Spring City has been thriving amongst all the cities in the Philippines, built where once a mountain stood high, a new sanctuary for Felicia after running away from a painful past.
On her first day, she meets an eccentric neighbor, Carlotta claiming...
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Felicia decided to stay one more night in Spring City and had agreed that she would go back with Lucy to Santa Barbara the next day. She packed some things that evening and has thought twice whether to leave the diary behind or to bring it back with her. She decided to take it with her and put it into her bag. She told Lucy about the diary, but Lucy did not believe her. "That's a very lame excuse, why don't you just tell the truth that you ran away with another hot guy? I heard the guy next door was missing too. Is he cute? Can I meet him? And do you know that Richard is going to get married?" Lucy went on, and Felicia thought about Chris.
The next day when the guard, Kanor saw Felicia in the lobby pulling a suitcase, he almost fainted. "Ma'am, is that you? Are you real? Or are you a ghost?" he asked.
"Kanor, Felicia only ran away with another guy. Don't ask her where, why and how, she won't be honest with you," Lucy answered. "Can you just help us with this heavy stuff?" The pale Kanor obeyed and started carrying the boxes.
Once he got alone with Felicia in the parking lot, he whispered, "We all thought you were dead Ma'am. Some psychics who were hired even said you were abducted by creatures from this haunted building."
"I'm sorry, Kanor. Even I, myself can't answer that question."
"The police asked me if I saw you came out that evening and I told them no, I hadn't seen you at all. We went through all the cameras in this building, even the camera in the garden, in case you chose to climb out of the window, but we did not see a thing. I'm glad Ma'am that you are safe."
"I'm sorry for the troubles I have caused you, Kanor. Don't you worry, I am fine now." Felicia did not dare to tell the story she has told Lucy. She was afraid that people would not believe her and would think she was indeed crazy. She would keep this secret with her for now until she finds out the truth.
Lucy said she needed to go to an ATM and asked Felicia to wait in the lobby for a while. She has bid her goodbyes to Carlotta and Kanor that morning. She looked at her phone - the date showed it was already the 1st of November. "The portal's already close," whispering those words to herself while reminiscing the only memories she had with Chris – going to museums, hiking with him, that dinner in a fancy restaurant and the kiss to the forehead. She realized she misses Chris, she could feel the pain stabbing her heart, her legs felt heavy as if it does not want to leave.
Who knows, maybe she would come back to Spring City again... When the elevator door opened with Chris in it. He was wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans. Felicia froze to her seat when their eyes met. He looked very human, Felicia knew it. All those that were written in the diary were lies. Millions of thoughts ran through her head. If what was written in the diary was not real, then what happened to her in the past year?
Felicia was so deep in her thoughts that she has not realized that Chris was already standing in front of her. Chris hugged her tightly without saying a word.
"C-Chris?" Felicia reminded herself to act normal. "What's wrong? A lot of strange things are happening and I think I need to go back to Santa Barbara for now. Don't worry, I will send you messages every day."
"Felicia, I'm begging you not to go, or at least let me come with you to Santa Barbara."
"Chris, what are you talking about? What's going on? Listen, something strange has happened to me and maybe I'm sick, maybe I'm getting crazy."
"You're not crazy, Faye."
"Y-you call me Faye? No one calls me that name. That's the name you called me while we were in the Underground." Felicia blurted without even thinking. The two stared at each other for a while.
"You can still remember what happened in the Underground?" Chris asked.
"I can't. But I kept a diary." Felicia took the diary out of her bag and handed it to Chris. "Can you confirm if those happened? The truth is, I'm so confuse right now. I was afraid I'm going crazy. But you called me that name, you never called me that during the first few days we have met and while we roamed around Spring City. From the diary I have written, it says you were the only person or engkanto who called me that name. Please tell me the truth Chris, I beg you. Am I going insane? Were we together?" Chris scanned the diary with his sweaty hands. He did not know that Felicia kept a diary while they were in the Underground world. Every scene, every detail, everything that happened between the two of them were recorded in the diary. He was not supposed to tell Felicia the truth, but maybe this would be the only way to make her stay.
"I'm no longer an engkanto, Felicia," He started. "Queen Zena have made me a human being; I have given up my immortality and my powers as an engkanto."
"But why would you do that, Chris?"
"I did it for you. I wanted to be with you, forever because I love you. Believe it or not, you have loved me too, in that world. I know you may not remember it by now but that is the truth. I decided to be human because you are the only entity in this world that makes sense to me now."
"I'm sorry Chris." A tear fell from Felicia's eyes. "I'm sorry that I can't remember a thing about you, about us. But I don't think I can stay in Spring City anymore."
"So, take me with you Felicia. I will tell you everything and all that you needed to know. We can take it step by step, we do not need to rush things again, but I won't allow that we would be apart again." For a while they stared at each other, until finally, Lucy stepped into the lobby and called Felicia.
"We better go now Felicia or we will be arriving very late in Santa Barbara," Lucy called out. Only by then that Lucy noticed the man in front of Felicia. "U-uhm, maybe I'll go to the nearby café first? Let me know when you're ready."
It took a while for her to respond. She contemplated for a few seconds before deciding she wanted to know more about the Underground and about Chris and the Faye who used to live in this world. "Hold on. There's no need Lucy. We can go now. Take your car, and I will drive mine. Chris will be coming with me to Santa Barbara," Felicia smiled back while her hand held his.
