Under the blazing sun, lovely sat on a fallen tree trunk, meters away from the Calderon mansion.

She has been sitting there for nearly five hours, not bothered by the scalding heat from above. The tears won't let up, they fell unashamed and full of regret. She can never blame Esther for all the insult she hurled at her, nor get angry by the slap which left a crimson mark and scratch on her left cheek.

Justified, yes, that was the word. Esther's actions and hate towards her are justified.

For the past nine years, the old housekeeper made it her mission to make her life miserable. Why?

Because...

Lovely released a sigh of frustration. She couldn't bear to remind herself of the words, of how her finger pointed at someone. Someone who was then judged, tortured and mind fucked by the town's people.

Her shoulders convulsed from the ache inside her heart, if only she has the power to reverse the incident nine years ago or take back the words that came out of her sixteen-year-old self, then she would. She would sell her soul to the devil in exchange for fifteen minutes. Because that's all it took. Fifteen minutes from her 16-year-old self's blabbering mouth.

Why did she say those words in the first place, why didn't she keep her mouth shut? But in her defence, it was the truth. She kept telling herself that for nine long years.

It was the truth.

It was the truth.

But it was never meant to stir things the way it did....but it did, and everything spiralled down.

Her life was never the same, her friend's life was never the same. Heck, it drove someone to insanity, and that's what's been tearing her apart. A stinging regret. And now that everything is clear, the regret and guilt dawned on her, darker and ominous than before. The heavyweight on her heart is now a billion times heavier. The claw that settled itself in her young heart is now clutching tighter and sharper.

Realization.

Truth.

Guilt.

They all made a mistake, a mistake so huge it broke someone. And as she sits under the scouring heat of summer, she found herself believing hell has swallowed her whole. She stood up and began to scream. She yelled at the wind, the tree, the fallen leaves, the dry ground, the grass, but no matter what she does, nothing will change.

Her body soon trembled from the pounding of her heart. Eyes wide and wet with tears, she grabbed a patch of her kinky locks and began pulling at it, each pull stronger than the last, but no matter how hard she tugged, the pain failed to overshadow the stabbing guilt inside her heart.

Suddenly, her chest began to ache and compress, obscuring her breath. She took in huge gulps of air as quickly as she could to ease the choking airless sensation, but it only made her dizzy.

Her vision blurred, try as she might, her oxygen-deprived body succumbed into darkness. Falling sideways, head hitting a concealed rock on the earth, Lovely Milluki's consciousness began to fade.

**********************************

The town's police station was never busy. Days where their actual help is needed rarely occur with the exception of minor domestic disturbances from alcohol crazed teens. Every day is a mirror of the day before.

But not today.

The police Chief, Carlos Baldemor now sits inside his office. Guilty eyes glued to his desk, unable to look the old housekeeper in the eye.

It was barely sunlight when Esther arrived in front of his house, banging on his door like a killer out for blood, shouting profanities on his front lawn. But he knew why, oh yes, he knew damn well why. He pictured this scene happening when a call from overseas came at around eight in the evening the day before. It was the boy whom everyone presumed to have died nine years ago, Ramuel Tobias. How the woman found out is a mystery to the chief. He was planning to visit Esther at the Calderon mansion and slowly explain the situation, but it seems, faith has another purpose.

The vein on his temple appeared more prominent due to the pressure he applied to his clenched jaw.

In his head, he tried to find the right words. He constructed sentences after sentences but nothing he came up with could pacify the angry woman before him. So he remained silent.

If looks could kill, the police chief would by now be a puddle of a crimson corpse. Esther gawked at him, her chest heaving so fast she can literally hear her old heart laboriously pumping blood into her veins. They have to pay. They all have to pay. She knew from the start, though failing to convince people. She knew Gen will never harm anyone.

With the exception of her brother's massacre of course. But that's beside the point, she was on a downward spiral when she committed that crime. A crime which took root from them! The Police and that wretched girl along with the townspeople. They are the ones to blame, Esther mused as she continued to glare at the man in front of her.

They pushed Gen too far, they made her lose her mind. They degraded her, humiliated her. Friends turned on her, her lover left her and no one except for Esther gave a second thought about the accusations.

"So, what do you have to say for yourself?" Esther asked sarcastically, her dark orbs fuming with anger, but the man before her remained silent. His lashes loomed over his eyes, hiding his embarrassment from her.

The clock ticked, a minute, then two and three, but still the chief of police with his wounded pride kept his head bent, eyes never leaving his desk.

Out of sheer anger, Esther pushed her chair back and stood up, she slammed both her hands on his desk, "I demand justice" she yelped, but the chief refused to say a word.

She walked around the desk, now standing a few inches from him, she poked hard on his chest with her finger. "You should have done your job properly, you incompetent, self-centred glory-seeking asshole" Esther screamed.

Tilting his head, the man finally locked his gaze with her. Esther immediately saw the tears that's streaming from his eyes. The man is full of regret, Esther can see it. Behind those wet lashes, the man sent her the words he failed to say. Esther took a step back, this time, her eyes gave way to her suppressed emotion.

With her anger subsiding, the tears finally broke. She turned away, walked towards the office door, but before she turned the knob, she left the man with a simple sentence, "make an official statement to the town's people, Gen will come back someday" and with that, the old housekeeper stepped outside.

It was by sheer luck that someone gathering wood came upon lovely's unconscious body. A carpenter by the name of Selias Matti went to the forest earlier that day to gather additional wood for his barn. He was to take the same route from earlier but decided to venture near the Calderon's place.

The trees that grew there are old and dry. He can cut some branches easily. He was on his third tree when he saw a silhouette on the ground about 10 meters from where he stood. Curious, the man walked towards it and almost lost his footing when he saw the dress maker's daughter laying on the ground.

He approached her worriedly, and when he saw blood on the girls head. He carefully picked her up and brought her to the hospital.

The nurse tending to lovely's wound asked the man what happened but he answered her with a shrugging shoulder. "Found her near the Calderon" was all the nurse heard before the man left muttering something about wood and trees.