THREE DAYS later, Meredith doesn’t see Randall coming to school. She texted him numerous times, but he never responded to her texts or phone calls. He had missed many of their lessons, so she decided to pay him and Don Warrick a visit in the mansion. She was waiting at the bus stop when Randall called.

“Hello! What happened to you?  You haven't shown up to school in three days!” she asked.
She heard him cough on the other line.
 “A-are you sick?” she asked worriedly.
“My body temperature is thirty-eight point three,” he replied.
Her eyes widened. “Hey! Are you completely insane? Your fever is extremely high! Are you still in the mansion? I’m on my way there.”
“No! I’m in my condo. I don’t want Granpa to get infected so please, come see me right away. I’ll just send you the address.”
 “Okay.” And she cut the line.
Five seconds later she received a message from him. The bus arrived on time so she was able to travel immediately. When she got down in front of her condo building, she went to the nearby Mall first to buy medicine at the pharmacy. He also bought cup noodles so that he could sip hot soup.
When she rang his unit's doorbell, he opened it right away. He went straight to his bed when she walked in. She followed him and checked his temperature using the back of her hand..
“Did you take any medication?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Your fever is still high. I’ll just cook you some hot soup so you can take your medicine.” She was about to go to the kitchen when he stopped him.
“I-I don’t like soup,” he said.
“But that’s good for your body to make you sweat.”
She shook his head. “I-I want tomato omelette.”
“But—”
He clasped his hands in front of her and begged. “P-please?”
“Fine! But you’re going to sip hot soup as well, okay?”  she surrendered.
He nodded so she went straight to his kitchen. She didn’t have a hard time finding the kitchen because his condo was not that big.
While she was boiling the water in the kettle, she also started cooking the omelette as well.  Fortunately, he has two eggs and a tomato in his refrigerator.
While she was cooking it, the woman and the man in her vision suddenly entered her mind again.
 ____________________________

“WHAT are you carrying?” the girl asked the guy when they met in the canteen one morning.
“You mentioned to me yesterday that you don’t use to eat breakfast so I brought you some food,” he said while showing her what was inside the lunchbox he was carrying.
“But you don’t have to do this, you know?”
“You have to eat, okay?” he insisted.
The girl shook her head. “I still don’t want to!”
He pouted his lips. And the girl frowned when she saw what he cooked. “Is that an omelette?”
“Yes!”
“Then why do I see something orange inside of it?”
He smiled. “I put some tomatoes inside because it’s too boring if it’s just a plain egg.”
The girl grimaces when the bottom burns, turning brown and dehydrated, while the top remains runny.
“What happened?” she commented after checking it using a fork.
He was slightly disappointed by what she said so he immediately covered it up and took it away from her. “W-well, I don’t really know how to cook. I just tried to cook it just for you.”
The guy took another container and gave it to her. “Here, try this chocolate bread pudding. I helped my mom to cook it for you.”
The girl tasted it.
“How was it? Is it delicious?” he asked.
She nodded. “Mmm! It’s luscious! But, I also want to taste your omelette with tomatoes.”
He shook his head. “You can’t eat this because it tastes bitter. It might affect your taste buds.”
“It’s okay! It doesn’t matter if it can affect my taste buds. What’s important is the effort you put into it,” she said, taking back the omelet and eating it with a smile.
“Mmm! Next time you will cook this again and make sure to cook it better, okay?”
The man smiled and joined her.

_______________________________

MEREDITH back to her senses when she heard the sound of the kettle.
“Oh no!” She grumbled as the other side of the omelette became slightly burnt.
She removed it from the heat and placed it on the plate.
Knowing that there was no more stock in his refrigerator, she decided to leave it alone because she knew that sick people have no sense of taste.  
After that, she filled the cup noodles with hot water so that he could have hot soup.
“Here is your request,” Meredith said then placed the tray on the bedside table.
She also assisted him in sitting on the bed, where she positioned a pillow behind his back.
“I apologize if your requested omelette was a little burnt. I didn’t cook anything new because you didn’t have enough stock.”
He laughed. “It’s fine. That is what I truly desire.”
Even though she was amused by what he said, she no longer paid attention to it. “Please eat so you can take your medicine.”
He lets out a snort. “C-could you lend me a hand? My entire body is completely devoid of strength.”
She didn’t complain anymore and started feeding him.
“You really enjoy the omelette, huh? It looks like you wanted more?” she said when he finished his food.
He smiled. “I don’t know why but I’ve been craving that dish ever since I dreamed about it.”
“Really?” she said as he just nodded.
He also finished the cup noodles and took the medicine.  She just kept an eye on him and wiped his forehead with a towel from time to time to hasten his recovery.
 ________________________________

“WHAT’S the meaning of this?” The general enragedly angry.
“D-dad?” In shock, the young lady hugged her boyfriend’s waist from the side.
“Let go of my daughter!”  The General yelled as he yanked her away from the boy.
“Dad, please!  Let us go! We love each other!”
The General fixed his gaze on her. “He’s just taking advantage of you! He’s a gold digger!”
“It isn’t true, Sir!  I really love your daughter, I’m not interested in your wealth,” the boy explained.
The young lady confronts her father. “I love him, Dad!  We love each other no matter what you say or do. Nobody can ever separate us! Nobody, not even you!”
The General pointed a finger at her. “You’d rather have that guy than me, huh?!  He is not the right man for you! He cannot provide you with the life you deserve!”
“He is a responsible man! He changed my perspective on life! And I’m happy with him!  Please, Dad, let us go,” the girl begged.
“No! You choose!  Me, your father, or that jerk?”  the General asked, pointing a finger at him.
But the girl’s response remained unchanged. “I’m sorry, Dad, but my answer still—” the girl couldn’t finish what she wanted to say when her father slapped her hard.
The boy immediately rose and knelt in front of the general.  “It’s enough, Sir!  Don’t hurt her, please! I’m begging you. I’m pleading for your forgiveness.  D-don’t worry, I’m going to let her go.”
“What?! No!” the young lady objected angrily.
The girl’s face was filled with confusion and she asked her boyfriend but he did not respond. “Don’t do this to me, please! You promise me,” she begged, sobbing.
But the boy remained silent.
At that time, the girl felt that her boyfriend had abandoned her and that everything he promised was untrue. That’s why she couldn’t think straight and grabbed the gun from his father’s gun belt beneath his shirt, surprising them.
She took a step back, pointing the gun at her right temple.
“Oh, God! Please, calm down! G-give that gun back to me,” the general begged.
She looked at her dad. “No! If you don’t agree to what I want.  .  .  ” she turned to face her boyfriend. “And if you’re just going to abandon me, it’s better if I commit suicide!”
“No! Please, don’t! I’m begging you! Suicide is a heinous crime. It is not the solution to this problem,” he said, trying to convince his girlfriend to calm down.
“Why?  Do you think that walking away from me is the best solution to this problem?” The boy was taken aback by what she said.
“Don’t come near me!” she squealed when her father tried to approach her again.
“Please, daughter! I’m begging you! Give me that gun back,”  the general pleaded, but the girl did not listen to him.
Despite what she had been through, she seemed tired. 
For the last time, she looked lovingly at her lover.
“I love you, Clayton. I-I really love you,” the girl finally said as she pulled the trigger.
“Barbara!”
 _____________________________

“BARBARA!” Randall yelled when he woke up from that nightmare again.
“Randall? Are you okay? You are dreaming.”
He looked at Meredith. He stared at her and swallowed in fear. He felt like his dream was true.
“Here, drink this first to calm you down,” she said, handing him a glass of water.
She took it and finished it quickly.
“Are you okay now?”
He nodded. “I-I had a dream.”
“Yeah! And you mentioned the name, Barbara. Is she the girl you’ve been searching for?” He nodded.
“Did you find her?”  He shook his head.
“Ahm. . . What are you going to do when you find her?”
Randall looked her in the eyes for a split second before looking away. “I’m not sure for the time being.”
“Do you remember her face? Tell me what she looks like so I can help you to find her.”
“N-no need,” he answered quickly.
“O-okay,” she said disappointedly.
Why he doesn’t want her to help him find the woman in his dreams?
“It’s getting dark. Aren’t you going home yet?” he asked. 
“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” she asked as she stroked the side of her neck and her body temperature was better than it had been.
He nodded. “I don’t want you to leave but you have school tomorrow.”
She smiled. “Just don’t forget to take your medicine, okay? Get well soon.”
“Hmm. Thanks for taking care of me.”
Until Meredith got home and still couldn’t get the name of the woman Randall mentioned earlier out of her mind. There were so many people named Barbara in the world that’s why it’s so impossible for her to help him.
She wiped her face with her hands.
“Who really are you?” she asked herself.
She jumped in her seat when she heard her phone rang. She immediately answered the call when he saw Shanaia’s name on the caller ID.
“Shan?”
“Hi, Mer!  Don’t forget that tomorrow is my birthday, okay? And remember, no gift no entry!”
Shanaia's final sentence made her laugh and shake her head.
Fortunately, there had been a make-up sale at the Mall earlier, so she purchased a large quantity for Shanaia. She also purchased a simple gown and shoes to wear because, unlike Marylex, she was not attending the cotillion. She is unable to attend because she is working at the café.
“Good!” she said as she hung up the phone.

(Earlier)

RANDALL couldn’t sleep after Meredith left. He couldn’t tell if his headache was caused by the flu or by his dream. 
He finally learned the names of the two people he had been dreaming about for so long. The names he heard in his dream were Clayton and Barbara.
But he couldn’t figure out why he kept dreaming of those two people until now. He had no idea who to approach for answers.
Should he concentrate more on those or not? Will he be affected when he learns about those people?”
He came back to his senses when he heard his phone rang. He immediately answered it when he saw Shanaia’s name on the caller ID.
“Hi, Rans!  Don’t forget my birthday tomorrow, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Shan, but I can’t. I’m still sick,” he declined
“Okay! But I just wanted to let you know that everyone in the drama club is invited!”
His eyes widened as the drama club president, Luke, suddenly came to his mind. No way. 
“Hello, Sha–” he didn’t say that he was going when he immediately hung up.
“Hello? Hello, Shan!” He tried to call her again but he couldn’t reach her anymore.
He won’t let him ruin their plans. Meredith is only his. She wouldn’t let him touch Meredith again, not even a strand of her hair.