But she was running out of strength. She had given all her energy swimming. She sighed in relief when her neighbors carefully pulled her back to the shore. They were now safe.
She was desperately gasping for air when she was finally out of the water. They pulled her up. Esmeralda dropped her body on the ground out of exhaustion. She did not care if the rain wet her eyes.
“He’s still alive!” Kadyo uttered as he helped her stand up. She heard the person she saved cough. When she turned, Topher and the rest had laid him flat on the ground. He was choking the water out of his system.
“Who are you?” the man asked in a weak voice.
Esmeralda scrunched beside him and stroked his lengthy hair. The man had stubbles around his mouth like he had not shaved for a month. Was he a monk who got swept by the flood? “Don’t worry. You’re safe now. Don’t sleep for now. Is your head hurt?”
“No. But the rest of my body feels…”
A sophisticated monk. Where could he come from?
When he opened his eyes and met her gaze, her heart beat as if logs were rushing in her chest.
Coffee. His eyes had the color of coffee. One of the prettiest pair of eyes she had ever seen in her life. Despite his weakness, his eyes seemed to have the power to tug at her heart. His eyes showed different emotions as he gazed at her. She did not know if it was fear or hatred.
She studied his face carefully. He must be around thirty or thirty-two years old. His nose was tall, and he had the face of an angel. He was tan, and his skin was smooth. He did not look like the type of man who worked heavy loads like farming. And she was sure that he was not from there based on his gray slacks and blue long sleeve shirt.
“Y-You?” he uttered helplessly before his eyes closed.
Esmeralda was seized with fear when she heard his voice. The kind of fear she did not feel when she jumped into the river to save him. His voice, it felt like she already heard it somewhere. The voice that brought a thousand shivers through her being.
But his eyes. They were hypnotizing. One look, and she was put under his spell.
She tilted her head to the side. He was a stranger. She had only seen him for the first time. She only heard his voice for the first time. She had no reason to be scared of him. It must be the effect after swimming. Her brain somehow got affected.
Esmeralda stood up. “Go save Nanang Ising, Kadyo. Topher, get another hammock at the house. Let's put him there because we could not just lift him. We have to make sure that no severe damage was caused when he was swept by the river and know who his family is. We have to bring him back to them because they're worried for sure." She stroked the man's hair as they stood under the tree. "Don't worry. You're safe now. We will take care of you."
AFTER CHANGING into dry clothes, Esmeralda went to check on the man she saved a while ago. He was temporarily laid in one of the empty rooms in her house. She knew he would not be comfortable in the crowded living room. After realizing that he was still asleep, she went down to the kitchen.
She saw Cynthia Lyn preparing a hot soup. Her eyes did not miss the smile on her face as she put some into a bowl.
The men who collected Nanang Ising finally arrived. Everything was fine. The children were sleeping, and the women were talking while the typhoon continued to lash outside.
“You know I helped put clothes on the man you saved at the river,” she whispered. “And he was gorgeous!”
“Shhh!” she scolded. “It’s embarrassing.”
Cynthia Lyn rolled her eyeballs. “What’s wrong with that? He really was gorgeous. And he had a great body. He had strong arms.”
Esmeralda could not help blushing at what Cynthia Lyn meant. She turned her back at her and grabbed a spoon for the soup to be served to the visitors. She was not comfortable talking about the aspects of her stranger guest. Even Aiden, her future husband, was also gorgeous, but she could not feel any attraction toward him. How much more with that stranger?
"Watch yourself, Cynthia Lyn. I did not save him from drowning, so you could drool at him all you want. Don't fantasize about him."
She put her hands on her waist. “Why are you so against it? I’m not lusting over your boyfriend. Be mad if I’m fantasizing about Aiden.”
“Where’s the food for our guest?” Esmeralda asked. “I’ll bring it upstairs.”
Cynthia Lyn frowned. “Don’t you trust me?”
She smiled tauntingly. "I don't. I'm afraid you'd take advantage of him if I let you do it. I don't want our town's reputation to get ruined because of you," she retorted.
“If I had not known you’re getting married, you’d probably take advantage of him, too,” she said as Esmeralda exited the kitchen.
When she entered the room, she was surprised to find the man awake. He was trying to stand up despite his weakness.
“D-Don’t force yourself yet,” she scolded.
But it was too late because he already got up. The blanket covering his body slipped and fell. His broad chest with thin hair was revealed before her eyes.