“Don’t you dare close your eyes, Mister. The ambulance will arrive soon. You will live, you owe that to me. I just put my own life on the line to prevent that car from crushing your bones. I’m sure my family would nag me so much once they find out about this. That’s why I will not allow you to throw away my efforts.”
And then she suddenly cried. I guess it was still from shock because of what just happened. “I can’t even believe that I did that. But I’m happy I did. That’s why you have to pay me back. Do you understand that, Mister? After this, once you are all healed, you have to buy me an ice cream.” The stranger softly smiled. “You have to survive because you still have to see the beauty of the world.
"This world is still a beautiful place, Mister. But your broken heart might be the reason why you are having a hard time seeing that now. I’m not going to lie. I know that there are lots of people, things, and situations in this world that can really frustrate us or annoy us. But disregarding all that, this world still has a lot to offer. Life still has a lot to offer. So I urge you not to give up on it yet.”
I did not respond and just looked at her innocent face.
“Why aren’t you answering? I’m sorry I couldn’t speak the language here so well. I’m just a tourist here. You seem Asian, too. But you do understand English, right? That was the language you used earlier.”
Instead of answering, I found myself coughing blood. I was beginning to feel dizzy that’s why I failed to comprehend some of the things she said. All I know was that her naturally sweet voice sounded so calming.
Suddenly, she looked frantic. “O-on second thought, I-I don’t think I could wait until the ambulance arrive. They are taking so long. Please wait for me, Mister. I will ask for help. I will come back as soon as-“
“N-no, don’t leave.” When she was about to let go of my hand, I weakly held on her. Damn, I feel scared. I feel so scared to be alive. But I could not say that. Because I had a feeling that once this noisy stranger found out about that, she would become more hysterical. She was even close to freaking out right at this minute.
“S-stay,” I said in a feeble voice. “J-just stay w-with me, p-please.”
The woman bawled louder than she did earlier before she nodded.
“A-all right. Just keep listening to my voice, okay? Don’t you ever close your eyes. Just stay with me. My name is Alison Flora Cabrera. Remember that name, Mister. Because that’s the name of the person you owe your life to. I need to remind you of that debt so you could have another reason to live. I am from the Philippines. My family and I are just here for vacation because I managed to remain on the dean’s list. What else should I tell you?” She nervously glanced at the road once more before turning to me.
Despite my situation, I felt amused. Between us, the woman looked like she would be the first to pass out. I tried to hold on and to stay awake as much as I could because I still want to see her radiance. It was coming straight from her soul which just proved how innocent her views were about life and how pure her soul was. And it amazes me. I’ve never seen anything like her before.
I only get to see glimpses of lights from the humans nowadays. And those lights look like bulbs that were about to break anytime soon. But the light from this woman was so bright and dazzling.
I’ve been living in this human world for months now, but all I kept seeing was darkness. It was like it was night time every single moment. The woman was the only thing that I could see clearly, all thanks to her light.
“I’ll just tell you about my dream. I’ve never told this to anyone aside from Aunt Bettina and Jeremiah. You will be the third person to know about my secret. My original dream is to become a romance writer. Do you happen to know Bettina Sanchez? Oh, never mind. I’m sure you don’t know her. You are not the type to read romance books. Anyway, she’s my stepdad’s younger sister. And she’s the best romance writer for me…”
My mind went back to the present when I felt the bus shook. And then there was suddenly an ear-piercing sound coming from outside as if there was something that kept hitting the bus we were in. I opened my eyes when I felt Alison stirred. I embraced her before the bus overturned.
The passengers’ screams filled the entire surroundings.

(Alison)
I WOKE up when I heard people weeping and screaming. There was also a sound coming from the ambulance cars. But why? What happened? My brows knitted as I opened my eyes. My lips parted when Alexandros’ face was the first thing I saw.
And this time, I didn’t need to chase after him because there was no more distance between us today. Our faces were so close to each other and he was… embracing me in a protective manner. His other hand was behind my head while the other was on my back.
My heart raced. But I wasn’t able to relish the feeling when I saw blood coming from his head. My eyes went round when memories from earlier began hitting as the cries around us became louder and louder for every second that passes.
For some reason, our bus overturned.
“Are you all right? How do you feel right now?” Alexandros asked.
Suddenly, I felt like there was a huge lump on my throat. He looked worried but not for himself. But for me as he got up and checked my body for further injuries. “How could you ask me that? You’re the one hurt. Because you protected me again.”