One night, they lie on their makeshift bed on the floor, their hands intertwined with each other. "Corazon?" Akihiro spoke up.

"Yes?" Corazon responded, her eyes closed.

"I was just thinking," he started off, "I would like us to do our supposed second marriage ceremony as soon as possible." Corazon's eyes shot wide awake. There it was again - the lie that she had to bear alone now that Tala is gone. She turned her head to her left side and watched Akihiro fall into a half-asleep state.

"I'm sorry, Alonzo." She said but Akihiro didn't seem to hear it as he had finally drifted off into a deep slumber. Guilt gnawed up her heart due to the lies that she had fabricated in front of the man she saved from the river that day; all because she wanted a protector for both her and her sister. It was a selfish reason but she had to admit that she had already fallen for the man that she took in and the only thing that Corazon could do is hope for Akihiro's forgiveness once he finds out his real identity.

—

The town hall was a bustling place, a hub of activity amidst the wartime chaos. People crowded around the registry desks, clutching documents and forms, their faces a mix of anxiety and determination. Akihiro navigated the throng, a piece of paper clutched tightly in his hand. On it, he had written his name – Alonzo Bernardo – and the tentative date he and Corazon had set for their remarriage. He felt a mixture of anticipation and nervousness. It felt strange to officially register a marriage that had been based on a memory of his partner, but it was also a step toward making their union real, something he could truly remember.

He approached a stern-faced clerk behind a high counter. The clerk looked up at him, a hint of weariness in her eyes. "What can I do for you?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"Names and dates, please," the clerk interrupted, already reaching for a form.

"Alonzo... and Corazon," Akihiro repeated, offering the date they had discussed. "We're planning on..."

The clerk began scribbling on the form, her pen moving swiftly. "Alonzo? Last name?"

"Bernardo." He replied. "Well, that's what my partner told me my last name is. You see, I lost my memories and still haven't gotten them back. That's why I was hoping I could create new ones by marrying her again."

The clerk paused, her pen hovering over the paper. She looked up at him, her expression softening slightly. "Amnesia? Ah, many have suffered from that in these times. Very common."

Akihiro nodded, grateful for her understanding. "Yes, ma'am. I was found near the river a few months back. I don't remember anything before that."

"Right, right." The clerk returned to her form. "Alright, well we can just note 'unknown' in this case. One moment." She started sorting through file cabinets. "I'll just check our records to see if we already have a marriage registered under your name. Or the girl's name, Corazon."

As she pulled out a folder, the clerk hummed to herself quietly. "Ah! Here we are!"

Akihiro watched with interest as the clerk pulled out an official document and started scanning it. A small, cold feeling trickled down his spine, an inexplicable unease. The clerk's expression shifted, her brows furrowed in confusion.

She looked up at Akihiro, her eyes now filled with a sharp intensity. "This says here that Alonzo is already married. To..." she paused as if confirming. "To Divina Lopez - which ultimately became Divina Bernardo.."

Akihiro stared at her, his mind reeling. "Married to who? Wait, what did you say?"

The clerk held up the document, showing him the name printed clearly in black ink. "Married to Divina Lopez. It's written right here. It's also weird 'cause it says here that you, Alonzo - if that is even your name - just died this year."

His heart pounded against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear and confusion. "There's a mistake," he stammered, his voice barely audible. "I'm Alonzo. I am Corazon's husband."

The clerk shook her head. "This is the official record. This is the only record there is. Are you sure about your name? Are you sure about her name? You were found at a river?"

"Yes! But this... this is wrong!" Akihiro insisted, his hands trembling.

The clerk studied him, her gaze scrutinizing. Then she looked at the record again, her eyes widening slightly. "It says here that you had two children named Corazon and Tala." She added, pulling out another piece of paper with the details that she just told him.

"No! I..." Akihiro tried to protest, but the words caught in his throat.

"You can have a look at them, if you want. There are photos in it too. See if anyone's familiar with you." The clerk said, trying to be as helpful as she could. Akihiro scanned through the papers until his eyes landed on a picture of a man who seemed to be in his early thirties and a family picture that consisted of four members. His blood ran cold when he recognized the two children in the photo were Corazon and Tala during their younger years.

His mind raced, trying to make sense of the clerk's words, the document, the picture. It was all a blur, a dizzying swirl of impossible realities. All this time, the answer to his identity was right in front of him - and this whole time, he was not Alonzo at all!

"I... I need to go." He said in a daze, turning abruptly and hurrying out of the town hall, leaving the bewildered clerk staring after him. As he stumbled through the crowded streets, the world seemed to tilt and sway around him. Everything he thought he knew, everything he thought he was, was suddenly thrown into doubt. The name Alonzo felt like a flimsy mask, slipping away to reveal something... something much larger, much more complicated, and much more dangerous.

—

The small hut felt stifling, the air thick with a tension that made it hard to breathe. Corazon sat by the table, her fingers nervously twisting a loose thread on the edge of a worn cloth. Akihiro stood by the door, his face a mask of conflicted emotions. The joyful anticipation he had felt earlier in the day, the excitement about officially registering their marriage, had been replaced by a chilling realization, a truth that had shattered his carefully constructed reality.

He had come straight from the town hall, the official document still burned in his mind. Right now, one thing was clear: he wasn't Alonzo. And Corazon knew it.

He took a hesitant step into the room, the door clicking shut behind him with a sound that seemed to amplify the silence. Corazon looked up, her eyes wide with a mixture of apprehension and a dawning understanding. She had seen the storm brewing in his eyes, the hard set of his jaw. She knew something had changed.

"Alonzo?" she began softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "What's wrong?"

He didn't answer immediately. He walked slowly towards the table, the distance feeling vast and insurmountable. He stopped a few feet away from her, his gaze searching hers. "I went to the town hall today," he finally said, his voice low and steady.

Corazon's breath hitched, and she looked away, her fingers tightening on the cloth.

"I went to register our marriage," he continued, his words measured and deliberate. "To make it official. To make it real."

She remained silent, her gaze still fixed on the cloth in her hands.

"There was no record of our marriage," he said, his voice taking on a sharper edge. "But apparently I was already married to Divina Lopez." He paused, letting his words sink in. "And that I was already dead and had two children."

Corazon flinched, her shoulders shaking slightly. She finally looked up at him, her eyes filled with a raw vulnerability. "Alonzo..." she began, but he cut her off.

"And the clerk showed me a picture," he said, his voice unwavering. "Pictures of a man and a family of four."

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked away again, unable to meet his gaze. The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken words and buried truths.

"Tell me the truth, Corazon," Akihiro pleaded, his voice filled with desperation, hurt and anger. "Please! Who am I? Who was I? Why did you lie to me?!" He thumped his fist on the table between them.

She remained silent for a long moment, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Then, finally, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "Alonzo... Alonzo is my father," she admitted, her voice thick with emotion. "You... you were this injured man by the river that Tala and I took in."

"Does anyone else know?" He asked.

"Only Mang Estong..." She said, "He was trying to discourage me at first from helping you the day that we found you in the river because we all might get in trouble for helping a Japanese like you but you were dying! I can't just leave you there and die!"

Akihiro closed his eyes, a wave of dizziness washing over him. The memories, or the feelings of the memories, that had been teasing at the edges of his mind suddenly coalesced, forming a clearer, more coherent picture. The grand halls, the bowing servants, the feeling of authority and responsibility; the villagers treating him as an outsider first; him understanding the Japanese language when Mr. Nishida used it to insult the Filipinos—it all made sense now.

"So you made up a story," Akihiro said, opening his eyes, his voice flat. "You made me into someone else. Someone... that I do not even recognize. You even asked a child to connive with your lie!"

Corazon looked up, her eyes red and swollen. "I just wanted to protect you," she pleaded, her voice cracking. "I loved you! I still do. I didn't want to lose you, Alonzo."

He stood up, "Do not call me that!" Akihiro looked at her, his heart aching. He could see the pain in her eyes, the genuine fear and desperation. He understood her reasons, but it didn't make the lie any less painful. He had built a life here, a life as Alonzo, a life with her and Tala. And now, that life felt like a fragile illusion, a carefully constructed fantasy that was crumbling around him.

"You didn't love me!" He added. "You were never going to tell me, Corazon! You were never going to tell me until I had to find out from a complete stranger who the real Alonzo is!"

"I'm sorry..." She cried as she tried to hug him but he took a step back from her.

"What else are you hiding from me, Corazon?" Akihiro asked, his eyes were cold and full of anger. "Tell me now!"

Corazon stormed off into her room and then came back out with his golden dragon hairpin. "I found you by the river with that in your hand." She took a deep breath as she placed them on the table.

"D-Do you even know what my real name is?" He asked, trying to hold back his tears. She just shook her head and that filled his heart with another wave of disappointment. "Great." He packed some clothes and the golden dragon hairpin in his bag and left without saying another word to her.

—

Akihiro found Mang Estong weaving baskets under the shade of a large mango tree. The air was filled with the rhythmic rustling of leaves and the gentle scraping of bamboo. He approached hesitantly, the weight of his recent discovery heavy on his shoulders.

"Mang Estong," Akihiro began, his voice subdued.

The old man looked up, his eyes crinkling at the corners. " You seem troubled."

Akihiro sat beside him, watching his skilled hands work. "Can I stay here for a few days?"

Estong furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you think of my place? Some sort of hostel that you could sleep in?"

"Come on... it's just for a few days." He said. "I'll help you with all the work you need to do."

Estong handed him a bunch of leaves, "Pound them using a mortar and pestle. We're going to make an ointment." Akihiro took on the job without any complaints. He thought that maybe with all the work in Mang Estong's infirmary, he could temporarily forget about the problems that he has with himself and Corazon.