early, the brown bag was there. When I arrived late, the brown bag was there. Even if I asked people from around the lamp post. No one seem to know or have seen anything.

What struck me more as odd was the brown bag survived the prying eyes of thieves! It always remained safe! How? In a place like ours, how!

It was a mystery to me. A puzzle that will stay in my head for years to come.

At some point, I started to muse whether Vincent was real or a freaking ghost.

But I shooed the idea away when one Sunday, the brown bag had a wet finger mark on it. Vincent is a living breathing soul.

What I don't understand was the purpose of his brown bags. If he cared, why can't he come up to me and introduce himself? Why can't he leave more words on his note other than a name?

I told my parents about it and the answer was as I expected. They shrugged it off. My mom said he was probably shy. Dad said I should be careful.

It confused me alot. It made me wonder and question. Maybe that was his purpose all along? To keep him in my mind? To keep me guessing? I don't know...

Monday morning,

I arrived at school with the other occupants of the bus. It was so damn cold. My sweather barely gave enough warmth. I was shivering as I walked the Isles of the building. A heater was in place, but there was too much cold accumulated inside my body. My teeth chattered, my feet was wiggling, next thing I know, my poor body gave out and I blacked out.

I woke up inside the school's infirmary. I was laying on a bed, covered by a thick blanket.

"I'm glad your awake" came a very feminine voice. I searched the room for where it came from, that's when I saw a girl, probably my age sitting on a metal chair. She was so pretty, her hair is dyed with red, her complexion wasn't fair, it was more like pinkish. But it looked so good. She was wearing a pink sweater and black boot leg jeans.
I was about to ask who she was, but that's when a nurse suddenly came between her and my peripheral, blocking the pretty girl from my sight.

"Well, you should know better than to wear a thin fabric during winter" the nurse said. Her tone pitch was high and angry.

I bowed my head in embarrassment. How can I tell her that I'm still saving money to buy a new one? Was it so easy to buy a new set of clothes?

"I think she knows that. Some people aren't born privileged you know"

The voice came from the pretty girl,. The nurse was still standing between her and me, so I leaned my head on the side, trying to get a glimpse of her.

I saw her walk towards me, and the nurse stepped aside.

She reached out her hand and said "I'm Wilma, I'm the school rep"

I took her hand and shook it lightly. She was smiling brightly at me. I smiled back. It was the first time someone from school shook my hand.

"I will walk her to her classroom" Wilma told the nurse and I watched how the nurse immidiately bobbed her head in agreement.

I slid out of the bed and searched for my shoe. It was no where in sight.

"Ahmm, I think i lost my shoe?" I murmured.

Wilma laughed and went to a drawer near the nurse's desk.

"Here, the nurse kept it there when I brought you in"

My eyes widened at her sudden revelation "you carried me here?" I asked.

She smiled and said yes. She helped me put on my shoe, took me by the arm and led me outside the infirmary. "I've been watching you" she said nonchalantly as we walked the hallways.

I looked over to my side and stared at her face. "what do you mean watching?" I managed to ask.

She stopped abruptly and turned to face me.  "I know what it's like to have nothing, you must learn to protect yourself, being invisible is only good for a period of time. If you keep at it. You will live your entire life unseen. What will you do when you finally want to be seen? The world would be so used to ignoring you, that even your screams would remain hallow in their ears."

To be honest, I didn't know what to say. This pretty girl who said she was the school rep. She carried me to the infirmary, talked back to the nurse for me, helped me with my shoes, held my arm and now is giving me advice about life, is not even someone I know, or have seen before. Why is she so nice? I couldn't help but ask my self.

She kept her eyes on me, she seemed to wait for my answer. All I did was bob my head. She smiled and patted my shoulder. "That's a good girl" she said as she gestured for me to enter my classroom.

I didn't even notice that we were there. Have we been walking that long? I know the infirmary was quite a distance from my classroom. Yet the distance we covered, didn't register in my mind.

Wilma bid me goodbye after that.

When school was over, Mr. Saturnino dropped me off infront of the lamp post. I was always the last to be sent home. The paying students came first. So I always arrived late and since its the winter season, daylight was short and the nights were long.

It was the first time a brown bag appeared on a Monday. It usually happens on a Sunday. Everytime I came to the cemetery to clean, the bag will be waiting for me. But never on a school day.

I picked it up and it seemed heavier than normal. When I opened it. A blue mink sweater was inside.

I screamed with joy. I pulled it out and hugged it. It was so soft and expensive looking, it felt softer than cotton!

It was a plain blue mink, but I didn't need any embroidery or what not. It was perfect. My heart was racing with joy.

But, If at that time, I turned and looked around. If at that time, i wasn't consumed with the gift. If at that time, i stopped and searched my surroundings, I would have seen him..

Vincent was there.. But I missed the chance.