it settles down after they get past the bridge.
freen can feel how charlotte's trying to help by ambling down the trail and encouraging her to take pictures of the forest. it was effective because soon after, freen gets engrossed with getting good shots.
because of that, they stay on the trail longer. they even bought a banana roti from a vender along the way because it reminded freen of emily. she knows they won't be able to catch up with becky and her family as they were way ahead of them.
but boy, she was wrong.
because at the end of the trail awaits a troubled-looking mew, pacing back and forth. not far from him is becky sitting on a log, palms on her face. kade and her mom trying to comfort her.
freen meets mew's eyes. he gestures for her to come over to becky, which freen does with no hesitation. the moment becky feels her presence, the woman stands up and grabs her quickly in a tight hug.
"freen..." becky sobs, burying her face in freen's shoulder.
confused, freen hugs the woman back and taps her back gently. kade and becky's mom both look worried. freen glances around one more time and realises that one person is missing.
"where's emily?" she asks. becky clutches the back of her shirt.
"she... she went... ran ahead of us..." says kade. "we can't find her after."
"what?"
"maybe she got lost on the track and went the wrong way?" says charlotte.
"the rescue team is already looking for her," says becky's mom. "they advised us to stay and wait here."
"what if... what if they won't?" asks becky, sobbing. "and the wild animals, freen... what if something happens to her...?"
"shh..." freen cups the back of becky's head. "she'll be fine... they'll find her..." she shifts her eyes at mew, who's still looking away, jaws clenched.
she sighs, focussing back on becky. "maybe you should sit again so you can calm down?"
becky nods and pulls back. freen guides her to sit back on the log. but the woman doesn't have plans of letting her go, wrapping her arms around freen's waist. freen feels awkward, not sure if it's okay for them to be like this in front of the others.
kade gives her an assuring nod. "let her be. she needs you."
freen briefly remembers charlotte. but she's too busy to mind that. she crouches on the ground and looks up at becky.
"hey..." she wipes becky's tears with her thumbs. "they'll find her. i'm sure of that. i'm sure she hasn't gone that far."
becky just looks at her, her chest heaves as she struggles to breathe.
freen couldn't stand the sight. she pulls the woman to her chest. becky's body softens in her embrace. kade comes to rub becky's back.
an unusual flock of birds suddenly flying over them catches freen's attention. she traces back where the flock came from, which seems to point in the middle of the forest.
"i think i know where emily is..." she pulls away frombecky.
"where are you going?" asks becky grabbing freen's arm when the latter stands to her feet.
"i'm bringing your daughter back." freen looks up at the sky. "those birds came from that direction. something or someone might have bothered them."
"but you can't go there alone," says becky.
freen smirked. "guess what, i can..."
"not in that situation of yours, freen. you might encounter something in there that might trig--"
"i'll worry about that later, bec." freen pulls her hand away. "emily is way more urgent than that."
and before becky can protest further, freen jumps outside the marked trail and strides into the forest's depths.
---
her instincts are right. it didn't take her long to spot emily standing in the middle of the trees, holding a banana roti in one hand.
freen closes her distance only to find emily talking to a small baboon.
"you shouldn't go out here alone," says the kid. "don't you know that it's dangerous here in the forest?"
"where's your mom? you should be with your mom," adds emily, concerned. the baboon sits there in silence, eyes focussed on the kid.
"you should be with your mom too," says freen, startling emily. "you're jumpy like your mom, huh?" she chuckles. "what are you doing here? you'resupposed to stay on the trail, remember?"
emily points at the little baboon. "but i found him walking alone earlier. i thought he got lost. that's why i followed him out here."
freen stands beside the kid, placing an arm around emily's shoulders. "that's a noble act, emily. but your mom is crying now, do you know that? she's worried about you. they even sent men out here to search for you."
emily pouts. "i'm sorry."
"let's go back now, okay?" she pulls the kid, but emily won't budge.
"i don't want to go back yet..." emily's voice cracks.
"why?" freen crouches on the ground. "hey. what's wrong?"
there is a sniff this time. emily's tears are dripping onto the ground. "i don't want to be with them... they're... they're fighting again..."
freen's mouth opens but she can't make out a word.
"they're always fighting lately..." emily sobs. "they're trying to hide it from me... but i know it... i can feel it... i know when they're not okay... and mommy, i sometimes see her crying in her room..."
still not knowing what to say, freen wipes the kid's tears.
"i ran ahead of them because i know daddy's mad at mommy... and i don't want to see them ignoring each other again..."
freen eyes the ground, somewhat feeling guilty. it may have something to do with what happened on the bridge.
"they'll make up soon. don't worry." freen holds the kid in her arms, disregarding how painful it is to say something like that herself. "every marriage goes through struggles from time to time. i'm sure they'll fix it soon, for you."
emily shakes her head. "they've been fighting for a while now... dad always works late... mom always sleeps in my room..."
freen ruffles the kid's hair, trying to comfort her.
"can... can you take me with you instead...?" asks emily.
"hey... it'll be okay. trust me. they're going to--" freen's eyes widen when she sees an adult baboon now standing tall beside the baby baboon earlier, flashing its menacing canines at them.
she hides emily behind her.
the adult baboon barks once, startling them. emily screams.
"don't make eye contact with it!" a male staff with a tranquilliser gun appears behind them. "stand up straight but not threateningly..."
freen nods. she stands up, her eyes on the ground.
another male staff appears. he is clapping his hands. "now, back away slowly, but don't turn your back against it. i'm clapping to encourage them to go away."
"you heard him, emily? let's back away slowly..."
emily nods, and they slowly step backward.
but the baboon still charges towards them. emily screams again.
"shit. shit. shit." freen turns around and carries emily.
"i said don't turn your back against it!"
it's attacking us. dammit!" says freen, running now.
"the food!" says the guy. "throw the food away!"
"huh?" freen remembers the banana roti emily is holding. she throws it to the attacking baboon. this seems to have distracted the little baboon, but the adult one keeps chasing them.
the baboon eventually slams into them. freen and emily roll down the hill a few yards. freen hugs emily to her chest while she digs her shoes in the ground to stop them from tumbling further.
but instead of stopping or slowing down, their speed increases because of the steep landscape. freen slides down the hill with emily in her arms. the momentum makes it hard for her to control the direction they would go.
she knows this isn't good. freen knows it's a dangerous fall. they are sliding down in a haste.so she covers the emily's head with her arms, hoping to protect the kid, hoping for something to stop them now before it's too late.
before it gets more dangerous for them.
the next thing she knew is their bodies ramming hard into a pine tree.
---
freen feels like she's dreaming.she hears voices: worrying, arguing, instructing.she felt people lifting her body to put her into a stretcher. she's getting carried. a little later, mew is flashing a light into one of her eyes.
"brain functions seem normal." he checks the other eye. "but we need to bring her to the nearest hospital to undergo several tests."
she lost consciousness again.
---
she can hear the motorboat engine and the waves of the sea.
she can feel the boat shaking as it glides on the water.
she opens her eyes and glimpses becky, who's sleeping with emily in her arms.
freen felt relieved.
she falls asleep again.
---
she opens her eyes. this time she's in a room -- a very much familiar room.
she thinks she's imagining things again because she can't be in becky's room.
why would she be in becky's room?
but the wedding picture hanging on the wall proves freen isn't dreaming. and seeing the cast from her shoulder down to her left arm proves it further.
'then why did you leave me...? why...?'
freen closes her eyes and massages her temples, hoping to get away from the memory that happened in this very room two years ago.
'why did you leave me, freen...? why did you leave me...?'
she can hear becky's voice and she can feel the pain in it. she looks back up at the wedding photo, and she shakes her head. they look happy. as what freen expects, becky looked beautiful in her white dress. and mew looked dashing in his coat and tie.
there's no point still lingering on what becky told her two years ago. even if they want to be together, they can't. they shouldn't. and emily, she's already in pain because of what's happening between her parents.
freen stands up to collect her wallet and phone from the bedside table. she needs to get out of this house now.
"would you like to eat something first?"
freen jumps at the voice, finding becky's mom on the couch just outside becky's room.
freen bows. "i... i'm sorry. but i've already caused you too much trouble. i need to go now."
"why are you such in a hurry to leave?"
freen can't answer. she tightens her grip on her wallet and phone.
the older lady stands up. "why don't you sit here first so i can get you something?"
"but, ma'am, i'm--"
"becky's at work and won't be back until afternoon. mew's out for a few days to attend a conference. emily's in school. now, would you relax over here?"
knowing there are no other choices left, freen obeys.
---
"the staff said you and emily rolled down the steep and rammed into a tree. the impact broke your shoulder as you were protecting emily in your arms. she had light scratches, but nothing serious. mew checked on you first before rushing you to the hospital. after getting clearance from the doctor, they brought you here."
freen sips the coffee and nods.
"thanks to you. i'm not sure how my family can even repay you for what you've done to my daughter and granddaughter," says becky's mom.
"it's always my pleasure, ma'am. and there's no need to repay me. i'm always happy to help."
the older lady bites the inside of her cheek, thinking. "she's worried sick, you know... she's worried about you."
freen smiles. "emily's a sweet child. she was even helping the baby baboon when i saw her."
"no... i... i didn't mean emily. i was talking about becky."
"oh."
the woman looks out the window and sighs. "i guess some things are unchangeable, huh? because even after all that happened, it's still you, isn't it? and is it still her to you, isn't she?"
freen doesn't answer.
"i'm not mad." the older woman sighs again. "but i'm worried about emily."
"me too, ma'am. i am hoping becky can fix any issues she's having with her husband," says freen. "emily... she knows her parents are fighting. she knows they aren't okay, and it's hurting her."
"tsk." the older woman's shoulders fall. "they had another fight on the forest trail. they tried to keep it low-key, but my granddaughter seemed to have caught up and got mad at them."
"is that because of what happened on the bridge, when becky rescued me?"
"it's not your fault," says the older woman. "mew, he's jealous of the attention becky and emily are giving you. can't blame him. being one of the best surgeons in this district eats up a lot of his time. he rarely gets quality time with his family. he usually goes home after emily's bedtime and leaves even before his daughter wakes up. and the little free time he got for himself is spent seeing his wife worry about you and listening to his daughter talking non-stop about you. i mean, i don't blame it on you, but you understand where he's coming from, right?"
freen nods. "i'm sorry."
"don't be. and again, it's not your fault. i just don't know what to do with those two anymore."
"maybe they'll work on it if they found out emily's already getting hurt?"
becky's mom stares at freen. "and what about you?"
"this isn't about me and becky anymore, ma'am. it's about emily. i know becky would do anything for her daughter's happiness."
the older woman sighs in response.
freen stands to her feet. "i should go now. thank you for taking care of me. please extend my gratitude to becky and her husband."
"can you just at least wait for becky so she can drive you back to the city?"
freen shakes her head. "it's an hour drive to the city, and another hour to get back here. that's too far. i'll just call someone to pick me up."
"but will you be okay?"
"i have doctor friends whom i can talk to about this cast on my shoulder."
becky's mom nods. "will. you. be. okay?"
freen's mouth is hanging opened when she realises what it meant. she forces a smile."i need to. i will be."
---
"so, here are all your things from the island. the camera is here too."
"thanks, charlotte."
"so, how are you feeling? does it still hurt?"
"it's just hard to move, but i'll be fine. i've experienced worse in SAU."
charlotte smiles. "i'm sorry i wasn't around after they brought you to the hospital. my manager called me for an urgent schedule. besides, i don't feel needed there because your ex-roommate never left your side. it makes me think, were you just plain roommates before?"
freen looks down, not planning to answer the question.
"you know what, that's not important." charlotte waves a hand. "i... uh... i want to tell you something..." she hesitates for a moment. "after what happened this weekend, seeing you having attacks and stuff ... i... i felt scared..."
"scared... like scared of my condition...?"
charlotte shakes her head. "you know how bad my reputation is with relationships, right? i never want to commit myself to a serious relationship. it's a distraction. and after seeing you like that, i realised that what you need is someone who will be committed to you, to help you and understand you... i am not ready for that with you yet. i can't be that person for you, freen..."
"i'm not asking you to do that," says freen.
"i know. but let's admit it. eventually, we will need to put a label on this relationship of ours. we can't be fuck buddies forever."
that made freen chuckle. "i understand. thank you for being honest with me."
"but i don't want you to feel bad about yourself. it's just me, you know? i won't be as caring as to how your friends -- or that becky -- are to you. it's not just who i am. i'm sorry, but i don't think i can still do this with you."
there was a slight pinch in her chest which freen covers with a warm smile.
"it's fine. as i've said, i understand. thank you for trying."
"thank you for understanding." charlotte smiles back. "would you still want me to be the face of your hotel even after i chickened out on you?"
"if it still pleases you to do that, i don't see any problems."
"just call me whenever." charlotte steps back and heads to the door. she looks around the room then she smiles. "take care, freen."
freen nods. "take care."