Chapter 1: Bad dream

"AHHHHH!" Panting, Jenny woke up from her nightmare. The door opened soon enough and the light in her room was turned on.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sasha approached her friend and sat on the side of the bed. "Did you dream again?"

Jenny nodded softly as she sweated and trembled while hugging her knees. "I was too young, back then. I should've forgotten about it. But why is everything still so clear in my mind? It's so unfair!"

She comforted her crying friend. "If you have no memory of your past, can you give justice to the death of your parents?"

"But that won't bring them back to life!" She growled at her friend and vented her anger on her.

"Are you giving up?" Sasha asked sadly.

She quickly wiped away the tears and shook her head. "No. I've come this far to just give up."

"Good. You are about to carry out your plan of revenge. We’re midway. A little more patience."

Jenny looked up at the friend she had leaned on for a long time. She met with her mother, who she considered her second mother. Those times, she was so lost without any direction to take. They lived in a street too and she was adopted, even though they had no home of their own. "Thank you for always being there."

"Don't mention it." She took the pitcher over to the bedside table and poured water into the glass. "Drink first to calm down."

"Thank you." She said shortly. When Jenny finished drinking, she put it back on the bedside table.

"Go back to sleep. I will stay here with you."

Jenny gave her friend a big hug before going back to bed. She closed her eyes until drowsiness pulled her away. Sasha's presence helped her sleep well.

"Aren't you hungry yet?" Sasha asked her dazed friend who was sitting.

Jenny was recalling the past and only came back to her senses when Sasha came over and sat down next to her. "I'm full."

"You only ate a little. You might get sick." Sasha rebuked her.

Jenny refocused her gaze into the distance and did not reply to Sasha.

"What are you thinking again?"

"Nothing. Just don't worry about me." She replied emotionlessly to Sasha.

Sasha sighed as she stared at her friend's sad face. "Fill your stomach before we leave."

Jenny glanced at the watch she was wearing. They have already planned to leave and go to Manila. A few years had passed since she left the city where she grew up together with Sasha and her mother. She met two who, like her, were also wandering the streets. She had nowhere to go nor a place to live in. But still, God sent her to them and she started a new life.

She thought that she would be able to forget her complicated and painful past forever. But it was like a shadow of her young mind.

She grew up with so much hatred in her heart. Until she planned revenge. And her friend knew her plans.

"Take care. Especially you, Kailani…" Nimfa talked to the two ladies.

Jenny winced from her seat. She was still not accustomed to her new name as Kailani. She watched Sasha's mother who entered the small living room holding the tray containing some bread and a steaming drink.

"Even if you hide from me the real reason for your departure, I know I can't stop you. I will just pray for your safety." Nimfa said sadly when neither of the two spoke.

Jenny and Sasha glanced at each other. Perhaps the old woman heard them talking about the matter.

"Kailani, don't let your anger get the better of you." She sat across them. "God has mercy. I never stop praying that justice will be done for your deceased parents."

"Yes, Mother Nimfa. Thank you for everything." Jenny said gratefully.

"Wait, will we never meet again? Why are you thanking me?" Nimfa joked with the young lady to alleviate her sadness.

Smiling, she took her second mother's hand and squeezed it. "I should say that every day because the time may come when I will lose the opportunity."

"What are you saying, child? You will come back here together still. Do you understand?" She instructed the two.

"Of course, Mom!" Sasha said quickly and hugged her mother. "You know Kailani is always like this. She's just dramatic. Let's eat."

Jenny understood her friend's meaningful glance at her. She just didn't want their mother to worry about them.

"Looks like what you prepared today is delicious, eh?" Sasha changed the subject. "What is this? Farewell party?" Sasha joked with her mother.

"Those are just bread!" Nimfa glared at her daughter.

The two laughed together with the old woman.

"Eat a lot."

"A lot? But there's only four pieces?" Sasha complained to her mother.

Nimfa laughed, followed by the two. They will surely miss such scenes. Even though their lives have been on a roller coaster, they were happy when they were together.

...

"WELCOME back to your hometown!" James's cheerful face greeted Shasha and Jenny.

Only Sasha responded to James’ warm greeting, who picked them up at NAIA. Jenny ignored him and immediately went straight to the car.

"Did I say something wrong?" James asked Sasha in a whisper.

"Jet lag," Sasha said to the young man.

"But I'm telling you, don't dream or even fantasize about her. Zero chance. Believe me."

"Here you go again," James complained to his childhood friend. The three met when they stepped into high school. They also went to college together. They were inseparable, even when they started training for combat.

They were not assassins. They only prepared themselves to fulfill Jenny’s wish to bring justice to the death of her parents. They were friends, after all. One’s fight was everyone’s fight.

"Are you giving up?" Sasha teased the young man when he fell silent.

James flicked Sasha's forehead, which made her frown. "I will not give up because I also have nothing to fight for."

"What a pity. I like you for Kailani. You seem like a good pair." Sasha whispered as she caressed her forehead that the young man's finger had hit.

James shrugged before answering his friend. "But she doesn't like me. What can I do?"

The two went to the parking lot where James parked his car, while continuing the conversation.

"Maybe she's not satisfied with your efforts." Sasha suddenly thought of a reason for him.

The young man sneered and shook his head. "How is it unsatisfying? Huh! You probably know the great danger I face at work for her, don't you?" James replied boastfully.

"Just kidding. You're so serious." The two fell silent when they got into the car where Jenny was already in the backseat. And they remained silent until they arrived at the house where they were temporarily staying.

"Is this place okay with you?" James asked his friends.

"You made a good choice," Jenny replied. "Away from the neighbors, isolated and it seems safe here."

James secretly felt delight even in that simple compliment from her.

"Aren't you having a hard time with your job?" Jenny asked the young man.

"There is no job that is not difficult, Kailani." James joked with her because she was too serious. From the start, he knows everything about her true identity. He just used to call her second name.

"Looks like you're getting used to being with them, eh? What if they get your heart?" Jenny commented on her friend's work.

"I will not turn around. Work is just work." His sincere response to her.

"Good. Just be careful. Once they know your true identity, you only have one place to go to. Cemetery." Jenny said half-jokingly.

James nodded. "I’ll go ahead. They might be looking for me. Just call me if you need anything else."

"Thank you." Jenny thanked James again.

James became more delighted when Jenny smiled at him. It rarely happened that he thought it was impossible.

Exhausted from the trip, Jenny immediately fell asleep even though there was still daylight. But the nightmare of the past visited her again. Dazed, she recalled what happened ten years ago. Even though she was traumatized and did not speak, she could hear the noise around her and could process them in her mind.

"Hey…"

Jenny came back to her senses when her friend tapped her shoulder.

"Why are you so quiet?" Sasha asked.

Jenny looked back into the distance. She was just getting some air on the porch. And she can't help herself from recalling her past. She had always been like that when she was alone.

"Are you thinking about your parents again?" Sasha inquired after sitting in the vacant seat.

"They are not easy to forget."

"I know. But aren't you torturing yourself too much?" She asked Jenny worriedly.

"I'm not complaining." She replied aloofly to her friend. She got like that when thinking of the past.

"But you are sad every time you think of them."

"It's normal for someone who lost her parents, especially in a horrible death," her emotionless reply to Sasha.

"Stop. Let's not talk about them. Anyway, what's our next move?" Sasha changed the subject.

"I want to know if my cousin and Aunt still live in our house."

"Wanna visit them?" Sasha asked her.

"Not today. I still need to prioritize something."

"Is it still part of our plan?" Sasha pestered her with questions.

"It's personal," Jenny said shortly.

"Are you keeping a secret from me?" Sasha asked, upset.

"Of course not. I'll just tell you once I've sorted things out." She quickly explained to her friend.

"Just always remember that your fight is also my fight." Sasha reminded her. She was not used to Jenny keeping a secret from her.

"I will keep that in mind," Jenny replied as if surrendering.

"Anyway, James called."

"What's up?" Suddenly, there was eagerness in Jenny's voice.

"It’s good news. The person you have been waiting for has arrived. Are you ready to face each other?"

Jenny laughed sarcastically. "I have long prepared myself for the day we meet again."

"Yes. You look excited." Sasha joked with her.

Jenny just smiled at her friend. But it was not excited that she felt, but the rise of intense anger at the person who took the life of her parents.