Darkness loomed over the ocean as Jessica walked barefoot along the shorelines of the island. The moon shone brightly above her head and the stars scattered randomly across the sky, yet in an organized manner. Jessica took small steps as she dragged her feet athwart the layers of sand on the beach. With her hands behind her back and her eyes wide open, the blonde girl started to search for Tiffany, the girl who started all the confusion she was experiencing throughout the day.

“Where could she be?” Jessica asked herself as she continued to tread along the shore. “Did… did she really… just disappear?”

After walking calmly for minutes, Jessica finally realized that there wasn’t anything to be relaxed about. The one person she trusts, the one person who believed in her, and the single person she loves more than herself could possibly be gone because of her careless actions.

Jessica legs caved in and she fell backwards on the sand. She grasps her head with her hands tightly in frustration and kicked the air with her legs.

“I’m so stupid! Why the heck did I have to do that to her!” Jessica blamed herself.

Suddenly, Jessica stopped. She let go of her head and sat up on the ground. Her eyebrows met each other as a sudden thought changed her way of thinking.

“She got mad at me… and it was my fault…” Jessica started to utter. “But that girl… she… she kissed her… she kissed her right after we fought…”

Jessica stood up at the thought of betrayal and she clasped her fists tightly, slightly getting angered at the idea.

“Why am I looking for her anyway? I… I shouldn’t be asking for her forgiveness… She… she should be the one apologizing to me… shouldn’t she?”

Jessica sat back down again. Once more, her mind was in a state of confusion. She didn’t know what to do, what to say, and she didn’t know how her tangled up world will all end up.

“But… if I didn’t… if I didn’t force her to do the things she did… then she wouldn’t have run away… and she wouldn’t have… kissed… AAAAAHHHH! Why is this so confusing!?” Jessica yelled out. “Why did things end up like this? We were living so well, and then all this happened. But, who is there to blame? Is… it… my fault?”

Yet again, Jessica, almost more often than not, lay back on the ground, grabbed her head, and flailed her legs in frustration. “Should I, or should I not?” Jessica kept asking herself. She didn’t really know if the wrong she did was worse than what Tiffany did, or if it was the other way around.

She spent some time contemplating whether she should continue looking for Tiffany, or if she should just give up on their relationship.

And of course, knowing that Tiffany was the only girl in Jessica’s heart, at least as far as she knows, she wouldn’t just let her go like that.

“It is your fault Jessica,” she told herself. “You hurt her heart… and… and she probably just lost control of herself,” Jessica tried to rationalize.

The girl sprung up on her feet and decided to continue to look for Tiffany within the territories of the island.

“Tiffany! Where are you?!” Jessica shouted at the top of her lungs as she walked aimlessly along the shore. “I… I need to talk to you! I’m sorry! J…just come back… please…”

All of a sudden, Jessica’s screams became weaker and her voice shook and was unstable. Tears started to form in her eyes, then she finally burst in tears.

“I… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have done what I did… I’m sorry…”

No matter what Tiffany did, whether small or big, good or bad, she knew deep inside that she could handle whatever it was. Her love for the girl was stronger than the grudge that was temporarily set in her heart. She knew deep inside that she couldn’t get mad at her. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to resist Tiffany. And now, she didn’t have to worry about any of those things, for the girl she had always loved was now gone. And without her control over her dreams, there would be little chances of finding Tiffany in this vast space they call dreamland.

Or at least that’s what she thought.

“Jessica?” A familiar voice suddenly called out from a distance. “Is that you… Jessica?”

Jessica responded to the call and sat up, her eyes wide with high expectations. The voice was coming from behind her and she wasted no time to find out from whom the voice was from. She turned her head towards the other direction, and true enough, a person was standing a few steps behind her.

“Jessica?” The girl repeated once more.

Though it was a dark and gloomy evening, Jessica was able to set her eyes on the face of the girl who was calling out her name. After scanning the girl’s face quickly, Jessica immediately recognized who it was. And as soon as she realized who it was, she instinctively got up on her feet and ran towards the girl. Her feet were moving on their own as she made her way towards the girl who was causing all the confusion in her head.

In a flash, the two girls were face to face. Jessica looked into the other girl’s eyes and then suddenly pulled her by the arms, their bodies against each other. Then, she put her arms around the girl’s back and hugged her tightly. At that moment, she uttered the words she had been keeping to herself for the past few hours.

“Tiffany…” Jessica started to confess. “I’m… I’m sorry… I know that… it was my fault…. I never wanted to hurt you… and… It was wrong of me to do something like I did... I… I’m sorry… W… would… would you… forgive me?”

Jessica found it hard to believe but the girl she was embracing really was Tiffany. It was a good thing that she was at the right place at the right time or they wouldn’t have been standing in front of each other.

Tiffany, on the other hand, instead of responding with an “I forgive you” or an “I’m sorry too” or anything along those lines, replied with tears. She didn’t need words to express how she felt. She started crying her heart out immediately after Jessica finished speaking. Every tear that ran across her face and dampened Jessica’s shoulder was filled with her regrets and her apologies. She too felt sorry for what happen and she knew that she was at fault as well.

Tiffany found it hard to speak as she was caught up with her tears, but at the moment, words weren’t really necessary. Jessica knew Tiffany’s feelings and thoughts and it didn’t need to go any further.

Then, without even realizing it, Jessica, following Tiffany’s lead, burst in tears as well. The two girls have already forgiven each other while only saying a few words. They mutually understood one another’s feelings. They felt the each other’s sincerity as soon as their tears started to fall.

The two continued to embrace and cry for a few more minutes after finally running out of tears. Both of them lay down on the ground and they stared up at the stars. And after wiping their tears away, they began to talk and clear things out.

“I thought… I thought that you were already gone,” Jessica started to say. “I thought that you left me already. I… I would never be able to forgive myself if that happened.”

“Jessica,” Tiffany replied as her hands crept on the sand towards Jessica’s. “Stop blaming yourself. It… it wasn’t your fault. Well… not all of it. But don’t be too hard on yourself. And stop thinking that I would leave you just like that. I wouldn’t do it for the world.”

Jessica tilted her head in Tiffany’s direction and flashed a smile. Tiffany did the same and they clutched each other’s hands tighter.

“By the way,” Jessica uttered.

“What is it?”

“A while ago…” Jessica continued.

“Yes?”

“That girl…”

“What girl?” Tiffany asked, taken aback by the sudden statement of Jessica.

“Why did you kiss her?” Jessica blurted out.

“W…what?” Tiffany exclaimed as she took her hand away from Jessica’s.

“Why did you kiss that girl?” Jessica repeated as she sat up.

“I… I… what are you talking about?” Tiffany tried to defend herself as she sat up as well.

“Don’t act like you don’t know! That girl you were with before the sunset, why did you kiss her?! Who is she anyway? Is she that ‘new friend’ you made?”

“Y… you saw that?”

“Yes I did! Now answer my question! Why did you kiss her?!”

“Why are you being like this?” Tiffany asked back as she stood up in frustration. “You were apologizing and even crying a few minutes ago, and now you’re shouting at me? What’s wrong with you?”

“Don’t try to change the subject Tiffany! Just ans–!”

“I didn’t kiss her!” Tiffany shouted. “She tried to kiss me, but I didn’t kiss her! I didn’t kiss her! Are you happy now?!”

Tiffany’s heart was once again aggravated and she couldn’t handle seeing the angered face of Jessica. She walked away from Jessica for the second time in the day, stomping her feet with every step, releasing her stress and grudge on the sand beneath her feet. And once again, Jessica was left dumbfounded.

“You didn’t… kiss her?”

Jessica, for the hundredth time, fell flat on her back and grabbed her hair in frustration. It had only been barely five minutes since the two girls made up and now they’re back in their quarreling phase.

“Why are you so stupid Jessica?” The upset, blonde girl asked herself as she tugged on her hair to release some of her stress. “You could’ve asked calmly, but you just had to shout at her didn’t you? You didn’t even have to ask! You barely found her, and now you lost her again! How stupid can you get Jessica?”

Jessica continued to shout at herself for minutes until she realized she had to find Tiffany, or she’ll be lost once more.

Suddenly aware of the situation, Jessica jumped up on her feet and once again, walked on the shorelines of the island’s beach, screaming Tiffany’s name at the top of her lungs.

“Tiffany!” Jessica desperately yelled out, her hands cupped along her lips. “I know you won’t listen, but just hear me out! Please! Tiffany! I… I don’t want to lose you again…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“What’s wrong with that girl?” Tiffany asked herself as she continued to walk as far away from Jessica as she possibly can. “She… she was all lovey-dovey and apologetic a few minutes before, then she suddenly gets mad at me again?”

After walking for a while, Tiffany suddenly stops.

“Oh no! Not you again,” Tiffany exclaimed irately.

Right in front of Tiffany was the end of the shorelines of the beach, and a path leading to the forest.

“I don’t want to go in there anymore,” Tiffany muttered as she leaned her on a gigantic chunk of rock to rest. “I’m really tired. I can’t afford to go in there and get myself all dirty, scraped, and exhausted again.”

Tiffany’s bottom slid down the rock’s side and she was soon sitting down on the sand, with her back against the smooth surface of the rock.

The moon was still up, but the stars were starting to get covered by thick, heavy clouds. The atmosphere was silent and all that could be heard was the rustling of the leaves on the trees and the swooshing of the spine-chilling wind.

“Ahh! I just can’t seem to get her off my head!” Tiffany spoke as she rubbed her arms for warmth. “But… did she really see that? Me… kissing… No, no, no. We didn’t kiss... but maybe she thought otherwise,” Tiffany continued to reflect. “But that’s no reason to shout at me and be mad isn’t it? I mean, she could’ve just asked calmly… But if I were in her position, would… would I do the same? But then again, this can’t go on between us is she keeps on having these fits.”

The wind started to get colder and the stars kept on disappearing from sight as the night grew older. Tiffany was still sitting on the ground with her back against a rock, contemplating on what to do.

“Why is this so confusing?!” Tiffany shouted out. “Does she really care about me? Does she want to hurt me? Does she want to see me like this? Or… does she want to protect me?” Tiffany asked herself continuously. “But… if she saw me at that sunset… then… it means she followed me all the way from the waterfalls doesn’t it? And… did she get mad because she was jealous? Does… it mean that she really wanted to protect me? That she cares for me? That she loves me?”

As Tiffany asked herself the last few questions, she couldn’t help but be speechless. After thinking about it for a while, she realized what she should have done and what she shouldn’t have.

“It really wasn’t her fault we got into a fight,” Tiffany thought. “I’m the one at fault. I shouldn’t have overreacted.”

As Tiffany was starting to blame herself, much like Jessica, the clouds continued to get thicker and the sky started to grumble.

Tiffany looked up at the sound of a brewing thunderstorm and briefly forgot about what was on her mind previously. Then, as her eyes were on the pitch black sky, a raindrop came crashing down her face. It traveled across her cheek, down to her chin, then finally on her clothes. After that, a few more droplets fell from the sky. Tiffany realized that it was about to rain, and she headed under the nearest tree she could find.

“Great. Just great,” Tiffany uttered sarcastically. “What a perfect way to end the day. Could it get any worse than this?”

Just as Tiffany sheltered herself under a banana tree, just a few steps away from the beach, a bright and thick lightning bolt struck the beach and an overwhelmingly loud thunder followed right after.

It was true that Tiffany found the perfect shelter just in time. The banana tree was not that tall and it’s long and wide leaves covered her perfectly. But the one thing that’s scares Tiffany besides the water is the combination of thunder and lightning. She was only a bit scared with the few occurrences of thunderstorms that happened before, but it was because Jessica wasn’t by her side. And now, she’s all alone, in the dark, in the rain, without anything or anyone to cling to as refuge.

“Why does this keep happening?” Tiffany complained as she curled her body up, leaned against the trunk of the tree, and shivered in cold and in fear. “I… I’m really… I’m really scared right now.”

“Tiffany!” A voice suddenly screamed out. “Tiffany! Where are you!? I know you’re scared right now, so it would be better if you come out!”

“Jessica?” Tiffany uttered as her eyes widened in surprise.

“Tiffany! I’m really sorry! Can’t we work this out!?” Jessica continued to yell. “I… I need you Tiffany! Please! Just come out!”

Tiffany took a peek from behind the tree, and true enough, Jessica was there, walking aimlessly on the wet sand, drenched in rain and somewhat in tears.

“It is Jessica!”

Tiffany was about to get up from where she was, but something, or rather, someone stopped her.

“Tiffany,” another familiar voice called out from the opposite direction. “Don’t do it.”

“Oh. I-it’s you. Wh-what are you doing here?” Tiffany asked after recognizing the person. “I-I thought you already left.”

“I’m not going to leave you,” the girl replied with a deep, low voice. “But she probably will,” she continued as she fixed her gaze on Jessica, who was still clueless to what was happening behind the tree.

“What are you talking about? She’s right there, not caring about herself, soaking herself in the rain just to find me.”

“You’re actually falling for that?”

“Call me a fool, but I want to be with her,” Tiffany arrogantly told the other girl as she stood up, aiming to go towards Jessica.

“Listen to me!” The girl said as she grabbed Tiffany’s wrist. “She’s just going to leave you! She doesn’t love you! She just needs someone to vent out all her stress on! Do you want to be that girl?”

“Let go of me!” Tiffany cried out, struggling to free herself from the other girl’s grasp.

“I need to take you away from her,” the girl told Tiffany as she dragged the helpless damsel deeper into the forest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Tiffany!” Jessica continued to scream as the rain kept on to torturing her. “Please! Please just listen to me! Hear me out this once!”

Jessica reached the end of the shores and she finally turned hopeless. And for probably the last time, she crumbled to the ground and burst in tears.

“Why do I keep on hurting her?” Jessica asked herself as her tears and the rain flooded her face. “Why do I keep on getting mad?”

“Let go of me!” A voice from the nearby forest echoed out. “Where are you taking me?!”

Jessica heard the screams and she momentarily stopped her tears from flowing. She turned her face to the direction where the screams and shouts were coming from and opened her eyes wide. Not clearly recognizing the person whom the cries were coming from, she stayed put, not knowing what to do.

“Jessica!” The anonymous girl finally bellowed. “Help me!”

“Tiffany?”

As soon as Jessica heard her name, she recognized the voice to be Tiffany’s. And without wasting any more time, she pushed herself off the ground and scampered towards the forest area where the noise was coming from. She shoved a couple of leaves and branches along the way as she ran deeper into the forest. But finally, she caught up with Tiffany and the girl who was pulling her.

“Let go of her!” Jessica ordered as soon as she had a clear view of the two girls. “Let go of her right now!”

“Jessica!” Tiffany screamed back, with much hope in her voice.

The mysterious girl was briefly kept speechless with the surprising appearance of Jessica.

“I said let go!” Jessica ordered once more.

But as soon as she took a step closer to the girls, a loud knocking echoed through the whole area. All three girls stopped what they were doing and they turned their heads everywhere to see what it was, where it was coming from.

“What was that?” Jessica thought.

Then, the sound reverberated once more, even louder. This time, Jessica didn’t bother to find out what it was, and she took advantage of the confusion. But as she took another step, everything suddenly turned white.

“Wh-what happened?” Jessica uttered as her eyes adjusted to the new atmosphere.

She took a look around after rubbing her eyes with her hands and what she saw killed her hopes of seeing Tiffany again.

“I’m… awake.”