I wasn't too scared of what I heard from Aling Speranza but I couldn't help but think of it. I didn’t want Magdalen to get hurt by that old woman.

Aling Speranza told me to always lock the door and never let anyone in. She actually wanted us to sleep in her house so that she could make sure we were safe. I didn't want to be a burden to her that’s why I refused even though I knew we were safer in her house. I just promised that we would be careful, then she calmed down and allowed us to stay in the hut.

The roof of the hut was not made of galvanized iron and the floor was made of bamboo. A man could fit in the basement of the hut that’s why I was a little nervous. Just in case that old woman would come to harm us, then I must fight. In fact, I had a pair of scissors with me. I also had a bolo. It’s better that I had it to help protect my daughter in case of emergency.

"Don't forget to pray again even if we've already prayed, darling."

Magdalen nodded before going to bed. All I wanted was for us to live happily and peacefully. I let out a deep sigh before I finally went to bed.

I fell asleep.
I was fast asleep when a series of knocks shook us. Pure knocks and no one speaking. Fear crawled all over my body and the clock hanging on the wall caught my attention.

"It's exactly twelve o'clock!" I whispered.

"Mom–"

"Shhh. Someone is outside."

I immediately held the bolo that was next to me.

"Stay here. Hold this garlic. Don't make any noise."

Magdalen followed what I said. I sprinkled salt around our bed before we went to sleep because that was one of Aling Speranza's orders. We shouldn’t be complacent.

The knocks continued.
I wondered if the person knocking on our door had plans to break it. I didn’t know if I was going to do the right thing, but I had courage to open the door. I was ready to find out!

"What do you want, huh?!" I bravely asked as I slowly opened the door.

But I was shocked when he spoke... "It's just me. Elton."

"Are you crazy?! Are you going to kill me with nervousness, huh? I was about to stab you! I don’t want to be a criminal though!" There, I finally saw his face.

"Don't be noisy. People are already asleep," he said softly. I noticed something strange in his appearance. He seemed worried. It felt like there was a problem.

"People are already asleep, but it seemed like you wanted to wake up the whole barangay when you knocked on our door earlier. Magdalen and I were having a sound sleep but you just broke it," I said with an annoyed voice. I was a bit upset, but I lowered down my voice.

"Y-you need to get out of this hut."

I was overwhelmed because of what he said.

"Are you forcing us to leave? Aren't we welcome in your place? Did I do something wrong?"

"I've done something wrong, Yvo. I didn't mean to. I didn't think very well. I was tempted by the money!"

"Just make the long story short. What do you mean?"
"They already know you're here in Coron."

The fear I felt earlier because the knocks got doubled.

"They shouldn’t find us! You know I can lose my daughter, right?! You know they'll take her from me, right? But what did you do?"

"I'm sorry. I was tempted to get the five million they offered," he replied sadly. "They'll be here tomorrow."

"I trusted you, Elton. Do you still remember what you said before?" I asked him with a heavy heart.
I trusted him.
[FLASH BACK]
"... I want to ask you a favor."

When I approached him he said, "What is it?"

"If someone asks about us who have just arrived in your area, please don't say that you know us. Please don't point out where we are. We are not bad people. Please trust me. We just really need to stay away. "

"I won't tell. Magdalen and you are safe here. Aling Speranza and I won't leave you alone."
[END OF FLASHBACK]

"It was too late for me to realize what I did. I called Mr. Artiles before I realized that I shouldn’t have done it. He was looking for his daughter, Yvo. I doubted your identity. I thought you might be a kidnapper. Now, many people are looking for you after Mr. Constance Artiles made an announcement about her daughter and offered a reward yesterday, it was even published on newspapers. It’s clear that he is the father of Vyvyan Artiles aka Magdalen."

I could barely speak because of what I heard from him.

He knew it already!

"I'm not a kidnapper, Elton."

"I know, so hurry up. Pack your belongings now. I'll take you to someone who can hide you."

Because of what he said, I quickly entered the hut while he followed me. I found Magdalen sound asleep while she was still holding the garlic. She slept well again.

It's a good thing you didn't hear what we talked about, darling.

"Hey, help me pack things. We’re running out of time. Constance won't waste time most especially in finding his unica hija."

Elton nodded before he began helping me. I didn’t have a hard time packing our belongings because I was always ready to leave. Our clothes were also ready to be placed in the suitcase. If you could just see them, you would really think that I never wanted to get caught.

I went out from the room and saw Elton done with his thing. I started to put the things he had accumulated in the suitcase, while he was just standing quietly.

"Sit in the chair," I said,

"No thanks. I’m still bothered. I put you and Magdalen in trouble. This is my fault."

"Don't think about it anymore. What’s more important now is that they must not see us and never get Magdalen. I'm sorry I can't give you five million. Magdalen is my only wealth."

"It's okay. I'd better work hard for money. I know you love Magdalen so much that it made me change my mind. Hurry up. I'll carry your things because we can't use a tricycle. The neighbors might hear the tricycle and have an idea that you are going somewhere, so we better not make any noise."
"But wait. Where will you take us?" I asked him in astonishment. Just a few things, then I would be done packing our belongings.
"You're safe in that place. Give that to me and I'll take it. Don't wake Magdalen right away because I'll have to carry a few more suitcases and It'll take a while. Just wake her up when there's only one suitcase to carry. While I'm gone, just close the door and don't make any noise that will wake the neighbors. "

"All right. Thank you very much."

"No problem. I'm leaving. Close the door. I'll be right back."

He went out of the hut and I just watched him walk away. The road was dark, but he did not use any light.

When I could no longer see him because of the darkness around, I decided to take the suitcases out of the hut. I put those in a relatively dark place, so that no one would notice. Elton patiently carried them until only one was left. I immediately woke up and carried Magdalen. Elton said that he would tell Aling Speranza that we needed to transfer to another house in the morning.

I just followed Elton while I was carrying Magdalen who was just quiet. Through the dim light of a small flashlight, we made our way to the place Elton was referring to. It was good that he agreed to let us use a flashlight because it was really dark. I might stumble or fall while carrying Magdalen if there was no light.

"We're close," he announced.

I was shocked to see whose house we were going to. I could no longer focus on the road because I knew whose house it was. I couldn't believe it when I saw someone waiting at the door of that house…