Love In The Line Of Fire

ANYA POINT OF VIEW

My pants were already muddy from walking through the muddy paths.

"Hello!" No one responded, so I decided to enter the yard. The fence was made of bamboo, and the small gate was also made of bamboo.

"Who's there?" An old man looked out the window upstairs. He was probably Lolo Ronaldo. I smiled at him as he came down the stairs. He stared at me intently, as if trying to recognize who I was. He even put on his eyeglasses to get a better look at me. I hoped he wouldn't recognize me.

"Anya, my grandchild?"

"Yes, Lolo," I immediately helped him down the stairs.

"I'm glad you're here." I couldn't help but feel emotional when I saw the old man.

He was overjoyed to see me, and his reaction made me happy. We sat on the bamboo bench. The sink was also located downstairs, made of bamboo as well.

"How are you, Anya?"

"I'm fine, Lolo, how about you?"

"I'm better now that you're here. Your father has been waiting for you for a long time."

I felt sad thinking about the fact that the real Anya's father had passed away without even getting to see his daughter.

"Have you eaten yet?" Lolo Ronaldo asked me.

"Not yet," I replied.

I really hadn't eaten anything since I was busy earlier.

"Sorry about the darkness here; we only have gas lamps for light. When your father was still alive, we had electricity, but I had a hard time paying for it, so I just had it cut off." I noticed that some of the other houses in the area didn't have electricity either.

Since it was getting dark, it was obvious which houses had electricity and which ones didn't.

I also wondered why Lolo Ronaldo accepted me and recognized me as Anya right away. But for now, I won't think about it.

"This place is far from town, how do you get electricity here?" Because all I saw were rice fields, and earlier, I saw a cornfield.

"We just connect to the owner of the land we're farming. Their house is up front, that's why you can't see it from here." I nodded to lolo Ronaldo.

**********

THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW

Ronaldo lit the gas lamp on the table and got a plate from the side.

"Lolo, let me get it and serve myself." Anya was taken aback when she saw the old man's food.

It was just boiled kamote tops and okra. She eats vegetables, but this was her first time having this kind of dish. Even when she was young and her mother was still alive, they never cooked this kind of food.

The old man was preparing a dipping sauce made from kalamansi and soy sauce.

"Do you like spicy food? I can make you a spicy dipping sauce." Ronaldo asked.

"Lolo, it's okay, don't bother," Anya replied.

The two of them enjoyed eating together, and Anya was extremely satisfied. It was her first time eating this kind of food, but she was very full. After they finished eating, Lolo told her not to bother washing the dishes. The water in the drum was empty, so Anya didn't bother either.

Anya went upstairs to see the layout of the house. But she couldn't see much because the only light came from a gas lamp. The first things she saw were the balcony and the living room. There were two bedrooms, and the doors only had curtains for privacy.

"Your room is the one on the other side," Ronaldo said, pointing to the right. "It's already clean, and no one sleeps there."

Anya entered the room and brought her things in. There was a soft mattress, and a window with a view of the moon. It was breathtakingly beautiful, like something out of a fantasy world. She busied herself organizing her things. She was startled when the surroundings suddenly brightened, and she realized that her grandfather had brought her a gas lamp.

"Don't worry, Anya, when I have money, we'll have electricity too. It's not the harvest season yet, so I don't have any money."

"It's okay, Lolo," Anya replied with a smile.

She felt sorry for the old man's situation. She had brought some money with her, and if she wanted to, she could use it to pay for electricity. She also had money in her bank account.

After finishing organizing her things, she checked her phone. It was already 6:30 pm, and she wanted to call Sabrina, but her phone had no signal.

"Lolo, where can I get a signal here?"

"There's a signal near the Carter's house, grandchild." Anya thought about the surname Lolo mentioned. It sounded familiar to her.

"I'll go out for a bit to get a signal."

"Be careful, my grandchild." Anya left quickly, but it seemed like she would have a hard time passing through the edge of the rice field.

It was still quite far, and the path was narrow before reaching the spot where the tricycle dropped her off earlier. As she walked, she held her hand up high, phone in hand, searching for a signal. L

uckily, she remembered the way and arrived at the spot where the tricycle stopped earlier. But she didn't know where the Carter's house was, which her grandfather mentioned.

Especially at night, she couldn't see where the other houses were located. She walked further and ahead, she saw a light on the road. There were posts with lights on them.

"Wow, they're the only ones with a light post right in front of their house. What about here? What if I slip here?" The path she was walking on was muddy.

All she had was the flashlight on her phone, which barely lit up the road. She didn't even notice that there was someone standing on the side, and she raised her voice while complaining.

"What did you say?" Anya was startled when someone spoke behind her, and in her surprise, her foot slipped. She thought she was going to fall onto the muddy road, but someone caught her.

Everything seemed to slow down when she looked at the man. She couldn't see him clearly, but the flashlight from her phone illuminated his eyes, which were a grayish color. His eyes seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen them before.

Anya immediately went back to reality and panicked when she dropped her cellphone. The man who caught her also let go of her. Anya quickly picked up her phone and wiped it. It was full of mud.

"What a bad luck." Anya stopped complaining when the man walked past her, surpassing her. He seemed to be heading towards the Carter's house.

"Is there a signal over there?" she asked the man.

The man stopped walking for a while before answering her.

"No."

"You're so arrogant. Lolo said there's a signal there," she said.

She walked quickly and surpassed him. She arrived at the well-lit area where the posts had lights.

"Wow!" Anya was amazed at what she saw. There was a large house in front, but that's not what amazed her. It was the small bridge with tiny fairy lights. She could also hear the sound of water from the stream. She forgot to check her signal because of what she saw.

The man, who was looking at her, seemed to be amazed by her reaction. But he quickly smiled and entered the Carter's yard.