"Haha! Loser!"
"Die, you imbecile!"
"It's better if you didn't exist!"

It was always the same... They corner me outside the school premises and bully me with their worthless words. I wish somebody would just save me already!

On cue, there stands a little girl who seems to be lost. As the bullies glanced at her, I could see her tremble in fear, desperately trying to talk even if she doesn't want to.

"P-please stop bullying him..." Look, when I wished for someone to save me, I wasn't talking about a lost little girl. How much can she do anyway?

"Haah?! You're talking to me in that manner, PUNK?!" The leader of the group of bullies turned his body to her and then smacked her shoulder. She is still a child so that much is already painful.

"If you hit me, will you stop bullying him?" She choked the words out.

The leader looked at his mates then back at the girl while wearing a huge devilish grin. "Yes." He said. "If we hit you, we will stop bullying the poor loser." His right hand punched the palm of his left hand repeatedly as to get ready for a big fight. Then he cracked all his bones.

He started beating the poor defenseless little child. I feel so bad for her but I can merely stand and watch as she's shrieking in pain. Why? Why isn't my body moving a muscle?

While watching her get beat up senseless, she quickly glances at me and then flashed me an assuring smile like she's actually doing something great for someone.

My eyes widened up in surprise. How can she still move? I'm sure she already has a lot of bruises and blood all over her frail little body. How can she still breathe? I know the people who get physically beaten up by those guys are sent to the hospital or worse but usual, the grave.

"Boss, how is this girl still breathing?!" One of the bullies asked in surprise.

"Then just leave her be. This is too tiresome even for me!" The leader gasped for air. He sweats waterfalls, but the girl lost a lot of blood more than he lost sweat.

He clicked his tongue and walked away calmly, without ever making a second thought to hit her one more time before doing so.

I don't know what to do. I just stayed on my place where I stand, staring at the unnamed girl who I think is about to die sooner or later. With nervousness and panic swirling in my mind, I look for some words to talk to her. Maybe take some time to thank and apologize to her. But why can't I still move?

She coughed a lot of blood. She laid on her back, with blood surrounding all of her area. She can still breathe, she can still see, she can still live...

"Mis...ter... Are you--"

"What are you doing?! Conserve your energy!" I panicked, rushing to her, holding her hands that gets colder by the minute.

"But..." She tries to reason out. I gripped her hands tighter. I don't want her to talk anymore. I might be the last one to hear her voice, I might be the last one to see her breathing. I don't want that. I don't want someone to die in front of me and there are no other witnesses.

"H-HELP!!!!!!!"

•

Her parents came rushing to the Emergency Room. I don't blame them. Their daughter is there, helpless and dying. I see the troubled cries of her mother, the silent father that's most likely to be blaming himself, and two other kids who are too innocent to know what was going on. Those two kids are twins, and are both younger than that girl.

I merely sit on a chair next to the ER. Everyone else stands on the window, desperately screaming for their lost person's name, for help that can somehow make her still living.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to myself but it looks like that her father heard me.

"What did you say?!" Her father threatened me, picking me up by the collar. It hurts but I believe this is my punishment for involving her in this.

"Dear, calm down!" Her mother tried holding the raging old man off. With tears in her eyes that she does not hide, the tears that show sincere care for the one inside the ER, seeing those tears made her husband calm down and finally puts me down after a while.

"You'd better pay me if she dies!!" He screamed in utter anger. His mouth is so close to my face that I panicked that maybe he swallows my whole head or make me deaf.

Her mother still tries to hold him off as she believes that it is not my fault...I think.

•

"Good morning, Faith." I entered the room with a basket full of fruits and other foods.

"Mister!" She gasped in delight.

"How cruel. I already told you my name, haven't I?" I chuckled and sat down beside her.

"I prefer calling you 'Mister'. She giggled. It's good to see her being happy. "Another one of those gift baskets, I see?" She asked, glancing on the basket that I'm holding.

"To keep you healthy, you know! You need to maintain your health." I explained.

"But I don't want to eat this lousy food anymore!" She pouted and turned away.

"Hey now, you shouldn't act like that..." I tried to persuade her.

She glanced at me like she glared for a millisecond then her gaze softened as if that glare didn't exist. My eyes may be doubting me though. Maybe that glare didn't really exist... Who knows?

•

I'm losing her. We're losing her. She's losing.

Today's the last day where I can sense her presence, until she still has one. Even though she does not want to make it obvious, everyone knows that she is just as aware of her condition as everyone else.

"I guess this is the last day we'll see each other." She looked at me with pitiful eyes-- eyes clear as the sky that looks melancholic and sorrowful, eyes that has tears welling up inside each second, the eyes where I can see my reflection.

"You're sad, aren't you?" I asked, not changing my facial expression.

She did not answer, she merely turned away. That simple gesture made me understand what her answer is. It was clearly obvious enough.

"Lucas." She called out. She called my name. She called my name!

Naturally, I quickly turned to her as soon as I heard my name from Faith's mouth. "You're not getting in trouble with those bullies anymore, right?" She softly and gently asked, with droopy eyes that has tears stuck welled up on them.

"They were long gone." I don't want to continue the story. I don't want her to know that I trapped them inside the storage room and locked them in. I just opened the door after 3 days. They didn't survive that long.

"Thank goodness." She sighed a sigh of relief, which surprised me to be honest. "I guess the reckless thing I had done was not in vain." She smiled at me. A warm bright smile that can make anyone's day. I wish I can still preserve that smiling face until the day I die...but that would mean that I'm just being selfish, right?

"Yeah..." I merely responded, turning away from that smile that can attract anything and anyone.

"Hey Lucas." She called out. I still didn't turn to her. "Don't help me because I helped you. Help me because you want to." She looked at me with dead serious eyes. I still refused to look at her directly.

•

December 25.

Christmas. It's already Christmas. Time flies by so fast. So fast that it makes me sick. With time traveling in the speed of light, I began to feel nothing but to hate this day. We lost her. Everyone lost her-- she lost...

I will remember this day for as long as I live. Christmas is the day of her death.

•

10 years.

After 10 years, I visit her grave again. A lot happened in those 10 years. I have grown older obviously, and I have a great job. I'm contented being a businessman. Someday, maybe, I wish, that I can become a President of this country when the time comes. It will happen soon... I wish I could tell her how my life has been doing this past 10 years.

I walk away from the grave with my head hung and hands in my pockets. While walking back to my house, I accidentally bumped into a small child.

"Ah, sorry." We simultaneously said.

As she raised her head up, I saw a face that's so familiar to my eyes. A face that should be dead in my eyes...

"Mister, are you alright?" She asks again.

My body stood still for a solid minute. I just stared at her innocent face, looking at me. With my dead-looking body, I then suddenly hugged her without me noticing. She didn't move, she didn't react. It was like she's okay with this even though if I'm at her place, I would stab the attacker and run away. I wonder why she does not do anything?

I can feel the tears flowing...

"Are you lost?" I asked with the warmest smile I can put up for now. I crouched down to look at her. She nodded in reply. "Come on, let's look for your companion." I offered my hand to her. She took it and walked beside me as we search for her companion.

I did not help her because she looks like Faith. I helped her because I want to. I hope you're proud of me, Faith...