By the time the team meeting ended, Kayla was already nursing a nasty headache. She stopped walking and massaged her temples.

She wanted to wring Sylvia’s neck up until now for being so annoyingly lose-tongued. The moment they stepped inside the restaurant, Sylvia started running her mouth about the earlier incident with the handsome stranger. And to make matters worse, their officemates started to bombard Kayla with questions. Throughout the dinner, she kept telling them she haven’t had a clue, but to her irritation, no one believed her. Hence, the headache. Imagine the relief when it was finally time to say goodbye to them.

She just wished her team would magically have their memories about the incident wiped out overnight as she dreaded going to the office again the following morning, welcomed by another round of questions. Just thinking about it made her headache worse. Kayla sighed and continued walking.

Kayla stopped abruptly when she reached Colt Street. Shit! Due to thinking about the earlier events, she had forgotten that she was to take a different road this time. She usually takes Colt Street when going home as it is the shortest way to reach the Jeepney terminal, however, for instances that she would be going home a bit late, she chooses to take a safer road. When it is late, Colt Street is dark and deserted, not to mention the rumors that the street was full of hooligans.

She bit her lower lip. Should she risk being jumped when she take this street or should she walk back the way she came from and take the other street? She looked down at her watch. 10:21 PM. The tricycles going to their subdivision only runs until midnight and she should need an hour and a half at least to reach the tricycle terminal via Jeepney travel. Which means she cannot waste any more time.

“Oh whatever!” she muttered and after uttering a silent prayer, she started walking again, going further into Colt Street. This street is not that long. She was sure she would reach the end of it without having any trouble. Or at least she hopes to.

What is even wrong with the people who reside here? Can’t they fix all the street lights? That was she thought while walking silently. This street is not as scary when it was morning until early in the evening as this was a busy street. However, once the stores in the area were closed and all the people were tucked in their homes, the street transforms into something that fits in a horror movie as some of the street lights were busted and no one seems to bother fixing them. They had been that way since she started working at her current company. And she had been working there for 3 years, so go figure.

Just then, she heard footsteps behind her. Her heart started pounding. She braved looking behind her. But instead of feeling relieved at finding no one there, she felt even more nervous.

Calm down, Kayla! You were imagining it!

But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself to calm down, the beating of her heart just would not slow down.

She walked faster while silently praying that she would be able to reach her destination safely. But as if teasing her, she heard footsteps again, this time it sounded like the person making them was also walking faster. Or was trying to catch her?

She knows it would be stupid, but she once again looked behind her and immediately regretted doing so. Just a few paces behind was a silhouette of a man. And it was walking towards her.

Horrified, Kayla broke into a run. She may be overreacting or being extremely paranoid but there was no way she was going to let the guy catch up to her to confirm if he was actually chasing after her.

Earlier, she had a weird encounter with a handsome stranger. Now, she is being chased by someone in a dark, deserted street. Can this day get any weirder?

Unable to look at her way properly, her feet got caught in an uneven ground, and felt a shooting pain in her knees when she fell. She winced when she tried to stand up as fast as she could, however before she could steady her footing, her knees gave out.

“No, not now! Please!” she silently pleaded and turned. The man was still there. No longer running but appeared to be taking his time, casually walking towards her. She still cannot see his face due to the distance and the failing street lamps but she does not want to anyway. She just needs to get out of there fast!

A scream escaped her lips when she felt a hand drop on her shoulder.

“Hey, hey! Are you okay?” came a gentle voice from the front. When she turned, she was greeted by the calmest pair of brown eyes she had ever seen.

“S-someone… Someone was…” she turned back again to the guy who appears to be following her and pointed. “There!”

The suspicious man had then stopped walking. To her surprise and honest relief, the man turned and went back the way he came from.

Wait! Does that mean he was really following her and the sudden appearance of this man in front of her made him back out of whatever he was planning? She shuddered at the thought.

“Can you stand? Here, let me help you.” The man in front of her said as he grabbed her upper arms and helped her up. “You’re hurt.” He added, looking down at her knees. She followed where he was looking at and saw her now ripped slacks and her bleeding knees.

“That guy was following me and I had no choice but to run. And then I fell and---, “ she tried explaining.

She heard him sigh, making her look back at his face. Was that worry she was reading on it? If it was, then it was really nice of him to be worried about a complete stranger.

“What are you even doing here? Didn’t you know how dangerous it is to walk this street when it’s late?” he gently scolded her.

“I was in a hurry to get to the terminal so I---” To her surprise, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, crouched down, and patted her bleeding knee with it. “I-It’s fine, I can do it.” She stopped him when he was about to do the same on her other knee. She immediately pulled out her own handkerchief and winced when she patted her other knee.

“Can you walk?” he asked and she immediately nodded. “Let’s go, I’ll walk you to the terminal.”

She jumped when he suddenly held her arm.

“I’m sorry.” He quickly apologized.

“No, it’s fine.” She reassured him. This guy saved her from almost getting attacked but she should stay vigilant. The guy was still a stranger. “I’m just… a little shaken.”

And as if he understood what she feels at the moment, he dropped his hand from her arm. They then started walking silently.

Kayla stole a glimpse of the man who was walking beside her. He had the kindest face she had ever seen before but she can’t get herself to trust him completely. Maybe because of what just happened to her?

Relief flooded her system when they finally reached the fully-lighted Jeepney terminal. The noises coming from passengers and drivers felt very welcoming. Her heartbeat finally started slowing down.

“I’m good here.” Kayla finally said, turning towards the man beside her. “Thank you for your help back there.”

“No problem. Get home and tend to them.” He answered while pointing at her knees.

“Yep.” That was the only answer she could think of. “So… ahm… bye.”

“Take care.” He answered and turned. He started walking back to Colt Street.

“Hey!” He turned to look at her again. “You’re going back there? It is not safe there, right?” she asked. After what had happened to her back there, there is no way she’ll be taking the same street again. And he, walking back to the same street just does not sit well with her either. He was her savior after all.

But instead of answering, he just smiled at her and continued walking back to the street. Was it safe? But maybe he really intends to go somewhere in that street that was why he was going back there regardless of what happened?

She gave up stopping him and just walked towards the jeepney she intends to ride on. She was about to hop in when she realized she did not even get the chance to get the guy’s name. She turned to look for him again but he had already walked further away. She could only see his figure that was slowly being swallowed by the darkness of the street.

She sighed. She promised herself that she would thank him properly the next time she sees him, if there would ever be a next time. For now, she needs to go home and try to forget everything that had happened that day. If that was even possible…