Chapter one

Malinao Island, Catanduanes

I was walking here on the beach to pick up shells not far from our house when I saw something that looked like something on the shore so I went straight to it, I was surprised to see that it was not an object but a lifeless person so I was afraid of falling behind.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing because it just happened, I deliberately looked around to see if there were people here but there were none. Mom was at home and cooking lunch I wanted to run away because I was scared but my curiosity got the better of me and I approached the person who was on his knees.

I came closer to it and I swallowed when I saw that it was a man who had no life. I remembered what my mother taught me how to know if someone is alive or not, like what she did to grandma when we saw that it has no life. I put my hand around the man's neck and felt his wrist, I was so surprised when I felt it that I immediately stood up.

I ran home to tell my mother that I saw someone who had been seen for a while and I immediately got home and immediately went inside.

"Mom!" I shouted so she got out of the kitchen.

"What's wrong with you and you're screaming?" She asked curiously, I took a deep breath and told her what I saw.

"What? Is what you're saying true?" She immediately asked so I nodded and led her to the place where I saw the unconscious person.

When we arrived at the place, mom was shocked and she immediately checked to see if he was really alive, it turned out to be a man with bruises on his body and a gunshot wound, he was pale but still had a pulse so mom and I decided to take him to the our hut

"Come on and help me put him here on the bamboo." Mom told me this is what we used when we buried grandma at the foot of the mountain.

My mother and I had a hard time but we were able to handle it even though the man is serious because this man needs to be treated immediately.

I didn't see much of his appearance but I noticed that his body was big and heavy.

I have been looking at the man who is still unconscious until now.

I counted on my hands since the first day I saw him at the beach but until now there has been no change in him, he is still asleep, mom said it's called comatose, fortunately, mom is good at treating him.

She saved the man, she treated him with herbs, mom used to be a nurse and she learned herbal medicine from her grandmother who was also a healer and we planted the herbs ourselves in our backyard because when I get sick that's what heals me.

And by God's mercy, his big wounds on his side and thigh are also healing, his head is also bandaged and his arms also have small wounds that are slowly healing.

Who is this? He looks nice because of his gentle face and he is very handsome, unlike the male actors that I once saw on television when my mother took me to town.

But he is very different from those artists.

The sleeping man is handsome and has a pointed nose and narrow lips and he has also started to blush because his color is returning which was still pale before, I looked away from him and fixed the blanket that serves as a cover on his naked body because he can't be dressed yet, said mom because of his wounds.

When I left our small room where the man was sleeping, I went to the kitchen and prepared lunch.

My mother has gone to town early to sell the vegetables and fruits that we harvested in our own yard and at the foot of the mountain where we also have crops that helps us to survive and get through our daily lives peacefully we live here on Isla Malinao, a small island here in Catanduanes, here I grew up and thought with my mother, father, youngest brother and grandmother.

I remembered my father and my brother died in the typhoon, we never saw their bodies because we didn't have enough money to search for them, it was ten years ago when they died.

Lola, on the other hand, had been dead for three years when she was struck by illness and her old age has brought her to this day, and I am still saddened by her loss.

I'm Heart Serenity by the way. I'm sixteen years old I have a porcelain complexion even though I grew up by the sea my skin color hasn't changed because it's my natural color, I also have long reddish hair.

I don't know why it's this color, mom doesn't say anything and another thing is that mom always says that I'm beautiful, so she doesn't take me with her on her walks in town.

All I know is that my father is from a foreign country. They say I am the daughter of mom's younger sister who died giving birth to me, that's what mom said.

From then on, they considered me as their real daughter, so I called them mom and dad.

We are happy here on the island, we have neighbors but it is far from where we are, our life here is simple and, fishing and growing fruits and vegetables are the main sources of income for people here.

They are kind and generous here, it's just that life is difficult, there is no proper water here because we can only get by on the water that comes from the mountain where we also get our drinking water.

I just went to the kitchen to prepare our lunch, I made a fire on the stove and prepared the pot and took rice from the biscuit tin. This is where our rice is placed, it is only half and we have been consuming it for more than a month because there are only two of us.

When I was able to eat, I plucked a leaf that I wanted to grow as a vegetable. This is my favorite vegetable stewed with d***g fish or sometimes breaded, but since there is no breading, I will add dry d***g.

I was about to finish cooking when I heard my mother's voice from outside so I left what I was doing for a while.

"Heart, I'm here!" She shouted that I came out of our house and met my mother with the plastic bags she had bought so I took the rest from her.

"How many of these, mother, did you sell all of our produce?" I happily asked her.

"Yes, someone wholesaled my goods and paid me a lot, so I was able to buy canned goods and I also bought some rice. We are still on the boat. Let's do it little by little because that is also a sack. I also bought some clothes and you put them inside. a plastic and men's clothing for our guest." Mom was happy so I also smiled and we went inside our house together, I put down the plastics and then looked at my rice that was already boiling so I removed some fuel so it wouldn't burn.

"You said, I bought a kilo of marinated meat so that we can taste the stewed meat at least once a month." I nodded at mom so I took some plastic that was on the chair and took them out one by one and then arranged the canned goods in our cabinet.

"The man still hasn't woken up, I'm worried about him." Mom came into the kitchen and she had already changed her household clothes, maybe she peeked at the man first.

"Yes, I thought he would wake up yesterday because he moaned, but maybe he was just dreaming." Yesterday, mom and I thought he was going to wake up because he was moaning, but that was all he did and he fell asleep again.

"He will wake up too." I told her. "And we will know who he is and what happened to him." She just nodded and we worked together to arrange shopping and prepare our lunch.

I smiled because my mom and I had a delicious lunch. Mom brought a lot of produce to town and she sold it all.

It's funny because the first month we entered was lucky.

Mom said that maybe the man brought luck to our life because since he came here, we have been lucky one after another.

When the night came, I took a walk on the beach before going to sleep. The night was very bright because of the full moon today, so it was very beautiful to look at. The reflection of the moon on the sea was colored like a crystal, making it even more beautiful. There was also a gentle wind blowing in the sea. my hair so I closed my eyes with a smile on my face.

I heard mom calling me so I went back inside our house when I entered I saw mom holding a dress.

"Come , help me dress the man, we can dress him now because the wound on his side is dry so he won't get cold." I nodded to mom and we worked together to dress the man. I couldn't help but watch him change his appearance because his face was getting color and his beard was growing which made him even more handsome. I shook my head from my thoughts and scolded myself for staring at the strange man.

Mom and I fell asleep hugging each other, this is how I always want to stay in her arms and I love mom very much.

When I woke up the next day, I stretched my arms and rubbed my eyes. Mom is gone, maybe she is at the back of the house and as usual she is watering our crops, I put away our bed and then arranged it in the cabinet and then I got some clothes to take a shower.

After I showered, I went to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

But before this, I left the room again and went to another room to take a peek at our guest, but I was surprised when I didn't see him on our bed, so I was called to mom at the back of the house.

"Mom! That man is not in his room." Mom was also surprised and then I left the house, mom came from the back house.

"Oh I didn't notice I didn't look at him when I woke up." I nodded to my mother and looked around in case the man who was awake just walked around.

"Mom, I'm going to look for the man on the beach." I said goodbye to mom who just nodded.

I walked with a little speed, I was nervous that the man might have left but it was impossible because our boat was still on the beach.

I continued walking and looked around to see if the man was nearby. I had walked a long way but I still couldn't see him. I felt like I wanted to cry because I couldn't see him but I just kept going. I was at the end of the island on a rock at its end are huge rocks.

And here I saw a bulk sitting on the rock and just looking at the ocean I relaxed and smiled because I saw him too I thought it was not.

I dared to walk closer to him and called him.

"Sir!" That's what I called him because I didn't know his name.

He suddenly turned to me which made my heart beat faster, this is the first time I can see the color of his eyes which softened my knees.

"What is it, why is my heart beating so fast?"