“No.are you really going to stop working at the university, June? If you're tired of the farm, just call me huh?” Nanay Remmy hugged June tightly, he was about to leave for the province of Talisay. June was a teacher but he decided to leave the profession first to be able to have his peace of mind.He will find himself lost because he is too focused as a professional teacher.
"I'm okay Aunt Rems, I won't leave your vegetable farm. I know it's very important to you. Thank you for entrusting it to me," June retorted and got in the car.
"Be careful huh? Hopefully when you get back there, you can move on," Mother Remmy replied passionately. June smiled and started the car.
Maybe his next move will refresh his mind. He wants freedom out of his profession.
****
June built the old bungalow to be accommodated with the help of Nanay Isay, Nanay Remmy's best friend. Nanay Isay serves as the caretaker in the bungalow and also periodically guards Nanay Remmy's vegetable farm.
"Take a rest. I'll just look at the things I left in the old room," June said goodbye to the lady.
"Okay June. I'll cook dinner too," said Nanay Isay then went to the kitchen. June sighed as it finally moved away from her.
He went upstairs and as he took a step, his heart was racing so fast. He held the door knob for a long time before opening the door of that particular room. It took almost two minutes before he decided to come inside.
He was first exposed to familiar objects, which made him emotional.
"Sasha," he uttered his late girlfriend's name right after he saw a picture frame of them together. His girlfriend passed away seven years ago of leukemia. Sasha is June's first love. He met her as a hardworking teacher when she volunteered in a remote area of ​​Talisay. He had just passed the board exam and was trying to gain teaching experience when the two met.
It sounds cliché but they both fell in love with each other even though they were only together for a short time. June decided to marry Sasha because she has witnessed her dedication to the profession several times and she loves the student who is being taught in Talisay very much.
They made a pact that they will lift up Talisay and build a decent school for everyone. While forming a dream, they had planned to get married but one day, they were shocked by the news. Sasha was diagnosed with leukemia and battled the disease for a year.
It was the first time that heaven and earth seemed to cover June. To move on, he tried to participate in various educational orgs to expand his knowledge as a teacher. He also taught in high school and elementary school. That's the easiest way to forget Sasha, drown yourself in work.
As long as he landed at a university and became a professor, that's all — he felt so much pressure because he was teaching college students and it was more stressful to handle. Aside from her hard teaching, she also felt that some of her fellow teachers were not happy with her.
For them, he's just a young handsome professor with no substance to teach. The superiority of older colleagues is a trend at the university, he knows they are insecure because he gets many awards that he did not expect to get.
Is it his fault to be dedicated to teaching? He felt that the teaching environment at the university was toxic so he also resigned. He thought of focusing on the province first and remembering the happy memories he and Sasha had.
June rolled her eyes across the room. The bridal gown that was worn on the mannequin has turned black due to the thick dust. That's what Sasha should have worn to their upcoming wedding then if her disease hadn't just taken her life. Alas, she didn't even see how beautiful Sasha was in the wedding gown. He thought of spending time cleaning the room. He would only be hurt more if he always saw things related to Sasha.
Exhausted, June fell asleep in the room that served as a warehouse. If he hadn't heard the barking of the White dog outside, he wouldn't have woken up. The window was open, and he could hear the noise made by the raindrops. He couldn't have dinner either.
He glanced at the wall clock hanging on the wall. At two in the morning, he knew the dog was getting cold so even though it was raining, he still came out.
"Nanay Isay forgot to let you in," he said as he wrapped the dog in a soft cloth. But instead of stopping, Puti's dog barked even louder. “Poor you, little boy.”
It struggled and ran across the muddy lawn.
"Puti!" he chases the dog and has what it takes on the lawn. June was also curious about what the dog did so she lit it with a flashlight on the cellphone.
(In Tagalog/Filipino, puti means white.)
There, he found an unconscious body. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with nervousness. That's why Puti was shouting, a corpse was thrown in front of the bungalow. He pointed the cellphone’s flashlight intently and he confirmed the woman was the poor man lying prostrate. He was hesitant to touch her, but he had to do something to find out if she was still alive. Luckily, the woman is still breathing. He quickly picked it up and took it to the nearest hospital.
***
From the glass window of the ward, June kepr his eyes on a patient he brought. The nurse was still monitoring the patient he took to the hospital.
He even saw the patient’s own reflection through the glass. Her clothes were muddy because of the heavy rain earlier. He was too nervous for the woman he had rescued.
“Is she a victim of r*pe or any form of abuse?”
If you look, the woman's body is full of warts. Even her small and beautiful face is full of wounds.
He sighed when the police approached him and asked him for a statement about the woman he found.
Unfortunately, the woman's identity was not available even though her condition was stable, only a watch was left to use — and it's not an ordinary one, it looks like the watch has special features so June decided to keep it first. The police only told June that if possible, the woman should be taken into his care while they are still searching for her identity.
He agreed because he had no choice. Pity still prevails for the woman now lying in the hospital bed. Nanay Isay came alone and immediately approached him. June immediately ignored the concern on its face.
"June, I'm sorry I was late. Please don't tell Remmy that the corpse dumped his farm. He might get angry and think I neglected—"
"You don't have to worry Nanay, Tita Rems won't be angry, and I know the farm has a fence, it's just made of bamboo so it was damaged right away." June stopped the worried lady because of his calm explanation.
"I hope you don't go anymore, the woman Puti and I saw is stable," June added and hugged the empty seat right in front of the ward.
"Of course I'm worried. When that woman wakes up, the police should talk to her again so she can go back to her family and find the person who did that. It's a pity," said Nanay Isay sympathetically while looking at the woman.
June and Nanay Isay waited patiently for the results of the tests performed on the woman. They were depressed at the doctor's report. The woman's brain was damaged due to the shock and there was temporary memory loss or can be considered as amnesia. They will find it even more difficult to trace her identity.
"That's a big problem June. How can we find out who that relative is? Can we post it on social media?" suggested Mother Isay.
"No, it won't be good for her privacy. What if she's a victim of domestic abuse? Or worse, a criminal or a member of the mafia?"
June was right. He did not want to judge the woman but it was unlikely that such assumptions would happen especially since she did not have any trace of identity.
"So that's it. We really need to hug him first. But when he wakes up, can we try to ask him if he still remembers anything?" Nanay Isay asked.
June sighed and glanced at the lady on the hospital bed. "Yup, we have to do that."
****
Two days passed before the poor woman June had rescued regained consciousness. June and Nanay Isay's hearts were pounded by nervousness as soon as the girl's eyes opened.
"Ms., how are you feeling?" Mother Isay asked in a whisper and analyzed her face. The woman's face was small and had chinky eyes, her eyelashes were fluttering and she had a sharp nose. Her thin lips make her even more beautiful. She seemed to come from a wealthy family.
Vanessa didn't answer and stared at the two people who seemed worried about the tragedy that had befallen her. Do they know him? She has no memory of what happened to her and how she ended up in the hospital. Other than that, she can’t remember who he really is.
"Maybe I should call the doctor, he knows what to do," June advised and left the hospital room for a while.
Vanessa followed the gaze of the man who had just come out. She did not know it but something dictated in her heart that she should trust him somehow. And also the fact that he's handsome makes her unable to take her eyes off to him. She felt remorse when it was completely gone. Why does he have to go off her sight?
"Ah ..." she uttered in a distressed way. She didn’t know what to say because she didn’t really know what to say. She had no idea who she was and where she came from now.
"All right, speak up," gently commanded the lady in front of him.
"I don't know who I am. Do I know you?" Vanessa replied. She arranged to get out of bed and held out his hand to Nanay Isay. "Are you my mother? The man before, who is he?"
Nanay Isay sighed. "We found you on the farm and—"
"The doctor is already here," June stopped what Nanay Isay should have said.
They let the doctor assess Vanessa's re-examination. It has been confirmed that he has amnesia. The doctor advised them that Vanessa could be discharged once her wounds healed.
Nanay Isay's mouth remained shut whenever Vanessa was seen in the hospital for a week before she was discharged. The doctor also said that Vanessa should not be talked to if there are times when she becomes conscious. It is said that it will not be good for recovery, another is that he can rarely keep Vanessa awake. June took turns watching them, and even June could rarely be found awake. If she wakes up, she is just given medicine, fed and falls asleep right away.
Even if June wants to talk to Vanessa, there is always no chance. But he will do it if Vanessa gets enough rest to recover. He and Nanay Isay called her "Puti", because of her light complexion and also their dog named Puti saved her.
Until the last day of Vanessa's stay in the hospital, she is scheduled to go home to June and Nanay Isay. He fell asleep on the flight while riding in June's car, Nanay Isay was also with them. It's not because they showed well that she has to trust them. So she also thought of just taking the time and leaving if necessary just to find out who she was. That’s what was playing on his amnesiac brain before going to sleep.