Chapter 86 - Finale

“So, how far did you go in school?” Amy directly asked Aaron.

“Why would you want to know that I dropped out of elementary school? Just give it to me! I will burn it!” Aaron hissed and tried to take the letter from Amy, but the latter refused.

“Just give it!”

“You don’t have to burn it. Wait!”

Yvo just watched them, laughing quietly on the side. He knew that both Aaron and Amy had feelings for each other, but neither of them had the courage to confess.

Meanwhile, outside the correctional facility, Ava fell asleep in her car while waiting. After a while, William emerged from the facility and immediately spotted Ava inside her car.

He hesitated whether to approach and talk to her. He tried to approach her but remained standing by the side of her car for a moment, just looking at her. Ava looked tired, yet peaceful. William realized he didn't want her to be miserable again because of him.

With a sigh, William decided not to push through. As he began to walk away, Ava woke up. She furrowed her brow. When her gaze shifted outside, she saw William walking away, so she quickly got out of her car.

She was about to chase after him, but she was quickly stopped by a man.

"Please, just let him go," Marco advised Ava.

They both watched William walking away.

"He came to that difficult decision."

There, Ava realized that Marco was right. She sighed and nodded with a smile.

“When were you released?” Marco asked her a genuine question.

“A few months ago.”

“Have you still not been able to see Lance?”

Ava sadly smiled and shook her head at Marco's question.

“It must be hard for him to forgive. It sounds like he’s getting along with Megan,” Marco replied.

Marco simply smiled at her and nodded.

“I think he talks to her on the phone every day. There is this girl Lance has a crush on. I heard that Megan was giving him advice,” Marco continued, sharing about her son and Megan.

“If you see Megan, please tell her that I appreciate it.”

Marco just nodded. Several seconds enveloped them in silence. It seemed like they were both gauging whether there was still a desire to ask and answer the questions accumulated over the past seven years.

“What have you been up to lately?”

In the end, it was Marco who asked again. Ava grinned and gazed at the high mountain they could see from their spot.

“That mountain over there… I wonder if I can climb over it by myself.”

***

[At the rural town near the city.]

"Hold on, Ariah! Hold on!" Megan exclaimed exhaustively as she carried a young girl named Ariah on her back.

"Hold on, Ariah. Okay? I will get there soon," Megan told the child while running until they reached a small clinic.

"Doctor!"

They found a nurse sweeping the floor there.

"She suddenly had a bellyache. Where is the doctor?"

"Tim’s grandfather fainted while fishing. He went there, but he should be back shortly. Lay her down here," the nurse said to Megan, helping her lay the child on a small hospital bed.

“Ariah, hold on. The doctor will be here soon. Hang in there,” Megan said to Ariah while trying to calm her down.

The child struggled to nod at her. Megan quickly turned to the nurse.

"I will go to the store and come right back. Could you watch her, please?" Megan said to the nurse, who only nodded in response.

Megan rushed out immediately. She quickly reached a small coffee and pastry shop near the clinic. She closed her store temporarily because she wanted to watch over Ariah until she recovered.

After that, she spotted the doctor's bicycle she had been waiting for, so she quickly returned to the clinic.

“It looks like acute pancreatitis. You can’t even have water until tomorrow. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Megan paused by the side, observing Javier as he talked to her young patient. She smiled as she saw him again wearing his doctoral gown. It suited him perfectly as if the doctoral gown was made specifically for him.

“You look much better now. You are going to get better soon.”

“I heard that you went to school in America,” Ariah started questioning Javier who just smiled at her and nodded.

“Yes. I once dropped out of school. After I had a big surgery… I finished my education in America, thanks to my professor,” Javier answered the curious Ariah.

“If you have a degree from America, why would you want to be in this rural town?”

“Well, I like the neighborhood. There are a lot of pretty girls here, too,” Javier chuckles as he answers that question.

Megan grinned and glanced at Ariah, who glanced back at her and then pointed at herself.

"Among those pretty girls, is she one of them?"

Javier slowly turned to where Ariah was pointing. Megan pretended not to know and looked away from the two. Javier looked puzzled as he glanced back at her.

“I don’t know,” Javier stated.

Megan pouted and rolled her eyes.

“By the way…” Ariah halted and Javier looked at her once more. “People say that when you had the big surgery, you lost all your memories. Is that true?”

“Yes,” Javier answered again.

“When you lost your memories, how were you able to become a doctor?”

“Losing your memories and forgetting your knowledge are two different things. I just happened to not remember who was who, including the ones I used to know, and… the ones I used to love.”

As Megan listened to Javier's responses, she gazed at him with an evident overflow of love for the man. She was immensely proud of Javier, especially for all he had accomplished. Finally, he had become a doctor, just as he had long dreamed of.

"By the way, honestly speaking… are the sandwiches she sells at her store that good?"

Megan's mouth fell open in surprise upon hearing Ariah's question to Javier.

"Hey, Ariah! Don’t say anything!" she scolded the child, but Ariah ignored her.

“Why are you asking?” Javier asked Ariah with a laugh.

“People say the sandwiches and the cookies she sells at her store are so bad that it’s amazing how the store still stays open.”

Megan frowned at what she heard.

“Hey, you. I carried you on my back all the way here.”

Javier chuckled at Ariah. “So?”

“But you get every meal at her store. Do you buy those because they are good?”

Javier didn't respond and just grinned at Ariah. When Javier had no more patients, he decided to step out and headed straight to Megan's store.

He sat at a table in front of the store, sipping coffee and reading a medical book he had brought along.

Meanwhile, from inside her store, Megan subtly took another picture of Javier without him noticing. When Javier glanced her way while sipping his coffee, Megan had no choice but to discreetly hide the camera as he caught sight of it.

She bit her lower lip when Javier gestured for her to come closer, but she shook her head. Javier gestured again for her to approach and bring the camera, so Megan had no choice but to comply and quickly stepped out.

Shyly and with her head bowed, Megan approached Javier while holding her camera. When Javier opened it, he was greeted by numerous pictures of himself taken from different angles.

He furrowed his brow and looked at Megan. “What are these? Are you a paparazzi?”

“Something like that,” Megan was so embarrassed to answer that she couldn’t look at Javier.

“Look up,” Javier ordered her, so she looked at him.

“Are you interested in me?” Javier asked her directly.

Megan smirked. “Yes! I like a handsome guy. I get easily impressed.”

“Since when?”

“What?” Megan was so dumbfounded.

“Since when have you been interested in me?”

“It’s been a while,” Megan answered shyly.

“How long?” Javier continued to ask her.

“Stop asking. I’m embarrassed enough already.”

Javier sighed heavily and returned the camera to Megan. He picked up his book and left the area.

But before he could go far, one could see Javier's wide smile as he walked away.

***

~ And… in our next life, I would want to meet Megan again. Then I’d want us to date like other couples do. I would want us to show love like any other couples do. I think I was praying that to God.

I’d ask about her to someone who knows her. Sometimes, I’d stay near her place. Sometimes, I’d want to impress her parents. So, I’d memorize a country song loved by her father, and learn how to play chess.

I’d learn how not to be a fussy eater. Sometimes, I’d memorize all of her favorite artist’s songs. ~

After a few hours of biking, Megan was on her way back to her store when she saw Javier sitting on a bench by the side of the road as if waiting for someone.

As soon as he noticed her, Javier quickly looked away. Megan was about to pass by him without acknowledging him, but she couldn't. She parked her bike by the side and sat on the same bench where Javier was seated. There was a small distance between them.

No one dared to speak.

~ Sometimes, I’d go to her favorite place, and wait for her all day. I’d say I want to see her when I want to see her, and I’ve missed her when I’ve missed her. Feeling nervous and grateful…

I’d want us to date like other couples do. I think I was praying for that. ~

Several minutes passed with only silence between them until Javier retrieved a red box from his pocket. He pushed the box towards Megan without looking at her.

This action immediately caught Megan's attention. Nervously, she reached for the box and slowly opened it.

She gasped when she saw two wedding rings inside.

Surprised, she looked at Javier...

~ And… I’m praying to God once again. Thank you. I am… happy now. ~

A tear fell from Megan’s eyes as she thought, 'Javier finally remembered me. Javier is back. He came back to me like he promised.'

The End.