My feet feel sore all over. My beddings are hard and chalky. The room is hot, the air-conditioning might have stopped working again. Nonchalantly, I open my eyes, and the blinding ray of the sun greets my sleep-deprived eyes. I'm about to close it when a scene of an explosion comes unbidden into my memories, with Migo running and stretching his hands towards me to get me out of danger.

I get up abruptly, but sore muscles complain at the sudden movement. I look around and realize that I'm not in my room, or rather, I am not in any room at all. Instead, I am sitting on a sandy shore. In front of me is the ocean—its color changes from green to blue, starting from the beach towards the farthest, deepest part. I can feel the wind blowing from behind me. The smell of tangy, tropical fruits is entangled with it.

I'm about to turn around when I notice two men prostrating themselves to me, their foreheads touching the sand as if in worship, for whatever reason, I cannot deduce. I frown, but then, as I survey the two men, I realize I know them. The one on the right is Migo, his body fit and muscular because of his constant visit to the gym. The one on the left is Aian. He's lean and wiry, a result of the necessity to have the ability to fight back because of his constant involvement in fights.

"What are you two doing? And where are we?" I ask with a tone of command in my voice. Then, when there's no response, I add, "Raise your heads, idiots," annoyed at their strange behavior.

They raise their heads, but their eyes travel all over my body, except at my face. My frown deepens significantly when they say, "Thank you" to me.

I start to stand up to hit both of them when I feel movement behind me. An arm goes around my shoulders, and it wove a blanket around my body. I look down and realize that I'm stark naked and the only thing that covered me had already fallen over when I suddenly got up. I flush from both the embarrassment and the sudden gesture.

"Here," the man who clothes me said. "You should cover yourself first."

I freeze. I feel the blood drain from my cheeks. I don't need to see his face to know who the owner of the voice is. It's Renz. His arms are barely touching my skin, but the effect is too much. He faces me. There's a forced smile on his face, and it's clear that it is consolatory. Time seems to stop. He fixes his eyes on me, and just like that, we are in our own world, like how it had always been with him. It's enough to make me feel content, to love the current state of my life, and to thank the heavens that I could meet him. Memories rush out. I recall how blessed I felt when he said that he was in love with me.

But then, another memory comes. I was working on a project with Migo and Aian. We were trying to create a software that will replay past events so it can be used as teaching material for historical subjects. Students will be able to immerse in historical events firsthand, observe everything, and play it forward or backward. It's software we were all betting our graduation on.

Renz came to visit. I remember my delight that he could find time to see me despite being busy with his academics. I was in high spirits. When I saw him, my first instinct was to throw myself at him to show how much I missed him. His arms went around me, his hug was solid and firm, and it always conveyed how much he needed me. We stayed like that for three seconds, only a mere three seconds. It was the shortest hug we had. Then, gently, he pushed me away. Confused, I took a step back, and for the first time, I noticed the small, pretty girl standing behind him. Her hands were clasped together, a small smile on her lips, her eyes darting everywhere. Then he talked, and the words he uttered cut me more profound than anything I had ever felt in my entire twenty-one years of life.

Presently, Renz notices the hurt in my expression because he withdraws from me. The desperation comes back again. I reach for him and hug him. He didn't make any move to get away from me.

"Don't leave me, okay?" I ask the same thing I asked that day. My arms tighten around his waist, hoping that he will say different words this time. There's a brief pause.

"Sorry," he says and extracts me from him. He seems disgusted. "I told you already before that explosion consumed us and woke up here, my decision won't change."

Yes, it was only moments ago when he broke up with me. How stupid am I to think that his decision will change that fast? Yet, I want to reach out to him, to make him change his mind. In an effort, I stop my arms. I look everywhere except at him, afraid that I will further shame myself.

Then I notice the same pretty girl behind Renz. She's as lovely as ever, petite. Her entire countenance makes her look like a lamb that requires looking after. She's silent. It's apparent that she's allowing me to spend some time with him before she will forever steal him away.

Yet, her silence and passiveness felt like charity, and I hate it. Remembering my pride, I stand up, clutching tightly at the blanket around me, and breathe in a mouthful of air. There's nothing to gain from being depressed. Renz betrayed my love, and the whore stole him from me.

I am in an unfamiliar place, and the unknown always means danger to me. It's foolish to dwell on my heartbreak if our life is in danger. There is time for it, and when that time comes, I hope that she's prepared for it.

I clear my mind and take a deep breath. Then, I gather the cloth around my body and fasten it around my neck, chest, waist, and arms; not too tight or too loose, just enough that the fabric won't be in the way of my movement.

I scour the surroundings. Assessing the surrounding place is one of the basic survival skills that I know of. In front of me, a few meters from the shore, is a road leading to an entrance to a high wall of rock and stone. Without a rope, the wall is impossible to climb for a human, and it is impossible for me to begin with, even with a rope. Even with all the equipment and assistance, wall-climbing is an activity that is too much for me. We can try the small entrance. However, we will need to be on high alert. One look at it, and it screams trap to me.

On my left and right is a long stretch of sand that seems to go on forever. It has a few slabs of gray stones protruding here and there. But upon squinting, I could detect the slight curving of the shore, kilometers away from us, and close to it is a cave.

The ocean behind me is empty, with no ships, no signs of humans frolicking, no living things, nothing. In fact, the only sign of humans is on the road towards that narrow entrance. The weeds beside it are maintained, or possibly, frequently walked on.

"Migo, if you're done staring, come here," I say, referring to my friend, who was prostrating himself to me a few minutes ago. The usual commanding tone is in my voice again. I am still annoyed at him for staring without saying that I am naked. The same goes for Aian. He has always been the more sensible one, and it is his job to keep Migo in check.

"Run!" I suddenly hear Aian scream. I turn to him, and when I see the creature that Aian is throwing pebbles and sand at, I run towards the cave I saw moments ago.