Chapter 7: The Past

I couldn't stop my hands from shaking as I looked at Daniel, who was staring intently at me.

I couldn't read his expression. He didn't react; he just kept staring at me as if he knew something that would shock everyone here.

He stepped closer to me and handed me the item he had been holding earlier.

I looked at it in amazement. It was a picture of a young girl holding hands with a young boy. They seemed to be walking together, hand in hand.

I looked at Daniel, confused.

"What is this?" I asked him.

"Don't you recognize them?" he asked me.

Confused, I looked at the picture again.

I frowned as I studied the two children holding hands.

Then, a memory suddenly came back to me.

"Hey Anne! Wait up!" The boy chased after the girl.

The girl he called Anne turned to him.

"Danny! I don't like the name Anne. Don't you dare call me that again," Anne answered calmly.

"But that's your name."

"I don't like my name."

"Okay...what should I call you then?"

"Just think of something."

"Okay, from now on you'll be Annie."

Anne looked at him and smiled.

"Hmm...much better." She then walked away from Danny again.

"Hey Annie! Wait up!" Danny shouted again.

And when he caught up to her, he held Annie's hand.

"I like you, Annie," he said with a smile.

Annie looked at him and smiled.

"Tell me that when we grow up."

"Would you say you like me too if I do that?"

"Probably yes."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I immediately covered my mouth when I remembered that moment.

It happened years ago when I visited my grandparents here. I was just five years old back then. And that boy was Danny. We had known each other for a long time.

"How could I be so stupid to forget about him!" I exclaimed as I slowly sat down.

"Anne, are you okay? What do you remember?" Teri asked worriedly next to me.

"This picture was taken twelve years ago. And these two young people are Danny and me," I said as tears fell down my cheeks.

Everyone except Daniel gasped.

"I knew it. You're Annie he always talked about," Daniel said with a smile.

"What? She's Annie?" Nicko's words were almost unbelievable.

"Oh man! So, Annie is real?" Mark said, incredulous.

"Yes. I thought it was just Craig's imagination before because since elementary school, he always mentioned Annie's name but couldn't show her to us," Leo said.

"Yes, I also thought he just said that Annie was living in the City so we wouldn't tease him about his imaginary girlfriend," Jay added.

"Well, now we know that Annie is real and she's right in front of us," Dondon said with teary eyes.

They were all still in shock.

"That's why that jerk came back—because you came back too," Ara said happily.

"Yes, that's why he only showed himself to her," Jane agreed.

"Eh, but wait, Anne, what did you and Danny have in the past?" Ritchel asked.

"Yes, indeed. Why did you suddenly forget him and only remember him now?" Maritess added.

I cleared my throat before explaining how we met and why I had forgotten about him.

"We were too young then. So when we went back to the City, a lot happened. Even the name 'Annie' that I asked him to call me, I forgot. I don't even remember our promise to each other. And I'm so stupid for forgetting that wonderful memory of him."

"When you were with him for those few days, did he say that he still liked you? Like what he promised to you?" Dondon asked, looking excited for my answer.

I smiled at his question and then took a deep breath.

"No...he didn't say that he still liked me," I said.

"What? He's really stupid. When he always bragged about you to us, he was like a man who won the lottery, and now that he met you, he didn't even tell you how he really felt?" Dondon exclaimed.

"Haays...Craig's stupid," he added, and everyone laughed.

"No, Don. It's not like that," I said.

"He didn't say that he liked me because, as far as I remember, he told me that he loved me that night before I found out the truth," I said, smiling, but I couldn't stop crying when I remembered that night I thought was just a dream.

"Aawww ..!" They all react.

"Group hug!" Mani shouted, and everyone joined in. The next thing I knew, I was embracing them wholeheartedly.

But I still had to tell them the truth. I still had something to confess to them.

After the group hug, they invited me to go to Jollywood to celebrate our friendship that same day.

Next week marks the first year since the loss of Danny, my friends, and my siblings.

"Guys, next week will be Craig's death anniversary. You all come, okay?" Daniel said while driving his van.

We were close to the foot of the mountain where the parking area was located. From there, you had to walk up the mountain, which was fun because it looked like a rice terrace with a beautiful view.

"Of course, dude! Craig will visit those who don't go!" Nicko shouted, accompanied by laughter.

I laughed too, but I couldn't help but worry about what would happen.

Next week, I have to go home to the City to attend the burial anniversary of my brother and friends.

"Anne, you will come, right? I know it's sad, but Craig will be happy if you can come," Teri said.

"Yes, Anne, I will also introduce you to Mommy and Daddy so that they will know that Annie was real, the one Craig always told us about," Daniel added, looking at the front mirror.

I hesitated to smile at them and couldn't answer.

Fortunately, Leo changed the subject, and everyone's attention was diverted.

What will I do? How can I tell them that I can't attend because I have to go to my brother's death anniversary too?

When we arrived at the resort, I forgot my problem for a moment because of the beautiful scenery.

The scenery was breathtaking, especially considering it was at the top of the mountain and at the edge of the ravine. There was a large swimming pool in the middle, surrounded by cottages. There was also a glass hotel standing 20 floors high. Interestingly, there were large trees around the resort where the cottages were built above.

When we entered the hotel, it truly felt like an international hotel with beautiful interior design.

The group planned to stay outside in the cottages, but they were also friends with one of the children of the resort owner, so she let us stay in a room in their hotel.

Since each room we were assigned was large and we were only staying until tonight, the girls shared one room, and the boys shared another.

"Wow, Jolly's hotel is really nice, isn't it?" Jane said, lying on the bed.

"Yeah, right. We always come here again and again, but it's still not boring to be here," Marivic said, sitting on the couch next to Maritess and Ritchel.

"Haay, Jolly is really a good friend of ours, and she always lets us stay for free," Mani said, arranging bathing clothes.

"Yes, wait. Do you know her, Anne? She is also studying in the City now," Maritess asked.

"Huh? Ah, I don't know. Maybe she goes to another school," I answered.

She seemed quite familiar to me. It looked like I had seen her before, but I just couldn't remember.

"Oh, it's better that we change into our bathing suits because the boys are definitely excited about the falls," Ritchel said as she arranged the swimwear.

"Haay...it's so unlucky that Jemalyn, Cheryl, and Joy aren't here," Jane said.

"Where are the three of them?" I asked in surprise.

"They're going somewhere. Let go of those three. They always have their own way," Jane replied.

"Let's get dressed, guys," Teri said, so we changed our clothes.

We were still a little taken aback by a knock on the door.

"Let me," Ara said, near the door.

When she opened the door, Dondon suddenly entered without any clothes on top.

"Girls, I don't like the dishes on the other side. Just let me stay here before I eat the boys in the other room," he said, looking like a worm trembling while explaining.

We laughed at his entrance.

"You naughty, you're really gay! Okay, let's change bikinis together," Mani said and pulled Dondon by the hand.

"Ayy! ouch sis! Please don't rape me. Help!" Dondon shouted, followed by laughter.

"Crazy! You thought you were beautiful! I don't hit on a lesbian, okay?" Mani also shouted so we laughed a lot. Mani acted like she was a lesbian but she was still a hundred percent woman.

After the fun event in the room, we went out the room and the boys were also out at the same time.

Leo, Mark, and Nicko couldn't help but whistle when they saw their friends in one-piece bikinis. But since I was used to body exposure, I wore a two-piece black bikini that highlighted my fair skin.

The boys whistled again when I stepped out.

"Gosh, hurry up, okay? Maybe you forgot that Anne is our friend. And you're not allowed to hit on our friends," Dondon said to them, making them serious.

"Oh gosh, don't worry, ma'am Dondon. You are still the best of all," Nicko said, winking at Dondon.

"Really!" Dondon replied, pouting his lips and making a baby voice, pretending to pin his hair behind his ear.

The hallway of the hotel dining room was once again filled with laughter and teasing.

We first went to the falls that Auntie told me about, and it was so beautiful. Because it was a man-made falls, it looked even more attractive. It resembled a fairyland with decorative flowers around it. There was also a small raft in the middle for those who wanted to cross to the other side of the waterfall.

The water was moderately cold, so we really enjoyed swimming.

After the falls, we went back to the front of the hotel and swam in the pool, playing volleyball in the water. As it got late in the afternoon, we decided to go to the hanging bridge. We stayed there for a few minutes and then headed to the zipline.

Everyone had a great time when we returned to the hotel. Since it was night, we decided to go home.

We hadn't seen Jolly yet because she was supposed to be taking care of someone else. I only saw her briefly earlier because she was in a hurry.

When we were about to leave the hotel, we were surprised to see people suddenly lining up in the hotel lobby, so we were curious about what was happening.

"Omg! The One Shot band!" Dondon, Ara, and Jane screamed at the same time.

"Geez, we are more handsome than those guys," Leo said with a smirk.

"Yes, they're just popular," Nicko added.

"Tch! They're just a small band. What's so special about them?" Mark said, followed by the laughter of Jay and Daniel.

"Excuse me, guys! They're not just a band. They are the One Shot band, okay?" Maritess said with difficulty.

"One Shot?" I wondered as I realized who they were talking about.

"Yes, Anne. They are a very famous band all over the Philippines," Ritchel said excitedly.

I looked at the group of men who were at the reception, possibly checking in.

"They're all really here! Don't you know them, Anne?" Mani asked.

Of course, I knew them. They were the only band my brother rejected because he preferred to join our band, which we didn't spread all over the world. We liked playing in our school, and even though many producers offered us to appear on TV, we didn't accept it.

"Not really. I can only hear their name," I replied, then slightly hid behind Jay because he was the only one with a big body among us.

"Is there something wrong, Anne?" Daniel asked, who was next to me.

"Ha? Ah, nothing. Can we leave now?" I said.

"Sure. I'll just tell them," he said and approached the rest of us.

"Later, Daniel. We haven't even seen Sam yet," I heard Dondon stop Daniel.

"Sam?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, Anne. Their new member is cute. Others say he just took a vacation and will also return to the group," he replied excitedly.

I was stunned by what he said and couldn't speak.

We stayed for a few more minutes in our place. And when the famous band, which included Homer, Jay R, Benjamin, Dante, Reynan, and the only woman, Jessica, checked in, we were able to leave the hotel.

"Seriously, dude! Did you see Jessica? She's really pretty and sexy!" Nicko exclaimed.

"Of course! Who wouldn't notice her beautiful body? My heart almost went crazy when I saw her," Leo said.

"Tss! You're like that, aren't you? You just saw her and thought you were possessed by an evil spirit. When you bashed the One Shot band earlier, Jessica was also a member of them," Dondon said with a squeaky smile, his nose flaring.

We barely laughed at him as we descended the mountain.

It wasn't scary at night because the night was as bright as day with the amount of light surrounding the entire resort.

"Anne..?" We all stopped walking when someone called me.

At the same time, my friends turned their backs on us as I kept my back to the person who called me. Because even if I didn't look back, I already knew who it was.

What is she doing here ..?

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