Episode 2 Chapter 2 - Ashley - My Cofession

Well, the kid went home but we still haven't finished our ice creams. So we sat on the bench, side by side, finishing each others cone. The locket was in Zale's hand, tightly gripped. I was halfway through my ice cream when Zale asked me a sensitive question.

"He was you boyfriend?" he asked.

"The kid?" I acted innocent.

"The guy from last night." Zale said and looked at me.

"Oh.." I let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Ex-boyfriend, really. Now he's going to tell everyone bullshit about me."

Zale stopped licking his ice cream. "What makes you say that?"

I stopped too and lifted my head. The sky was blue and the clouds were covering the sun. It was a nice weather to go out for a walk. Then I turned to face Zale who was already facing the ground.

"He did that to all the other girls he dated before." I said.

"Then what made you accept him in the first place?" he asked again.

"Because he . . ." I stopped. Why did I accept him in the first place? Even I couldn't answer that. I knew how foolish I was back then accepting his request but I didn't care. Now I am all heartbroken and he will just fish for another girl.

"I'm sorry." Zale said again.

I finished my ice cream and sunk my head into my palms. "What now Zale? How do I show my face at school?" Tears started to collect in my eyes.

Zale tapped my shoulder. I raised my head with my eyes closed and inhaled. Then, I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"You're a strong girl. You can do it." Zale stated confidently and smiled.

"But . . . What if I let it all affect me?" I asked desperately.

"Then I'll be there for you."

Episode 2 Chapter 1 - Ashley - Locket

The next day, I went to school like how normal teenage girls would. When I stepped out of my house gate, I saw Zale watering some plants while whistling. His house was two houses away from mine. After a few seconds of staring, Zale looked up and saw me. I had no idea what to do so I just waved my hand. Zale smiled and waved back. Then he opened his gate and walked towards me.

"You're going to school?" Zale asked.

"Yeah!" I replied half excitedly

"Can I come with? My dad asked me to take care of some things with the teachers there."

 "Oh sure, why not. It's always great to have a company" i said and smiled.

"Great! Wait here, I'll take some documents." He went inside his house and grabbed some documents next to his house door.

"Okay. Let's go." he said when he came back.

Both of us strolled down the path to school. Of course, first we have to go to Dean Enright Station and take a train from there to school. Zale was walking right beside me. Although I just met him yesterday, he's the kind of guy that has the warmth of hospitality and I'm kind of glad we made friends.

"You slept well last night?" he started.

"Yeah, all thanks to you . . . How long?" I asked

 "Pardon?"

"How long were you there, watching me?" I said painfully.

"Long enough to see him leave you in the rain."

I was silent mostly because I didn't know what to say. Zale - a total stranger whom I didn't know before - helped me in my weakest time. That's seriously something to be pondered about. We were walking in awkward silence as we pass through a park. Suddenly, a kid - not more than 7 - came upon us crying.

"Waaaaaaah!!"  the kid cried

Zale knelt down and asked "What's wrong?"

"My mom! She left me! Waaaaaaah!!" the kid cried again

"Hey, it's alright. We'll find your mom soon enough, okay?" Zale said and made a promising smile. That obviously got the kid's attention because he kept quiet after that.

"Come on, let's buy you an ice cream." Zale ensured the kid again that he'll be alright and went to an ice cream stand. Then, he signaled me if I wanted any ice cream or not. Of course I said no, but he still bought three ice creams and gave one to the kid. Both of us agreed to stay and wait for the kid's mom to arrive. So we sat on a bench. Zale handed me a blueberry ice cream he bought. I whispered a thank you to Zale.

Shortly after that, the kid's mom arrived. He hugged her so tight, we didn't really have any doubts about the woman being his mom. She thanked us and offered some money as a token of appreciation but Zale quickly declined. Then, the kid stepped up towards Zale.

"Big brother! Thanks for finding my mom! Here, have this!" the kid said and handed Zale some kind of a locket. Zale hesitated at first but took it as the kid insisted.

The woman thanked us again and departed with her smiling kid. Zale opened the locket to find a slip of paper under a glass slide. The words Mar and Ed were written on the paper separated by a thin line.

"Mared?" Zale looked at me in confusion and I returned him the same look.

Episode 1 - Ashley - On Rainy Days

My tears dripped down my cheeks and flushed away by the rain. The lights on the park were still on. There I was, wet and insecure. With my heart embarrassed by the hurtful truth. I was nothing to him. All this time he has been cheating on me and I was a fool not to notice. I was still standing pathetically with my head facing the ground. I still couldn't bear the truth. More and more tears just kept flowing down my cheeks. Then I saw a foot stepping right in front of mine. The rain stopped. I looked up expectantly but it wasn't him. Instead it was some stranger I've never met before holding an umbrella over my head.

"You shouldn't be here in the rain." he said.

I purposely pushed myself forward and hugged him tight before bursting into tears. I expected him to shove me off and call me a freak or something but he didn't. Instead, he just stood there and held his ground. I cried myself out over his shoulder, a total stranger whom I have never met before in my life. When the tears finally stopped, I slowly raised my head back and he let me go.

"Better?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. I. . . I don't know. . I'm sorry" I said.

"Hey. Look at me." he said. "It's alright. You're not alone now."

I just kept quiet. His kindness made me suspicious. No one would be this nice towards someone they just met. It's just unnatural.

"I'm sorry. Ah, my name. It's Zale." he said.

"Zale?" I repeated.

"Zale Serra" he nodded.

I sniffed my tears. "I'm Ashely." I said dumbly.

Then, he took something out of his pocket. It was a piece of cloth and he offered it to me. I declined softly. So, he used it himself to wipe the remains of my tears on my cheeks.

"He doesn't deserve your tears, Ashley. Because if he does, then he won't be making you cry." he said and smiled sweetly. Then, just like magic, the rain stopped.

"Oh. I guess there's no use for this now." he said and closed his umbrella. Then he looked at me again only to find my eyes looking at his.

"Thanks. For um, being here" I said embarrassed. "So um, where are you from?"

"New Jersey. I just moved here. My dad arranged everything and I just followed him." he said.

"Oh, so where do you go to school"

"My dad said something about Arizona High School. You know where that is?"

I took a sigh of relief. "We're schoolmates now". I said and smiled for the first time that night.

"Then I shall see you next week." he said. "If I'm not mistaken, the school system here is from Monday to Saturday, right?"

"Yeah but for this week, there's no school on Saturday since it's President's Day." I said knowingly.
He giggled which made him look cute. Then he offered his presence and walked me home. I thanked him again and we parted for the night.

Later I was lying on my bed, thinking. 'What just happened?'