*Who's My Eternal*
*The Next Day — Haynes House, Unknown Room*
Light hurt.
Cherry opened her eyes slow. Head pounding. Everything sore.
White ceiling. Clean sheets. Smell of soap, not salt.
Not home.
Three people were looking at her.
A lady. Young. Soft face, worried eyes.
Two men. Both young. One older, standing back. One closer, by the bed. Same jaw. Father and son.
Cherry's throat was dry. "Where… where am I?"
The lady stepped forward. Voice gentle. "You're safe, dear. This is the Haynes house. I'm Jennie Haynes."
She gestured to the men. "My husband, Nicholas. And our son, Nicklaus."
Nicklaus nodded. "I found you. By the river. Yesterday."
River.
Cherry's eyes went wide.
The cliff. The men. The gun. _Mama_.
She sat up fast. Pain shot through her ribs. She didn't care.
"I have to go," she gasped. "I need to go home. My mother—"
"Easy," Mrs. Jennie said. Hand on her shoulder. Light. "You're hurt. You fell."
"Where are you from?" Mr. Nicholas asked. Calm. Steady.
"Manila," Cherry said. Breathing hard. "Manila Bay. I have to get back. They'll think— they'll think I'm—"
_Dead._
She couldn't say it.
Nicklaus looked at his father, then back at her. "Manila is far. Really far. By car, by boat… it'll take you a day or two at least. You're in Batangas."
A day or two.
Her chest caved in.
Lola Anna. Noa. They'd think she drowned. They'd think she was gone. With Mama. With Papa.
"Stay," Mrs. Jennie said. Soft but firm. "Just until you recover. You can barely stand. Please."
Cherry looked at them. Strangers. Kind eyes. Clean house.
And she had nowhere else. No phone. No money. No way home.
She nodded. Slow.
Sat back down.
The sheets felt wrong.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Mr. Nicholas nodded. "Rest. We'll talk later."
They left. Closed the door quiet.
Left her alone.
Cherry stared at the wall.
Mama was gone.
Papa was gone.
Elian didn't know.
And she was alive.
In a stranger's house.
Miles from the bay.
She pulled her knees up. Pressed her face into them.
And finally,
She let herself cry.
---
*Manila Bay — Same Morning*
Noa hadn't slept.
Neither had Lola Anna.
They searched all night. The rocks. The water. The shore.
Nothing.
Just Cherry's torn nightgown caught on a branch.
Lola Anna held it. Pressed it to her face.
And cried for two daughters now.
Eva.
And Cherry.
Cindy stood at her window. Watching.
And smiled.
*Who's My Eternal*
*Manila Bay — Days After*
They searched.
Noa and the fishermen took boats. Every morning. Every night.
Up the coast. Down the coast. Between the rocks.
Lola Anna walked the shore. Feet bare. Eyes raw.
Holding Cherry's torn nightgown like it was Cherry.
"Cherry!" they'd call.
"Cherry Pink, answer!"
Nothing.
Just water. Just wind.
After three days, people stopped saying _search_.
Started saying _recover_.
Lola Anna didn't sleep. Didn't eat.
But she remembered.
_"Don't tell him, Lola. Let him be great. Please."_
Cherry's last request.
So when Elian called, she wiped her face.
Made her voice steady.
*Vancouver — Day 1*
*Elian:* _Lola? I got your text. Is everything okay? Where's Cherry? She's not answering._
Lola Anna closed her eyes. "Ay, that girl. She's at the bay, _apo_. Working. You know her. Can't sit still."
"Her phone?"
"Lost it," Lola Anna said. Fast. "Dropped it in the water yesterday. Clumsy girl. I told her."
Elian laughed on the phone. Relieved. "Of course she did. Tell her to call me when she gets a new one."
"I will, _apo_. I will."
She hung up.
And cried into Cherry's nightgown.
*Day 3*
*Elian:* _Lola, still no call from Cherry. Is she mad at me?_
"No, no," Lola Anna said. "She's helping Mrs. Delos fix her boat. Big job. She'll call. She's just busy."
"Okay… tell her I miss her stupid face."
Lola Anna bit her lip until it bled. "I will."
*Day 6*
*Elian:* _Lola? Something feels wrong. Why hasn't she called?_
Lola Anna looked at the bay. At the empty spot where Cherry's father's boat used to be.
"She's… she's staying with a cousin, _apo_. Inland. To help after the storm. No signal there."
The lies tasted like ash.
But she kept them.
For Cherry.
For the promise.
*Vancouver*
Elian took her words.
Why wouldn't he?
Lola Anna never lied to him.
So he went to meetings. Signed papers. Learned what _Arthur Harkwell_ meant.
And every night, he texted a number that didn't exist anymore.
*Elian:* _Got my own office today. You'd hate it. Too fancy._
*Elian:* _Call me, Pink. Even just to yell at me._
*Elian:* _I miss you._
Delivered. Never read.
He didn't know the girl he texted was sleeping in a stranger's house.
Bandaged. Bruised.
Alive, but broken.
He didn't know Lola Anna was burying Mrs. Eva alone.
Didn't know Noa was still checking the rocks every sunrise.
Didn't know Cindy walked past the Pink house every day and smiled.
He knew nothing.
Because Cherry asked for that.
Because Lola Anna loved her enough to keep the promise.
Even if it was killing her.
---
*Haynes House — Batangas*
Cherry stood by the window.
Day 4.
She could walk now. Slow.
Nicklaus was outside. Chopping wood.
Mrs. Jennie brought her tea. "You slept better?"
Cherry nodded. Lied.
She hadn't slept.
Just stared at the ceiling.