QUATRO

Leanne only looked puzzled as her eyes roamed around. During the ride, she only saw a few stone houses, but this area are mostly composed of bahay kubo.

(bahay kubo= nipa houses)

Leanne then timidly questioned, "This… Where are we again?"

As soon as she asked, both Emilio and Maria looked taken aback.

"What do you mean, Josefa? We've been here a lot of times already. This is Emilio's house. Tiya Rosario prepared a small salo-salo for you because you didn't want to host a piging." Maria sternly answered. She doesn't know why Josefa is acting like this today. She wanted to remind her to be careful as to not hurt Emilio's feelings.

(salo-salo=get together; piging=party)

Leanne noticed their seriousness, so she quickly laughed to ease the atmosphere and quickly got inside to escape the situation, "Hahaha that's right! I'm just teasing... Hello everybody!"

"Binibini Josefa, Binibini Maria! Sit down. Sit down." A middle-aged woman wearing a worn-out kimona happily greeted them and lead them to the table.

"This must be Emilio's mother. I didn't know he lived here." Leanne thought then she noticed a middle-aged man and a boy who looked like he is 13 or 14 years old. "And that must be his father… and little brother? Sh*t! What do I do? I don't know their names."

While Leanne was having an internal panic, Maria smiled and greeted the family, "Good afternoon Tiya Rosario, Mang Pepe and Isagani. Thank you for your hospitality today."

Leanne breathed a sigh of relief, "So that's their name." Her smile was a little strained as she copied Maria's greeting, "Good afternoon Tiya at Tiyo. We will be imposing on you today...Yo Isagani! Long time no see." Leanne walked up to Isagani and raised her hand for a high five.

"Oh. You've met before? Isagani have been helping our uncle in another town since he was 10." Emilio innocently shattered her expectations.

Leanne clapped her hands in fake realization to avoid her hands hanging awkwardly, "Is that right? I might've mistaken you for someone else then… Hello. Nice to meet you Isagani. My name is Lea- Josefa."

"Nice to meet you, binibini. Please sit down." Isagani simply stood up in respect and pointed to the seat beside him.

Leanne thanked him and sat down, "Hurray for my quick thinking, if not… *sigh* Why didn't anyone say anything!?" Leanne was again drowned in her thoughts and mindlessly reached out to scoop food into her plate. Her hands was about to touch the bowl when she heard Tiya Rosario, "Let us first thank God for the blessings we have received today."

Leanne looked up and saw everyone looking at her. She felt like crying. How many times did she embarrassed herself today!!?

After lunch, Leanne sat down on a wooden bench with Emilio and Maria. "So… we like grew up together right? Are we like the same age?" Leanne wanted to get as much information as she could to skillfully maneuver her situation.

"You seem very strange today, Josefa. You act like you don't know anything and you became a bit crude." Maria said straightforwardly.

Leanne's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly held her forehead and thought "Here I go Oscars" before she swayed into Emilio's arms.

"Josefa!!" Emilio and Maria worriedly shouted.

"I'm fine... just a little dizzy. Must be the sun. My memories have become a little hazy these days as well." Leanne made her voice as weak as possible, hoping to garner sympathy. Internally, she was screaming and crossing her fingers that they will be convinced with her measly acting skills.

"I'll go call a doctor." Emilio stated as he prepared to leave.

Leanne weakly hold on to him with reddened eyes, "No! I'm sure it's just temporary... I can sleep it off. If not, you guys can help me remember." Despite the situation, she did not forget her orginal plan of flirting with him.

Emilio was obviously shocked. The three of them grew up together, but they never had any direct contact like this before. Josefa was always shy and timid around him. The number of times their eyes met could even be counted in one hand. His mind blanked out, focusing only on the softness he was feeling.

"Josefa, why don't you lean on me instead? This is inappropriate... What if someone saw you?" Maria was also shocked by Josefa's sudden changed in behavior, but quickly dismissed it as a side effect of her condition. Maria, however, was more concerned with Josefa's reputation. If anyone saw Emilio and Josefa this close to each other, it would surely be troublesome.

Emilio realized this as well, so he gently pushed Josefa to Maria. Leanne could only clicked her tongue.

"...Have you forgotten everything?" Emilio decided to forget that small mistake and went back to the conversation.

Leanne shook her head, "I can remember a little bit, but it's useless information."

"Oh Josefa! This is serious. We must tell your mother and father." Maria felt sorry for Josefa and started to tear up a little.

"This is nothing. We'll only worry them... so let's keep this between us, okay?" Leanne was worried that if she involve more people, the easier it would be for them to tell that she was lying. How could she possibly explain this to them!? This might be a dream, but they might actually burn her at the stake for being a witch or possessed.

Emilio and Maria looked at each other before nodding in agreement.

"Okay... so are we the same age?" Leanne started her questioning.

"The both of us are the same age, 19 years old... but Maria is your orphaned cousin who is a year younger." Emilio hesitated to mention Maria's family situation, but figured that it may be necessary.

"I see... sorry, Maria." Leanne held Maria's hand and comforted her.

"Don't worry, Josefa. I am happy with you." Maria's beautiful smile never left her face. She was always gentle and graceful.

Leanne felt a little pinch of jealousy, but quickly dismissed it. "What about you, Emilio? Are we related in any way?"

"No way. My family are Indios working at your abaca plantation. We could never be related to Ilustrados like you." Emilio strongly denied.

"Huh!?" Leanne was visibly shocked as she thought, "Ahhh! I'm dead. I am soo dumb... I should've listened in history class... Who said you can't use it in real life!!?? Look at me now!"