BELLE IS ALIVE I

Ceres woke up with a throbbing head and the first thing she saw was the nipa straws in front of her which registered to her later on as the ceiling of the hut she was in. She felt cold, tired, and sore. She wanted to sit up straight but her back hurts like hell.

Her groan startled the old man outside the hut and immediately got inside to take a look at her. "You're awake!" The old man exclaimed which caught the attention of other people who lived in this poor village. "Where is Merci? We need her help."

The young men of their village immediately went to find Merci, the oldest woman in their village who had medical knowledge. She served as their doctor since they were very far from the hospital. Not long after, the old woman came, carried by the youngsters since she could no longer walk on her own.

"Give me her wrist," she said and one of the young men obeyed her.

Ceres was vigilant against them but because she was still weak from the ordeal she went through, she allowed the man to touch him, promising to kill him in the future if he does something unnecessary.

Taking her wrist, Merci felt her pulsed and a deep frown showed on her face. Seeing this expression, Ceres was worried that something was wrong with her body. Not that she was healthy right at this moment. However, this expression was only fleeting before the woman sighed and let go of her hand.

"I already asked Viola to concoct the herbal medicine to relieve her from the pain. Bring it as soon as she finished making it so that this young woman feels a little better."

"We understood."

"What is your name?" Ceres blinked her eyes. Hesitation crossed her face as everyone waited for her to say her name. "Don't worry. We are not bad people. The children who saved you from drowning said you wore a nurse uniform. You must be one of those people who came for the medical mission."

"I'm Belle."

"Beautiful name." Merci signaled the boys and they immediately lifted her along with her wooden carrier. "Have a good rest. We already sent someone to report your safety."

"How long?"

"Huh?"

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Two days and one night."

Ceres only nodded her head and watched the woman leave the humble abode. She also reminded everyone not to stress the patient with their presence. Since she could not move yet because of the pain coming from her wounds and bruises, she took this chance to analyze where she was.

At first, she was slowly getting used to the memories that Isabelle created with the people at her work. She was having a great time with the children and she had a good relationship with her colleagues. Ceres found out that the owner of her body had a brother named Neon. He was a sweet kid who respected her sister so much. As time went on, Ceres felt the tightening of her chest. The deep emotions from the woman's recent memories took a toll on her.

She felt sorry for her. She felt guilty for killing herself when someone was trying his best to live.

And then, Eli's face flashed.

Ceres cried bitterly. In this life, she gets another chance to see the person she loves but it does not erase the fact that she killed him in her past life. She pulled the trigger and watched him fall. She watched him bathe in his blood when he never did anything bad to her. He even saved her life.

Staring at the ceiling made of nipa straws, she wept silently as her guilt started to scream at her. She felt guilty for being so selfish. She left Xhylan, her best friend who promised to support her no matter what happens. She left Marcus whose job was to bring joy and chaos into her life by annoying her. She left all those who depended on her, the children who needed her financial support to survive in this cruel world.

She was an assassin. Belle was a nurse. One has the hands to kill people. The other has a mission to save lives. The common thing between them was their love for children and Eli who has the face of General Joaquin.

[Starting from now, I'm Isabelle. Thankfully, I know a little about first aid. I'll just have to fake it until I make it. Shall I pretend to have memory loss? Surely, I can't compete with this woman who loves nursing children in the hospital where she worked at.]

Thinking up until this point, Ceres decided what she will do next. Since she was given another chance, she will use this opportunity to protect the man whom she killed in her last life.

[I already lost the chance to love you when I pulled the trigger. So, in this life, I will only protect you from afar. I will be looking after you even if it will hurt my heart.]

In B city, Eliezer was refreshing his phone for the news online. There was no information about Isabelle yet and as much as they wanted to tell her family about what happened, they needed to keep it a secret from her brother at the moment. He wasn't losing hope that she was alive. He believed that good people will be rewarded and he was praying that her reward will be her safety.

"Dr. Rivera? Are you alright? I know that you are worried about Isabelle but as long as no dead body is found, she will be deemed alive. Let's just pray for that."

"It will be devastating if we lost a nurse like her. Many of the patients like her so much and the parents always love to have her during their kid's checkup because of her personality."

"You are right, doc. Belle is a blessing to this hospital."

"How about her brother? How is he?" Eli wanted to help Neon somehow but he didn't know how he can do it. They were even keeping a huge secret from him. "No matter what happens, don't let anyone talk about Belle's disappearance until her brother's condition is stable."

"It's sad that you found your love when she's in peril."

Eli's brows instantly rose up to the nurse's words and his head was a lot faster to deny this conjecture before his mouth could. "What are you talking about? I'm not in love with her."

The two nurses just chuckled as they left Eliezer alone. Even though he was their senior, Eli was so easy to get along with. Sometimes, his juniors would often tease him for being single and sometimes they'd match him with someone. Though, they were never successful in finding his match.