In high school, I discovered I was different.

While most of my friends were crushing over the gorgeous boys in campus, I was checking out girls.

To avoid peer pressure, I would randomly look for a guy when asked whom I liked.

It worked for a while.

No one suspected I was a lesbian.

Except for my dad.

***

One day, he saw me at the park talking to my crush.

When I got home, he asked me whom the girl was.

I couldn't hide my flushed cheeks and my father only laugh.

"You can tell me, Althea." He told me.

"Otherwise, the color of your face speaks your truth."

***

Lying was never my forte.

I thought of that incident as Jade waited for me to reveal what I have to tell her.

Her beautiful face was a picture of a thousand emotions.

I saw confusion, curiosity and fear among other things.

"My name is Althea," I declared.

She didn't respond to what I said.

Instead, her expression changed to one of amusement to dismay.

"You lied to me?" she asked when she gained her voice and the words pierced my heart.

We were still standing in front of my father's grave.

How apt that I chose to make the revelation here.

I could never lie to my dad, well, there were times when I did, but I always came clean.

In the same manner, I could never prolong the agony of hiding my identity to Jade.

She's the only one afflicted with amnesia.

I'm not.

It won't be fair to her or to myself to keep this betrayal.

"Althea?" Jade whispered my name as she bit the nail on her index finger.

"Althea...Althea...Althea" she repeated the words as if trying to make sense of what I told her.

Jade slowly walked away and I followed behind her.

Her face quickened and I asked where she was going.

"I don't know," she replied without looking at me.

"Jade please?" I pleaded.

She stopped in front of a wooden bench and absentmindedly sat on it.

The sun was already high in the sky and I felt the humidity.

I unzipped my hoodie and sat beside Jade who looked dazed.

My hand reached for hers and Jade stared at my red fingernails.

"Why do you make me feel this way?" she blurted and it was my turn to be puzzled.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

Jade took a deep breath before answering my question.

"I couldn't get you out of my mind since the day I met you in the bathroom," she confessed.

She placed her hand on top of mine and the warmth of her palm engulfed my skin.

I looked up to see her lovingly looking at me.

"It's not right to feel this way about a stranger," she exclaimed and the words pierced my heart like one stabbed countless times.

I pulled my hand away.

"That's the thing, Jade." I said to her.

"I am not a stranger,"

She leaned on the bench and played with her pearl earring, contemplating what I said.

Since I opened Pandora's box, I might as well get on with my confession.

"We were lovers," I exclaimed.

She frowned but remained quiet.

"Eight years ago, you were taken from me by your father, Oscar."

The mention of his name got her attention.

"It doesn't make sense," she replied.

"My father loves me,"

"He would never do something like that to hurt me," she was quick to defend him and I understood.

I shook my head at her and tried not to laugh.

"You really have amnesia," I said to her, exasperated.

Jade looked offended.

"What are you talking about?" I sensed the anger in her voice.

I straightened from where I was sitting.

"Tell me Jade," I began.

"How often do you have to see a therapist?"

The question shocked her.

"How do you know this?"

She fidgeted on her seat.

"Althea, or whoever you are, you are starting to scare me." Her face turned serious and scared at the same time.

"How do you know so many things about me or my family?"
"Are you a stalker?"
"Did someone pay you to spy on us?" She asked in succession.

I took a deep breath.

My frustration was increasing but I reminded myself to take it easy.

"Jade," I placed both hands on her shoulders.

The gesture surprised her and I saw the look of panic in her eyes.

"I was your girlfriend for chrissake!" I exclaimed.

"The last thing I would do is to hurt you because I love you, Jade."

"I never stopped loving you," I spoke the words slowly.

My grip on her shoulder loosened.

I felt my emotions stampeding in my heart, each one of them clamoring for release and acknowledgement.

I turned away from her as the tears fell in succession.

My shoulders shook and my lips quivered.

I felt defeated once again.

Jade moved closer and placed one hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing makes sense to me," she spoke in a low voice.

"If I was smart, I should take this chance to run away from you but I couldn't find the courage to leave you here,"

"Are you sure you're not mistaking me for someone else?" Jade moved away and lifted my vowed head.

I laughed at the thought.

"I know you like the back of my hand," I replied.

Jade smiled.

"It sounds strange but it's very romantic," she commented and I laughed in spite of myself.

I wiped my cheeks.

"You can quiz me and I'd get the answer right," I challenged her.

She thought for a moment.

"Alright," she agreed.

"When is my birthday?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

I shook my head then answered.

"September 18, 1990" I replied without skipping a beat.

Afterwards, I realized that if her documents have been changed since the amnesia, then this conversation is over.

Jade nodded her head, impressed.

But she wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure you didn't look it up on Google?" she grinned.

I rolled my eyes at her.

"That was an easy question," I told her.

"Besides, your family wasn't only known for your business but your notoriety when it comes to guarding your private life," I added.

"The latter is up for debate but whatever,"

Jade turned silent.

"Then tell me something unique about me," she urged.

I thought for a moment.

"Ama, your grandmother, instantly loses her forgetfulness brought on by Alzheimer's, when it comes to you."

"Years ago, when your father decided to send you to Xiamen with Paul, I came over to your house."

"It was Ama who told me to follow you to the airport,"

Her face was amused and I'm guessing it was because I knew Ama and Paul, not because she remembered the incident at the airport.

Jade's smile was replaced with a scary realization that I could be telling the truth.

That I was not an impostor paid by someone to spy on their family.

"This is crazy," she exclaimed.

"Nothing makes sense,"

I sighed.

"It doesn't make sense because you don't remember anything," I explained.

"I won't be surprise if you told me you don't know you have amnesia."

"I don't," was the quick reply.

"Don't you have glitches in your memory?" I asked, curious.

Jade thought for a moment.

"Since coming back from to the Philippines, I've been getting frequent headaches and panic attacks." She confessed.

"Night terrors too,"

"I told my husband about it but he told me it could be the environment,"

"I've lived in Canada for a long time and got used to the freezing cold," she laughed.

Her face brightened at the mention of her new country.

I, on the other hand, was crestfallen to hear about the mention of her husband.

I didn't say anything.

From afar, I saw the arrival of other visitors.

I checked my watch and saw that it was almost nine in the morning.

The sun was already high in the sky and I was beginning to feel hot and moody.

I removed the hoodie and slung it on my shoulder.

Jade studied the shirt I was wearing.

"Rock chick!" she commented.

"Kinda," I replied.

"What are we going to do now?" Jade asked out of the blue.

"Let's start with you not mentioning this meeting or this conversation to anyone," I told her.

She frowned again, baffled by what I said.

"Jade, your father hates me," I explained.

"When we were together, he did what he could to separate us,"

"If he knew that we met again, he would not hesitate to ruin my life or what I made out of it for the past eight years,"

She opened her mouth to oppose what I said but I kept talking.

"Your father loves you?" I said, failing to hide my disgust.

"Is that what you're going to tell me again?"

"Okay, fine!"

"If that's what you wanted to say, sure."

"But he never accepted you as a lesbian woman,"

The word lesbian puzzled her.

"Okay, let's just say you were lesbian for me." I retracted.

She frowned, deepening the lines on her forehead.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed.

"To make a long story short, Oscar didn't accept our relationship."

"He had you kidnapped New Year's Day in 2015 and I don't know what happened afterwards."

"All I know is, I've been miserable since you left me." The words tugged at my vulnerable heart.

"That's it," I threw my hands in the air in surrender.

Another long silence followed.

I pitied Jade.

The information was a lot to process.

For someone who barely remembers her own life and its details, having a stranger reveal another memory from a time long gone, is maddening and unnerving.

I heard her sniff.

"Oh shit!" I blurted.

"Why are you crying?"

She shook her head.

I reached for the handkerchief I carry in my pocket.

I took it out and handed it to Jade who was still sobbing.

She refused to take it.

"Take it," I urged.

"Your snot is dripping," I teased and she hit my outstretched hand, blushing.

She blew her nose with the Burberry handkerchief and I smiled.

"Althea?" she called my name softly.

"Yes Jade?"

"What am I going to do now?