Gio found the flashlight and batteries among the groceries they bought. Sandy was glued to his side the entire time he was putting the battery on. As much as he finds the situation funny, he couldn’t bring himself to make a laugh out of it. Not when she’s low key shivering, trying her best to fight her fear. He may be a jerk but he is not entirely heartless to revel with the knowledge. He has fears of his own too.

“Come on.” This time he took her hand. There was no mistaking the stiffness in her fingers from the cold. “Damn! You’re freezing faster than I thought.”

“I-I’ll b-be o-okay o-once I-I h-hit the s-shower,” Sandy mumbled in between clenched teeth.

“Right. Lead the way, I don’t know where your room is.”

After a flight of stairs and one turn to the right, Sandy opened the door to her room. Gio was having second thoughts but she didn’t let go of him. She only dropped his hand when she pulled her closet door open to find fresh clothes to change into. He averted his eyes when she pulled one particular drawer open. It didn’t take rocket science to understand what it contains.

“Uh… t-thanks.” She dropped his hand like a hot potato, clothes clutched against her chest.

“You’re welcome. Will you be alright now?”

Her eyes darted around the expanse of her room, taking in the shadows. “I think so. But would you mind if I’ll take the flashlight with me in the bathroom?”

“No. Here.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll be waiting downstairs,” he said as he turned 0n his heels to leave.

“No!” Her hand shot up to grab his arm. He gave her a quizzical look. “I-I…”

For the life of him, he couldn’t explain why his chest constricted upon seeing that scared look on her face. Has her vulnerability triggered something in him? Gio shook his head, mentally berating himself for over thinking.

“It’s okay, go ahead. I’ll be right outside the bathroom door.”

Gio chose to sit on her bed. He felt awkward standing near the door, listening to the water spraying from the shower head. The sound triggered unwanted thoughts popping in his head like popcorn.

Her room was full of knick knacks here and there. One side of her wall was dedicated to scores of picture frames. It displayed Sandy of varying age. He noticed her smiles in every image the camera captured. Books of various genres were piled neatly by the foot of her bed.

Her bag was on the bed, looking like a human’s gut slashed open. A brown bound notebook caught Gio’s attention. Is it a diary? He suddenly grew conscious of his surroundings that made him look around. His curiosity was triggered that he itched to get his hand on that notebook. He wasn’t a nosy guy by nature, he minds his own business but the thing kept on seducing his attention like a woman promising of carnal delights.

Before he changed his mind, his hand came to life and grabbed the notebook on its own. Gio’s chest pounded as he randomly flipped the pages. The handwriting looked pleasing to the eyes. The were elegant and screaming feminine. He wondered if it belongs to Sandy.

The next page silenced his doubts. It looked like a bucket list; some boxes were ticked with red ink while the rest remained blank, waiting for completion.

Gio flipped the pages to get to the first page. And there it was, a name was written. Martha Park. So it’s not Sandy’s. He went back to the page where the list was written and finally noticed a different handwriting at the bottom. 

Goal: To complete Nana’s bucket list before I die. – Sandy Park

That woman-child is a little morbid, Gio thought. He lost interest so he stuffed back the notebook in Sandy’s bag. She’s a little scatter-brained with all the stuff going on so he’s hoping she wouldn’t notice anything.

Gio sauntered towards