On a cold night, she found herself in the middle of nowhere, dressed with her pj’s. Nobody was on the street. There were no signs of people. She made an effort to search for a familiar place but it didn’t make sense because there were no street signs. All she could hear were the swishing of the wind, the humming of trees, the noise of the crickets and the pounding of her own heart.

She was sweating, panicking and nervous at the same time. After quite some time, she heard some footsteps. And it grew louder and louder until she heard it stopped right behind her. It was just too much that she just remained standing there, crying for all she knew and whispering such words, ‘Oh God, please, please.’ And suddenly, she heard the stranger say, “Hey! Why are you crying?” It was a voice of a boy – a guy. She didn’t know what to do, or to act or to say. She was dumbfounded.

“Don’t be afraid,” said the serene voice she had ever heard in her entire life – as if the guy’s voice was like a lullaby. And wait a minute… Did her heart just skip? “I won’t hurt you.” And once again, her heart skipped upon hearing his voice. She was running out of words to say. She found it so strange because she was not like this before – not like this with any person, especially to opposite sex.

“Who are you?” Finally, she got the courage to speak. Her hands were shaking and trembling upon asking him the question. She stood still, not facing his direction. She wanted to see his face… badly… but she was again, in a state of shock.

“My name is Caleb,” the guy said.

“Okay… S-so, what are you doing here?” she said while stammering, still not facing his direction.

“I am here because you are here,” Caleb replied.

“Huh?” She asked as if she didn’t hear what he just said.  It was just that she didn’t understand what he was implying or trying to say.

“Nothing. I just want you to be safe, okay?”

“B-but, why am I here? What is this place?” she anxiously asked the boy named Caleb.

“You’ll know, Alice. You’ll know…soon.”

“H-h-how did you know my name?” Yes, she sounded so tensed. How come he knew her name? The thought of him having special powers just came in into her mind. And it just gave her creeps.

“I’ll tell you if you’ll gonna face me.” He grinned at the back of her. Even if she couldn’t see what he was doing behind her back, she knew that he was smiling broadly.

‘This stranger… He is really something,’ Alice told herself. Slowly, little by little, she turned around. Not noticing Caleb, she lost her footing and… She landed on Caleb’s arms. ‘What a wonderful scene in a not-so-nice-place’, she thought. But after several seconds, she noticed that they were still in that position. So she swiftly moved backwards and she let a heavy sigh came out of her mouth. And she told herself, ‘Oh come on… What’s happening to me? This is not soooo me…’

After quite some time, she heard him chuckle. ‘What the heck is he laughing about?’ She asked herself quietly.

“You! Hahaha! Alice, you look soooo funny!” Caleb was really laughing hard.

“Caleb! What are you talking ab-” She was not able to finish what she was about to say because from the moment she rose her head, she couldn’t believe on what she was seeing. She was like, ‘Is he for real? Oh my! He looks like a Greek God!’ And she was like her jaw was going to drop. She could see the character of Christian Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey) in him. “Can you please tell me I’m only dreaming?” Alice uttered.

Caleb pinched Alice’s cheek. “No, Alice. You’re not dreaming. This is real. I am real.” And once again, she heard him laugh. After seconds of laughing, they both heard a sound – a sound of… let us say, a hungry human. “Hahaha! See? This is real. Haha! Come on! Let’s find something to eat.”

They walked side by side. Alice feeling uneasy with their situation just hummed a song to ease the tension. “What are you singing?” he asked her. And as clumsy as she was, she tripped on a rock. “Hey! Watch your move!” Caleb shouted and then he held her arms. She then suddenly got back to the present time, and said, “Oh! Thanks.” And then she gave him a genuine smile.

After minutes of walking, they found a place to spend the night. “I think we should stay here. It’s late at night already.” Caleb said. “Uhmm… Okay,” she replied.

They ate first. Then after, they talked. Yes, they spent the night talking about stuffs – about their likes and dislikes, their similarities and differences. They enjoyed every minute of being together. It was obvious that both of them were the only humans in whatever or wherever place was that. They enjoyed each other’s company.

Five days had passed and there was this MU (mutual understanding) thingy between the two of them. It was so quick for them to easily fell for each other. In their five days of being together, they learned a lot. They shared the stories of their lives, starting from the very beginning up to their present lives.

At this moment, they were lying on the grass, watching the sky blanketed with stars. “Caleb, look! They are so beautiful!” Alice exclaimed referring to the stars. “Yeah. Beautiful,” Caleb said while looking intently in her eyes. She noticed it. And awkward silence ensued. Little did they knew, their faces were getting closer and closer. The only sound they could hear was their heart – the beating of their hearts for each other. And the magic started. They shared a short yet a passionate kiss. And with that, they confided their true feelings for each other even without words. And as what the saying averred, ‘Actions speak louder than words.’

They kept an eye to eye with each other. Minutes had passed when suddenly he gave her a meaningful look. She could see in his eyes the pain he was hiding.

“Alice…” Caleb uttered her name with love and care. Alice gave him a ‘what’s-going-on look.’ “Alice… You should go.”

“Say what?” Alice said with full of disbelief.

“I said you should go!” he exclaimed.

“But…” she was now crying asking such questions to herself.

“GO! NOW!” Even if she was hurting deeply inside, she just remained mute. “Do you think I love you or even loved you?” It was just hurtful and painful for her side to hear what he would say next. “NO! Because I just used you!” She was crying and sobs came out of her mouth. It was just too much. He was too much.

Alice ran as fast as she could. She wanted to get out of the place. She wanted to go to a place where she couldn’t remember anything – all the happenings, scenes and their memories together. All of that, she wished to fade. She was running while crying. All that could hear was her sobbing and weeping. Her vision was blurred already. And plus, it was dark. She couldn’t see anymore. And with that, she lurched down the cliff. And everything went black.

Back to present time… She was in a room painted with white. She could hear the sound of something beeping. She could also hear people talking. And with that, she slowly opened her eyes. “Oh my God, Alice! Call the doctor, please?!”

“Alice, are you alright?”

“Mom?” she said. She didn’t know how and why she was in a hospital. “Mom, why am I here?” she asked.

“Tell me first that you’re okay, please?” Her mother said.

“Mom, you’re being paranoid. Of course, I’m okay. I’m alright.”

“Alice! How can I be not paranoid?! You are 1 month comatose and you’re telling me not to be paranoid?! Don’t you know that we missed you so much?” She just stared with her mom with bewilderment.

“Mom, what happened? I can’t remember anything. Did I meet an accident or what?”

“A drunkard was driving his car and you were walking on the sidewalk. And there was this person who helped you and got himself hurt too. You were in a critical condition, don’t you know that?”

“How could I know that?” She said full of sarcasm.

“Oh my God, Alice! I miss that!” Her mom exclaimed. They hugged each other and they both gasped for air after. She heard a knock on the door and there she saw standing her father and her sister, and of course the doctor.

“Okay. So, how are you feeling Ms. Cavanagh?” The doctor asked her.

“I’m good.” She said. Afterwards, the doctor checked her.

“Okay. So, I think she is in good condition now. I’ll go now.” The doctor said to her parents.

“Alice, do you know that the person who helped you was the same person who donated his heart to you?” Her fifteen-year-old sister told her, rather asked her.

“Oh… And who is she? Or he?”

“I don’t remember his name. But he’s a boy, okay? Uhm… His mother said she’ll visit you when you’re already awake. And since you’re okay now, maybe she’ll be here later or tomorrow maybe.” She nodded.

After talking with each other, they let Alice sleep for a while. And while sleeping, she had a dream. There was a girl – crying, lost in a place she didn’t know. And there was this guy. And the sky, the stars… All of that were replaying in her mind. ‘Caleb… Caleb,’ the girl shouted whoever name it was. And then at the end, it went all black. Alice opened his eyes, gasping for air, sweating. And her heart… There was something wrong.

In the afternoon on that day also, the mother of her donor visited her. And she gave Alice a notebook. She asked what that was all about, but the lady just said that the notebook was from her son. The lady asked her to take good care of her health. And then, they bid goodbyes.

On the first page, it stated there, “Sept.2, there was this girl I liked from afar. Shit! I’m not good at this.” On the second page, “Sept. 5, I saw her walking at the corridor of our school. So that means, we’re schoolmates!” On the third page, “Sept. 10, I’m going to confess my feelings for her. I hope she’ll not get mad at me. I hope she’ll feel the same way too.” On his fourth and last journal entry, “Sept. 11, I didn’t tell her what I feel because I saw him with another guy. I know I don’t have the right to ask her why she was with him. I also don’t have the right to be jealous because it was only a one-sided love. Yuck! This will be the longest entry I ever wrote in my life. So, I used to be her stalker. I always follow her wherever she goes. I know this is too early to say but… I really love her… I love you ALICE CAVANAGH.” This time, she didn’t know what to react. She went to the first page to see who the owner of the diary was. And she was shocked. The name written there was: ‘Caleb Sanders.’

Caleb Sanders, the guy who she was secretly in love with. There were flashbacks of what happened in her dream lately. The girl, the boy, the sky, the stars, the calling of Caleb’s name. All of that… The girl was her. The boy was him. They lay together on the grass under the sky full of stars. And all of that happenings happened for a reason. Caleb told her in the dream that he didn’t love her but the truth was he really loved her. It all happened for a reason. He was the one who sacrificed. He was the one who saved her – saved her from death.

“Thank you, Caleb. It was you. It is you. It will always be you.”