Pagdating ng hapon, napagdesisyonan ng magkakaibigan na pumunta sa spots na sinuggest ni Morriah sa kanila. They were expecting Cara would argue with the idea kaya ikipinagtaka ng boys na hindi man lang ito umangal. Dominique was worried about it dahil nitong nakaraan lamang ay stress na stress na siya sa hindi nasusunod na schedule nila.

Now, it all seemed like she let it all go or maybe it was for the better—but wasn't fully agreed.

"Okay, everyone, here we are now at the Museo de Baler," Rik announced.

They still do wonder kung bakit si Rik ang nag-iikot sa kanila ngayon sa town gayong foreigner ito at may posibilidad na hindi nito alam ang pinagsasabi niya. Hinayaan na lang din nila kompara naman na si Willimar pa ang makasama nila.

Morriah called Rik and gave her a job as a guest experience coordinator. It wasn't part of the plan at all. Giving Rick a chance back to her life in a romantic way was out of the options, but offering him something that could also help him live in the city was humane. She had no bad blood with him. Their relationship just didn't end well. No one cheated. No one came along their way. They were about to get married, but things just went sideways and problems became a hindrance to continuing their love story.

She didn't want to get his hopes up na may babalikan siya sa kanya. What happened before was a memory already and going back to the way it was before could be a problem—not a huge one, but something they won't be able to connect again.

Nang pumasok ang lima kasunod ni Rik ay nagpapaliwanag naman ito sa mga nakikita nila sa paligid. The one thing they noticed that Rik knew what he was telling to them. May nakakilala pang staff sa kanya at sinabing nasa tamanag guide sila. At that moment hindi na alintana sa grupo ang impormasyong ibabahagi ni Rik.

"I would just ass, this isn't relevant to any history you'll find here, but I've got a beautiful history here," Rik said where the group seemingly got interested. "In this area, where I was looking at the coins, someone bumped into me. Can you guess who it was?"

Nagtaas naman ng kamay si Daia na para bang nasa recitation class lamang sila. "It was Morriah."

"Yup," nakangiti sagot ni Rik. They figured he was remembering all the good times he did and this place and they could see all that with the smile on his face. "She was a guest experience coordinator at that moment. Her parents were still alive and people were fond of her. She was so bubbly, kind, and approachable. She was so sorry at that point and invited me to join their group as she noticed I was kind of alone. I went with them and I couldn't stop listening to her."

"You were in love. . ." komento pa ni Alleah. 

He smirked, nodding his head. "Yeah, you could say that. I fell in love at first sight. But, anyway, let's move forward. I just told that part of my history so let's move on with the real history."

"We're more invested in your history," dagdag pa ni Alleah.

Natawa na lamang si Rik habang sinaway siya ng mga kaibigan nito. "We'll get to that point. For now, let's just go around. Baler has a very rich culture and history that's why I fell in love with place as well."

"I think it wasn't the city you fell in love with," sabi pa ni Daia at nakatanggap siya ng masamang tingin sa kapatid.

Napangisi na lamang si Rik. "Well, true. . . Er veranderde nog steeds niets." (Nothing still changed.)

Hindi naintindihan ng grupo ang sinabi ni Rik at hindi rin naman niya ipinaliwanag kung ano 'yon. 

Nagpatuloy ang grupo at naglakad sa hallways kung saan bawat gilid ay may iba't ibang istoryang mababasa at mga old artifacts na kanilang masisilayan. Somehow the group thought it wouldn't be an entertaining trip since they would be listening and looking at all the stuff that they don't care about at some point in their life. Rik made it more interesting for them, especially by telling his story about himself and Morriah which the group appreciated.

"I have to say that I don't really like going to museums," pag-amin ni Daia. "Kenny knows that kaya never pa kami nagkaroon ng Museum Date. I just don't like the vibe where else we could do something interesting? But this is something. . ."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," sabi pa ni Rik. "I hope you will enjoy the rest of our tour here. . . Now, let's go upstairs. I have more to tell and show to you, guys."

Sumunod naman ang lima kay Rik paakyat ng second floor. As expected, Rik started telling more of the history of the things they were all looking at. Napansin din nila na may ibang tao sa second floor. Ikinatakot pa nga iyon ni Cara dahil akala niya may bumubulong na multo sa kabilang kwarto, pero mga turista lang din pala. 

When they find their way to the other room ay palabas na rin ang ibang tao ro'n, pero natigilan sila nang pamilyar na lalaki ang bumungad sa kanila.

"Mando?!" gulat na usal ni Dominique. "Wait! Si Mando ka nga ba talaga?!"

Hindi naman makapaniwala ang lahat na makita ang kaibigan kasama ang pamilya nito. Napatitig pa si Alleah sa kanya at dahan-dahang nagtago sa likuran ni Rik. Napansin iyon ni Rik at mabilis niyang naisip na ang lalaking nakilala nila ngayon ay ang kanyang ex-boyfriend. She was holding on his shirt from the back avoiding to be glanced by him.

"Yup, it's me!" Galak pang sabi ni Mando. "I didn't expect to see guys here."

"Kami dapat ang magsabi niyan sa 'yo!" sabi pa ni Kenny.

Napakamot na lamang sa ulo si Mando. "Yes, it was unexpected as well. I'm with my cousins. Sila ang nag-suggest na dumaan kami ng Baler bago kami bumalik ng Nueva Ecija. We were just on a troad trip. Na-trip-an lang naman."

"Dapat sumama ka na lang sa amin dito," sabi pa ni Dominique.

"Kompleto ba kayo?" takang tanong pa ni Mando. Binilang naman nito at apat lamang ang nakita niya. "Apat lang kayo, e. Wala naman si. . . Umuwi na ba siya?"

"Si Ley?! Kasama namin 'yon," sagot ni Daia.

Tumalikod naman ang apat at hindi nasilayan si Alleah, pero nang tingnan ni Cara kung sino ang nasa likuran ni Rik ay doon niya lang nakita na nagtatago ito.

"Nandito," anunsyo ni Cara.

"Hello, Ley," pagtawag pa ni Mando sa kanya.

Napahugot nang malalim na hininga si Alleah at lumabas mula sa pagkakatago sa likuran ni Rik. Pilit na ngiti naman ang lumabas sa labi nito. "Hello. . ." tipid niyang pagbati.

"Hanggang kailan ka rito?" tanong pa ni Dominique.

Napakibit balikat si Mando. "Hindi 'ko alam, e. Literal na sumama lang din talaga ako sa kanila. Kagagaling lang namin no'ng Pampanga no'ng isang araw. Pupunta ata kaming Baguio tapos huli naming pupuntahan ang Ilocos. Lahat 'yon ay naka sasakyan lang kaya pagod-pagod talaga kami."

"That's nice. . . Pero masaya sana kung kasama ka namin, e."

"Guys, Rik's waiting for us," anunsyo pa ni Alleah sa kanila. Magsasalita pa sana si Rik at ramdam niyang aangal ito, pero pasimple niyang sinikuhan ito at hindi na lang nagsalita. "We should continue our tour na."

"Oh, I'm sorry for holding you guys up," ani Mando. "Sige, mauna na ako. Sundan ko na 'yong mga pinsan ko sa baba. I'm happy to see you all again. Text niyo na lang ako mamaya kung saan kayo magparty. I think three days namann kami rito."

Niyakap ng apat si Mando maliban kay Alleah. Hindi niya rin ito tingnan at tinapik na lamang ni Mando ang balikat niya bago ito tuluyang maglakad palayo. She felt a bit relieved nang makaalis si Mando. She wasn't expecting for him to show up. Doon niya lang din na-realize ang pag-like nito ng story niya. She should've known at that point, pero hindi na lamang niya intindi.

"Are you okay?" tanong sa kanya ni Rik. Tango na lamang din ang naisagot ng dalaga sa kanya. He patted her shoulder and continued talking to the group. "Now that was a bit of a commercial, so let's go back into it."

Habang tutok naman sila sa mga pinagsasabi ni Rik, hindi pa rin maalis sa isipan ni Alleah si Mando. She still likes hm. He was the one who fell out of love kaya hirap siyang mag-move on. She thought seeing him would ignite the flames once again, but it seemed like he was already moved on from her habang siya ay pinoproseso pa ang bawat nangyari.

When Rik's finally done giving the group a tour inside the museum, they walked out of the building where they spent looking around the premises. Habang ang iba ay abala sa pagpi-picture sa gilid ay namataan naman ni Rik si Alleah na nakausap lamang sa stone bench sa ilalim ng puno.

"How was my tour? Did I do great?" he asked, giggling.

Tumango-tango naman si Alleah at nag-thumbs up pa ito. "Yup, you did! I trust you with all the information you said to us so I don't doubt every bit of what you said."

He smirked. "Well, I learned all those things from Morriah. She taught me a lot of things that I can still remember now, fortunately. We did a lot of things together that I can still remember. I'm happy she gave me a job—"

"So that you can get close to her once again?" Alleah cut him off with a question.

He laughed. "I guess you can say that? I'm not sure where this would go between me and Morriah, to be honest. I still love her. That wouldn't change. When I found out that she reopened the hotel after her parent's death, I knew I had to see her and check on her. She did great though. If she wanted me back in her life, I couldn't be more grateful because if the opposite of it happened, I would be flying my ass back to the Netherlands and I have no clue if I would ever step foot in the Philippines in the next few years."

"You do really love her that's why you came back. . ." Alleah said.

"Yes, still do. . ."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to her parents? It's okay if you don't want to share with me. I understand that it was very personal."

"Yeah, it was very personal so I thought that she never told anyone else, but some people in town knew what happened," he told her. "Her parents died in a car crash against a ten-wheeler truck. I'm sure she was in Manila at that time, looking for a place to stay for good there, somehow a place for us to stay, but then this unforeseen event happened that pulled her back to everything she had planned for herself."

"Oh. . . I see. . . I get it now. . ."

"Yeah, it was hard," he said, nodding his head. "I can't blame if she wanted to focus on their hotel and herself. I told her I could be with her and support her, but it was too much for her that we ended things. After that, I flew back to the Netherlands, saved up for a bit, and started my backpacking journey in Southeast Asia for a year. . . And now, I'm back—"

"To the place you once called home," Alleah said.

He nodded. "This place is still my home. My second home. Nothing would change that. How about you? You saw your ex-boyfriend earlier."

"I did. . . It was weird, confusing, and upsetting. He was so happy and I'm still here feeling breaking apart because of our breakup. Was I wrong for still having feelings for him?"

He shook his head. "No, no. It was never wrong to have strong feelings for someone else even after breaking up with them. I understand what you were feeling right. I've been there and all I did was drink and drink alcohol so I can forget about her, but all the years we shared cannot be washed away even by the strongest alcohol. You can cry, shout, shut yourself off, but don't let the pain tear you apart. It shouldn't happen. Don't it let happen, alright? Maybe it's also time for you to meet someone else?"

Natawa naman si Alleah sa suggestion ni Rik. "You're like Daia and Cara. I don't think so. . ."

"Alright, just remember what I said. You'll find your person, Alleah. Don't worry. . ."

Somehow that made her feel better, but unsure of what still would happen in the next days unless something changed—and possibly the worst things she imagined could happen.

***