“Kami, can you take me to the beach today?” Faith asked Kami as they stroll through the narrow streets of the village market. Faith came here to explore the small market, as well as, to purchase a few essentials. She has a beige tote ag on her shoulder with a few items she purchased, such as some handmade soaps. She was also lucky enough to find some scented candles that a young villager makes at her home. She also bought a wooden comb that an old man was selling, she didn’t need it – but she just wanted to help out the man. Faith also purchased a few things for Kami and his family as well. She learned a bit about the boy as they talked when they walked around. Kami is the eldest child. He has a younger sister, Lora, who is fifteen, and a younger brother, Dio, who is ten. His mother works in the tea fields, and his father passed away eight years ago. He dreams to study in the city and be successful so he could ring his family to the city as well. Like Kami, Lora can too speak and und
Faith’s ears were ringing. Her vision was getting blurry. Her eyes fixed on the jeep she and Kami were supposed to take back to the resort. Its windshield had blood splattered all over it. The driver’s head was against the steering. Faith didn’t need anyone to tell her that he was dead. They killed him to get to her. They killed an innocent man just to get to her. She slowly blinked as she looked at Kami, who was trying to pull her away, but it felt like her feet were buried in the sand. She couldn’t move them.She was tightly holding on to Mateo’s arm. He was still shooting at the targets, but now he was not standing alone. Several men circled them – they all were shooting towards the targets. “Faith, what are you doing? MOVE!” Mateo yelled at her. She only tightened her grip around his bulgy arm. Mateo glanced at her over his shoulder. He could see the panic and shock in her tear-filled eyes. “Sister Faith, please.” She heard Kami’s cry. She turned around to look at Kami, who had t
Even when Mateo asked the driver to take them to the resort, Faith insisted on going to the hospital first. Mateo repeatedly opposed it. “Mateo, this might get infected if not taken care of. Can you please, stop being so stubborn and listen to me for once? I am already mentally drained, please don’t add to my problems.” She said to him. Mateo heaved a sigh. He realized that she is not going to let this go, so he dropped it and let Faith ask the driver to take them to the hospital. The village has two small hospitals. The Bianchi and Ricci families built both. Before these two families intervene in the matters of this island, there was not one operating hospital, school, or pharmacy for the villagers. These families came in and built the essentials for them.The hospital wasn’t crowded when they reached. The driver was also operating as Mateo’s bodyguard and he was by his side along with Faith. Mateo didn’t have to wait for his turn, he was taken into the room where his wound was take
“Why did you lie to me, Faith? Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you caused me?” Ethan spoke to Faith through the phone. Faith’s shoulders sunk when she heard the disappointment in his voice. Mateo stood in the corner of his room, watching her lower her head as she had his phone pressed to her ear. She was talking to Ethan through Mateo’s phone – he called Levi and asked him to let Ethan talk to Faith. Both of them, Mateo and Levi, were supervising the phone call. Mateo doesn’t want Faith to give away any unnecessary details to Ethan, while Levi just doesn’t trust Ethan yet. Faith pulled her eyebrows together, “I am so sorry, Ethan, I know I caused a lot of trouble for you. I didn’t know this would happen, or else I would have never dragged you in it. I am so sorry.” She remorsefully replied. Ethan heaved a sigh and glanced at Levi, who was leaning against the wall beside the door, while he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Levi had a pocket knife in his hand, he shuffled
Blaire reached the island sometime after noon. She came directly to the resort where Faith and Mateo were waiting for her. “Shit’s still pretty,” Blaire said once she looked at the ocean over the cliff. She hasn’t been here in years. The last time she came here, she met her husband. Her way to the island was like a sweet throwback for her. She recalled each moment she spend with her husband when they first met. It was a simpler time, even when she was here on a mission, Jeremy’s presence made it all sweetly memorable for her. Faith watched as Blaire looked around the resort. She wore a grey shirt with black jeans and sneakers. She had a plain black cap over her head while she chew gum. “The place looks better, Mateo. Did you renovate it?” She asked him. Mateo stood tall beside Faith. He still had an arm sling strap around his waist while he wore a navy blue button-up shirt over grey pants. Faith noticed how Mateo and everyone that works for him have a very limited and quite similar c
“Steven just told me you will not be returning today. What happened?” Levi asked Mateo over the phone. Mateo sighed and rested his head against the back of the bed, “It’s late. I don’t want to ride a boat at night. I will return first thing in the morning,” Mateo replied. Levi could feel something is off with his friend, but like always he didn’t ask. He knows it is not the only reason why Mateo hasn’t returned yet, “Alright, how is your arm?” Levi asked. Mateo was sitting on his bed, with his back against the pillows. He glanced at his arm, “It is fine.” He replied short. Mateo couldn’t sleep properly all night because his arm was aching. He also didn’t keep around the stitches as the doctor asked him either. He thought he could get it fixed when he return to the city, but since he has to spend another night here – he might as well just clean it himself. There has been a lot on Mateo’s mind lately. He has never been very attentive towards his health and wellbeing, but it just went
“Benji, you didn’t thank Levi for the breakfast and the gifts yet.” Piper reminded her younger brother, who was engrossed by the comic books Levi brought for him when he came to Piper’s apartment for breakfast this morning. Benji was sitting on the round rug in the small living room with the new comic books in his hands – while a big box of legos was sitting well beside the boy. Levi always brings something for Benji whenever he visits. Piper doesn’t know but Mateo also asks Levi to bring something for the boy whenever Levi comes here. Levi brought him the comics, while the legos were from Mateo – but Piper doesn’t know that. She believes both gifts were from Levi only. Mateo doesn’t visit Piper or Blaire’s place, not because he feels they are beneath him, but because he is aware of the danger he brings with him. Benji looked up at Levi and passed him a big grin, “Thank you, Levi!” He shouted in excitement while putting his thumbs up. The boy was more excited about the gifts than th
“It has nearly been a month since Aldo disappeared, Mateo. He has never been gone for so long. I think you already know where he is or what happened to him. Why don’t you come clean, my boy? Or are you playing the old tricks? No matter if you change your last name, you are a Ricci after all.” A member of the Hansen family, Ole, spoke to Mateo. The Hansen’s are one of the allies. They mostly operate in Norway, but with the help of the Bianchi and Ricci families – they have been spreading their connections around the world. Mateo swirl the glass of wine in his hand as he listened to Ole. He didn’t reply to him – instead, he let him and others weigh in on the matter before he adds on. Another member of the allies, one from the Wang family nodded along. “I agree with Ole, here. You need to come clean.” He spoke in his thick accent. “And if you still insist you don’t know then we better move on. Aldo’s disappearance has been causing many issues for us. My shipment has been stuck at the por
A good day came months after. The people of the village finally got their freedom. When that happened, week-long celebrations were held at the village, and all of them were invited, especially, Faith, Mateo, and Kai. It was a joyous occasion. Even when everyone was dreading back where they all spend the worst days of their lives, of course, they went anyway. Hesitant at first, everyone had a great time. Faith had never seen the people of the village have such a festive spirit. It was truly a beautiful week. Faith spends most of her time with her grandmother, Kami, and his family. Benji didn’t want to go with them, but when Kami asked – he couldn’t say no. Lora (Kami’s sister) was there to welcome everyone. Everyone could see how excited Benji got when he saw her. Piper and Kai exchanged a knowing glance. Benji has a crush on Lora. He had it since he came here for the first time. After he returned to the city, he kept in contact with her in one way or another. Faith was happy to see
(One Year Later)Even today when Faith closes her eyes and thinks about her recent past, she can’t truly process it. She can’t believe that so much changed in the past couple of years. From losing her entire family to almost getting killed to find a new family – a new purpose – everything in her life was nothing less than a lesson – a brutal and painful lesson. Currently, she was sitting in a meeting along with Kai and Mateo – but they weren’t the only ones there. The three of them were hosts, while the other distant members of the Ricci and Bianchi clan, a few mafia leaders, and a couple of correspondents from the village were in the room. The debate was on – whether the village/island should be given its independence or not.Faith was sitting in between Kai and Mateo. She averted her gaze to the other side of the room where Kami sat along with a few young faces representing the village. Faith could tell that the young boy was nervous. She shoots him an assuring smile. Kami smiled ba
Kai didn’t say anything in return. He just impassively stared at Mateo before they were interrupted by Faith and Piper’s loud laughter. Both looked at the girls to find that Ethan had managed to pull Levi into the pool. He grabbed Levi’s ankle and pulled him in, making the water splash around and the girls laugh. Mateo heaved a sigh and shook his head as he watched his friend emerge from under the water, not looking much impressed. Noel was standing behind Levi when Ethan pulled him in, he was now watching them two. Ethan laughed and splashed some water towards him with his hand, “What are you doing up there loser? Get in!” Noel shook his head, “No, and you need to come out too.” He looks at all of them, “You all do. It is chilly and the water is cold,” he added. “It is not that cold,” Piper replied. It was because Kai switch on the heater to warm up the water, but that’s mean it was okay to be in a pool on a chilly night under the sky. Just at that moment, Piper sneezed. That was i
Faith and Piper were wasted. If having one drink after another wasn’t enough, they were now drinking straight out of the bottle. “We should go swimming,” Faith slurred a suggestion to which Piper enthusiastically nodded her head, agreeing to it. Before anyone could stop them, an equally drunk Ethan got on his feet and threw his fist in the air, “Hell yeah! Let’s go!!” he yelled out and hooted. Everyone else was so concerned about Faith and Piper that they didn’t even notice just how much Ethan was drinking. These three were completely wasted. Noel was slightly tipsy. Where else, Levi, Mateo, and Kai only had a single drink so they weren’t drunk at all. They decided to stay sober to keep an eye on girls, and well – now Ethan as well. “Excellent,” Levi muttered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He moved to Ethan, who was swinging from one side to another with a bottle of one of the most expensive whiskeys in his hand. Kai glanced at the bottle in his hand. He didn’t
Faith was in her room, changing with there was a knock on her door. Her room was now filled with done and undone boxes. She will be moving out tomorrow and there is so much left to do. But currently, she wasn’t focused on it. She is certain that she will be able to pack before the movers arrive. She was concerned about the dinner party they were having tonight. Faith had already invited everyone and now she was changing for the night. By the knock on the door, she was certain that Mateo has arrived. She quickly picked up the clothes she threw on the floor and put them on the bed before she spoke, “Yes?” The door opened and indeed it was Mateo. He looked good. Fresh and well-rested. It took everyone over a month to get over what happened on the island. The exhaustion and trauma (for some) didn’t leave for days. Mateo was looking like he did when Faith first met him. The difference between then and now is that then he had a hard scowl on his face, and now he was smiling. Then he threw
“Are you all packed up?” Piper asked Faith who came to her room to visit. Faith looked at Piper and smiled. “Yes, almost. Just a few things are remaining to be packed,” she replied. In two days, Faith is moving in with Mateo. For the past week, she has been very busy. She didn’t realize how comfortable she has gotten at Kai’s place, that now that she was winding everything up here, she feels sad to be leaving. When she started packing, she was excited. For her, moving in with Mateo is like a new chapter of her life, but as she proceeded, she realized how uncomfortable yet relieving it is to end this brief, daunting, and challenging chapter of her life. Piper was sitting on the bed, reading, when Faith knocked on her door. She exhaled and smiled broadly at her, “So, are you excited?” She asked. Faith chuckled and sat on the bed beside her, “I am.” She nodded her head, “But I am also nervous. There are so many ifs and buts in my head that I can hardly sleep at night,” she replied hon
“Thank you,” Piper hugged and thanked Faith, before she looked at Mateo, “Thank you both of you. I don’t know what would have happened if it wasn’t for you two. I would have been living on the streets,” she added. “Hey!” “What the hell?” Levi and Kai spoke at the same time. Piper pulled her eyebrows together and looked at both of them. Kai was frowning while Levi stepped forward, “What do you mean you would have been on the streets? Are you kidding me? I would have never let you be on street. Damn, I thought you thought of me as a friend, but boy was I wrong.” Levi scoffed. Where Kai just watched her dumbfounded. She softly chuckled at Levi. “Oh, I would have never bothered you. You already got your hands full,” she told him bobbing her head towards Benji’s room. The door of Benji’s room was open and inside everyone can see Benji and Ethan playing video games. They were so engrossed by what they were playing that they didn’t even notice the people outside looking at them. Ethan and
Kai squinted his eyes. When he was coming out of Piper’s room, he did not expect Faith, Mateo, and Benji right outside – watching him walk out of the room. Their curious gazes made him feel like he was sneaking out of her room after a one-night stand. Mateo was shamelessly smirking at him. Faith was curiously watching him, and Benji had his eyes narrowed at him. Kai cleared his throat and ignored Mateo’s comment and Faith’s question. He was about to tell them that they shouldn’t be so nosy when the doorbell rang. Faith and Mateo pulled their eyebrows together and looked at each other, “Who is here so early in the morning?” She muttered and watched as one of the helpers opened the door. It was Levi and Ethan. “What are you two doing here so early?” Mateo asked with his eyebrows knitted together. Levi didn’t look good. He looked like he didn’t sleep all night. Ethan looked tired as well, but not as exhausted as Levi. Levi glared at Ethan at Mateo’s question. Levi heaved a sigh. His sh
Kai has been inside Piper’s room for an hour. He was now sitting on the floor while she was sitting on the floor as well but she sat by the window. She was watching outside the window while her knees pressed to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. While her eyes were fixed outside, Kai’s eyes were fixed on her. They have been talking for the last hour. No yelling or name was calling. There were no accusations, nor did they completely patch up – they were just talking, which was due for some time now. They fight. They have had sex. They have done everything, but they never get the chance to sit and just talk about themselves. About their insecurities, about their feelings, about everything they bring to each other. Piper last put forward a very interesting point, “Aren’t we toxic for each other? There is just too much we don’t agree on.” She had muttered. Her point was quite simple. She told him that even if Jeremy hadn’t attacked her or anyone else, and even if he was just try