He Tian kicked the door of the nipa hut but it didn't budge so he shone the flashlight on the lock. Silently cursing himself, he angrily punched the padlock that was still in place. Cold fear crept to his gut with the realization.
Mo Guan Shan didn't make it out here. He's out there somewhere in this fucking darkness.
"Mo Guan Shan!" he called out with all his might, and with all the anger, fear, worry and frustration laced along with it. He whispered between clenched teeth, "I swear to the gods if I see you I'm gonna fucking ruin your face."
It's better than finding a corpse. Killing him would be better than losing him just like that, without knowing why he would suddenly disappear when they were having so much fun the day before.
What would he do in that situation? Who would he kill just to vent his anger and pin the blame, when the fault was his in the first place?
He went down the stairs and ran back towards Rica's house to get help. Morning wasn't that far ahead but with Mo Guan Shan, with every ticking second of him out of sight was something to be afraid about.
He Tian was aware of his own paranoia. But with all these fucking persistent rain and a storm that has no sign of stopping, his mind was bound to think of the worst possible scenario.
He bit his lip and felt warm water on his cheeks. Choking back a sob, he ran as fast as he could.
***
Strong, rough hand squeezed his shoulder and shook him out of sleep.
Startled, Mo Guan Shan quickly raised his head and squinted at a person standing in front of his own crouched figure. This person was carrying a flashlight trained on the ground next to him, avoiding his face. He remembered He Tian warning him about directly pointing a flashlight on a person's face because folks find it rude.
"What are you doing here, Shan?" the old man asked in English. A dog whined as it stuck close to its owner's heels so the man shone his flashlight on it. "He's a friend, Kabang. Good girl."
"Uh, I. . . I got lost," Mo Guan Shan answered and rubbed his eyes. So he fell asleep while crouching on the ground and he's still feeling sluggish and extremely cold.
"Is that so," the man said without asking another question. "Follow me, okay?"
He stood up and silently followed the old man who was dragging a rope attached to a carabao that was silently munching on carabao grass. They walked for a short while, the man deliberately slowing down his pace for him to follow close enough, until they arrived in a familiar house. Mo Guan Shan almost smiled at the coincidence. The first time he came here, it was also at dawn, just the other day.
"Get inside first," the old man, Rica's father, said with a grin. "Dang! Dang! Daniella, honey! Please prepare a clean towel!"
And then he smiled at Mo Guan Shan, "I'm just gonna tie Hidalgo to the barn, okay?"
"Thank you, sir," Mo Guan San said and the man just smiled and nodded. The dog followed the owner eagerly, as if they didn't just arrive together.
"Oi, why are you suddenly spokening dollars so early in the morning eh? Sus, suddenly calling me "honey" after all these years when I'm way past my menopause!" Rica's mother called out from inside but she was already on the move and fussing around. There was already smoke in the kitchen, a sign that she's been awake and preparing breakfast. "Practicing for those handsome youngsters? You'll get along just fine with body language, if I say so myself."
"Just hurry up or else, we'll be down to just one youngster and one corpse if you don't come out here immediately!" the father answered calmly from the back of the house.
"Whaaat?!"
A window opened and Rica's mother peeked out, face obviously panicked.
"Dios mio kang bataa ka!" she hollered in shock. She disappeared inside for a short while, bolted out the front door and appeared in front of Mo Guan Shan, wrapping him with a thick blanket, and then dragged him onto the front porch. "Sit!"
Mo Guan Shan immediately sat down. A fluffy towel that smelled brand new was gently placed on his head and Rica's mother's hands massaged his hair to quickly dry it off. He closed his eyes, imagining that time when he was younger, back when his mother would do the same thing for him.
"Let's talk about what happened but first, take off your clothes while I prepare something for you to wear," she said, her tone gentle but stern. She would take no for an answer so Mo Guan Shan followed her inside and went inside a room that she pointed with her lips. It wasn't a bedroom, maybe a storeroom but clean and devoid of dust.
Once inside, Mo Guan Shan sniffed as his eyes began to water, but continued on stripping down his wet clothes. He bit back his sobs in fear that once he started crying, he might just bawl like a lost child until he falls asleep.
"Are you done now?" Rica's mother asked, this time her coaxing voice sounded motherly, as if she's talking to a little child. "I'll put the clothes right here, near the door, okay? These are Rica's clothes for when she sleeps over, but I chose the baggy ones so they might as well fit you just fine."
Mo Guan Shan opened the door and reached out to retrieve the clothes. The top was a knitted sweater that was too big even for him and the pants were a pair of comfortable cotton. The underpants were new, still had the tags, which made him wonder. Maybe it's for the old man.
He came out to the living room and Rica's mother and father were sitting on the varnished bamboo chairs, waiting for him to explain himself. They each had a steaming cup of coffee.
"I'm so sorry for the disturbance I caused," he said, lowering his head.
"Never mind that, Shan. What were you doing out there at this time of night? Were you out that long?" Daniella asked, her face serious. She pushed a mug of warm milk across the table and nodded for him to take it.
"To be honest, I don't know why, myself."
"Did you fight with Tian? Did he hurt you?"
He gently shook his head, eyes beginning to water again.
"I was upset, he didn't have any idea, and then I ran out without him noticing," he answered between sobs. "He would never hurt me. It was just. . . I don't know why I'm like this."
"Shh, it's all right," Daniella whispered, immediately by his side and rubbing his back with those surprisingly heavy hands. "Some boys can be so tactless and you have the right to be upset at He Tian. He can be an asshole sometimes."
"I found him asleep, all crouched down like a lost kid in the middle of the rain," Rica's father, Rico, told his wife. Apparently he was heading off to the field to stay there in his nipa hut and till the land once the sun came up. But now he had to return because of what happened."If it wasn't for Kabang, I wouldn't have found him. I called him so many times but he's not answering so I had to shake him awake."
"Dios mio, child. Thank goodness nothing happened to you! What if you wandered too far and fell off the cliff? Or tumbled down a slope? What if you wandered down the river?! With this kind of rain, the river must have been too big, oh my god, I shiver at the thought!" She quickly crossed herself and clasped her hands in silent prayer.
"I'm sorry. I was just so caught up with my emotions that I forgot to be rational."
"Shan, it's all right to be upset. He Tian has this mean streak about him and we're aware of that, but running away in such bad weather conditions will only complicate things. If you only managed to wait until the sun's up and you went out to sulk, came here or to Rica's house to hide, we would gladly help you and He Tian would surely leave you alone until you've calmed down. And even if he won't, once you're with us, he'd be too polite to force you out. So he will just have to wait until you show yourself out."
Mo Guan Shan listened to the old people as they chewed his ears out but he's not upset at all. They've barely known him but they're taking his side and it made him feel a little bit at ease.
"Next time, if He Tian makes another blunder, come here and we'll adopt you for as long as you like. Just don't wander off at night, okay? Please, you must promise!"
Mo Guan Shan promised. He smiled and let Daniella hug him so tight. Rico just smiled, nodded, and smiled again as he sipped his coffee.
"Oh, you poor thing."
These people. Will they treat him the same if they find out about his embarrassing secret?
* * *
Notes:
Dios mio kang bataa ka! - "My god, you child!" ; usually uttered when alarmed/surprised with a hint of anger and fear. Like a mother relieved but angry at the same time, but thankful that the kid was safe and sound. Filipino mothers are kinda tsundere.
Kabang - spotted. Common name for Filipino dog, like Whitey, Blackie, Brownie. And then there's Kabang. Haha.