CHAPTER 02

After we reported the incident, Aliyah drove us to our apartment. She is driving an old Honda Civic. I'm nervous that it will suddenly stop in the middle of the street. The car seemed like it was coughing by the sound of it, and the paint was already peeling.

But she assured me that her car was still working well when she saw the horror on my face when she reversed it out of the airport parking lot earlier.

I couldn't be choosy at the moment. I'm so thankful for her help, even though she only met me a few hours ago.

I fixed my eyes outside of the window, looking at the busy street that we passed by. On the busy highway where cars and buses were cramping like sardines in the can because of traffic, people of different ages walked to each car selling various things like bottled water, fruits, tidbits, cigars, and more. I even saw children climbing on the back of a passenger jeepney. They are dirty and malnourished as if they didn't have a proper daily meal.

"What are those children doing? Isn't it dangerous?"

"They are asking for money." She sighed. I felt pity watching the children and some of them knock at the car window. Some people gave them, but some ignored them.

I grew up with everything I needed all laid in front of me, and I didn't need to work to have them, but these children who were so young, about 7 to 12 years old, were in the middle of the street begging for a small amount risking their lives. What are the parents of these children doing? Why do they let their children in the middle of the street risk their lives in the middle of the day? How could their parents endure watching them suffer like this?

Now I feel so bad for running away from home after seeing all this. I'm so lucky to have parents who love me so much, parents who don't let even a fly come near me. Instead, I ran away.

"Aliyah, are you living with your parents?"

"No, My father died when my mother was still pregnant with me, and my mother died giving birth. But I have an aunt and cousin, but I'm not living with them."

"I'm sorry."

"It's been a long time. I'm okay now. I only felt sad that I didn't see both of them. I think I'm the unlucky one because both my parents died before I could see them.

" You are not unlucky. What happened to your parents happened for a reason, and to me, you are my lucky star. Without you, I don't know what will happen to me."

"You'll end up naked on the street." She joked, chuckling. But I think you were robbed today because I'm near you. I always bring bad luck."

"Don't think like that. It's only a coincidence. I'm sure even if you are not there, it will still happen, but thankfully, you were there to help me."

"I'm sure you are only saying that because you don't want me to kick you out of my car."

"I'm telling the truth." I scoffed. She chuckled and poked my forehead.

"How about you? What do your parents do?"

"My mom is a Doctor, and my dad has a small business."

That's cool. I wanted to become a surgeon someday, but now I'm studying nursing. But once I have enough money, I will study medicine.

"Why are you not living with your aunt? It's lonely living alone and dangerous for a woman like you."

They are living far away from where I work. That's why I rent a small place so that It won't be hard to travel back and forth every day. Do you see the traffic? God, it is worse during rush hours. It moves like a turtle. And the other reason I enrolled at night school is to work during the day."

"You're a superwoman. Are you still resting?"

"Of course. My work starts at eight in the morning, and it ends at four in the afternoon, and then my class starts at six and ends at eleven in the evening. I still have lots of time to rest.

"Where do you work?"

"I work as a martial arts instructor."

"What? You know, self-defense. Wow!! She grinned proudly.

"My aunt taught me self-defense since I was young, and I am so thankful for her because I'm now earning money because of the skills she taught me.

"What kind of martial arts do you know?" I'm getting more interested in this woman as time passes. She's not only beautiful but knows how to protect herself.

She's pretty, tall, about 5 '7 ``, and has a fit body, no wonder because she's a martial arts instructor, has tan skin, and a pretty face. She has two cute dimples, a cute nose, doe eyes, and a beautiful smile. She is Gorgeous. She cut her hair short like a boy, and she wore loose clothes, but it didn't affect her gorgeous appearance.

"I know karate, taekwondo, judo, mixed martial arts, arnis, and kickboxing."

"Wow! That's a lot. That's good so that no one will bully you. Women should know self-defense to protect themselves.

"How about you? Any self-defense, you know?"

"I only know the basics, but I'm a man. I can protect myself." I smiled at her.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow at me.

"That man caught me off guard. Thanks for reminding me that I'm broke now, and I don't know where to get my food later."

"You can join those children on the street." I glared at her when she chuckled.

Finally, after almost two hours of driving, Aliyah parked the car in front of a two-story building. I know this building because I saw it on the net while searching for an affordable apartment. I'm scared that my parents will cut my allowance. That's why I don't choose an expensive place to stay.

"We are here." She exited the car, and I followed her, carrying my backpack. I'm just thankful that I have clothes to change later.

I followed her to the building, and a small eatery was on the first floor. I'm hungry, but I don't have money to buy food. I'm also embarrassed to ask Aliyah. We just met a few hours ago, and I'm ashamed to borrow money from her. And besides, if ever she lends me some money, I don't know where to get money to pay her.

"Let's eat lunch first before we meet our landlady."

"I don't have money," I murmured, embarrassed.

"It's okay. My treat and the food here are cheap. I hope you're not picky about food."

"Beggar can't be choosy." She chuckled and led me to a small eatery. She talks to the woman in the Philippines language, which I don't understand, and only stands beside her and listens to them.

I'm so thankful that she's the first person I met because if someone else, I don't know what will happen to me.

"Come, let's sit inside." I followed her inside, and we occupied the table in the corner. The eatery is small. Only five tables could accommodate four people each, but it was clean.

A woman brought our food. There is chicken, a vegetable, soup, two cups of rice for both of us, and a soda

"Have you tried Filipino food before?"

"No."

"You try. This one is chicken afritada." She placed a slice of chicken on my plate, smiling. It has a red sauce, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, and green peas. "They put tomato paste on the sauce; that's why it looks like that. "

"This one is pinakbet. And the soup is sinigang soup. You try it. I'm sure you'll like it.

I'm starving and sure that even if the food tastes awful, I will still devour it. I tried the chicken first, and I was surprised. It tastes good. I like the sauce, but it would taste much better if they added some spice.

" How was that?" Aliyah asked, digging into her food.

"Good." I smiled. I tried the pinakbet, and I love it. There is something salty in it. Different vegetables were combined: Squash, eggplant, string beans, lady finger, and bitter gourd. And it was cooked like a stirred fried vegetable.

"What is this?" I show her a tiny shrimp.

"They called it bagoong. That's the one that makes the pinakbet taste good. It's a small shrimp.

" This is delicious." She smiled.

"Try the soup." She urged. I scooped a spoonful and brought it into my mouth. It's sour, but it tastes delicious.

"Wow, I like it. What do they put in the soup?"

"This is pork sinigang. The sour taste is a sinigang mix you can buy in the grocery. It's tamarind powder. And they add some vegetables to the soup: Eggplant, lady finger, string bean, and a kangkong. But this soup is free, so there is no pork or vegetable. Only soup."

"This is delicious, too. I want to learn how to cook this."

"You can cook it if you want because you have a kitchen in your apartment."

"I'll do that, but for now, I need to think about where to get the money first."

"Don't worry, I'll help you find a job. But please don't be picky because it's hard to find a job here, especially if you are an undergraduate."

"As long as I can earn money to support myself, I'll do it."

"That's good. Are you full?" She asked after we finished eating. The food is delicious, and if I only have money, I want to eat more.

"Yes, thank you so much, Aliyah. I owe you a lot."

"Never mind about it. I'm just being a good Samaritan helping a beggar." She chuckled. I smiled but didn't feel offended about it because I knew she was joking and, at the same time, she was telling the truth.

"Let's go see our landlady." She led me to the end of the hallway to our right, and I followed her quietly.

"This is our landlady's office. If you have any problem in your place, like something is not working and broken, you come here and tell her so she can call a repairman." I nodded in response, and she knocked at the last door before she pushed it open.

There's a woman inside in her forties sitting behind the desk. Aliyah greeted her in the Philippines language, and they talked for a while before the woman faced me. I should learn their language so that it would be easy for me to communicate with them.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Leon. My name is Amelia, but you can call me Tita Amelia. Tita means aunt. What do you want to do now? I'll return your deposit if you don't want to continue and want to go back home."

"Tita, can I talk to him for a while?" Aleyah asked and dragged me out the door without waiting for her answer.

"What is it?"

"She said she would return your money. How about you share a room with me? We share the payment. That way, we can both save, and I'm sure you still have money left after you pay your rent to use while looking for a job.

"But I'm a man, and you are a woman. Is it fine with you? What will people say about you? And we only met a few hours ago. What if I'm a bad person and will do something bad to you later?"

"I don't care what other people say about me. As long as I live a decent life, what they say doesn't affect me. And besides, people call me tomboy anyway. They will only think that you are my friend. You look like you can be trusted, but if you ever tried to do something bad to me, you'll know what will happen to you. I'll break your bones, and you'll regret meeting me." She warned.

"You're scary."

"Only for those who tried to harm me. So, How was that? You don't want to go home anyway.

"Are you sure you are fine with it? You already help me, and placing your reputation in line for letting me stay in your apartment is too much."

"Aishht!! I'm fine. I wanted to save money because I wanted to go back to Korea so that I could visit the grave of my parents, and your staying with me will help me a lot to save half of my rent.

"You think our landlady will agree?"

"She will. She has a kind heart, and after hearing what happened to you, I'm sure she'll agree. Do you want to share a room with me or not?"

"Okay." She grinned and dragged me back inside the office of our landlady. This girl is manhandling, but I don't mind.

"Aliyah talked to her in the Philippines language again, and after a few minutes, I heard our landlady say okay, and Aliyah hugged our landlady, grinning, thanking her.