Midway Rendezvous

Innocent Summer Dreams

2011-06-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's been a lazy summer so far. But I'm not complaining, I've been needing a break ever since February, ugh. How's your summer? I know mine have been quite mundane but relaxing. ^_^

So, in the past week or two, I've had so many dreams (very real, very vivid dreams) that I'm starting to think there's a meaning for them. So there are many theories on how people have dreams. Some people say when you think about someone a lot, you tend to dream about them. Some people say when you really want something to happen, you dream about it. Then some people say dreams can be prophets and they tell you what your future may hold. Well, even after all my (somewhat lacking) research on dreams, I STILL don't know why I'm having these dreams. Let me contradict the theories I've listed above ^^^.

Some people say when you think about someone a lot, you dream about them. >> Well I don't think about these people all that often. Maybe once or twice when I'm reminded of them. So why do I dream about them? o.0

Some people say when you really want something to happen, you dream about it. >> I don't really want anything to happen. I'm bored but I'm content with my life as it is. I'm glad it's not getting any worse. So why do I dream about stuff happening? o.0

Some people say dreams can be prophets and tell you what your future may hold. >> Psh, yeah right. I remember many dreams and let me tell you none of them have ever came true or is anything close to coming true. So why do I dream? o.0

And now for my dreams. Hmm, there are certain people in my dreams I really don't want to reveal the names of, so I'll just put the letter of their first name and a brief bio. Then onto the dreams!

C = First ever crush...worst year and a half of my life. Glad it's all over with now! Ok guy.

T = Most latest crush, lasting for about a year? Got over him, now confused between friend or something else. Quite nice guy, not my type though I'm sure.

Hm, so in one dream, T and I were dating. Well we dated before in real life, but for one week and that got absolutely nowhere. But in my dream, well somehow he was different. He was the funnest guy to be with! I swear I might have been smiling while I was sleeping, or grinning like a fool (I'm insane I know). We talked, like had actual good conversations. We kissed, but it wasn't an all physical relationship (ALL I EVER ASK FOR!!! lol). We hung out, and unlike in real life where it would be quite boring, in my dream it was really fun! We were walking, just walking, and joking around, and holding hands. It was some time in the fall, I know because I was wearing jeans and a tee, and it had an autumn like feeling all around. We were first hiding out in my school (apparently we were keeping our relationship a secret?) and we were just having fun! Man, if dreams could come true that'd be nice. Unlike real life how whenever I hang out with T, it'd be so awkward and to be honest kind of boring. ugh =.=

Now for the dream involving C. To be honest, I don't even talk to C anymore so when I woke up realizing I had a dream and he was in it, I was so confused. In the dream, we weren't dating, we weren't kissing, we were just hanging out and again...having fun! We were walking down what looked like a dirt path in this one park I remembered. We were talking and laughing like idiots. Then we played tennis (my best memory with him was when we played tennis together in the seventh grade at an end of the year field trip. Best time with him, very sad I know). After playing tennis we just listened to music. Hmm, quite relaxing.

So now I haven't been dreaming about C that much, but lately I've gotten so many dreams with T!!! It's irritating because they would be so vivid, I'd wake up sometimes wondering if it actually happened, because it'd feel so real, and the time line would match up with the seasons, weather and everything. It's so frustrating when I realize it's just a dream. Before, when I dreamed things I would think it's because I either think about him a lot, want something like that to happen, or it will happen in the future. But after many months, years, I've learned that dreams have nothing to do with real life. But yet...it still bothers me because I'd dream about me, being with the same person, feeling so right, just having fun being together, and then realize it's just a dream. Then in real life I wonder if I like him as a friend, or I'm back to crushing on him again. I know I don't love him though, when I love someone there's a special feeling I get when I look at him, and that feeling's long gone with T. Ugh, I'm so frustrated by these dreams. I don't love T...anymore...but why do my dreams always involve him? It's always him. Why not anyone else? I know plenty of guys who are rather good, but I never dream about them. Just T!!! Oh well, it's summer, no more questions and no more drama. :P Stupid dreams, got be going psycho again.

Summer Comes, Another Year Ends

2011-06-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Just as a note, I was so depressed when I realized that for me, school doesn't end until June 7th...:( everyone else I know is off already like so not fair!

Anyways, back to the post. It's summer time and I can't help but feel a sense of relaxation coming to me. I honestly don't know what I'm going to be doing this summer because my family is kind of the (oh btw pack ur bags we're leaving in ten minutes) kind of family, fun right? But just the thought of summer is great. Those long nights where I have nothing to worry about but if I still have any food left in the fridge. They sound nice. I really need a break right about now, so just a few more days of school yay!

My loneliness and I guess minor case of insomnia...well the lonely part kinda got enhanced with a couple songs I listened to (great) but it's being pushed away. I found other stuff to keep me occupied such as writing and messing around with my brothers (sometimes family is just great). As for the insomnia, it's going away completely. I sleep like a pig now that school is ending. I guess it's just the pressure.

(sigh) But through these I still can't stop dreaming. Summer's coming and another year is ending so I should probably grow up and pull away from my dreamer side, but I can't help it. Dreaming requires nothing at all but time and some thought process and a little innocent desire.

What I dream about now? I dream about long summer evenings being spent with him...that faceless, nameless guy who won't leave me, won't walk away from me like many others already had. I'd try to picture him, but a million (sorta mayb a hundred) faces pop up into my head (some of which I don't even know in person lol). Then I'd dream about just taking long walks with him, and just talking. Just something simple like that makes me smile, I don't need anything fancy like other girls dream of.

Looking back at some of my dreams, I realize they're only dreams and ironically, whenever I dream of something it never comes true (life is so kind I know). But I don't care anymore. Like I said they're only dreams and I've long accepted that fact. I live for everyday now and the messed up future I know I'm gonna have and wait for itself. Summer's coming (for me others already started) and hopefully some of my problems will subside...romance can wait until the school year starts again. I need relaxation now cuz for the past month I've gone a little bit insane. Just a little ^_^

Going Insane

2011-05-13T17:56:00.001-07:00

I legit think that my preferred loneliness has finally driven me insane...

Thinking I've grown accustomed to the loneliness since I'm not going to be able to get rid of it, for a time I didn't mind being a total introvert. Every day I'd go home, and stay there. The only time I go out is with my parents because I have to since they want me to spend time with them. I don't even spend time with friends anymore...yeah I know...scary. I just don't feel the need to anymore since I constantly feel like I'm growing apart from them and the days have become so mundane. Also, with the realization that hanging around my friends only causes me to be involved in unnecessary, unimportant, pointless high school drama, I slowly pulled away from them for that fact. I guess I'm just tired of being dragged into problems that shouldn't even involve me. So then I went along with the preferred loneliness.

I had actually thought that having my own time could help a lot. For a time, it did. I got a lot of thinking done and about what I want in life. I sorted out my thoughts for life, love, and such. I managed to write a whole lot. I completed 15 chapters in one week, talk about insane. And if you know me my chapters tend to vary from 5000 words onwards. That's just bizzare right there. So for a while I actually thought loneliness was, well, a friend I guess. It helps. I helped me see that in life, all I want is a stable job, no matter how banal or jejune it is. Like any other girl, I wish to get married one day, but that dream is fleeting and fading away with all the problematic marriages I've seen, and upon seeing how I always fail to get into a good relationship, marriage is off the line. I want to have my own house or apartment if I live in the city one day, and own a nice car (even though the one I have now is PRETTY awesome).

In love all I really ask for is a guy who is willing to understand and accept me. He doesn't have to be hot, smart, or funny, or sexy, or whatever. Just someone who's willing to hear me out, at least try to make me smile or laugh or try to make my day. Maybe a little sweet and thoughtful would help too. Just someone who listens to me, and talks to me. Someone who just likes me for me. Someone who is willing to spend time with me no matter how boring it may be. Just someone...

So with that I thought loneliness was helping right? Oh I was sooooo wrong. I think the loneliness is driving me insane now. It's given me so much time to think that I'm confusing myself. It's given me so much time to write that I'm losing the feeling and the fun of writing, losing inspiration. It's given me so much time alone, that I'm starting to feel a little sad and lonely. A little envious too. I'm always a bit envious of my friends, how they always seem to be able to find good love, even if its fleeting. How things in their life always seem to go right. How they don't have anything real to worry about while me, I actually have to worry about the stupid US economy for God's sake, my parents are in such a hole! How come other people have it so much better? If I try to answer that question according to my religion (Buddhist), I'll say that in my past life I must have been such a bitch and now I'm forced to pay it all back in this life. If I answer that question scientifically, well then I guess my looks and personality just aren't appealing. Oh well, either way I accept that fact.

Ugh I'm going crazy. My own room is a jail cell...

All in a Bag of Tea

2011-05-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Number One Way to Forget About Love...

Drown yourself in work or something productive or a hobby of yours.

Feeling lonely, I'd usually chat with my friends and get an understanding of what they're doing. But lately, that's just not what I feel like doing any more. I don't know if it's because I'm growing apart from them or what, but I honestly don't care about what is happening in their lives just as much as I used to. Surely I do care when serious things happen, serious as in they're have legit problems or depression of sort, but the other things a part of school life that girls are supposed to care about, things like who they're going out with and such drama plots like that, I just don't care about anymore. I guess it's a good thing, in a way.

Now instead of being a social butterfly like I used to be, lately I tend to hide out in my room a lot. I think I've become rather...weird...or something of sort. For the past week, I've spent most of my time in my room writing. Writing a new story which I've only got the idea sorted out on Sunday and I already ended up on chapter eight today! Talk about getting a lot of things done! And my chapters are pretty long too, varying from 3,000 words to about 5,000. So that's a lot of work. Hmm, I guess it's better than lying around, feeling sad and lonely.

I also found myself enjoying a cup of coffee or tea a lot more than I often do...

Is that bad? I feel like I'm becoming weird or just plain abnormal. I never said I was normal before but this, endless writing, tea and coffee, that's just outrageous! Am I changing? Holy cow I don't even know! Aish, but I guess that's a part of growing up.

But now I'm wondering...

where did all the romance go in my life? Before I would worry so much, worry if I'll ever find him, worry if when I'm older I'll live with a happy family of my own. I used to worry about getting a "keeper" boyfriend. But now...I guess not as much.

Love is a nasty thing for me, for others it's beautiful and addictive but for me it's just plain out gruesome. Every time I fall in love, there's no one there willing to catch me and I'd hit the ground so hard, I'd break something in the process. I guess I'm tired of it now and I'm just looking to live by without being hurt anymore. I guess that's going well since I haven't been thinking about love all that often anymore.

I haven't given up on love though. I believe true love exists, I believe in love at first sight, I believe in the magic of love. I just don't believe that it will happen for me. In my life, to me, love is just a game that only ends up hurting me. I don't think I'll ever get a decent love story with some moments of pure happiness. See, I'm just that unlucky. I would wish, dream, and wonder about falling into a perfect love, one where my heart would race and beat like crazy, where my stomach would jump, toss and turn. But in my reality, that love won't ever exist for me. Why? Well I don't know, if I did I wouldn't be so hopelessly confused. Looking into my future, I'm going to play fortune teller here. In my romance department, I'm either never going to have a sweet love story, or if I have one it will be forced in some way and lead to unhappiness. That's the story of my life that I've finally figured out. Well, I guess if I close my eyes and walk it won't hurt as much...

I'm talking nonsense I know, but that's just how I feel right now. I think it's the tea that's affecting me. I mean I like coffeee but...since when did I come to enjoy tea too?! It's jasmine tea too!!! Like...wow!!!

Don't Think Too Much

2011-05-01T11:02:00.001-07:00

Don’t think too much
Just let it pass.
Don’t hold it back
Just let it go.

The more I tug
The more I pull,
The further it gets
The sooner it goes.

Don’t think too much
Just let it be.
Don’t fear the end
Just let it stray.

What’s meant to be
Will find its way.
Don’t force the heart
It won’t be true.

Don’t think too much,
Just close your eyes
And let the world,
Fall into place.

Where is my love and so what if I lie?

2011-04-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

Lately, things have been a little slow for me. To be honest, I feel like half of me is dead already. I don't want the other half to die too, I don't want it to. In the past couple days, I've nearly been called out several times for lying about myself. A normal girl my age would be pretty sad or scared, but for me, I don't really care. So what if I lie? If my life isn't perfect, don't I have the right to at least make an illusion that it is perfect? There's no wrong in living in a fantasy world. Reality is way too cruel anyways. Lying is my way of coping with the fact that life is a mundane world and that reality is too, too cruel. Lying keeps my heart beating everyday because as I lie, I trick my foolish heart into believing that one day, all my beautiful little lies will become reality. What do I lie about you may ask? Well I'm sorry but that is my thing to know and yours to find out. One thing though, I lie about the things I lack. The love, the honesty, and the care that seems to be missing from my life. Mostly it's the love and the romance.

And now for my one, my love. In all religion, in all beliefs, and in all hearts and minds, we all believe that our one true love exists somewhere out there, we just have to find each other. As for me, at the end of the day I'm still only a girl, and I still yearn for the love and care that my life lacks. I too am wondering where he is, my one true love. When I am lonely, I would wonder where he is, whether he is happy or sad, how his day went, is he smiling, and why he has kept me waiting for so long. I haven't met him yet, at least if I already did, neither of us have realized yet, I know that for a fact.

All these years that I've spent searching for him, I find it unfair as so many others have already found theirs, but yet mine is still missing. Where in the world is he right now? Why has he kept me waiting for so long? I don't ask for much do I? Just a boy who loves me and will allow me to love him with all my heart. All these years that I have waited for him, I wonder where he is now. I wonder if he's just like me, lost, lonely and sad. I wonder if he is searching for me too. If he is, I wonder why faith must play us both as fools and not allow us to find each other. Maybe we have to wait a little longer until we see each other, who knows. Or maybe, in life there are many unlucky people who never find romance, maybe I'm just one of those people.

But I don't want to be. So where in the world is he? I long for his love, I yearn for him to hold me. So much that almost every night I fall asleep, I'd try to imagine a boy, smiling at me, taking my hands, meeting me halfway, and asking me where we both have been for so long. I just want him to appear in my life, make himself visible. I want to love him, to care for him. There are many things that I want. I want him to appear and to smile. I want to know what makes him smile. I want to know what his fears are so that I know to sheild him from them. I want to be there for him, and I want to love him. I want to be the girl he misses seeing, and I want to miss him. I want to care for him, to wipe his tears when he is crying, to make him smile when he is sad, to take away all his worries. I want to hug him, to hold his hand. I want to kiss him. I want to brag that he is my one and that he is the best in the world. I want to say that he is my perfection. Is that really so wrong? Even though I can't cook, I want to learn how to for him. I want to eat with him. I want to talk with him on the phone for hours. I want to fall asleep in his arms. I want to mess with his hair. I want to be the one who gets him to smile after a bad day. I want to see his smile that lights up my whole world. I want to listen to songs with him. I want to write about him. I want to draw him and think about him. I want to love him.

Sadly in this cruel reality, I'm afraid I won't ever find him. Why? Because I am not that lucky in the department of love and romance. I've seen many, many people part from this world without romance in their life. I'm afraid I may be one of those people. No matter how much I don't want to be, my entire past is reflecting on that truth. I know I am not that lucky to find him. So, that's why I lie that I already have. I lie so that I don't feel as broken. Maybe one day when he finds me, he can see through all my lies but still want to be with me. Am I a fool for thinking that way? Really is it so bad that I am lying about something so silly?

...

Who am I kidding. I'm not that lucky in the love and romance department. Every single relationship I've had only ended in tears with me being the one hurt. Everything I do always backfires and blows up in my face. Everything. Who am I kidding about love at first sight or a sweet and silly little love story. Life isn't that simple. Life is sadly all about fame and money, if not one then the other. For me, my entire past leads me into believing that I will never find him. I guess I will just have to live with my silly little dreams. Sometimes my dreams are so vivid I wake up thinking they really did happen and I really was with him. If only they become reality. Sadly, life isn't that charitable. Sadly...

=====================================

Well enough of me stressing about love and romance that my life lacks. ^_^ So lately I've been pretty busy with school and I don't have the chance or emotions to write much anymore, but rest assured all the works that I have started I will finish some day. Hmm, also I've been pulled back into the obsession with Harry Potter...I'm silly and weird I know ^_^ But well so I've been re-reading Harry Potter and re-watching Harry Potter. The weird thing is, I don't love the main characters, I actually love two very small characters in Harry Potter. Lupin and Tonks...I just can't get enough of them and wish that J.K. Rowling never killed them off...or at least gave them more screen time in the story. But hey, I don't create life. So sadly, I'll just have to live with the little time they get. Aish, Lupin and Tonks...hahahaha, I'm weird I know. Deal with it. ^_^

From Dawn Till Dusk - 10 - Lost & Found in Hong Kong

2011-04-23T16:24:00.001-07:00

===
November 15, 2011……5:30 p.m.
===

It had been over a week already and her wound still pained now and then, causing her face to twist slightly in turmoil. Nancy sat up from her white leather sofa, her good arm trying to ease down the pain by massaging areas around her wound. That didn’t seem to be working as the pain and aching only stayed there. She sighed out of frustration and pushed herself off the sofa and into the kitchen, looking for some painkillers. Ron stood in the kitchen with an apron on, looking like a stay-at-home husband as he was getting dinner ready for both of them. As Nancy raided the medicine cabinet, he looked up, placed down his knife, wiped his hands and walked over, holding her from behind as he reached up for the painkillers.

“You don’t have to put up a tough girl act in front of me. You can whine all you want,” he spoke softly by her ear as he took out two pills for her.

She laughed softly, leaning back into his embrace. “I’ve just been so tense lately and I don’t want to bring you more troubles than you already have.”

“You’re my fiancée, what trouble can you bring? I’m just thankful you haven’t done anything risky in the past couple days,” he sighed, kissing her neck. “Now as for your mom and Fala, maybe you should try to arrange a day where they both could sit down and talk. Fala still doesn’t know that Michelle is your mother, and I doubt neither does Michelle. The first step may be to break the ice first. Then go on from there.”

Nancy sighed as she held onto Ron’s arms around her. “I don’t know how you always manage to say the right things, but you do. Thank you.”

He laughed softly as he kissed her neck several times again. Then he straightened up and gently turned her face facing him, looking into her eyes. “Can we finally get married after your family gets back together? I think your mom would be pleased to see the wedding herself, rather than on video.” His voice was gentle, kind and sincere as he gazed into her soft eyes.

She simply nodded. Whenever Ron would mention their unplanned wedding, she would always have a mixture of feelings arouse inside of her. On one part she felt unsure of when they could get married, due to all the troubles that kept on coming their way. On another part, she felt guilty that she had been putting it off for so long. Then on the last part, she was quite happy on how faithful he is and how lucky she was to find a guy like him. She smiled as she could just remember the two days when they first met. It was an ironic story, but in her lifetime, they have had two first meetings.

“Now the end of this month, how about we take a day off for the two of us? When your wound closes and we could you know, get risky?” Ron asked with a slight sign of mischief in his eyes.

Nancy smiled and looked back at him with eyes that dared him to continue, in a pleasant way. “You know, you are the worse at asking for dates. But somehow I always end up giving up to you…and I guess this is no exception.”

They both laughed in unison as Ron leaned in closer and placed his lips on hers. He kissed her gently at first. Then slowly he pushed harder and harder until they reached a small level of their usual passion. He knew Nancy was tired, so he didn’t dare push for more, but right then and there, just having her in his arms, kissing him back was enough for him.

===

Even during late hours, the office floors of the police station still bustled with people coming in and out, most were criminals being escorted by cold-faced police officers. Fala stood in the hallway, waiting patiently for the man of whom she had agreed to meet with come face her. Occasionally she would look down at her watch and then look up again, but she still saw no one. After what seemed like a long time of waiting, the usual sloppy mess of a police officer showed up. Something was different about him though as Fala took a closer look at him. He had actually combed his hair just to meet her?

“Bosco, what took you so long?” She asked once he stopped in front of her.

“I had to get a statement for Nancy. With your sister and her fiancé off, it’s been a busy day.”

“Did you actually comb your hair?” Fala asked. “You never look nice unless for some special occasion. And look, you’re even wearing a collar shirt!”

“Ok forensics, I don’t need an excuse to dress nicely. I just thought I’d wearing this shirt since it’s been hanging in my closet for so long. And as for my hair, I don’t know why it looks like this, it just does!” he laughed at her.

Fala shook her head. “Whatever you say,” she sighed. “Here are the DNA tests and documents.”

“Thanks,” Bosco replied. “But I guess I do have a small reason to dress up today.” He leaned in.

“What is it?” Fala asked, oblivious to his actions as he came closer to her.

As innocent as she was in terms of romantic relationships, Fala didn’t realize it until a second after it had already happened. Bosco had come closer to her, and quick as lightning, he placed a gentle kiss on the side of her cheek. It was something reckless for him to do, but not impossible. He leaned back and rocked on his feet with a smile on as Fala stood frozen as ice, surprised and speechless, unsure of what to say.

“I know you’re single,” Bosco smirked. “Nancy complains about that all the time. What do you say you give me a chance and go on a date?”

Without thinking, Fala wanted the best excuse to reject Bosco, mainly because she didn’t want to have a boyfriend at the time. So what would be the best excuse? “I already have a boyfriend, thank you,” she replied. Then afterwards, she wanted to mentally kick herself a million times realizing what excuse she had just given him.

“Really?” Bosco asked. “I don’t believe you. Look I just kissed you and you’re blushing.”

“I do, he’s going to pick me up right now,” Fala continued, wanting to kick herself even more.

“Alright, I’ll walk you down and see your boyfriend down there,” Bosco offered as he pushed her to continue walking towards the elevator.

As she walked, Fala’s mind shot to a complete mess. She wondered how she would ever pull it off to convince Bosco to back away from her. She wasn’t surprised that Bosco liked her. She was surprised at how strongly he came on and how stupid she was all of a sudden to say she had a boyfriend, which didn’t exist. She doesn’t have a boyfriend, how will she pull out a fake one in five minutes? That’s it! Ruco’s name suddenly appeared in her head as she quickly pulled out her phone and hoped to God he’d pick up.

“Hello?” Ruco’s voice came on over the line.

“Ruco? Can you pick me up at the police station front doors?”

“Sure I’ll be right there, but what’s going on?”

She quickly hung up before he could finish, hoping not to lead Bosco into thinking this was all an act. “There, my boyfriend will be picking me up.”

“I’m still coming to see,” Bosco smiled.

They walked into the elevator and Bosco pressed the button for the first floor. Fala stood beside him awkwardly as she wondered what else she should try to pull off to convince Bosco to back away from her. She knew she didn’t like him in any special way besides just friends, but she had no clue how to handle her current situation. Her sister was right, Fala may act like the older sister, but in terms of romance she will always be the younger one.

Stepping out of the sliding glass doors, Fala could see the young man standing there beside his car, waiting for her. He had on a light blue polo and worn out jeans, his goatee and moustache nicely trimmed and his eyes lit up once he saw her. His hands were in his pocket and he smiled as she walked towards him. He had a sense of confusion in him though once she came up closer than she would normally do.

“What did…?”

“Shh,” she hushed him quickly as she wrapped her hands around his neck. “I’m sorry but play along, please,” she spoke again before suddenly her lips were on his.

Ruco was surprised and his heart nearly burst out of his chest, but he finally calmed down after a moment. Fala didn’t seem to know what to do, but he guessed that she was trying to give him a kiss. He really didn’t mind playing along with such a pretty girl, and so he returned her kiss, leading the way for her as Fala’s lips eased up and softened along with his. After a moment, when Ruco was about to close his eyes and push closer to her, Fala pulled back gently and smiled awkwardly at him.

She then turned around to the officer who stood behind her. “Believe me now Bosco? Bye!”

As they got into his car, Ruco finally had the chance to ask her. “What was that?” he laughed.

“I’m sorry,” Fala stressed, looking at him with innocent and sincere eyes. “That was Bosco Wong, I’m sure you already know him. He wanted to go out on a date with him and I didn’t want to lead him on because I don’t like him that way and I couldn’t come up with a good excuse to get him to back off because he came on pretty strong and just then your name suddenly appeared in my head and I knew that you would never like me that way due to how different we are but I guess since we’re friends you would help me out and so I called you to pick me up to have him think that you’re my boyfriend and I knew he was still suspecting me so I didn’t know what to do so I just kissed you! I’m sorry!” Fala spilled out, speaking too fast as she tried to explain.

Ruco only laughed at her silliness. “It’s ok, I didn’t mind the kiss. It was good, thanks.”

“What?” Fala replied, confused.

“Nothing,” Ruco laughed and shook his head. “You know, I could actually fall for you too if this keeps happening.”

“Don’t say that. I don’t want a boyfriend right now, I still have a career to focus on,” she sighed.

“Whatever you say. But just remember, now in front of Inspector Wong we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. I’m up for helping you with the act. Now it all falls on you to tie it together.”

Fala sighed as she leaned back in her seat. “Fine.”

“Alright, so we’re setting up a date at the end of the month and having him accidentally run into us so that he’s convinced you have a boyfriend.”

“Fine,” Fala sighed again. “Wait, what?” she suddenly sat up, realizing what she had agreed to. It was one heck of a strange night for her. She had just managed to avoid Bosco’s date but then somehow ended up agreeing to a date with Ruco. She fell back in her seat and sighed, giving up.

===
November 17, 2011……2:30 p.m.
===

That day was probably the last day he’d see Yoyo for a while. She was boarding a plane in the evening, heading for Toronto, Canada. He was hoping that bringing her away from Hong Kong and into the hands of a closely trusted friend, she would have the time to relax and possibly get over her growing, already out of control addiction to drugs. He had helped her pack in the early morning, now he left her alone with her words to Tavia.
Raymond walked into the sunlit living room with two steaming coffee mugs in his hands. As he sat down, he handed one to Michelle and placed his on the table. The elegant woman set down her magazine as she turned to him with her soft and gentle eyes.

“Are you sad that she’s leaving?” Michelle asked.

“No,” Raymond replied, shaking his head. “At least I’ll know that she’ll be safe over there.”

She nodded and took small sip of her coffee. “I’ll only send her over until everything settles down. With Kevin Cheng knowing her relationship to you, he’ll use her against you. That’s why we need to worry about our family members in this business. Thankfully, my two girls are elsewhere. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to face them if they are harmed in this struggle between me and Kevin. I wouldn’t know how to face them if they were harmed because of me.”

“But you told me you left your two only daughters in an orphanage in Beijing. Aren’t you ever going to look for them?”

“I did,” Michelle sighed. “Sadly when I came over there a few years ago, the caretaker told me the younger sister had been adopted. Nancy, the older one ran away and they both ended up in an orphanage in Hong Kong. When I came to the orphanage in Hong Kong, both girls had left already. I just hope they’re ok and happy wherever they are.”

“Not that I don’t support you. I’ll never forget all the good things you did for me. You treated me like your own son and I treat you like my own mother. So with our relationship, I want to know why you’re taking such a big risk in fighting Kevin Cheng for 14K. Sure you have an even chance of winning, but it’s still too risky.”

Michelle set down her coffee and looked up, staring at something far away in the distant horizon. She watched as the sun rose high up in the sky, glimmering down upon her for coming success. “I’m doing this, because I want to get back at him for all of those years. When I met his father, I thought my chance had come. If I married him, me and my two little girls would live a happy and fulfilled life. His father tricked me into leaving my girls back at the orphanage in Beijing for safety and promised me that once things got settled down we’d go back and get them. Well it all turned out to be a lie. Once things settled down, he had his men watch me all the time and he wouldn’t allow me to even step near an orphanage. He wanted his son to be my only priority. That kid never even respected me and as he grew older, he would always create trouble for me. Because of him and his father, I lost contact with my precious little girls. For twenty years I didn’t know how they were doing or if they’re safe or happy. For twenty years I’d spend every night wondering how their day went and wishing that I’d be able to care for them again. I thought that once his father died, I’d be able to see my girls. But it was too late. So the only form of vengeance I could think of was to bring his life’s work down to ruins. Once I have 14K in my hands, taking it down would be easier than ever. That’s why I have to fight with Kevin for it. I’ve already won over two elders to support me through bribery and blackmail. Nothing beats the power of money in this world.”

He sighed and took her hands. Raymond sat close to her, treating her as if she was his own mother and caring for her like so. “You have good reasons for doing all of this. But just please promise me when you come to trouble, get help immediately. I know you’re tough but as a woman, you have the right to ask for help. At the end of the day you’re still just a woman. Remember to choose your life over vengeance. You still have two daughters somewhere out there. Don’t forget that.”

Michelle chuckled lightly and replied to him with a tight squeeze to his hands. “You sound just like that girl who saved my life from the police station.”

“Nancy Wu, the recklessly amusing cop?” Raymond replied. “I said this because I care about you and I treat you as my mother.”

“She said the same thing and that was the first time we saw each other. Though for some reason, I have this strange feeling about her. I feel close to that girl. The whole time I was there, I was fighting the feeling to hug her. I didn’t want to seem weird and weak.”

“I guess Nancy does have her way with people then,” Raymond replied. “I like her too, and like you, we’re triads and she’s a cop.”

“Maybe not all cops are justice blinded fools then.”

“Not all of them, but some of them are still pretty bad people. Kate Tsui, that other police officer, I suspect something about her. Once we all established that Macy’s move might somehow be related to Kevin Cheng, she suddenly acted really weird. If I didn’t know better, I might even think that Kate is somehow associated with Kevin.”

“I doubt you’ll have to worry. Besides, she seems like she could do little to harm me.”

“I just hope so then,” Raymond replied, finally picking up his coffee mug.

===

Her mind was saddened once she realized she won’t know when the next time she’ll be able to see Raymond again will be. Yoyo never had the chance to properly thank him, and with her leaving him alone, she couldn’t help but worry. As she finished packing the last of her things, she turned back and smiled at the young woman who sat quietly on her bed with her hair tied back, wearing a casual flannel shirt that still made her look stunning. Looking at that woman, Yoyo felt at ease leaving Raymond with her. She knew that the woman, Tavia Yeung, would take care of her only brother properly.

Yoyo smiled, sadness showing in her eyes. “Promise me you’ll look after Raymond when I’m gone. He tends to get himself in a lot of trouble. But he’s a good guy.”

Tavia nodded and assured her of the promise. “I promise. You won’t have to worry.”

“I know your impression of him wasn’t very good, and I don’t know if over the time you’ve been together that impression has changed or not, but please trust me, he’s not the heartless player that people make him out to be. I feel that with you around, you’ll be able to bring out the real him. He’s only afraid to show others the real him because he’s afraid people will take advantage of him that’s all. He’s not such a heartless person. Please don’t believe in those rumors.”

Tavia nodded. “I won’t believe those rumors, you can count on that. My impression of a person won’t be turned that easily, and I think I’m already starting to see the real Raymond Lam.”

“I don’t talk much to my brother about his romantic relationships, but I know enough that you’re currently his girlfriend, and I know him well enough to say that you’re the first girl whose heart he doesn’t want broken. Please trust him and give him a chance.”

Tavia smiled as she took Yoyo’s hand and held them gently. “You won’t have to worry. I don’t know what had happened to you two in the past that caused Raymond to build such a wall around his heart, but I will be sure to give him a chance and I will be sure to treat him well.”

“Raymond never told you about our past did he?” Yoyo asked.

“No, the most I’ve heard was about you and him a couple years back.”

Yoyo gave her a warm smile, one of which only an innocent little sister of someone could give off. She looked down at their hands as she began speaking again, slowly and gently. “He used to be very different actually. When we were kids, Raymond could actually be considered a nerd. He went to school and then home to study. He’d help mom, dad and me and never complain. He was the nicest guy ever and was probably such a pushover in school. Raymond had good grades and really good relations with the teachers. He even aimed to be a lawyer or doctor. He once told me he wanted to be someone who could help people because we need a lot of help back then and the people who helped us such as the social worker people were very kind and very good people.”

“Raymond used to be like that?” Tavia asked as Yoyo gave her a nod. “What happened then?”

===
Lost & Found in Hong Kong - Raymond’s Story
===

I remember I was in elementary school then, and Raymond was in middle school. We had a nice family, a mom a dad and everything. We were very poor though. Dad worked as a mechanic and mom worked in a sweat shop. They’d always come home very late so Raymond and I usually ended up making dinner. It wasn’t a full life, but we were happy the way we were. The only problem was we were so short on money dad was forced to borrow money from the government to keep the rent for our house. When the government stopped loaning us money, the only place left for us to turn to was the loan sharks.
We were too young to realize what exactly had happened, but all we knew was that dad had lost his job as a mechanic and so the only working person was my mom since no one would hire my dad. For a time, living off mom’s salary and borrowed money was all we could do. Raymond was getting close to an age that he could begin working so we thought if we lasted a few more months, my dad could possibly fix Raymond a job in his school so that he could study and work at the same time. We only needed to last a few more months, but before that time was up, the loan sharks suddenly came.
They were scary and mean people and wouldn’t stop beating up my dad until we agreed to pay double the amount we owed by the end of the month. We knew we didn’t have the money, but agreeing to them was all we could do or else dad would be beaten to death. Things didn’t get any better and soon they came back at the end of the month for the money. We of course didn’t have nearly enough. We could barely afford the food on our dinner table. I would always remember that day for the rest of my life. That’s why I hate the people in the gang, they are just like them. I still remember clearly, how their faces all were on that day.
Raymond and I were in the living room as he was tutoring me on something I couldn’t remember. Suddenly the door burst open and these men came in with knives and glass bottles. I didn’t know what was going on but they suddenly started messing up our house, knocking over everything. They beat my mom and dad until we saw blood. When they realized that beating us won’t get them any money, they were going to kill us. Raymond was already really big then and he tried to save us. He managed to knock out two men and as he helped my mom and dad up, we ran out of the apartment. All I could remember was him half carrying me as we were running and then two gunshots rang in my head. I turned around to see my parents both fall to the ground, no voices, no noise coming out from them. I remember Raymond stopped for a moment, shaking with anger. He even turned back and was about to run back there, but then he looked down at me. That was the last time I saw him cry as he picked me up and turned around, running again.

Several months passed and during those months, we were practically living on the streets. He couldn’t go to work or finish school because he couldn’t leave me alone. So Raymond ended up becoming a pickpocket to get us some money. For several months we lived by the change that I got collecting bottles and cardboard and the money that Raymond stole from people on the street. Occasionally we would see those men who ruined our life again on the streets and Raymond would fight them when they are drunk. One time he got hit with a broken glass bottle trying to protect me. You can ask him about it, he still has that scar on his left shoulder. We found out those men were a part of a huge gang called the 14K. Raymond once swore that he would burn down 14K, ironic isn’t it?
Almost a year passed and one day, Raymond had accidentally robbed a woman named Michelle Yim from the 14K. She chased him down and found me. She was alone though so Raymond thought he could handle her if she wanted to hurt us. But she didn’t want to harm us at all. Instead, that woman looked at me with the most gentle and loving eyes ever. When she saw me, she said something like how I reminded her of her younger daughter with my sweet tooth. Michelle didn’t hurt us or turn us into the police. Instead she even took us in and took care of us as if we were her own. She would make us finish high school and even taught me how to be a woman. As we grew older, she was like a replacement mother to us. Till this day, Michelle would still look at me with those warm and gentle eyes.
Then as we grew older, Raymond decided to join the gang and help her out as to repay her. I wanted to help too, but as a girl people kept trying to take advantage of me, and as a girl I had so much at risk. Raymond didn’t want me to be played or get hurt and so he pretended to not be related to me and made me his girlfriend. With his status in the gang, no one dared trick me or lay a finger on me. I was safe for the time being under his name. With Raymond’s status, he also took revenge on those men who killed our parents and turned our life upside down. I don’t know what exactly he did to them, but I never saw them again after he asked them to meet him out by the bay one night. I couldn’t blame him though. If they didn’t exist, our life would still be like normal, and maybe by now Raymond would be a successful man and our parents might still be alive. If not for them, Raymond wouldn’t have to give up his dream of helping people and end up contradicting his own ambitions.
He once said he was going to become someone who would help people. Now he’s someone who needs help himself. He also said that he was going to burn down 14K. Now he’s a high ranked member of the very organization that killed our parents. Life is such a heartless irony isn’t it? You end up becoming the very thing you said you’d never be.

===

Her mind was still wrapped around the idea of how different Raymond and Yoyo’s personality used to be. She would never imagine him to be of how Yoyo had described, never at all. As she stood there halfway in a trance, Yoyo wrapped her arms around Tavia’s neck and gave her a tight hug, subconsciously asking her to keep Raymond out of unnecessary trouble while she was gone. Tavia smiled as she returned with a hug and an assuring nod. As she let go, Yoyo slowly turned around and pushed her cart of heavy luggage away from them, heading for the destination gate and her terminal.

“Remember to call when you get there,” Raymond spoke as he watched her leave longingly.

“She won’t turn around, if she did she might start crying,” Michelle sighed. She then turned to Raymond and patted his shoulder. “This is the first time you two have been apart isn’t it? Don’t worry, it is for the best. You can trust that Yoyo will be safe and sound over in Canada. After she gets over her addiction, I even enrolled her in a college course. Hopefully when she comes back she’ll have a degree under her hand.”

Raymond nodded as he took Tavia’s hand without saying a word to her. “Michelle, thank you. Without your help all these years, I don’t know where Yoyo and I would end up.”

“You’re making it sound like you’re leaving as well,” Michelle smiled. She then turned to Tavia.

It was then that Tavia suddenly remembered something, something that suddenly made all the sense in the world to her and tied everything together. Michelle’s eyes, they were warm and gentle just as Yoyo had explained. Tavia also remembered something Nancy had revealed to her long ago. Nancy rarely ever spoke about her missing mother, but when she did the impression she left Tavia with was that no matter how heartless the woman was, one look into her eyes and the world suddenly seemed like a better place. Nancy had once told her that her mother’s eyes were the warmest and most gentle place on the face of the Earth. When Tavia looked back into Michelle’s eyes, she suddenly realized all the care and tender in there. Then she finally thought. Could Michelle be Nancy’s mom? It was all just a feeling or a guess, but she could picture Michelle and Nancy be related. As she began thinking about it, the two women were so much alike from their very features down to their personality.

“Tavia,” Michelle began. “I’m sure with you by his side. This kid here would be a lot better off.”

Tavia nodded and simply smiled as she was still wrapped up in the enchantment of her eyes.

“Do you plan on looking for your daughters now that you have one less worry on your mind?” Raymond suddenly asked.

Michelle smile and nodded. “Hopefully fate won’t play yet another trick on me this time. I’ll see you two later then. I still have a few meetings to attend,” she smiled and turned around, taking slow steps in leaving the airport.

“Her daughters?” Tavia asked as she watched Michelle leave.

Raymond stepped in front of her, taking both her hands up and looking into her eyes as he spoke to her. That was the first time she had the crazy urge to just hug him without control. “Yeah,” Raymond nodded. “Michelle had two daughters of whom she had lost contact with and now she’s still trying to find them.”

“That’s ironic,” Tavia mumbled.

“What’s ironic?”

“Nothing,” she replied, realizing she should have a good talk with Nancy first before she ends up stirring a misunderstanding between everyone. “What do you plan on doing now?”

“I don’t know,” Raymond replied as he placed his arms gently around her waist. “Like Michelle, I too have just had one worry lifted off my shoulders. I’m in a mood to celebrate.”

“One minute you were sad that your sister’s leaving and now you’re in a mood to celebrate?” Tavia laughed as she discreetly danced around in Raymond’s arms.

He nodded. “I was, but now I’m happy because I know that at least she’ll be safe, away from all the drama and problems of this restless city.”

“So what do you plan on doing to celebrate? Are you going to hit the club and play around with some of the girls there?”

Raymond shook his head as he leaned down closer to her face. “I already have a girlfriend, why would I want to play around with other girls?” He watched Tavia as she began to blush. Raymond smiled as he saw her lips begin to curl upwards in a shy happiness. “This might actually be the first time you’re being shy around me,” he commented. “Miss Tavia Yeung, would you like to accompany me to dinner, a movie date, and then relaxing at my place?”

Tavia smiled, trying to avoid embarrassment by shying away from Raymond’s eyes. “I would love to,” she replied. Just as she finished, Raymond’s lips suddenly stopped everything around them as he kissed her. It was a strong coming, a passionate kiss that she overly enjoyed. She began to close her eyes softly, pulling him closer to her, holding him tighter as she let go of anything that restricted her from loving the man she had in her arms.

?.? Where Have I Been ?.?

2011-04-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

So I didn't even touch my blog for the past week or two maybe? School is just such a troublesome thing, not because of drama, no I'm immune to it haha >:D But it's more of school work. In trig I'm learning about verifying trig functions...o.O...someone help?!?! IDK what I'm doing, honestly I think I'm gonna fail!!!

~*~

Anyways, so school has been keeping me way too busy. I haven't had the chance to write any new poems yet, I just have not been in the writing mood lately. My next chapter for "From Dawn Till Dusk"? Well I think hopefully I'll have it up by this weekend.

~*~

O BTW this post is just me rambling haha ^_^

~*~

Anyways, I did say I was also going to start another story titled "Midnight Sun", but I changed the title...Stephenie Meyer -.- (I thought of the title first, like five years ago, I have proof so :P U!) So I changed the title and somehow it ended up trailing to a whole different story haha. So hopefully I'll start working on that soon or after this current fan fiction. I'm think of "Before We Change" as the title, how does that sound? It's about either business or lawyers, I haven't decided. Well, time to hit the resource books....jk lol when I write it's 100% fictional, I don't have a clue about either of those topics!

~*~

Now since I have just turned 16 last December, I've finally gotten my permit like last month maybe? But now I've also convinced my parents to get me a car!!! We decided on a 2008 Honda Accord...good car? IDK. But I need money for the down payment haha, I'm kinda spoiled, but I know what I have so :P none of that bratty nonsense.

I'm also a terrible driver by the way, I totally have ADHD. I nearly...NEARLY hit a stop sign because I was busy looking at it...=.=...don't laugh at me :P

~*~

I've been so bored lately so for this post I'm just randomly blabbing and talking nonsense. I probably should've posted this in the beginning but I'm too lazy to scroll up and change that now so...DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'RE DYING OF BOREDOM or something in that area.

^_^

From Dawn Till Dusk - 09 - On the Verge of Fate

2011-04-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

=== November 7, 2011……7:15 a.m. === Their gazes at each other were strong and unbreakable, staring intently into the iris of the others. Nancy bit her lower lip lightly once she realized how much of a gamble it would be to quietly rescue Michelle off of the boat. As the speedboat came to a silent whisper on the water, Fala stepped away from the wheel and looked back at her sister. Ron had his arms folded, listening in on the conversation between Macy and Raymond as he tried to figure a way to get Michelle safely off the boat without causing an unwanted shoot-out. While the world seemed to be revolving around her, her eyes were fixed on the woman up ahead. Nancy had nearly forgotten the troublesome situation she was in and had drifted into her own world. Looking into Michelle’s eyes, Nancy’s long lost memories seemed to have returned to her entirely, perhaps even stronger and more vivid than before. Before her eyes she could see two chubby little girl, full of smiles as they watched their mother create lovely chocolate treats in the back kitchen of a bakery. [FLASHBACK] Scented with the delicious aroma of sweet, baked goods, the kitchen of the bakery, though lined with metal equipments, was still a warm and lovely place to be. The calendar said it was a Friday on a beautiful summer afternoon. Students had just gotten out of school and the day seemed to have just started all over again. Inside the kitchen, a woman stood beside the large metal table centered in the middle of the kitchen, her hands stirring back and forth a large batch of batter. In front of her sat two little girls, their smiles lined with the white icing of a stuffed pastry. Little sounds of laughter and giggles could be heard as the hours drifted by. “You two are so naughty today,” the mother smiled, bringing over a new batch of batter. “Fala’s just learning how to eat. I’ve got to make sure she gets to try every single thing here!” the little girl in a small pony tail and polka-dotted dress laughed as she gently fed yet another piece of brownie into her sister’s mouth. “Nancy, careful. Fala’s teeth haven’t grown all in yet,” the woman smiled as she wiped her hands on her apron. “I know mommy!” the girl replied in a high pitched smile. The woman walked around the table, wiping the icing off of the two little girls’ smiling faces. She laughed in a gentle and warm tone when the older sister of the two managed to place icing on the tip of her nose. She shook her head and laughed when the little girl replied with a puppy face and covered her mouth, giggling. [END OF FLASHBACK] Her eyes were off in the distance somewhere as she rekindled the sweet memories of her childhood, carefully filtering out each one. Nancy must’ve accidentally let out a smile as Ron turned his eyes to her and saw that she and Michelle both had the very same expression. Looking between Michelle and Nancy, Ron saw how the expressions on their faces are nearly in-sync and how strongly Nancy resembled Michelle, from eyes to lips and possibly even to the personality. He held Nancy’s hand in his, squeezing it just a little tighter to bring her heart and mind back to reality, in a situation where her mother’s life was laid out before her. Nancy turned to him both exchanging glances that questioned each other what to do next. “Where did you drift off to?” he asked her quietly, noticing that Fala was still on the boat, listening intently to the conversation between Macy, Raymond and now Tavia as well. “Childhood memories,” Nancy sighed. “She must’ve just had the same thing happen to her,” Ron pointed out. “Your mother, Michelle.” “You saw?” she asked. A short moment afterwards, Nancy let out a small sound of laughter, bittersweet right down to the smile she gave him. “I doubt she did. Look at her. She’s a triad now, not the gentle and motherly woman that I remembered. They’re all distant memories now.” “She’s still your mom,” Ron reminded her with a tight squeeze to her hand. “Now we still have to find a way to get her off the boat safely.” Nancy’s expression turned straight as she looked back up at the boat. “I’ve got an idea,” she began. She then turned to Ron with a serious expression on. “But you could say it’s a little reckless. Can you trust me on this one?” “I’ve trusted you many times before. Though you tend to raise my blood pressure a bit, things tend to turn out alright,” Ron sighed. “If I cover you, do you think the chances of success would be greater?” he questioned. Seeing his sudden understanding and giving into her ideas, Nancy slipped out a small, gentle smile. “100%,” she replied assuring him of her plan. “Tell Fala not to worry.” From the corner of his eyes, Ron saw that Bosco had been waiting patiently in position, his gun in his hand and showed not a moment of holding back. He glanced over at Kate who stood still, nearly invisible with her gun out of sight. It stirred him how she wasn’t even planning on helping, but he would have to tend to that matter a bit later. As he turned back, both he and Fala saw Nancy swing off of the speedboat, hanging onto a side rope that hung from the larger boat just below where Macy stood. He covered Fala’s mouth just as she was about to speak and whispered something nearly inaudible to her. Fala settled down and bit her lower lip slightly, watching as Nancy swung steadily and quietly from the rope onto a stronger railing of the ship. Ron pulled Fala back behind him as he quietly took his gun out, placed the silencer on and cocked it in preparation. His eyes straight, he found his target immediately, following the tip of his gun to her every movement on the bow of the ship. Fala took over the radio, speaking something into it, quiet enough so as not to stir unwanted attention, but loud enough for the receiver on the other end of the line to hear her. “Bosco, Ron said to position your shot for Macy’s gun. Nancy’s going up there so be careful not to shoot her.” It surprised her a bit as Bosco gave her a quick response. That must’ve been the first time Bosco had spoken directly to her, and he had a sweet, childish voice that she could get used to. “No worries doctor, I’ll be careful not to lay a scratch on your sister. Wouldn’t want you and Ron after me,” he laughed. She could see his confident smile behind his sunglasses from far away as he hung up the radio on her. Her usual impression of Bosco was suddenly questioned when she noticed a distinct glow around him, enhancing his simple features and even making him look quite attractive. She herself was surprised. What was with all her choices in guys recently? First, triad boy Ruco, and now the usual sloppy mess Bosco. Fala sighed and shook her head, pulling herself back to the current situation. What was she doing, thinking about silly nonsense at such a crucial time? === The sun was climbing to a higher point in the sky as minutes passed quickly before her. Macy’s voice was becoming dry as she yelled across the open waters to Raymond, convincing him to let go of whatever or whoever was holding him back and leave with her. It had occurred to her that no matter how much she convinced him, Raymond still wasn’t going to take one step out of Hong Kong with her. The only thing left for her to do then was kick start the engine that had been warmed up. Then push the old woman who stood in front of her overboard. Her options were limited before her, but she still wasn’t going to leave until she tried her hardest on changing Raymond’s mind. All those nights she had spent with him, though they talked very little to each other, she felt something very strong towards him. She had felt something so strong that she was willing to risk all that she had to get him to be hers and hers alone, even going past the point of no return. She wasn’t going to leave him so easily, not after everything that she had done and everything that she had gone through to get him. Macy stopped a moment and swallowed, trying to refresh her throat with whatever traces of liquid she had in her mouth and she spoke again. “Why won’t you leave with me?” Macy yelled across the open space between them. “You said it yourself very often, you’ve always wanted to get away from this wretched city. Well here’s your chance! Why won’t you take it?” He was caught in a twist of surprise and disbelief as he watched the innocent and shy little girl he once knew turn into such a messed up street woman. Raymond held back his thoughts for a slight moment. His plan was going to drag it out as long as possible for the cops to do their job, until he turned and out of the corner of his eyes he saw Tavia. She was standing up arm distance away, her hands gripping the railing tightly as she watched, worried. Just seeing her beside him, seeing the way her eyes were looking far out and occasionally turning back to him, they just make him want to yell out whatever he was thinking. He wanted both her and Macy to know that because of Tavia, he had nearly abandoned his past plans and want to start anew with a different name to him. He wanted them to know that because of Tavia, he didn’t want to be a player and ‘love’ multiple hearts at the same time anymore. Lastly, he wanted Tavia to know, for it to come to her knowledge, that for her he felt something he couldn’t explain, something he really liked, and something he would love to have forever. “I won’t take that chance because there are things left in Hong Kong I still have yet to do!” Macy’s expression showed confusion as she stared back at him. “What do you still have to do?” Something came to his mind at that moment, something good and very clever actually. He discreetly glanced at Tavia for a moment, seeing that she had now fixed her gaze directly on both him and Macy at an angle. Raymond knew that to stir Macy’s attention away from Michelle and allowing the cops to do their job easier, he would have to make her really mad. “I’m in love with a woman in Hong Kong!” he screamed his heart out. “…and I can’t leave until that woman agrees to admit that I’m her boyfriend and promise to marry me!” He watched as Macy’s curiosity and frustration got the better of her as she stepped forward on the bow, away from Michelle and closer to Raymond. Tavia was now in shock. She shot yet another brief glance at her and she seemed to be frozen in her stance. He knew that he had just stirred Macy up enough for her attention to be on him for a little bit longer. What he didn’t know was what was going on in Tavia’s mind. Raymond sighed, fishing for more words to say to keep Macy’s attention. As for Tavia, he will have to have a proper one on one conversation with her later. Finally, from behind Macy, he could see a small figure, knowing it was Nancy’s, sneak up onto the boat and quietly making her way to Michelle. === Slyly, she had managed to get herself onto the front of the boat in silence. It had never occurred to her but climbing a boat in silence really took a lot of effort as she feared that with one noise Macy would turn around and who knows what she would do. Quietly, she snuck over to Michelle, the woman who stood there, staring back at Nancy with gentle eyes, waiting to be rescued. She turned her body around, holding her hands out first, waiting as the stranger with a shocking familiarity came closer to her. Nancy could feel her heartbeat rising as each step she took brought her closer to her own mother. It frustrated her, killing her on the inside how she couldn’t scream and vent all her frustrations on that woman. She ignored her temptation to do so and instead only came over in silence and began untying the woman. “Thank you officer,” the woman spoke quietly. Nancy’s heart nearly stopped at the sound of her voice. How many years has it been since Nancy had heard that voice again? She could still remember the soft ring and the warmth it had to it. Tears came to her eyes and her hand shook for a short moment. What was she going to do afterwards? After rescuing Michelle, will she end up in a game of cat and mouse with her own mother, or will they be able to recover all those lost years? Pain came to her when more memories of the past came back, unfiltered. She remembered exactly the day Michelle left both Nancy and Fala for her own selfishness. “Miss?” Michelle questioned, wondering what was taking Nancy so long. She quickly blinked away the tears gathered in her eyes and continued untying the tight knot. She laughed sullenly, “How do I untie this knot?” Nancy asked. She didn’t know whether she was asking herself or the woman before her. She definitely didn’t know whether she was asking about the physical knot in her hand or the knot her life was in. “Don’t rush, it will eventually loosen up,” Michelle replied wisely. Nancy knew Michelle was simply referring to the physical knot in their hands, but in Nancy’s mind, those words could nicely apply to her life’s knot. “Raymond seemed to have things under control. That should give you enough time. Who is that girl beside him? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her before.” She brought herself back into the game. It must’ve been the tenth time she had drifted off into her mind that day. Nancy recalled the words Raymond had declared earlier. She knew they were meant for Tavia, but it surprised her a bit as it came from someone like Raymond. “She’s the girl he’s mentally speaking to,” Nancy replied. === “Raymond Lam!” Macy yelled. “Why did you have to lure me in so deep?!” That was just the push they needed. Tavia’s eyes were wide and surprised, staring back at him in silence. Raymond was silent to her, unknowingly swaying closer to her. He then turned back to Macy. She was now bent over the railing of the bow, screaming something at him, tears forming in her eyes. He admitted it was cruel, but he needed to get Macy far away from Michelle and Nancy. Seeing Nancy nearly finished in untying Michelle, Raymond screamed back, now more serious than before, hoping to keep Macy’s attention for just a little longer. “I’m sorry!” he yelled. “I just never expected things to turn out this way! I never expected you to change so much for me! I’m very sorry Macy! But I can’t lie to myself either! Sure before I wanted to get out of Hong Kong very badly, but now I have found something that makes me want to stay. I’m so sorry!” Tavia placed her hand on his, not knowing what to say, unsure of what to believe, and puzzled on what she should do next. Raymond turned around for a brief moment, looking into her eyes. Something he had said suddenly made all the world matter to her. She watched as Macy slammed her fist on the metal railing, tears streaming. Tavia could see the pain that streamed through Macy’s body. She thought all women could. But yet, though Tavia felt sympathy for her, she understood the situation Raymond was in. She sighed. Blinded by her tears, Macy knew of nothing else to do. She felt a piercing pain in her somewhere, somewhere she couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was. Her left hand came up, wiping her tears away as he right turned backwards, finger on the trigger and ready to fire at the woman she was certain still stood behind her. Macy’s sudden movement caught Nancy by surprise as she hurried to untie Michelle’s legs. Nancy was then rushing more than ever but as he attempts came harder, so did the knot. From behind her she could hear the sound of the safety on the gun clicking. As a cop, she herself knew better than anyone that the sound of the trigger being pulled would come very soon after. The sound of a gunshot bang rang through all their ears. Her mind froze and she admitted that no matter how much harder she tried the knot wouldn’t come undone. She didn’t bother to think as she pushed herself off of the floor and grabbed Michelle, jumping over the railing of the boat and into the open water. She took a breath and hung on tightly to the woman as they jumped head first into the sea, the water crashing against them. It was cold and somehow painful for her. Pain shot near her shoulder and for a second there she couldn’t move. === The smoke could faintly be seen leaving the tip of the black pistol that was held tightly in Bosco’s hand. He looked up from his aim, keeping the gun in position in case he needed another shot. Glad, he let out a sigh once he saw Ron swing himself up on the boat, over the railing and onto Macy. The vivid red color of blood could be seen from Macy’s hand as she tried to reach for the gun that was shot out and now laying yards away from her. Ron took her hand and bent it backwards with force, not caring whether he was hurting her or not. He had something else to worry about, something even greater than his own life. As he quickly pulled out his handcuff, Macy’s other hand had managed to throw a strong and stinging punch at the side of his face. The pain stung him and made him flinch, knowing a bruise was already forming on impact. He continued to pin her down, pushing his weight on her legs as he managed to get one handcuff on her wriggling body. “Ron I can’t see Nancy!” Fala screamed. He could see the speedboat Raymond was on come closer to him. Ron finally managed to get the metal handcuff roughly around Macy’s other wrist as she continue to fight him. He let go of her and pushed himself across the boat floor, his heart desperate to jump into the water. Ron’s one small worry about Macy escaping again was eased when Bosco had gotten up and held her down. He continued on his path, jumping over the metal railing and diving head first into the water. His figure was nearly perfect as a diver as he jumped. Water splashed up like a wave as he got underwater, kicking and pulling himself lower down to look for her. “Let me go!” Macy squealed, kicking and screaming as tears continued to leave her eyes. Bosco had lost his grip for a mere second and she was already on her feet but luckily Raymond had pushed himself on top of her, hugging her and pinning her down at the same time. He held her tight as she tried to push him away. Tavia saw her eyes behind those tears, looking back at her angrily. “Stop it!” Raymond yelled, pinning her down with force but careful not to cause anymore pain that he already had. “Detective Wong I got her, don’t worry,” Raymond sighed. “So close,” Macy sighed in defeat after a while of struggling. “If only I didn’t care about you as much,” she sighed. “I’m sorry,” Raymond spoke. “Macy I’m sorry but I can’t love you when I’ve already got someone else,” he sighed. He then looked up at Tavia who stood speechless, watching him. She didn’t move and her expression was unreadable. At that moment they felt like time had stopped. Tavia could see the sincerity in Raymond’s eyes and that was when it hit her like a speeding truck in her face. She was the one. She was the one he was talking about and she was the one he loved. Unsure of how to respond and what to say, she blinked hard and scurried over to the side of the boat, to the side where Nancy and Ron had jumped from. Tavia bent over, scanning the water. She turned back and looked at Raymond, avoiding eye contact with him, at least until she was certain of how she felt towards him and was able to put her feelings into words. “I’m going to go help Fala pull Ron, Nancy, and Michelle up,” she spoke. === For a moment, water blinded his eyes and stung so badly that he couldn’t see where he was diving in to. After those few seconds of darkness, Ron’s eyes had already nullified the pain and was now desperately searching around, looking for the stubborn woman he fell hopelessly in love with. He kept kicking and swimming deeper and deeper into the water, until he finally saw her. He saw her small body, kicking hard to push not only herself but a woman very close to her as well up and out of the water. While she kicked she scrambled to untie Michelle’s feet. He could see that Nancy was losing energy, and quickly. As fast as he could, he pulled his way over to her. Ron could see Nancy’s shining eyes, glad to see him as he placed his hands over hers to help her untie her knot. He held her hands tight in his, pulling and guiding her finger through her movement, and slowly, finally the knot became undone. The next thing he knew, he had gripped her waist, pulled her close to him and was pushing Michelle alongside her up to the surface. Fala was growing worried, leaning over the swaying water, hoping that sometime soon a familiar face would pop up and alert her that they were all alright. She feared her sister’s stubbornness, knowing Nancy would do something as stupid as jump into salty water with an open wound, and she knew Ron would definitely jump in after her even after his light was nearly knocked out by an amazing side punch. As for that woman, she remembered Michelle was her name, the woman they had all been searching for, for some odd reason, Fala felt a strange connection with her. It was a connection that she couldn’t explain logically. That woman, her face was totally new to her. She was nothing more than a stranger. But yet, how come she didn’t feel like a stranger? Instead she felt like… “Nancy!” Tavia screamed. The two girls on the boat leaned as far over as they could with open arms, waiting to pull the tired couple and mysterious woman out of the water. Nancy didn’t flinch from the pain the water was causing on her wound, something that didn’t surprise any of them. Ron stayed in the water the longest, his right cheek swollen blue as he ignored the sting and lifted Michelle, then Nancy up onto the small, already crowded speedboat. Once they all got on, Fala had already started the engine and were heading back to land. Michelle sat beside Tavia, her eyes watching both Nancy and Fala intently, puzzled as to why she felt a strange feeling towards them. It was a warm feeling, but strange. Nancy leaned back in Ron’s arm but she pulled back once her shoulder unknowingly collided with his chest, causing her wound to sting to the point of tears. She kept quiet though, not even a sound came out of her. Ron carefully placed his arm around her, pulling her closer. Michelle, the woman who didn’t know she was so close to her own flesh and blood, sat quietly, watching the stubborn little girl who seemed so much like herself. === November 7, 2011……11:30 a.m. === They’ve been at it for hours and it was finally time to give it a rest. Ron had surprised himself yet again that day, allowing someone like Raymond to stand there, shoulder to shoulder beside him, watching Bosco as he showed his professionalism in interrogating Macy. Sadly the only thing they managed to get from her was her awkward and apparently undying love for Raymond. Bosco’s eyebrows were shuffled together in the interrogation room as he tried to ask her about her support and aids but all she would give him in reply was her seemingly endless memories with the infamous player. Ron noticed that both he and Raymond had their arms folded and wore nearly the same expression as they watched the interrogation. It irritated him how alike he was to Raymond at that point, but he wouldn’t feel comfortable in changing himself just to have a distinct difference from Raymond. No matter, even if Raymond was a triad member, whatever happened that day had proven more than enough to Ron that under certain circumstances, Raymond was a great help to have. He sighed to himself at the realization. “I really need to stop giving to Nancy’s reckless behaviors,” Ron sighed to himself inaudibly. “Seems as if it’s all over now and things should be back to normal,” Raymond began as he placed his hand on his chin. “But yet I still feel like there’s something wrong.” “To be honest, no matter how much I hate to agree with you, I have the same feeling.” “Michelle’s return was a huge secret, the only outside person I’d expect to uncover it was Kevin Cheng. Macy wouldn’t know anything and the people she associates with in the gang wouldn’t know anything either. I have a feeling that Macy is somehow tied with Kevin.” Ron nodded for a moment. “We’ve followed Kevin Cheng’s activities overseas for quite awhile. From what I can see, I think that he’s manipulating her to take Michelle out. As you said when you asked us to look for Michelle, she came back to fight with Kevin over the main power in 14K. It wouldn’t be surprising for Kevin to want to take Michelle out of the picture before things began.” He glanced over at Raymond, observing his reaction and indeed it was a face Ron had expected from the way things had turned out. “I actually agree with you,” Raymond laughed. He then completely turned and faced Ron with an unreadable but yet pleasant smile across his face. “You know Detective Ng; you’re not such a dick after all. You take care of your girl, do your job right, and have the right ideals,” Raymond smiled as he held out his hand, waiting for a firm shake. Ron was reluctant for a moment, but from all the events that day, he ended up shaking Raymond’s hand anyways. “I wouldn’t expect things like this to happen again too often. I feel like I should keep a closer eye on my fiancée, after all it was her who dragged me into this.” “Give her some room. I think your fiancée is a free spirit, restricting her would only stir fights.” Again, no matter how much he hated to admit it, Raymond was right… === The break room of the police office reeked with a strong and odd smell as the day went by. The sweet aroma of coffee was enhanced five times by Bosco’s cruel attempt to stay awake and force the answers out of Macy if he had to. Along with the scent of coffee, there was also a strong scent of rubbing alcohol, ones not for drinking but used to clean open wounds. “Oh shit!” Nancy accidently screamed in a high pitched voice as she shifted into biting her lower lip. Her face cringed and twisted in pain, so obvious even someone like her couldn’t hide it. “Sit still!” Fala insisted as she peered closer to Nancy’s burning wound, trying to be gentler as she dabbed it lightly with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol. “You’re so reckless, why did you jump into the water?” “I thought I was going to get shot!” Nancy replied, partially laughing as she looked up to Tavia’s confused facial expression. Tavia shook her head and sat down beside Nancy. “Just try not to be reckless for the next couple of days. I think you’ve made Ron and Fala’s blood pressure rise enough for a few days. Even Raymond gave you a fun nickname,” she smiled warmly when mentioning Raymond’s name. “What is it?” Nancy asked, noticing that discreet smile of Tavia’s. “He calls you an amusingly reckless cop,” Tavia laughed. “Hmm,” Nancy replied with a smile. “I don’t know whether to take offense to that or take it as a compliment. But on a side note, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him.” “What do you mean?” Tavia backed up nervously. “I’ve known you longer than most people. You’re feeling something for him aren’t you?” “No! Of course not!” Tavia replied. “I know, don’t try to hide it. You can lie to anyone but me,” Nancy laughed. “God! Fala! Ouch!” “Stop moving! If you’re going to question Tavia then sit still and do it,” Fala sighed. “I can’t believe you’re my older sister. If I ever meet mom I’m going to ask her if she somehow mistook us for one another and that I’m the older one!” Fala’s eyes widened slightly once she realized which territory of Nancy’s heart she had accidently wandered into, once again. Tavia stayed quiet, watching them and anticipating Nancy’s reaction. Much to her surprise, Nancy shook her head and…laughed it off? “Yeah if you ever meet her again you can ask that. Also ask her to find a good guy for you to marry too! I’ve been waiting for a brother-in-law for ages!” Her eyes lit up when she could see slight signs of blushing on Tavia’s face. A subtle knock came to their ears as the three girls turned to the open entrance way where an aged woman with a gentle face, warm eyes and welcoming smile stood looking in at them. She felt reserved at first, being the center of attention and having to interrupt their active conversation. Tavia took the chance she had and rushed out of the break room, her cheeks growing red with each second. The woman laughed awkwardly as she took slow steps in. “I’m sorry I’m interrupting,” she smiled. “It’s ok, I’m just about done here,” Fala replied in a warm voice. “You two can talk. I still have to go get DNA samples from Macy. In the heat of things I nearly forgot,” she laughed and left the room as Nancy tidied her shirt and sat awkwardly before Michelle. Bewildered, she didn’t know how to render what she saw in front of her. Never could she imagine the day when she would actually see her own mother again and actually be able to sit down and talk to her. Deep down in her heart, Nancy felt nostalgic and fulfilled. The one thing that ruined the sweet feeling of reunion for her was the fact that Michelle didn’t even know that she was their mother. The irony of the whole situation was how oblivious her mother was. “Thank you,” Michelle began. “You’re wounded and you had to stay in the water so long to help me. It must be very painful,” she spoke softly. In her mind, Nancy didn’t know which was more painful. The wound on her back or the fact that she was so close to her mother but she couldn’t expel her emotions onto her. She wanted to yell at Michelle, screaming and asking her why she left them. Then she wanted so badly to hug her, to hold her again and feel like the old days when she actually saw no fault in life. Nancy smiled, her smile discreetly hiding its bitterness behind the mask. “It was nothing. It is my job to protect people. Besides, I can’t just let you fall, that’d be wrong of me.” Michelle laughed and took Nancy’s hand. “You remind me so much of myself. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were my daughter,” she spoke, her tone unreadable. Nancy could feel her heart tighten and her eyes nearly watered if she wasn’t self conscious of herself at that moment. She strained herself to remain discreet and subtle. It was hard, but she fought back her growing desire to yell and scream at Michelle, to release all the questions and emotions she had held back for years. But at that moment, she just couldn’t. She didn’t want to come off on the wrong end with Michelle, not with the already oh so delicate relationship they have and the future troubles she knew was bound to come with their polar opposite status in society. “This must be very odd, the first time in history probably,” Michelle continued softly. “But even though I’m a part of the triad, I feel as though we could be great friends. Too bad it’s your job to put be behind bars and my job to pull as many tricks behind your back as possible. If we didn’t have our statuses today, maybe you’d be happy to join me for coffee some time?” “Yeah, if not for our status,” Nancy mumbled. “I don’t really understand the life you have, but take care and be careful from now on. At the end of the day you’re still just a woman and still very delicate. Watch your back in that treacherous world. I know you’re at odds with Kevin Cheng so try not to get killed before I put you behind bars.” Her voice shook as she spoke those words, but no other thought could come to her mind as she was suppressing most of her true feelings. Maybe it was a good start to warn Michelle about the darkness in the streets. Michelle nodded and smiled, a smile Nancy couldn’t erase from her memories even if she wanted to. “I won’t die before you catch me, but I won’t let you catch me either.” She sat there, dwelling into a variety of topics with a stranger who had just risked her own life to save hers. Michelle couldn’t understand why, but she felt awfully close to this girl. She would blindly explore the strange feeling of warmth and closeness even more if not for the gap between their statuses. After that day, she knew she wouldn’t be able to associate with such a girl again, so it was best to make such a strange moment last and answer all her questions then. The feeling she had was faint, but exchanging words with Nancy, she felt like she was talking to her own daughter. There were so many similarities in them from the smiles to the eyes and then to the very name. Mentally she backed up. This detective who had just saved her couldn’t be her Nancy. She had been sure to leave her two daughters in the mainland where they’d be safer from the exchanges of the city, and surely fate wouldn’t play such a twist on her as to place her own daughter on the very force trying to catch her. No, life isn’t that unpredictable.

From Dawn Till Dusk - 08 - Unwanted Cooperations

2011-03-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

===
November 6, 2009……9:00 a.m.
===

The morning sun finally reached its peak. Dawn again enveloped the city of Hong Kong in its warmth as people’s day fully began. For one individual, his day had already begun and was dragging out longer than it should be.
He had his phone in his hand, glancing back at the address in the text as he stepped out of his car and down the side walk. Ron was in the more quiet and outskirt side of Hong Kong where rich villas and mansions filled the streets. Each residence was fenced off by a high rise elegant concrete wall of white plaster or stone. Glancing inside at each house as he looked at their house number, he could see how vast the land must be just by the depth his view got. He looked back at his phone. Knowing he was on the right street and heading the right direction, he just had to find the house numbered 1091.
Earlier he had sent a call and a text message out to Kate and Bosco, requesting their presence at that house as soon as possible. Abiding Nancy’s promise to Tavia, Ron kept the search between him and his team instead of releasing the news to the entire police force. In his mind, Ron continuously questioned himself why he wasn’t even protesting his act. He was helping Raymond Lam, a criminal, find Michelle Yim, yet another criminal. Looking up into the bright blue sky and the fading yellow autumn leaves, Ron shook his head and laughed at himself quietly. Because of Nancy, he would always end up flexing his principles. He was beginning to wonder if they were more important to him, or his Nancy was. At the moment, Nancy won by a far mile. Ron shoved his phone back into his faded jean pocket as he stopped at the house and pushed the opened front gate to get inside.
Behind him, without looking back he could hear the familiar car engine of Bosco’s dying Cadillac come to a stop in front of the house. He then heard footsteps as both Bosco and Kate got out of the car and walked closely beside him. Obviously he had just woken Bosco up because his hair was still a mess, his eyes half closed, mouth wide open yawning, and Bosco had on what looked like a navy blue sweatshirt with Kanji characters and an old pair of light blue jeans he probably threw on without much thought. Kate on the other had looked even better than usual. In a way, Ron could also describe her as slutty, but that was no way he would think of his close colleague. She had on a short white mini skirt, a low cut red tube top with a black vest on and her hair up. In all honesty, she looked as if she had just gotten out of a club. Bosco was smart enough to bring their tools with him. In his hands he held two black cases, filled inside with tech equipments that would greatly aid them.

“What’s the emergency call for? Why are we at this house? And what happened to you and Nancy last night?” Bosco asked as he stretched his arm walking in.

“Consider it a secret operation,” Ron replied. “We’re looking for Michelle Yim without letting the rest of the force know. We’re at this house because we are meeting Raymond Lam here. And Nancy and I went to arrest Macy Chan last night with enough evidence to prove her guilty, but she got away and Nancy got shot and is still at the hospital.”

Bosco raised his eyebrows. He must’ve had a thought run through his mind, but he decided to shrug it off knowing asking more and more questions would only complicate things. “When this is over, tell me the whole story,” he spoke to Ron.

Ron nodded as they neared the door. He noticed that the moment Kate stepped into the grounds of this villa and realized where she was, she was suddenly quiet, a lot different than usual. She kept her eyes from direct contact with Ron’s and pretended to look around the house. He couldn’t explain what exactly it was, but Kate wasn’t herself. That was all Ron knew. Something about either last night or today or maybe something about Michelle Yim and this house was causing Kate to think about something. She was acting weird, and normally he would take a little time out to question her out of kindness, but this was not the time.
The front doors opened just as they approached it. A tall young man stood in the doorway, wearing a bright sky blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the collar left loose and unbuttoned. Ron had to take a second look to recall that the man was Raymond Lam. He was so used to Raymond portraying a street rat in a vest with his arms showing, but instead Raymond looked serious and professional with no tattoo in sight. The only thing recognizable about him then was his face and the way his hair was oddly messy.

“Welcome,” Raymond greeted. “Glad you’re willing to help.” His attention was mostly on Ron, wondering how and why the principled officer decided to offer him his aid.

“How long has Mrs. Yim been missing?” Ron asked immediately as he walked inside.

Bosco set the two cases on the glass table that Raymond had led them to in the living room. He opened each one quickly and took out two laptops along with wires and another small system box with red lights blinking at a mild speed.

“She was supposed to get off the flight at three yesterday. We visited her here this morning but didn’t see her. Then we called everyone who would know that she’s back and we still couldn’t find her,” Raymond replied, watching them as the three police officers set up their work.

“Kate, can you please call the airport and check up on that for me?” Ron asked.

Standing to the side, Raymond had his arms folded as he watched with a straight expression as Kate left the room the make the call. Bosco asked first then went around the house to set up his antennas and get a good feel of the place for some if any evidence or clues. Raymond’s observing eyes shifted from the well dressed but tired eyed Ron to the sloppy and uncaring mess Bosco, and finally to the slutty tramp of a police officer Kate. He raised one eyebrow surprised at what results he got by Tavia making just one call. The only thing missing was the presence of that goofy and reckless officer who tried to pass herself off as a triad, Nancy Wu. Raymond then sat down on the sofa across from Ron and began a conversation.

“So I get the special team from the police force? I feel so important,” he teased.

Ron glanced up for a mere second from the laptop screen. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Please, an uptight by well principled officer, a sloppy and unready mess, and a slutty tramp of a police investigator. All I’m missing is that amusingly reckless cop Nancy, your fiancée.”

Ron’s thought processed quickly as he asked casually his next question. “You knew Nancy was a cop. Why did you still allow her free roam in your territory?”

“She showed no threat to me personally,” Raymond replied. “…for the moment.”

Ron only nodded as he continued typing away rows and rows of codes and lines on the laptop.

“There’s something weird about her,” Raymond finally spoke a part of his mind.

Ron didn’t bother to look up, keeping himself busy with work and away from direct speech with the playboy and triad. “Who? Nancy?” he asked.

“No,” Raymond replied as he leaned back on the sofa, still with his arms crossed. “That other girl officer, I think Kate was her name? Whenever I’m at your office for interrogation, she would be flirting all over you. Something’s different today.”

Ron suddenly stopped typing and looked up from the screen, completely ignoring the midst of his work. “You think so too?” he asked, wondering if someone like Raymond Lam could have such high deductive skills.

Raymond nodded and had a small, unreadable smile across his face. “Did you reject her badly?”

“No,” Ron replied. “But something is wrong.”

“Keep an eye on her then,” Raymond warned. “It’s just a feeling, but I think that this Kate might just be more trouble than Nancy is.”

He never thought the day would ever come, but Ron kept Raymond’s word fresh in his mind. He nodded and gave a quick, neutral smile as a silent ‘thank you’ and returned back to his work, typing and opening up tracking software on the laptop. Never would he be able to guess what kind of trouble Kate might bring, but just the thought of trouble made him more alert than anything. As he worked, Ron kept half his mind on the software and the other half on Kate.
The front door to the house suddenly opened. It wasn’t a loud bang or a grand entry, but the sound of the door knob and hinge was enough to stir Raymond and Ron’s attention. They both turned their heads and looked up, only to find three women step in from the doorway. Raymond was glad to see them, one especially who wore a straight yet undyingly attractive expression on her face. The other woman was one he knew would cause him at least some amusement for the day, but the last woman he completely didn’t recognize.
Ron on the other hand was caught completely surprised by their presence here. He saw Tavia walk in first, then Fala, and then his Nancy. Whether Tavia and Fala showed or not didn’t matter to him as they didn’t have a still bleeding wound on their shoulder and still jacked up on painkiller medications, but his Nancy was different. Nancy walked in, first her expression was unreadable, but then a smile suddenly widened her face as she sat down beside him. He knew by instinct that whenever Nancy was like that, something was wrong and she was hiding something. He gave her an acknowledging nod and so did to the others.

“I explained to Nancy that you knew everything already,” Tavia spoke with a gentle smile.

Raymond could easily see how comfortable she was around him and her close friend. He definitely wouldn’t mind these girls. “And is Inspector Nancy Wu okay with me knowing?”

Nancy socially smiled. “I’m fine with it. Actually I’m quite thankful you haven’t tried to kill me yet,” she replied in a casual tone.

It shocked them all how calmly and nicely Nancy could reply about such a scary thing, but three of the four knew her better and she could possibly pull anything off.

Raymond then turned to the shy and reserved girl that sat between Nancy and Tavia, her long hair cupping her face nicely. “I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced,” he spoke with a smile.

“Fala Wu,” she simply replied. “Nancy’s younger sister.” Even though that was the fact, Fala would more often than usual feel that she was the older one and Nancy was the younger one. Their roles have been reversed ever since Ron showed up in Nancy’s life. Fala had become much more mature with age and Nancy the contrary. She knew no doubt that it was because of the happiness Ron brought Nancy that made her so childish and carefree and she didn’t mind it at all, but it was just odd to her.

Raymond nodded, smiled and shook her hand. “Pleasure,” he spoke.

===

Taking a short break, Ron finally got to know the house better as he and Nancy walked around, first searching for the bathroom and then a place to get some fresh air. He held her hand but kept quiet. Their walk was silent until they reached the open patio in the backyard where the shining sun shown brilliance down upon them. Nancy leaned on the wooden railing as she took in the beautiful landscaping of the rich backyard. Ron did the same for a moment until he sighed and finally decided to speak seriously with her.

“I told you to stay in the hospital,” he spoke calmly. “You know better and usually would only do something like this when the case is really important. Tell me, who is Michelle Yim exactly and what relations do you and her have together?” His speech was straightforward, but it was a better option than beating around the bushes.

Nancy looked down at her hands, thought for a moment and finally released a long sigh. “Michelle Yim,” she began with a bitter smile. “I don’t really know how else to put it. But do you remember when we first met?”

“The time in the alley?” Ron asked.

“No, before that,” Nancy corrected. “That time at the police academy when we, two complete strangers, spoke to each other and decided to become police officers.”

Ron nodded. He definitely remembered that time. After all, whether big or small, Nancy still played a role as Ron’s muse to becoming the great officer he was now. “What about it?”

“Remember when I told you that my reason in joining the police force is because police officers can find people and it’s because I want to find someone?”

He nodded again. “Of course I remember. I never forget anything you say.”

Nancy smiled, still looking down at their hands, now linked and fitting perfectly together. “I never told Fala that was the reason. I only told her that I want to become a police officer because it seemed like a fun job and because of all the benefits we get from it.”

Ron nodded and moved closer to her. Their foreheads were touching as he looked at her face while she looked down at their hands. They were so close he could feel her warmth and her heartbeat rising at a slow but steady pace. She looked tired and worn out, but was still capable of holding her sweet, sweet beauty that he loved so much. Nancy’s wounded shoulder was bent back oddly, perhaps to keep the wound from causing too much pain. He didn’t notice this until they got closer again.

“Well the person I wanted to find was Michelle Yim,” Nancy spoke softly. “I’ve been denying it for over ten years now, but she’s my mother.”

Holding her hands, Ron was quiet for a moment. “You’ve told me about your past and what your mother had done, but you never told me who she was and I respected that secret of yours. Now that you have the opportunity to see her again…what are you going to do?” Ron asked. He was fully understanding of Nancy’s situation for he had asked to hear her story many times so as to remind her that even if the world turned on her, he would be the one still beside her.

She shook her head and laughed without humor. “I don’t know. I never imagined that I’d be able to see her again.” Nancy paused for a moment. Her words were soft and sullen even if she had on a fake smile. “I still can’t bring myself to forgive her so easily. Now her being a triad also complicates things, but I can’t deny it. Even though I hate her for what she did to me, I still miss her.” Only when she was around Ron and no one else could she admit to something like that. Only around him alone could she admit to her true and innermost thoughts.

“It’s your decision, but my idea is to cherish the time you have now. Things could have changed in ten years, and no matter what she’s still your mother. Sure you have to break the news to Fala but that could be done slowly over time. For now, try your hardest to mend your relationship with her. No mother will stop loving their daughter, and it goes the same the other way around. Just don’t be reckless and get into trouble that’s all I ask. Whatever you do, I’ll support you.”

She leaned in to kiss him. Ron returned her kiss quickly and after a few seconds, their quick interaction turned into a moment of pure silence and passion. He held her tighter, knowing his Nancy needed him. Nancy ignored the constant shots of pain that came from her shoulder and only focused on him. As she kissed him harder, Nancy thanked God for allowing such a wonderful man like Ron to be there for her. Taking his words into mind, she didn’t know how she will do it and she doesn’t know how her rash nature would affect it, but all she knew was that somehow, she will fix up her broken home.
Just the thought of speaking to her mother again after so long made her nauseous and sickened, but she will have to do it if she wanted a proper home again. No matter if she was a cop and her mother was a triad, no matter the fact that Fala was a forensics that stood in between them, no matter the fact that both sides were supposed to be enemies. She was still going to fix everything. Nancy closed her eyes harder as Ron pushed in for a harder, stronger and more passionate kiss. She could feel his soft lips on hers, providing her support as she thought through such an important decision in her mind. At that moment, it was decided. With Ron by her side, she had the confidence to do anything. She will do what she wanted most, and it was to fix her broken home and then finally expand on it with Ron soon after when they could properly get married once everything was done and over with. There are possibilities that fate could toy with her and mess things up again, but she didn’t care. All she knew was she had a chance to fix everything. She was determined to do so, no matter what the cost.

===
November 6, 2009……3:00 p.m.
===

The afternoon came by slowly, dragging out every single second of it. Raymond was just about ready to fall asleep, if not for the fact that he had a missing savior lingering in the back of his mind. During the time, he had been sitting beside Tavia, watching as she even understood how to work the different police technology. Bosco Wong, the untidy mess was more helpful than he could ever believe. In nearly one hour, Bosco had cracked the many messages of nearly the whole 14K triad, and narrowed down Michelle’s location to five places. Raymond couldn’t understand how he did it, but Detective Wong was really something.
Another hour seemed to have passed, but when he took a look back at the clock it seemed five minute hadn’t even passed them by. It felt as if Raymond was frozen in time, waiting in a bright, autumn afternoon. Tavia had left him to go to the bathroom, doing whatever a woman would do in there, and also cancelling all her plans for the day just to help him. He was so thankful of the busy city woman that he couldn’t hide his little smile for her, even during a time like that. He waited in silence for a minute, but boredom soon caught up with him.
It had come to the point where he memorized each and every aspect of the house for Raymond. He had wandered pass the screen doors leading to the open patio. About to go outside, he noticed the oblivious couple, too engulfed in each other to notice the moving world around them. For the first time in a very long time, Raymond felt a mature sense to leave them alone and not ruin their moment, no matter how much his rougher, triad side wanted to. He shook his head and continued walking on. A little bit pass the patio, he finally saw her. She had basically disappeared from him since that morning, but he saw her again. Kate, the skin showing girl of the police force stood before the glass window, looking out at the couple.

He approached her casually, finding something off with this girl. “It hurts right?” he asked.

She turned to face him. “What do you mean?”

“Anyone with eyes and ears can tell that you’re in love with Inspector Ng. If you’re in love, it would hurt to see him with someone else.”

She didn’t even bother to deny it. She nodded in silence and then longingly turned to look back out the window.

Raymond raised an eyebrow. “So what’s wrong this morning?” he asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she lied.

He simply laughed. “Right,” Raymond sarcastically replied. “Usually you’d be all over him and not even allow them a moment of alone time.”

Kate suddenly turned towards him with an angry expression on. “You,” she began.

He cut her off quickly. “Don’t lie. So what’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” she replied.

Raymond folded his arms, amused by how reading people could be so fun. “If nothing’s wrong, can you go and help me find Michelle Yim now?”

Kate turned from him and began to walk away. She suddenly stopped and without turning around asked, “Why do you need to find Michelle Yim? You’re probably only going to get yourself in more unwanted trouble.”

There it was. Raymond knew she would spill something sooner or later. Normal people would simply base her words on a guess, a simple question to get out of doing her work, but there was something about the atmosphere that day that made him believe she meant something more. He kept his arms folded and watched her as she lingered in her next step. He knew that she had something on her mind and that something could no doubt relate to Michelle. This woman, she was a questionable one to him. Perhaps he was just over-analyzing the situation, or perhaps it was instinct. He didn’t know, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

“More trouble?” He continued to question, hoping for more leaks.

She shook her head and left. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a complete idiot. Raymond sighed and continued with his walk around the house, wondering what would happen next. He didn’t know why, but things felt like they were beginning to get interesting.

===
November 6, 2009……6:00 p.m.
===

Hours passed by. At that time in the evening, they were all gathered in the elegantly furnished living room, waiting on phones and staring at laptop screens for news. No one spoke much, it was one of those times when speaking would do more bad than good for them. Ron scrolled through a series of recorded phone conversations Bosco had easily recovered while Nancy stared blankly at the footages taken from the airport.

After a long while, she finally spoke. “The last place they confirmed seeing her was at the airport.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “But I also saw Michelle Yim at a bakery too. So she must’ve had time to roam the streets a little bit, and then she was taken.”

“You saw Michelle Yim at a bakery?” Tavia asked, surprised.

Nancy nodded then she turned to Ron. He had his head in his hands, listening intently even though he had already heard the story. She then took a look at Fala. Out of all of them, Fala seemed to be the least involved. She helped Bosco out and continued treating to Nancy’s bullet wound with the medical knowledge she had. What all but two of them knew was that Fala and Nancy had more related with Michelle Yim than anyone would ever think.

“If it had been someone we know, on the streets one of the gang members must’ve seen it,” Raymond suggest.

“Not unless if that person had enough reputation to back their actions up enough to remain unquestioned,” Ron cut it.

“Where are you going at?” Kate suddenly spoke up. She had been unusually quiet most of the day but that moment, all eyes turned on her.

Ron didn’t hold back his words. To him, Kate was a colleague, someone he could talk to, and nothing more. “I’m saying that someone well known in the 14K could’ve taken her. Raymond you said it yourself, recently there had been a lot of stirs in the 14K. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it was someone big in your gang.”

Nancy nodded in agreement. “Why is Michelle Yim back in Hong Kong?” she asked.

Tavia turned and faced Raymond, wondering if he would hold back the truth or not.

It took him a moment of thought, but he finally decided. What was most important right then was to find her. Even if the cops do find out about their little plan. What he didn’t want to happen though was for it to be leaked, and in that room he knew there was one person he couldn’t bring himself into trusting.

“Never mind then,” Nancy sighed.

“No,” Raymond interrupted. “I’ll tell.” He stopped for a moment, his eyes on Kate. Ron saw it too and he took over Raymond’s role in paying attention to her reaction. “Kevin Cheng, the son of the last 14K boss, is at odds with Michelle over who should be the head of power in the gang. He came back to Hong Kong a few days ago, ready to discuss with the elders and higher ranked members about it. Michelle came back in secrecy to fight him over the seat.”

Kate remained quiet and showed no reaction. But that was her mistake. Ron saw that everyone else in the room had some reaction beside her. Fala was intrigued by the whole gist of the story she was witnessing. Tavia shook her head and sighed, hearing of stories similar to this, the fighting of power, over and over again. Bosco hid his amusement into where the case was leading, and Nancy stayed in awkward silence as millions of thoughts ran through her head. The fact that Kate had no reaction to this triggered something to Ron. She must’ve known something ahead of time. It was either that or Kate really had nothing on this case, but Ron was willing to bet otherwise. There was something about her today that triggered his attention.
The sound of Raymond’s cell phone suddenly caught their ears by surprise. He scrambled to get it from the empty sofa across from him as Ron attached a tracking but onto it and Bosco turned on the software. They all sat in silence as he placed the call on speaker phone.

“Macy?” Raymond spoke once he realized who had called him through the caller ID.

“Raymond, I’m glad you picked up!” she spoke loudly over the phone in a pitchy voice.

“What’s up?” Raymond asked. He turned to look at Nancy and Ron.

“I’m sure by now you have heard about what happened last night,” Macy began.

“No, I haven’t,” Raymond replied, narrowing his eyes on Nancy, the one person he knew was capable of pulling some unpredictable stunt.

“The cops came and interrupted my little meeting. It’s fine now, I’m pretty sure one of them is in critical condition.”

Ron looked at Nancy, then to her wound. He wanted so badly to yell at her, but he just couldn’t bring himself to. Not with all the many things that were happening around them.

“Macy why did you call?” Raymond asked impatiently.

“Leave with me,” she demanded.

“What?”

“Leave with me. I know you value Michelle Yim’s life very much, so leave Hong Kong with me and I’ll let her go. I can’t stay here anymore, not if I still want to have my freedom. But I can’t bear leaving without you either. So using Michelle Yim to get you to come would be the best idea.” She replied confidently.

Raymond paused for a moment but then asked, “Where are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. Tomorrow at three I’ll pick you up at your apartment. Then we can go.”

With that the line went dead. The whole room turned to Bosco and Ron as Bosco silently gave them a thumbs up. Raymond slipped his phone back in his pocket and sat back down on the sofa, running his hands through his hair as he let out a troubled sigh. He had some idea of what was happening, but for Macy he doubted them all. He had always thought she was too innocent to be able to do anything. That was part of the reason he kept her around.

“Michelle is probably with her. We have to find her before she picks Raymond up tomorrow or we’ll lose trace of Michelle,” Tavia spoke, placing her hand on Raymond’s shoulder.

“She’s at the bay, east point,” Bosco pointed out as Ron looked over his shoulder on the map he had just pulled up. “The phone call traced to there. But it’s in the middle of the water, so we’ll need to get a boat if we go there.”

“I can’t believe it was her the whole time. I mean I had some idea, but I never expected them to all be true,” Raymond spoke in frustration. “What happened to her?”

“Love changes a person tremendously,” Tavia commented.

He looked up at her with sullen eyes, his way of a silent ‘thank you’. Raymond then turned back to the crowd. “Did you guys try to arrest her last night?”

“We did,” Nancy replied, pointing to Ron and to herself. “But of course, she got away.”

“And one of you got shot?”

Ron nodded. “Nancy did.”

“On behalf of Macy, I’m very sorry. I knew something was going to happen and I could’ve prevented it, but…I’m sorry.”

Eyes of surprise were met when Raymond suddenly stood up and apologized to them. He spoke in the sincerest voice and his eyes showed no lie. Tavia was struck with silence, watching as the infamous playboy of the 14K suddenly showed a side much more mature than she could ever imagine. She was right. There was something different about him, something that made her want to trust him, want to be with him, and want to love him. She had attempted to deny all her feelings before, fearing the pain she would walk into. But what he said just then to Ron and Nancy that was just the push she needed to take the jump.

Ron too was in shock. In one day, his impression of Raymond had nearly taken a full 360 degree turn. “No need to apologize,” was all he could say.

“Nancy’s wound will be fine,” Fala spoke in, assuring everyone. “What’s important now is that we find Michelle Yim. If Macy could change that much like Raymond had seen we don’t know what she would do to Michelle.”

Nancy suddenly turned to look at Fala. Inside her mind, she was foolishly laughing at herself for pushing the people around her in such an ironic situation. Fala, her sister, was speaking of their mother as if they were strangers. As if that wasn’t odd enough, the one innocent soul of the night world had turned into a complete psycho.

“Kate, when’s the next boat available for us to use?” Nancy asked.

Kate seemed out of it as she rested her head on her hand. Sighing, she finally gave an answer after glancing at the screen. “Tomorrow morning, six a.m. The bay will be open for us then. Now we won’t be able to do anything unless if we get a signed paper, but that could take days.”

It was all silence afterwards. Raymond sat beside Bosco as he pointed out the different directions they could take in getting to Macy’s constantly changing direction. Tavia stayed close to him, her hand protected in his hold as she knew of no way she could help anymore. Tavia looked on the screen, playing a game in her mind of which way to take. Occasionally she would speak up and point out to them a different option, and almost every offer she had worked, but she was too engulfed in another matter to provide much of help. She was too engulfed in Raymond. Her impressions of triad boys were never altered so much in her life. She saw something in Raymond that she couldn’t ever imagine. She had thought guys with real principles were limited to only a select few and with her luck she would never meet an available one. But her luck seemed to have turned. She silently laughed in her mind, thinking how in one day, an unwanted cooperation could allow so much change to silently creep up on them.
She suddenly tightened her grip on his hand and Raymond quickly returned to gentle nudge. He glanced at her quickly, quick enough that it was discreet to the entire room, but slow enough that she could see his clear, shiny eyes.

===

In another room of the house, Fala had found a small box of first aid materials that proved to work in helping reduce Nancy’s jolting, piercing pain. She gently dabbed small amounts of alcohol to the wound, cleaning it and to numb out the effect of the bullet. As she did so, she sighed whenever Nancy would hold back her squeal of pain, shaking her head at her sister. She was gentle every time, but the pain could not be helped.

“You don’t have to hold back your cries you know,” Fala sighed. “Every girl is entitled to cry.”

“It’s become a habit,” Nancy laughed humorlessly. “People always have something they don’t want others to see, and I’m just the same. I don’t want to seem like a burden to everyone. Even though sometimes I feel like I am.”

“What are you talking about?” Fala laughed in an airy sigh. “I think you had a very long day.”

“Probably,” Nancy nodded and yawned. “Have you ever thought about our mother?”

Fala was caught off guard. She knew that whenever they accidently touched upon that topic, Nancy would become very guarded and sensitive. She never thought Nancy would be the one mentioning it, and in such a calm voice. Her sister had definitely had a very long day if that happened. She stayed silent, unsure if she should tell Nancy how she truly feels.

“I’m being serious,” Nancy spoke. “I know it’s usually a sensitive topic to touch upon, but have you?” she continued to ask.

It took a moment for her to process an answer, but Fala slowly sounded it out. “Often,” she replied. “To be honest, I wonder about her every day. I was too small to remember what she looked or sounded like, but how could I ever forget my own mother? I remember how she used to hold us.” Fala paused. She laughed bitterly as Nancy could see the tears come to her eyes. They were held back though, something she didn’t want Nancy to see. “I never thought we’d be able to talk about her again. I wanted so badly to ask you where she was or what she was like, but whenever we touched upon that topic, you’d back away and close yourself entirely.”

Nancy sighed as she slowly slipped her shirt back on. “I’m sorry,” she spoke softly. “…but a lot of things are better kept hidden.” She sounded sad and down, but she wasn’t closing herself up. Fala was glad and wanted to hear more, anything she could about the mother whose face she never knew. “If we see her again, how would you feel?”

“I wouldn’t know because I could never imagine the day. But I would be very glad to see that she’s alright. And I would ask her why she was never there.”

Nancy leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Fala. She could feel Fala’s arms around her body as they stayed together, hugging for a long moment. Nancy then let out a soft sigh, trying to come to a conclusion in her mind. After a long moment, she slowly and carefully pulled herself away. She placed both hands on Fala’s shoulders and spoke to her in a soft and nearly motherly voice. During those moments, it was then that Fala felt like the younger sister of the two. They were rare moments, but usually important, unforgettable ones for their minds.

“If we see her again,” Nancy began. “I’ll let you know. But remember to have fudge brownies ready, mom loved brownies,” she sighed.

They both smiled and Fala nodded. She could hear loud footsteps approaching them from down the hall, perhaps a guy. The only man that would come at that time was Ron, and Fala knew well enough to give her sister and still future brother-in-law some alone time. As Ron’s figure appeared at the door, Fala quickly cleaned up the first aid materials and quietly slipped out of the room. Ron had his hands in his pockets. He finally pulled them out when he was around Nancy’s presence, using them to gently take her into his arms.

“Why do you always have to pretend that nothing could hurt you?” he asked softly as he turned her so that her shoulder wouldn’t hurt against his body.

Nancy smiled. “Funny, Fala and I were just talking about that before you came in.”

Ron leaned down to kiss her forehead. “You talked to her about your mother didn’t you?”

She nodded. “I didn’t tell her it was Michelle yet. I didn’t know if I should.”

“Time will eventually fix everything, no worries.” Ron closed his eyes and sighed as he rested his head on the nape of her neck. “Since there’s nothing left to do but wait, Raymond and Tavia are downstairs, staying cozy. Bosco’s playing a game on one of the laptops, and Kate is zoning into space.”

“Does something about Kate today seem off to you?” Nancy suddenly asked.

Ron nodded gently. “Yeah,” he replied. “But we could worry about that tomorrow. Right now she won’t be doing anything.”

“I guess so.”

“Tired yet?” he asked Nancy, able to feel a soft, almost inaudible ‘yes’ from her. “Then let’s go to bed.”

===
November 7, 2009……7:00 a.m.
===

The morning sun was beating down on them as the two boats scanned the waters in search of a bigger one. The sun was brightly hanging up on the sky, gleaming down and causing most people to cover their eyes. It was bright, but unusually chilly for an autumn morning. So cold that even Ron had to wrap his arms around Nancy to keep her warm. It was so cold that Tavia had to snuggle against Raymond to keep warm. They didn’t know what the sudden change in whether could foretell, beside the fact that winter was coming early that year.

“Ron do you see anything?” Nancy asked as she pushed herself back into his hold, searching around the nearly empty waters.

He shook his head. “Fala?”

“I got nothing,” Fala replied as she attempted to properly maneuver the boat.

“Ron,” Bosco’s voice suddenly spoke over the radio. “We found her.”

“Send me your location and we’ll get their immediately,” Ron spoke.

The temperature in Nancy’s body rose once she realized how close they were. She pushed herself out of Ron’s hold to get closer to the radio. “Fala steer east,” she spoke quickly. “Bosco, who do you see?”

“All we see are Macy and Michelle. She has Michelle handcuffed and standing at the bow of the boat,” Tavia’s voice spoke over the radio now. “Bosco is getting out his gun, he could see a gun and knife in Macy’s hands.”

Nancy turned to look at Ron. “Did I drop my handcuff the other day?”

“Maybe, but I’m more worried about her gun,” he spoke as he leaned on the windshield of the boat, looking ahead as he held Nancy close by.

“Macy’s asking Raymond to get on the boat and leave with her. Then she’ll make the exchange and give us back Michelle,” Tavia spoke. “Bosco’s in position in case anything happens. He wanted me to tell you guys that.”

“Tell Raymond whatever you do, don’t agree to Macy. If she brought a gun, she’ll be expecting something from us.”

They were coming closer. Nancy could see the two boats, facing each other as they approached. She could hear the voices of Macy and Raymond going back and forth, arguing about something she couldn’t understand. A cold and lonely breath of wind stroked their faces as the speedboat continued on its path due east. She narrowed her eyes down to the front bow of the boat, trying to see clearly as they were approaching from the back.
Her eyes widened slightly when she finally saw the scene. The familiar face that stood on the bow of the boat beside a young girl, handcuffed and threatened to silence. The woman didn’t quiver in fear. Instead she seemed to be quite confident she would be released safely. Nancy finally got close enough to see her eyes, looking out in the open sea and seeing another boat approaching to her rescue. Her aged and warm eyes lit up for a moment, but then returned to a discreet glance once she realized Macy would notice if she acted up. Her black fur coat was taken off and sitting on the chair beside them as she stood in a lovely white blouse, swaying freely in the ocean breeze. Michelle’s eyebrows suddenly came together slightly, seeing clearly the faces that were approaching to her rescue. They felt like familiar faces and something inside of her made her feel very close to them, but yet she couldn’t recall who they were.
Inside her head, rescuing Michelle was top priority, but there was another thought lingering in the back of her mind. Nancy wondered whether she would even recognize them. It had been so many years since she had last seen them, how could she ever imagine that the two chubby, sweet-tooth little girls she once knew would grow up to be such women.

“Fala kill the engine,” Nancy spoke softly. She stood up straight, holding onto Ron’s hand as she looked back, coming into eye contact with her mother, Michelle Yim.

Midway Rendezvous

2011-03-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

I actually didn't plan on putting another post up so early, but one of my good friends (cough cough) literally annoyed me into doing it. =_= I cave so easily.
But so in this post I will explain the meaning of the name I decided to give this blog.
Why did I name it "Midway Rendezvous"?
Simple actually.
Midway means halfway
and Rendezvous means meet
So put it together and the meaning basically is:
"Meet Me Halfway"
In all honesty when I first made this blog, it was because of a thing called "love"?
I wanted to find a guy who can meet me halfway, that's why I decided to name this blog "Midway Rendezvous".
I was pretty upset over the many unrequited loves or the fallen ones, and I had a lot of emotions built up that I felt uncomfortable showing others face to face. I don't want people to pity me or to go "awww" whenever I say something deep, sad, depressing, etc. So I keep it all to myself. Soon it kind of got overwhelming keeping everything inside...
So this blog came along.
But now, after so many mistakes, I can say I've learned a lot. Too much, but it's all good. Though it did made me wonder. All those times before, when I was hurt, when I was on the ground, was that really love? Or was I just blinded by an illusion? I thought love was something that would last a lifetime. Something that can't be changed. I thought it was supposed to lift a person's spirits, make them ignore the world, forget the pain and suffering, erase the bad memories and replace them with new, beautiful ones. I always thought love was a good thing. How come my love only had silent suffering, broken promises, heartbreakers, players, and pain? How come my love had too much thinking, too much worrying, too much fear, and too many fights? How come the love I experience in reality is so different from the love definition in my mind?
So I've come down to two conclusions:
Either I have never been in love before and never had a first love yet and all those before were merely illusions pretending to be love...
Or reality is just a cruel and hard world.
Well...
I'll never abandon my idea of love.
Love is waking up in the morning and not caring what will happen afterwards because there is always someone beside you and you know they'll stay there. Love is taking long walks, words unnecessary. Love is a gentle kiss, not forceful or confusing. Love is a long hug, not because you feel like you should but because you don't want to let the person go even for just a second. Love makes you smile like an idiot and be unable to explain why. Love is sneaky but joyful. Love makes you look at the sun as if it was God and see the moon as your guardian angel. Love is a good feeling.
Yep, I definitely won't ever abandon my idea of love.
But I never said I won't acknowledge the reality either.
In this cruel reality, I've seen so many people confuse love for lust, choose greed over love, and break promises in love. I've seen so many beautiful endings fall apart. Too many tears, too many divorces, too many broken promises, too many heartbreaks, too many unhappy memories. Love is beginning to seem like a farfetched idea in reality. I guess in reality, love is just plain cruel.
...
I'd say that I'm a stubborn dreamer. I can see reality for what it is...but I refuse to accept it. I'll keep looking for that light and maybe someday, maybe someday I'll look back at all this and laugh at how much I've grown.
...
let me hear your voice
if we can be honest with each other, surely
we could understand each other
open your heart
let me hear your voice
the path that we've walked, we definitely took
an important step towards the future

every person individually, no matter who they are carry troubles as they live
and desperately hold onto their broken heart

^^ It's quoted from "Let Me Hear Your Voice" by Big Bang^^

...

I also have Kaze to Rainbow by Garnet Crow stuck in my head.

Doesn't Kaze mean wind? Hmm...sweet song. I wish things sang in songs were true. There are lots of things I wish for actually. Like:

A guy would show up at my door randomly with roses ^_^

We could take a nice little stroll to destination unknown. It's more fun when we're lost.

We can watch dramas and anime together and I wouldn't have to fear that he'll think I'm...odd.

We can date but still be total best friends...:/ I got really close once...but it still didn't work out.

We could act like total idiots together but come out stronger in the end =D

...

P.S. Nancy you are so damn right, I need some help with my "minor" case of ADD lol. But hey, just be glad I'm revealing all this to you...and maybe the few other unknowns who read this. Oh and seriously, I don't "like" anyone right now, all the guys at our school are not my kind of guy. I'm not searching for the one either, if we're meant to be, we'll find our own way to each other even without realizing it....(sigh)...I guess you're right, I fall for the boy who brings me roses with no reason whatsoever. Gonna miss ya this week girly

...

P.P.S. Naruto is better than Sasuke >:P Look how beautiful that is!!!!!!!!

Life: TV on Replay

2011-03-22T13:40:00.001-07:00

Lately, nothing big in particular has been happening. I could say ever since I decided to close my emotions from it all, things have gotten a little boring. But then...just when I thought it could be the draggiest part of my life, fate never ceased to amuse me.

I've spent the past couple of days watching tv basically. Not tv as in sitting on a couch with a bag of chips and staring at a moving screen, no. It's a different kind of tv. I could say I'm watching life pass me by. It's quite interesting actually, gets my curiosity going.

I've been tuned in on this recent set of dramas going around school. Luckily it doesn't involve me directly, so I'm simply a spectator. What I don't get as I watch it unfold is: how can someone do that? How can a girl do that to the boy who she once said I love you to? I would explain in further detail why I ask this question, but if I did it would mean revealing who these individuals are, and I don't think it's a very good idea to do so. But still, how could she do that to him?

I don't understand people as well as I thought I could. She's just a girl like me, but I can't see things her way at all. I guess life is just a huge irony that way.

After a while, I start to look at the situation from a life perspective. Then I see that deja vu seemed to have repeated itself over and over again. I swear something similar had happened before. It's like watching reruns over and over again. Oh well, I guess since I'm merely a spectator I can't really give my advice to anyone in the drama. All I have to say is it's better to let go now than when things get too deep. But hey, no one ever listens to the crazy girl who trips over her own two feet right?

On a different note, I will relate my thoughts to the idea of "Life is television on replay" again. See, I've seen it happen before. When I fall, when I'm on the ground, and when I get back up again. In life, I've fallen many, many times, and every time the same way. =_= If only I could learn from my mistakes and not fall ever again. In a way I'm talking about love. In another way I'm talking about life in general. And in yet another, more random, way, I'm talking about my clumsiness.

(sigh) I just had something really good in my mind I wanted to write down. But I sorta forgot it, that would explain why this whole entry had been so random. If you look back, it would seem like I had a minor case of ADD going on up there ^^

I guess all I really wanted to say was:

Life repeats itself whether you want it to or not. Every time you fall, think back to the times the same or similar thing had happened in the past, and hopefully find a way to save yourself from there. If you can't, then I guess when you fell it was a good lesson to be learned.

Wow ^^ if that was all the I wanted to say, I guess I really didn't need the long entry above it. Oh well, I guess since not many people ready my blog anyways, I won't get any complaints. Have a good day ahead and if you fall remember what I said.

~ Life repeats itself. When you fall down...somehow you eventually pick yourself back up. ~

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

2011-03-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

Lately, in case you haven't been informed, Japan has been rocked by an Earthquake, Tsunami, and the crisis afterwards along with the explosion of the nuclear power plants. I'm not asking you to give me money for donations because I honestly don't know how to get it to them, but just as around, I'm sure churches and organizations are more than happy to accept your donations. Every little bit helps, money, clothes, food, anything.
We really need to help Japan out of this because think of what Japan had given us in the past. Anime, Manga, Video Games, Music, Technology, and so much more. So Anime lovers, manga addicts, video game addicts should all do something.
Today I saw a very close friend of mine who was born in Japan and raised in America. She usually is a very happy and bubbly person, but today the atmosphere around her was sullen and sad. I didn't have to ask her what was wrong to know. Later she also told me that her grandmother's family happened to live in the part that was affected greatly by the tsunami, and now her family can't contact theirs. I felt sad when I couldn't come up with any way to help besides just sitting there beside her. Today I also heard some people make jokes about Japan. Since I live in America, a bunch of well...idiots...were saying that it's kharma for Pearl Harbor and makings jokes like "What did the tsunami say to the Japs? Nothing it just waved."
...
Well I'm not being arrogant or anything but I know one of those people reads my blogs, we talk about it occasionally. Here's my shout out to you. Go Fuck Yourself. War is war and this is a natural crisis. If you're not having sympathy or caring for it then shut it. You don't hear Japanese people making fun of you when hurricane seasons come do you? So shut it or go fuck yourselves. Thanks ^_^
And a shout out to my best friend who is reading this as I type (awkward) =_=
It's all up to fate and don't worry, things will resolve itself soon. Japan will pull itself together and me along with our friends are wishing you luck on contacting your grand parents. <3
P.S. My grandma is convinced the world WILL end by 2012. Here's exactly what she said: "Get your helmet on! The earthquake and tsunami in Japan, North Korea, China's falling government, the U.S. economy, the money fraud ordeal in Vietnam, all the crazy things happening in Asia, the overall falling economy! Go get your helmet on now! I wouldn't be surprised if something big happens in Europe soon. And maybe a hurricane or something will hit America. Get the helmet and put it on your head now!"
=_= Honestly grandma what's a helmet going to do?

Too Much...? Too Little...? Or Just Right...?

2011-03-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

Lately I admit I've been bored out of my mind. I look on my blog and realize that I haven't added anything more to the 'My Pages' part of my blog, so I thought I'd post some.

Hmm, so I figured since I'm anonymous on here, I'd vent about some of the stuff that's been going on in my life. You can read on if you'd like or if you don't give a damn about my random thoughts then oh well, I can't force you. ^_^

So lately I've gotten out of a very long relationship. It's somewhat romance, but not the kind of romance with boyfriend and girlfriend like in the dramas and movies...sadly life isn't that perfect or easy. There was this boy I have liked for over a year now. My memories with him are limited, but they're good enough for me to remember. I've danced with him. And just last week I went out with him. We are good friends, but I guess it was because we became too good of friends that dating became an awkward thing to him.

When he suggested that we break up because he still only saw me as a friend, I admit I was quite upset. But luckily after all the years I've been through, if there's one thing I learned it was to hide my real feelings. So like how I'd always do, I'd pull a fake smile and agree to his suggestion. Now when I think back, I feel that I'm slowly getting over him. I'm no longer thinking so much about him, and I'm no longer trying to understand him as much.

The only bad part I can say now is that I fear I've lost my muse. As a writer, I need something to base my ideas off of. Even though life is never a movie perfect scene, my imagination bends it. But now that I'm no longer occupied by the thought of romance, I found myself to be louging around all day, doing absolutely nothing. I'm not even writing.

So I guess...falling out of love has caused me to lose my muse as a writer. I could always try to fall back in love, but what's the point when it's forced? Feelings can't be forced. So now...what to do? I feel like I've hit a gigantic writer's block that seem impossible to get over. Whenever I write it's usually during a period of tense emotions, but lately, I've been feeling pretty neutral and lazy that when I write, everything feels forced to me.

Hmm...what to do.

I guess it's time again...

When I go and search the internet for all the kinds of blogs I could find and write using them as inspiration. It still surprises me how I could get inspiration out of the randomest ideas, and they don't even relate! Still...I guess surprising myself brings a little fun into my colorless life.

Wow. I've been ranting a lot for this post. Oh well, I guess it's better than just letting it building up all inside and then one day have a mental break down.

=_= Now looking back at this post, I don't care how many people if any at all reads this, I think I'll continue to post some more stuff like this. Have fun sorting through all the randomness I put on my blog! ^_^

From Dawn Till Dusk - 07 - Missing, An Empty Void

2011-03-10T12:59:00.001-08:00

===
November 6, 2009……7:30 a.m.
===

The sunlight was soft on her cheek as it shown through her open bedroom window. Fala was in her bed, restless from a night of insomnia and paranoia. The sunlight finally hit her eyes as the morning grew. She cringed slightly from the light, but she quickly adjusted to it. Sitting up, Fala ruffled her hair slightly as she yawned and stretched her slender arms wide. Her violet lace nightgown became unwrinkled as she stood up from her bed. Small signs of dark circles could be seen under her eyes as she slowly made her way to her bathroom. In her small apartment where she lived alone, she had grown used to the silence. Yet last night, she suddenly had a strange feeling that something was happening, something bad.
Her head tilted upwards slightly, looking at herself in her bathroom mirror. A thought suddenly came to her mind, a thought she had never bothered with before. She suddenly began to wonder from the features of her face, whether she looked more like her mother, or Nancy did. Looking down, she shook her head slightly. Fala didn’t understand why she was suddenly wondering about her mother. She rarely ever did before, so why now?

“Ah stupid insomnia,” she sighed to herself, blaming her silly thoughts on her lack of sleep.

As she brushed her teeth, Fala suddenly remembered the short dream she had during her small amount of sleep she had gotten. Surprisingly, her dream was about the one man she would never think of falling for. Her eyes widened awake when her train of thoughts pulled itself back to that incidental dream. Fala remembered it clearly, as if it had been real, as if she had just lived it out last night.
In her dream, she was with Ruco. She didn’t understand why she was with him, but they were at a beach together. That dream felt peaceful and quiet. Fala could even remember the smell of the ocean as she was washing her face. She remembered how she and Ruco only sat together in the soft sand, looking out at the peaceful ocean together. The wind caressed their faces gently. From then she suddenly had a troublesome feeling inside of her, as if something bad was happening right at that moment. She felt uneasy, but Ruco had his arms around her and that calmed her down, until she suddenly woke up from her dream.

“Silly dreams make no sense,” Fala mumbled to herself as she got dressed and ready for work. It was like any other day for her. Wake up, go to work, then perhaps grab a drink with her sister or some friends, and then go home. Nothing new, nothing special, at least that was how it seemed.

The sound of her familiar ringtone suddenly caught her attention. Fala turned from her vast and colorful closet to her bedside table where her cell phone laid charging. The screen lit up brightly as she received a call from someone. Inside her head she wondered who could possibly be calling this early in the morning as she answered the phone call. Forgetting to look at the caller ID, Fala was caught a little surprised when she suddenly heard Ron’s voice over the phone, panicking as if he’s having a heart attack.

“Fala get to the hospital quick, I’m in the ER waiting room,” Ron spoke in a rush.

Her eyes widened. As a natural instinct, she knew that whenever she got a call like this, especially one from Ron, her own reckless sister who was supposedly older than her had gotten herself hurt during an operation again. This wasn’t the first time Fala had received calls like that, but whenever she did she would feel her stomach tightening, worrying for her own sister’s sake. Yet that time, she noticed something. That time was different, from the night before of insomnia and paranoia Fala could say that she had expected it to happen. It’s safe for her to say that she saw it coming, but why and how?

“It’s Nancy again,” she spoke out loud. “I’ll be there as fast as I can, what exactly happened?”

“It’s too long to explain. I’m still waiting right now. I don’t know what’s going on in there.”

“Alright, I’ll be there soon,” Fala hurried out her door as she hung up the phone.

===
November 6, 2009……7:45 a.m.
===

The room was lit with a bright white light as doctors and nurses in white blouses rushed back and forth. He looked up solemnly from his seat, able to see the many faces that appeared through the hospital waiting area. Around him were many families, many couples, and many lives. The area only had a few windows on the far side of the counter otherwise ER rooms surrounded the whole floor. Occasionally a curtain would be opened showing inside a scary sight of bright red blood and a person fighting for his or her life. The entire floor, when viewed quietly in one seat, could be seen as an interesting one. There were tears, there were laughter, but most importantly there was a lot of fear.
Ron was quiet and sullen as he waited in the cold hard chair, staring at the closed curtain to the one room before him. He desperately wished for someone to walk out, to inform him of the current situation and how the fragile girl inside was doing. He held his hands together and rested his chin on it, waiting in silence as if nothing was wrong but inside he exploded in fear and worry. Ron’s eyes lit up when he saw the motion of someone coming towards the curtain from the other side. Then the sound of the rings against a metal bar clicked in his ears as a doctor pulled the curtain to the side, stepping out in a calm manner. He looked around first, but before he could call out Ron had already stood up and blocked his path.

“Are you the family of Miss Nancy Wu?” the doctor asked as he took off his gloves and mask. He was a middle aged man without many wrinkles, perhaps because he found a joy in saving peoples’ lives and so wrinkles weren’t a problem to him.

Ron nodded frantically. “Yes, I’m her fiancé,” he breathed. “Doctor how is she doing?”

“Well you’re lucky you got her here in time,” the doctor smiled in a comforting way. It eased Ron’s heart a little as he listened to the rest. “We got the bullet out of her shoulder. She was lucky it didn’t hit any vitals, but her shoulder blade has been fractured and because of how deep the wound is, she’ll need to stay a few nights for observation.”

Ron nodded again. “Is she asleep right now?”

“No, she managed to stay awake during the whole time. You’ve got yourself a very strong wife-to-be.” There was that comforting smile again. “Though she did lose a lot of blood so she’s quite pale and weak right now, but I’m sure you’ll be able to nurture her back in no time. Go talk to her. The nurses are preparing a room for her right now.”

“Thank you doctor…”

“Doctor Lau,” he smiled.

“Thank you Doctor Lau,” Ron finally smiled as he rushed in, pushing the curtain to the side.

There in the blinding white lights, Ron saw his Nancy, lying on the bed with a salmon colored blanket over her. He could see her blood stained shirt sitting on a tray to the side of the room as she laid comfortably under the blanket, playing around with her air tube the doctor had placed on her. When she saw him, she looked up and smiled. Ron walked in slowly. His Nancy was still the same, strong and stubborn as always. She did indeed look weaker and tired. Her lips had temporarily lost its color and her eyes seem sunken, but she was still beautiful and astounding to him. He bent down beside her, kissing her forehead first and pulling her hair away from crowding her lovely face. Nancy smiled as she tried to get used to the air tube.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Ron breathed, caressing her face gently.

He could hear her faint sound of laughter as she turned her head to snuggle closer to him. “I don’t like this air tube. I don’t get why I have to use it,” Nancy complained softly as she closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re not mad at me anymore?” Nancy sighed.

Ron shook his head. “How could I be?” he replied softly.

“Fala’s right,” Nancy spoke. “We’re such an odd couple.”

Holding her close, Ron chuckled lightly to her remark. All the anger and frustration he ever had for Nancy had seemed to have just disappeared in that instant. They all vanished into thin air as he held her tightly in his arms. In their world, the only thing that mattered to him most was Nancy. He had come close to losing her numerous times and they all ended the very same way. Nancy was safe and sound, even able to make silly remarks as he let out sighs of relief. From the small opening of the curtains, Ron could see the sunlight beaming in softly through the hospital window. His heart lightened as a gentle smile fell upon his face.

===
November 6, 2009……8:30 a.m.
===

His mind was bound and trapped within a trance, so deep it was beyond his belief. For the past nearly twelve hours, Raymond had been happily spending time with Tavia. Those kinds of plans had never worked for him before, ones where he would drive the girl around, talking and getting to know each other. It would never last longer than maybe an hour at most, but that time with Tavia, what he had with Tavia was just unbelievable. They had been together for so long, had gotten in so many deep and thought binding conversations, he began to think that it would be a normal thing for them. Raymond couldn’t help but smile to himself at the thought.
They were both inside his car. Tavia sat up from her seat as she stretched her arms wide, stepping out of the car. They stood before a grand white villa with a yard that was so large its land stretched down to the horizon as it seemed. The house had a modern style, white and black with many towering glass windows. It looked beautiful inside and out.
As Raymond stepped out of his car, he too stretched as far as he could. Being in the car for so long, though he did enjoy the wonderful time, it did bring tension to his muscles. He let out a huge yawn, sighing as he turned around to look at Tavia. Her beautiful face was facing the house, jaw opened and eyes wide. Obviously she was beyond shock.

“This is where Michelle lives?” Tavia asked in disbelief. “This house is amazing!”

“Did you think all triads lived in cardboard boxes or something?” Raymond chuckled.

“Of course not!” Tavia turned away with a humorous guilty face on. She smiled but Raymond quickly saw her slither as a soft sound came from her throat as a laugh.

He subconsciously took her hand, fitting his fingers perfectly between hers as he took her towards the house. “Come on,” Raymond smiled. “I’ll show you the inside and introduce you to Michelle.”

The door opened with ease as the key triggered the lock to open and the door hand turned so easily, almost by itself. As Raymond walked in, what he expected was a gentle woman sitting on her bar counter, drinking coffee with today’s paper in hand, but instead in turned out the complete opposite. The house was empty. It echoed with an eerie silence and a breath of cold air that proved the house had been untouched since a while ago.

“Something’s wrong,” Raymond spoke, glancing around the room as he tried to listen for a sound, any sound to calm his thoughts.

Tavia too was quiet. Almost as if they were in sync with each other, she too felt that something was oddly wrong and strange with the emptiness and coldness of this house. It had a spooky feeling of loneliness lurking in every corner almost.

“Michelle should’ve been home last night. Her plane landed yesterday afternoon and sure enough Kevin wouldn’t pull a trick this soon.”

“Kevin?” Tavia asked. “As in Kevin Cheng, current head of the 14K? What does he have to do with Michelle?”

“It’s a really long story. I think it would be better suited if Michelle told you herself. What’s important right now is that we find her,” Raymond sighed.

“Let’s call some of your men to…”

“We can’t,” Raymond interrupted.

Something was obviously wrong. Tavia watched as Raymond pulled out his phone, scrolling hastily through the long list of contacts as he seemed to be searching for someone. Tavia didn’t understand him at that moment. If Michelle, a woman so important and respected to him, suddenly went missing, why wouldn’t he find all the men he could to go get her back? Adding on, there was definitely a story behind this powerful woman that Tavia needed to hear, especially if it was one that Raymond wouldn’t casually tell her himself.

“I can’t let anyone know that she’s missing because…” Raymond paused for a moment, thinking. “The only ones who know Michelle is back alongside Kevin Cheng are me and Ruco. No one else does.”

“What exactly is going on in the 14K?”

“To summarize it all up,” Raymond began quickly. “Kevin and Michelle back for a fight over the power of the gang. Kevin’s father was the last head, and the seat would usually pass on to the next generation, if only Kevin wasn’t a jackass fool and Michelle was the only one who did the work. Michelle is Kevin’s step mother. The story behind it, you’d have to hear from Michelle herself, I’m sure when we find her she’d be glad to tell you. But right now, Michelle’s return to Hong Kong is a secret between her, me and Ruco. She purposely came back the same time Kevin did so as to make her entrance in the board when he brings up the topic of head position.”

“So the 14K is lacking a proper leader right now?”

“You could put it that way.”

Tavia remained quiet for a moment, trying to think of a way to help Raymond. She didn’t know what exactly was going on with him, but all she knew was that she wanted to help him. A thought suddenly came to her mind that she was reluctant to try, but her will gave in anyways.

“What if we get Nancy to help?”

Raymond turned to her in surprise. “Actually, that may not be a bad idea. Can you make sure that the entire police force doesn’t know about it though?”

Tavia nodded as she took out her phone and began to dial the number that had been engraved in her mind many, many years ago.

===

Room 14B…Room 14B was the only logical thing that ran through her mind that morning. Fala gripped her bag tightly as she rushed out of the elevator, not even trying to be discreet with her desperation. The nurse in the front office had told her a Miss Nancy Wu was in room 14B, yet she didn’t tell her what had happened and whether the patient was conscious or not. All Fala knew was that with her older sister, anything was possible. Nancy was so outrageously reckless that no matter how many times she repeated this process, her heart would shake and race every single time. As she ran down the near empty hallway, Fala nearly overran the room she sought to be her destination. She turned back and stopped, taking a short breath before barging in through the part open door.
Walking in, seeing the frail and fragile girl sitting upright on the bed with a smile on her face, Fala’s heart took a 360 degree turn in emotions. She was relieved that her reckless train of an older sister was alright. She sighed and walked in, smiling at Ron and noticing the few wires that the doctors had connected to Nancy. There was her breathing tube over her nose, a tube coming out of her wrist and another from her arm with a sack of blood visibly attached to it. She came in, softer and calmer, and sat down in the other empty chair. Without speaking a word to each other, Ron smiled and leaned back in his chair, watching them. Fala rubbed her eyes with her hand, a habit of hers when she is frustrated, and Nancy sat innocently with a smile on, acting like the younger one in the relationship. They all knew, next came the nagging.

“What in the world did you do this time?” Fala asked patiently, shaking her head.

Ron noticed as Nancy’s facial expression changed slightly. He knew she was cringing in pain from her unhealed shoulder, but she attempted to hide it. Abiding her wishes to keep her sister from worrying, he discreetly moved up beside, her, pulling her gently in his arms as he began to explain to Fala what the reason was that Nancy was in the hospital.

“We were following up on a lead,” he replied.

“We got caught, I saved his ass, and then I get shot!” Nancy replied in a silly tone, making emphasis on the last three words of her sentence.

After a short moment, Fala too moved closer to Nancy, sensing the pain that chilled through her sister’s body. She took Nancy’s hand and only smiled, shaking her head. Nancy admitted to herself that many times, Fala would seem like the older one, not her. Her pain soon died away when the emotional and physical warmth that both Ron and Fala, two of few most important people in her life, had brought to her. She closed her eyes and sighed.
Between their long but peaceful silence, a soft hum suddenly caught all of their ears. Nancy was the first one to perk up as she felt the buzzing from her cell phone that sat almost invisible in the upper left corner of her hospital bed. Ron gave it to her so as she didn’t have to reach and they all remained quiet as she answered the unsuspecting call.

“Nancy? No questions but I really need your help,” Tavia’s voice suddenly rang through.

Nancy’s eyebrows suddenly bunched up in confusion as she replied, “Tavia? Where are you?”

“I’m at Raymond’s friend’s house, Michelle Yim. She has gone missing, and she’s a big part of the triads. I need you to help us find her, and please do not inform the entire police station.”

Inside her heart and mind, Nancy had immediately frozen. She repeated Tavia’s last sentence many times in her mind, setting it in constant replay as she refused to believe the words. The name mentioned in that sentence had scarred her whole life, and now it came back to cause her even more pain. Her heart raced and Nancy could feel herself beginning to shake as those painful memories automatically replayed itself in her mind. Able to control herself, Nancy forced all the tension into her side with her fractured shoulder, being discreet about the emotional pain that had revisited. Inside her mind, with all her will Nancy forced herself to think of only one thought: put on an act.

“I’m not even at the station,” Nancy replied, improvising. “Alright, no questions…” she suddenly paused to think. “Wait a minute, does that mean Raymond Lam knows I’m a cop?”

“Nancy where are you now? I’ll come there and explain to you.”

“How about this,” Nancy suggested as she looked up to Ron’s awaiting face with a mischievous smile. “Tavia you come meet me while I ask Ron to meet with Raymond and Raymond can give him the information we need? I’ll get a few others to help and won’t inform the whole station. A missing person, evidence could vanish as we speak so come to the hospital as soon as possible. Room 14B.”

Tavia seemed as if she was in a rush a she replied hastily. “Alright, I’m coming down right now. Raymond told Ron to meet him at the house. I’ll send a message to Ron’s number with the address.”

“Alright,” Nancy replied as they both hung up the line.

Once done, Ron crossed his arm and looked at her expecting something bad to come out from Nancy’s mouth. Her mischievous smile sent chills up his spine, knowing his reckless fiancée would do anything to help a friend, no matter what it was, and especially if the friend happened to be an unpredictable lawyer named Tavia Yeung.

“What did you promise?” Ron asked.

“Um…” Nancy began, now finally thinking about what she had said. “Tavia is sending you a message with the address of a house for us to check out. There’s a woman who is a strong part of the triad missing and she doesn’t want to stir the whole police agency.”

“And who else will I be meeting down at this house?” Ron asked.

His reckless fiancée was silent for a moment, wondering how Ron would react once she told him. Nancy knew Ron didn’t like mixing with the enemy, but just maybe… “Raymond Lam…”

Fala watched quietly as her sister and brother-in-law had yet another one of their special moments. One person would do something reckless and the other would be stuck to clean up the mess. It had always been like that for as long as they had been together. Fala would always wonder how such a strange yet passionate could exist, but her thoughts were quelled when her wandering mind finally landed on the fact that life is unexpected.

Ron had his hands stuffed in his pocket, rolled his eyes, shook his head, and let out a faint sigh. “Just this once,” he spoke to her in a serious tone. “No more reckless behavior afterwards.”

Nancy nodded in agreement. “Promise,” she replied.

He leaned down to give his Nancy a quick kiss on the lips. They locked for at least three seconds, if they could call that brief. Leaving, Ron was still worried about Nancy. She looked tired and worn out. If it were a non-close friend of hers like Kate was, no one could notice that Nancy had been through a lot the night before, but to close relations such as Fala and himself, the color of Nancy’s face pained him. He turned from her, trying to ease his worry for her and believing that she would be good for the time being.
Within an instance, Ron was already casually strolling out the door. He shook his head and sighed as he left, taking what he had to do next as an emergency police call, and pretending that Raymond Lam was the man he hated most in the world. He himself was surprised at the things he would wound up doing for Nancy, even crossing over his clearly drawn line. Ron could only remember his interactions with Raymond Lam in the interrogation rooms, or at most during an arrest, never as a casual meeting of aid. He shook his head and shrugged it off thinking: there’s a first to everything.

“He’s quite a catch isn’t he?” Fala asked.

Nancy nodded happily. “Yeah,” she sighed.

“I’m surprised. I thought Ron would rather shoot himself than meet and help out a triad. I guess people do act differently when they’re in love.”

“It’s been at least five years already. I don’t think that hopelessly blinded by love stage lasts this long,” Nancy replied.

“If you say it’s not love,” Fala began. “Then what is it?”

Nancy made a silly face at her younger sister as she began to change out of her hospital gown into regular street clothes. “I don’t know,” she replied. “Help me take my shirt off, I can’t bend my arm too high or it hurts.”

“What are you doing in street clothes anyways? I thought you’re staying in the hospital.”

“Am I?” Nancy asked mischievously as a wide grin spread across her face.

As Fala helped Nancy take her shirt off, she finally got a good glimpse at the bullet hole in the back of her older sister’s shoulder blade. By the looks of it, it must have punctured to the bones and been extremely painful. She had always been surprised at the level of pain Nancy could endure, ever since their childhood together. If Fala was in Nancy’s position with a bullet hole that big in her shoulder, she would be in too much pain to even move. Just imagining how much it could hurt made her cringe. Knowing the amount of pain Nancy must be going through right then, Fala was careful as she pulled Nancy’s top over her head and that shoulder. Just as she did, from the corner of her eye she saw a figure approach the door wide open.

First they heard a knock and then both looked up once Nancy finally got her shirt off.

Suddenly, Nancy saw a worried lawyer rushing towards her. “Oh my god, Nancy,” Tavia exclaimed as she turned Nancy around quickly to see what had happened. “Fala what happened?!” Tavia asked.

“It was with Ron while they were getting a lead. Apparently she had been very reckless this time. The wound looks deep,” Fala replied.

“It looks serious. What are you changing into street clothes for?!” Tavia exclaimed.

Fala sided with Tavia as they both demanded an explanation from Nancy. Knowing Nancy, they knew that although she was careless, daring, and reckless, she would know better than to get out of the hospital when she was that badly injured. It was merely one bullet, but that deep it would’ve caused life threatening problems if it had not been removed earlier. Fala and Tavia stood together as the semi-close friends they were and both watched Nancy with waiting eyes. Their arms were folded, waiting for a response while worries ran through their mind.

Nancy finally dropped her smile and sighed. “Who was the woman you’re looking for?”

“Michelle Yim,” Tavia replied quickly. “How is that a reason?”
Billions of thoughts were running wild in her head. Just the mere mention of the name Michelle Yim shot painful memories back to her, ones she thought she had forgotten. Nancy was quiet for a moment, thinking hard about the name, the name that meant so much. After over ten years of denial, Nancy finally thought and wondered about her again. The woman named Michelle Yim, the woman who tore apart her loving family, the woman who destroyed her carefree childhood, and the woman who betrayed her heart and trust. She cringed at the thought and tried to force back the tears that were appearing in her eyes, knowing that it was not the right time to reveal everything to Fala and Tavia. Crying was definitely not an option.

She sighed and shook her head as she placed her hands on both their shoulders and led them out of the room. “I’ll tell you everything once we find her.”

By the tone of Nancy’s words, both Tavia and Fala knew that Nancy had some relations to this woman. It must’ve been a very bad relationship if Nancy seemed troubled just at the mentioning of her name. Fala watched her sister, seeing in Nancy’s eyes how her act of happiness and senseless was suddenly dropped once Ron had left. She knew that Nancy was hiding something, and rarely ever would Nancy hide something that neither Ron, Tavia, nor Fala knew. Tavia gave Fala and curious look as Nancy stood between them. They didn’t know what exactly was going through Nancy’s mind, but the woman, Michelle Yim, is definitely of something to Nancy. Whether it was good or bad, they will have to wait to find out.

From Dawn Till Dusk - 06 - Wished to be Forgotten

2011-02-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

===
November 6, 2009……5:30 p.m.
===

She had on a bored expression the entire time she was out. Clinging onto her bag, Nancy walked mindlessly from one street to the next, wishing to kill time. She had something else to do a few hours later but for the moment Nancy was finding anything and everything to keep herself busy so as she had an excuse not to come home. In the past couple of days, she had only seen Ron’s face for maybe an hour, not even. They spoke few words to each other mainly because of the heat for an argument she still had in her. That fight was the longest one they’ve ever had. On one side she wished for it to be over, but on another she wished Ron could just straight out have another fight with her just so they could get their points across.
It’s been hours and she still didn’t feel like coming home. Nancy had tried calling Tavia earlier, but Tavia didn’t pick up that one call. She didn’t make any more calls in worry that Tavia could be with Raymond and might bring Raymond to suspect their relationship. She let out a sigh as she looked down at her feet and continued walking.
After a while, she knew she wandered back into the large shopping mall that she and Ron would always go on their days off. Nancy looked from store window to store window with a blank expression. Normally she would be gawking at the new shipments that just came in while her hands were filled with bags, but she just wasn’t feeling it that day. Instead she only glanced at them, thinking in the back of her mind how she will buy them later when she was with Ron. As she continued her stroll, Nancy glanced into another store window. This one was a bookstore with hundreds perhaps thousands of books lining the shelves varying of novels to graphic novels. Someone caught her eye. It was a woman, an aged woman but still looking very young with shoulder length hair in sharp curves around her neck and face. She had a flawless face and wore a soft smile as she looked into a book. Nancy froze in her spot.
Nancy shook her head in disbelief. The woman had every feature bearing near resemblance to someone Nancy had wished had disappeared in her memories. The woman wore a black fur trench coat, luxurious looking with a nice scarf accessorizing her attire. She looked rich and she looked well. She didn’t see Nancy. Her eyes were busy reading the back of the book that read Mother and Child. Nancy shook her head and unconsciously backed away a few steps.
Just when the woman seemed to be looking up, Nancy made a quick jolt of motion and vanished from her spot, sprinting full speed in a random direction just to get away from that woman. She finally slowed down and then stopped once she was sure she was on a whole other side of the shopping complex. She breathed.

“She can’t still be alive,” Nancy shook her head. She wished that woman to be healthy and happily living, but seeing her before her eyes was just so unexpected for Nancy. “She can’t be here,” Nancy shook her head while mumbling to herself and thinking deeply. “I would’ve known if she had been here the whole time. I would’ve at least ran into her somewhere before.” She let out a suppressed sigh. “Why now?” She asked, tilting her head up and seeming to be asking God that question directly.

Soon she was walking again but her mind paid no attention to where she was going. Her cell phone rang and vibrated in her handbag as Nancy picked it up. Ruco was on the other line, his voice low and whispering to her. She had to strain to hear him clearly as he spoke and gave her the information.

“I don’t know if this is good news or bad news to you,” Ruco began roughly. His voice was half between a whisper and a low, hoarse sound at the same time.

Nancy switched the line over to her Bluetooth as she tucked the cell phone into her back pocket. She didn’t know what to expect from Ruco’s words but taking in a deep breath, Nancy told him to continue on. “Just tell me,” she spoke in a rush.

“I got news that all the big bosses are suddenly coming back. Ones like Kevin Cheng and them, even bigger than Raymond. It’s also ironic because they would never gather back at the same time unless something big is going to happen soon.”

So sudden was what was happening as Nancy processed Ruco’s words carefully. “What do you think will happen soon? Everything seems so calm now. Raymond’s case will end soon, I’m sure of it. What else could happen?” Nancy asked, curious to look deeper into her future.

Ruco was quiet for a moment. Whether he was quiet because someone might suspect him or because he was thinking, she didn’t know. When he finally spoke, it again was a hushed and secretive voice. “This is just a rumor but I heard Kevin Cheng and his step-mother are fighting over 14K territory and head title. Something interesting might happen soon.”

“I never knew he had a step-mother. We tracked him for a few weeks, how come we never uncovered that?” Nancy mumbled, partly to herself but to Ruco as well.

“You don’t know her? I thought you would. Well,” Ruco suddenly paused. “Oh shit I forgot her real name; people are so used to calling her Madam!”

“Ruco I’m afraid if we talk any longer you’re going to get caught,” Nancy spoke, able to hear the voices in the background from Ruco’s end of the line. “Call me back later and find out her name for me. Just basically get anything that you can on Kevin Cheng and that woman. If something is going to happen soon it’d be easier if we can expect it.”

“Alright,” Ruco nodded. “I know that Raymond Lam is closely associated with her, try getting some tip off of him,” he suggested before hanging up.

Hanging up the phone, Nancy looked up slightly as she could smell the alluring scent of the bakery nearby. As she was talking, she didn’t realize where she had wandered to in the mass of cold city people. Her nose then caught onto that scent again. It was an alluring scent of sweet vanilla caramel coffee with freshly made sweet breads of all different kinds. Nancy hadn’t been able to experience such a calming emotion in such a long, long time. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the aromatic scent. Then, following her nose Nancy found herself arriving at the front of a giant yet warming bakery store window.
She looked inside like a child at a candy store, admiring each little sweetly decorated cake and deserts there. Anxious to get inside, Nancy’s eyes suddenly stopped when they fell on a woman. The woman who stood there, wearing a soft gentle smile with aged and warm eyes in a black fur coat with a scarf to add flavor to her appearance was the one who froze Nancy’s vision.
Her heart began to race and her mind came to a huge blur as she tried to erase the image of that woman from her mind. She kept wondering and asking herself why. Why did that woman have to come back? Why did she have to show up again? Why did they have to meet? After a while of trying to drown her thoughts, Nancy suddenly pondered upon a sad question she had locked up inside since forever. Why did she never look for them, her own children?
She mentally fell back. It was her again, the woman she had hoped to be deleted from her memories. The woman who had left Nancy and Fala on their own for her own selfish greed was standing in there, smiling as she tasted a sample of the chocolate brownie, a special favorite of the family. Nancy shook her head and turned. She winced from the painful memories flowing back into her mind. Gripping her back tightly as she walked away, Nancy decided to leave the thought of that woman behind, pretending as if she had never seen her since many, many years ago. Nancy diverted her thoughts to a different topic, perhaps a more important one, Raymond Lam’s case involving Yoyo Chen, Macy Chan, and a dead Alice Chan.

“I lost my mother,” she reminded herself, trying to free her of the emotional bind that just a mere thought about that woman would bring to her.

The woman in the bakery looked up from her delicious piece of cake she had gotten the pleasure to sample. Breathing in deeply the perfect and sweet aroma of cake, she suddenly caught sight of a young girl as she crossed the street. Her eyebrows came together slightly, finding a strong familiarity and resemblance in the face of the strange girl. She watched, seeing how the girl seemed puzzled and troubled as she crossed the busy intersection that lined the city.

“Miss Michelle Yim,” the cashier spoke softly in a melodic voice. “Here is your order,” she spoke, gently and carefully handing her a nicely wrapped box of sweets, most of which were chocolate brownies with whipped icing, her favorite.

“Thank you,” Michelle smiled, taking the box. Her smile was warm and comforting as the way her lips curled upwards, she brought on such a nurturing and motherly feel to a complete stranger.

She then turned back to the street. There she caught sight of the same girl again, this time able to remember her face clearly. She stood in silent for a moment, rewinding all her many memories, trying to remember where she had seen this girl before. They way the girl dressed, she was too professional and formal to be a girl from the underground, but yet her face was so familiar. Michelle felt like hitting herself in the head for being unable to remember. That girl’s face, her exotic features, defined eyes and cool aura, she had sworn she’s seen somewhere before in her life and she had sworn should could never lose memory of it.

===
November 6, 2009……6:30 p.m.
===

After a while, Tavia had grown comfortable to the hard leather of Raymond’s sports car passenger seat. She had even begun to grow into the excessive speeding Raymond tends to do. She would even admit that at times, speeding and feeling the wind smack against her face was quite fun and relaxing. She sat back, finally comfortable in the high end sports car as she looked through the thick looking document in her hand.

“You don’t have to work all the time you know,” Raymond commented. “My last lawyer didn’t even work as much as you. He was more into all the pretty girls I had around me.”

“That’s because he’s a man and I’m a woman. I also focus more on work than anything else,” Tavia replied, her eyes busy with the paper.

“Or is it because you’re jealous?” Raymond asked in a laughing and childish tone.

Tavia set her papers down and smiled. “Now why would I be jealous?”

“Oh I don’t know. You could be jealous of all the girls that keep surrounding someone so fine like me, or you could be jealous of this sports car and money,” he continued, dragging out his words as to mess around with her.

She laughed lightly. “I’m not the jealous type,” she replied. “I wouldn’t be jealous of those girls. They can have such an insane guy like you. I’m definitely not jealous of your money. I have my own to handle myself, thank you.”

“I know,” Raymond replied quickly with a wide grin. “I was just messing with you.” As he spoke he unknowingly stepped harder on the gas, causing the car to jolt to a faster speed. “So why do you focus more on work than anything else?” he asked, remembering her words.

“Because work means money and money makes the world go round. Without money I won’t be able to get anything done in this society and that’s the cruel thing about it but what can I say, I don’t make up the laws of the universe.”

Raymond nodded. “I like your answer,” he replied honestly. “Most other girls, if I asked something like that they’ll go on about some silly fantasy with love being the dominant thing.”

“You don’t want it to be?”

“I’d like it to be, but like you said. It’s not up to us to make the laws of the universe.”

Tavia nodded. “Right, so we think alike,” she concluded. She smiled when she saw Raymond’s hard on nod to her and his wide grin that seemed to have widened a bit more. “So where are we going again? I just remember getting in the car and go.”

“I’m taking you on a joy ride to kill time with me. Tomorrow morning I’m going to take you to meet with the woman who picked my life and Yoyo’s out of the gutter,” Raymond replied calmly as he continued on driving at top speed down a busy highway, weaving through the gaps between cars and trucks. His eyes were focused on the road, his mind split between the road and her, while his heart was entirely facing the woman who sat next to him in the car.

“What are we going to do for more than twelve hours?!” Tavia asked, surprised. “I still have a lot of work to do!” She stressed.

Raymond’s lips curled upwards into a wide grin as he began to laugh at Tavia’s remark. “Come on, can’t I spend some time with you? Five minutes earlier we had such a good conversation going on. I’m sure more like that will come up the more time you spend with me,” he laughed. He himself didn’t understand why he wanted to be around her so much, but he was the kind of guy who caved in so easily to his emotions, he didn’t bother to think twice about taking her on this ride with him.

“Can’t we find some place to sit down first?” Tavia asked, pouting slightly.

“Nope,” Raymond replied playfully.

“If you keep going at this rate, you’ll either run out of gas or you’ll crash and die!”

“Hey, think of it this way,” Raymond spoke, facing her. “If we die now at least we have company right? As a triad, dying with such a pretty woman like you would be an honor.”

Tavia couldn’t help but laugh at Raymond’s face and the way he was looking at death right then. She let out a smile first but then a soft sound of laughter came afterwards. “You scare me,” she sighed as she sat back in her seat.

“It’s fun getting you to smile,” Raymond spoke softly. Tavia suddenly sat up to look at him in confusion. Once Raymond noticed her eyes on him, he immediately let out a sound of laughter, though this time it wasn’t as calm and cool as how he would usually portray himself. Instead he sounded nervous and anxious. “Now, how about telling me more about yourself? It interests me how you and that amusingly reckless cop friend of yours, Nancy, met.”

Her eyes were confused. Tavia slowly turned to him, to his awaiting smile and questioned, “How did you know Nancy was a cop?”

Simply, Raymond laughed again. He didn’t seem to care much about that fact as his smile was not fake nor an act. “Please,” he replied. “By the way she does things I can just tell. All the girls who are in the gang are either manipulating bitches or plain stupid sluts. Your friend is different, I can see that clearly. Besides, her fiancé, Inspector Ron Ng has been taking me in and out of the station for years. It’s not like I wouldn’t know her.”

“And you’re fine with that?” Tavia questioned, unsure of what else to say.

“I’m fine with that. After all, if that amusingly reckless cop never tried to investigate in my crowd, I would’ve never met you. I think I actually have to thank her. Do you think me sincerely thanking her would be weird?”

She shook her head and awkwardly smiled. Raymond had known all along? She definitely had to rethink about tricking him a second time. Tavia wondered what this infamous criminal face would want with her and in a situation like so. “Amusingly reckless cop?” Tavia questioned, trying to act as if she wasn’t surprised by how calm he is, knowing they were trying to trick him all along. “That’s an interesting new way to put it,” she smiled. “We met…”

Tavia suddenly paused as she looked out far into the distant horizon with a faint smile on. Raymond could see it and nearly it had melted his heart. Her eyes were staring into the softly shining sun as it began to set and fade into the clearly drawn line between the land and the sky. The sunshine reflected upon her face, an immense beauty. Raymond took a breath as he looked at her, watching her reminisce her times with the only other person so close to her. In his eyes, Raymond saw Tavia as an angel from heaven, fallen down to the Earth for him. He had never felt such a strange feeling before. It was a feeling that made his stomach turn into knots, his heart race at a scary pace and his world shot into an unreal fantasy. As he watched her, he had a strong temptation to lean in to kiss her, but he was afraid she would turn him down. Raymond stayed quiet as he watched such an amazing woman give him her smile time and time again.

“You could say we met during one of Nancy’s amusingly reckless moves,” Tavia began. “It was many years ago, when we were still in high school…”

===
November 6, 2009……7:30 p.m.
===

Everyone and everything was ready to go. Ron watched as Bosco, Kate and the rest of his team all piled into two black sedans and drove off. He waited on his own listening over and over again to the recording Nancy had given him a few days back. At first he wondered how Nancy got her hands on this clip but then he remembered back to the time he saw her at the restaurant and how scary the realization of it was. Over the speaker he could hear a conversation between Macy Chan and another man sounding very close to Ruco Chan.

“Ruco I’ve been really nervous late,” Macy spoke. “I’ve been getting headaches and migraines.”

“Are you sure you’re not just at that time of the month again?” Ruco asked calmly.

“No it’s worse. I’m feeling too paranoid,” Macy replied. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure,” Ruco replied.

“Can you go and get these prescribed drugs for me?”

“But these are anxiety and mental disorder drugs. Are you sure you should be taking them? This one said it’s for anxiety and this one is for depression.”

“Yeah, I really need them,” Macy sighed. “Please? And don’t tell Raymond. I don’t want him to worry about such a small matter.”

“Fine but why would you need these? Is something wrong?”

The clip ended there. Ron played with the recorder that was in his hand. After a couple seconds, he set it down and began driving. From his reports he had gotten from Bosco, he could pretty much guess where Macy would be at that moment. It made him feel irresponsible as leader of the team to send his team off arresting Yoyo Chen while he himself was following Macy Chan. He had his bets on Yoyo, but something about this clip made him reconsider his decision.

===
November 6, 2009……2:00 a.m.
===

Realizing how dark it finally was outside, Ron leaned closer towards his windshield, trying to see clearly what was going on with the pixie-like girl he had been following. His breath was eased after Bosco and Kate had called saying they couldn’t find Yoyo anywhere at that location. Ron took the chance to call off the arrest as he did some snooping of his own. He sat in his black sedan, hiding in the darkness of the thickened trees as he followed Macy to a place seeming like an abandoned warehouse.
The building looked like an industrial piece of junk as it sat quietly in the darkness of the night, rusting and falling apart hour by hour. Even the moon couldn’t be seen as it hid behind the thick and dark layer of cloud above the line of the horizon. From the earthy scent that drowned the air, Ron knew that it was going to rain soon. Perhaps the soft oncoming rainstorm will bring some personality to the cool metal building.
He let out a soft sigh as he slouched in his position, both hands tapping impatiently on the steering wheel and his head leaning just carefully beside the horn. Ron closed his eyes for a moment, wondering whether he should’ve trusted himself or trusted Nancy’s judgment. When he looked back up, a sudden movement in the bushes caught his eye. He was too far away to see exactly who it was but from the figure he could tell that it was a woman. Ron saw the woman following Macy. Had she been following her the entire time? How come he never noticed?
Slowly and carefully Ron got out of his car, leaving the engine in neutral on a low rumble that blended in nicely with the rhythm of the rainstorm. The ground was wet as he stepped his nice black leather shoes on them, walking quietly over for a better view. He crossed the dirt path road that was in front of the warehouse. Once he got a little closer, he could see the woman moving in on Macy. She didn’t seem like she wanted to jump Macy or anything. Instead she seemed careful and cautious, just as he was perhaps even better at how close of a distance she was following. Ron kept quiet as he followed them, watching the woman sneak in slyly behind Macy just as she slipped into the warehouse. He too did the same, being as quiet and sly as possible. Ron barely made it pass the small crevice of an opening the rusty door left because of his larger built body as compared to the two girls. Once inside, he quickly got behind a pile of metal barrels that lined the far east side of the wall. The warehouse, lit by a single light that swung crookedly above the floor, was filled with old and useless junk. A small group of rough gangsters were also standing around in the center, waiting for Macy the entire time. Ron could see the shadow of the other woman slip into a small space between the barrels that lined the walls on the west side of the room. He watched as the meeting took place and the secret words began to spill out.
Macy stood like a leading figure in between the taller men and more intimidating, dangerous looking women of the small crowd. Her arms were crossed as she looked at them all with a disappointed expression. Her eyes showed guilt with a close look but at a glance they were cool and mysterious, almost too different from her usual self.

“Who was the one who came up with the idea of the crime scene?”

A buff, muscle-lined man stepped out from the middle back, standing tall and broad against Macy’s smaller body. “I am, is there something wrong with it miss?” He spoke with a surprisingly gentle and polite tone, showing great respect to the small woman in front.

“You’ve gotten the cops so stirred up about it now. Why didn’t you take away more of the clues? Now you’ve even gotten Raymond involved,” Macy spoke.

Ron’s eyebrows furrowed together as he began to wonder about her words. “Raymond?” he mumbled quietly to himself, his mind instantly pulling back to Raymond Lam.

“I’m sorry missed but that was the best we can make it. After all you were the one who killed your sister. Disposing the evidence is really hard…”

Before he could finish, the entire room was stunned at the sudden thundering slap that came across his face. Macy had on and worried and angered expression, her hand still warm from the stingy slap. She looked back at him showing fear and regret in her eyes, behind her thin façade of strength. Her breathing became a little heavier. The man placed his hand on his cheek, rubbing it from the pinching pain. Yet he didn’t dare to utter a word. Instead he bent his head down slightly and backed up to his original spot, seeming to be in shame of sort.

“Don’t you ever mention those words again,” Macy sighed.

“She killed her own sister?” Ron whispered to himself, accidentally thinking aloud.

Macy looked around the room. “I had all the rights to kill her. She was the older one, always getting the best of everything. I would only be lucky if she decided to share with me. I had always been second best. What kind of sister would not care about her own but it had gotten too much for me to handle. Raymond was mine and mine alone. First we’ve taken care of my sister, Alice,” she spoke with a sinister tone as she repeated her own sister’s name in a sadistic manner. “Next we will take out Yoyo Chen. Then I won’t have anyone else even capable of competing with me for Raymond’s heart,” she laughed at the end, her laughter wicked and sickening.

“Miss,” another person spoke, this time a tall and skinny woman, looking malnourished and in need of sleep from the heavy bags around her eyes that she attempted to hide with a thick layer of make-up. Her hair covered half her face as she spoke but it didn’t seem to bother her. “What will we do about the cops? They are now suspecting either you or Yoyo.”

“We’ll just have to put the blame all on Yoyo then. She’s known to have a very short temper, I think it would work and fit in very well. It would save me a lot of trouble if she wound up in jail any time soon. Then I won’t have to go through the trouble with her like I did with Alice.”

Sighing, Ron shook his head. “Sick bitch,” he spoke.

Suddenly, a familiar ringtone echoed through the hallow building and caught his ears along with everyone else who was in the room. Ron realized that the sound was coming from him and his chiming ringtone which Nancy had set for him as a joke a while back. His face looked surprised as he looked up at the crowd. Their heads turned, searching for where the noise was coming from. Finally the dreaded moment came when they saw him hiding behind the metal barrels. Ron kept quiet, hoping to only be mistaken as the ringtone finally stopped. The two men kept coming at him, one who had spoke earlier, the one with the muscle but an eloquent voice.
They took his shoulder and forced him out to face the crowd, standing there as he stared at Macy square in her eyes. Along with him, another person was also being forced out from behind the metal barrels on the other side of the room. He was pushed into the center of the room, standing right in the dead middle of the circle the crowd had made. His heart raced in fear when he finally saw who the other woman following Macy was. She had been Nancy the entire time. As they stood in the center back to back, staring at the laughing eyes of the crowd, Ron could feel Nancy’s breath lower, sighing as she shook her head on him.

“Oh look what we have here,” Macy laughed. “Two love birds from the police academy.”

“Such an insult,” Ron spoke, sighing how they could mistaken him of still being in the academy.

“Shut up,” Nancy sighed in annoyance. “You should know to turn your cell to silence during times like these,” she complained.

“I forgot,” Ron replied evenly. “What are you going to start another argument with me here?”

“I would but no. Besides, I’ve been right the whole time. I had her conversation recorded. All we have to do is get out of here. Afterwards I assume that you owe me an apology,” Nancy spoke.

“I will apologize after thinking it over,” Ron replied just as squarely. “No how do you suggest we get out of here?” They spoke so that their voices were low and private. They were so quiet they were the only two that could hear their whole conversation. To the crowd, their lips were just moving but no words came out.

She again rolled her eyes in a mix of frustration between wounding up in such a troublesome position and having a feeling to start another argument with Ron no matter where they were. Nancy took a deep breath, hoping to clear her mind of whatever stupid temptation she had to quarrel with him. They had bigger troubles to worry about. She realized that in the few seconds that she took thinking the heartless crowd had already taken out their guns. After hearing the last click of the magazine in the gun preparing the next bullet echo in the warehouse, Nancy scanned around. She was almost certain that all the guns were pointed towards their heads. Surely these people wouldn’t have a problem with aiming so she didn’t have to worry about them missing and hitting anywhere else on their body.
As a couple, their thoughts were almost in sync. Ron was scanning the scene as well. He was quite certain that all the guns held up were pointed at their heads. He counted them all, trying hard to use his peripheral vision to count the rest behind him. Tilting his head carefully, Ron could manage a bare three hundred degree view. He counted a total of seventeen guns pointed at them.

“Ron look on your side. Are they’re all pointed upwards,” Nancy whispered just barely audible.

He returned her question with a soft whisper of his own, trying hard not to stir anymore unwanted suspicions. “They’re all up on here, seventeen guns total.” He stopped to think, wondering what kind of crazy plan his fiancée would come up at a time like that. His eyes slightly widened in fear when he found a solution he knew Nancy would no doubt take. “You’re not going to do it are you?” Ron asked quietly, glancing up at the single light that swung above them. He knew if they could manage to shoot that at a right angle, the whole warehouse would be trapped in darkness.

“Eleven guns on my side. The maximum shot would be twenty-eight gunshots. How else are we going to get out of this?” Nancy asked.

“Find a better way, it’s too risky,” Ron sighed.

His words rang through her mind at least twice, but it was just like her to not listen. Nancy took a sharp glance upward at the swinging light, taking her only a short moment to determine where to shoot it down at.
The next second took the entire room by a storm. In silent unison, Ron and Nancy both took out their guns. As Nancy pointed hers upward towards the ceiling, she could see the surprise in Macy’s eyes. In the half second that she had, Nancy aimed carefully and finally, a thunderous crack echoed through their waiting ears. Within a flash of firecracker, the entire room was set and covered in pure darkness. The only light came from the dim image of the moon through the tinted window. The two officers in the middle of the circle ducked quickly, dropping to the ground in an attempt to save their own lives from what was going to happen next.
Gunshots rang through the air. As Ron counted them, he searched quickly for where his Nancy was and pulled her closer to him as they crawled their way due south, knowing that was where the door had been. He held her tightly and held her close. In his mind, the numbers shot up fast from zero to twenty-seven then twenty-eight. His hand finally touched the door, able to feel the vibration from Nancy’s touch. They both pushed it out and in an instant, as the dim evening lights from the city flooded their eyes, they both ran for it.
He could hear a few more gunshots chasing after them, but lucky as they ran out he slowed himself down for an instant just to kick the door closed. The next thunderous sounds they could hear were only the stray bullets crashing against the cool metal of the warehouse. They could both see his black car still sitting in the darkness with the engine running. Ron rushed into the driver’s seat just as he was certain that Nancy had closed the door to her side of the car. Stepping quickly on the gas, he could see the triads running out from the warehouse and attempting to run after them. Too bad his car had shot into full speed already and was well on its way down the empty highway.
Closing her eyes, she felt the searing and burning pain in her left shoulder blade worsen. The pain ached and it burned, feeling like her entire shoulder would fall apart. Nancy felt her heartbeat race as her body tried to deal with the pain. She could feel the heavy piece of molded metal lodged deep into her bone. Biting her lips, she kept so quiet, hoping to relieve Ron of even more worries. That time was yet another time in her life she had done something reckless and having Ron yell at her for all the right reasons. She let out a deep breath, trying hard to forget about the pain as the blood in her head lowered, feeling light headed and dizzy.

Nancy’s breath was heavy, sighing as she fell back into the leather seat.

“I told you not to try it, it was still too risky!” Ron began. That time he argued with her not because of who was right and wrong, he just wanted to get it through her head how much he worried about her, even if he knew she was fully capable of taking care of herself.

“If we waited any longer they were still going to shoot us!”

“Didn’t you think of taking Macy as a hostage? She was standing at a good distance, taking her as a hostage would’ve been a much better and safer idea!”

“Well I’m sorry I didn’t think that far! All I saw was the single light above us and it brought on an idea to a desperate moment. I’m sorry I’m not overly careful!”

Ron closed his eyes for a second, sighing and giving in. “You know I just care about you.”

Nancy was quiet for a moment, breathing, sighing and pushing thoughts away in her mind.

“Ever since the day I met you, I knew you were fully capable of taking care of yourself. But it’s just that the things you do, the methods you resort to, and the crazy plans that you come up with are so reckless! It worries me that something horrible could happen to you at any time. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you and as a police officer you’re put into dangerous situations more often than anybody! Can you please just hold back your recklessness, even just a little?” Ron’s voice was sincere. He worried about her and cared for her. He loved her deeply and they both knew that. It had been something he could never hide from her, how much he loved her. Nancy was good at reading people and Ron was good at hiding himself from people but when they were together, Nancy could read him like a book no matter how hard he would try to hide his love from her for reasons even he didn’t understand.

“We’re both still breathing aren’t we?” she laughed faintly.

Ron turned to her, knowing that something was wrong by her voice. It took him a moment to adjust as he turned the lights inside his car on to see her face. His heart shake when he saw how pale she was, her lips losing its color and sweat coming down her lovely face. Ron’s eyes widened when he saw that where Nancy’s shoulder rested, blood was dripping down on the leather car seat. He pushed even more on the gas even though the car couldn’t go any faster. His other hand took her whole body as he hugged her quickly and attempted to cover her wound.

“Fuck!” Ron yelled in a breath. “You’re going to be alright,” he spoke to Nancy as words of comfort and to assure himself that she will be ok in the end. “You’ll be alright,” he continued to mumble, driving faster as his heart raced at a scary level. In the background he could hear Nancy’s faint chuckle as she tried to cringe away from the searing pain on her left shoulder blade. She had been shot and hurt badly.

His car raced down the empty highway, swallowing the road in desperation to save Nancy. Ron knew that if more time passed them by, Nancy would be losing too much blood and that alone could prove to be fatal. As his black car created a blur down the road, he felt like he was driving to the sun. Inside his mind, Ron cursed the heavens why he had to be so far away from the nearest hospital. The sun was already rising up. It was already dawn.
As the rising sun lit up, the light slowly unveiled Nancy’s lovely face. Her face though pale and stiff from trying to hide the pain, was still as beautiful as ever. Ron turned to her. Her eyes were closed but she was still breathing hard. Both their hands were pressed over her wound, trying to slow down the blood flow as Nancy pretended that she was asleep. Ron glared into the bright red morning sun, breathing hard, wishing that the road would be shorter. He was in fear, in fear of losing her, the only woman he ever did and ever will love.

Happy Lunar New Year - 2011

2011-02-02T14:41:00.001-08:00

Happy Lunar New Year everyone!!!!!!!

It's the year of the metal rabbit which means there is definite good coming for everyone no matter which zodiac sign you are! If it's not in the romance department then there is finnancial advancements or personal achievements, so good luck to everyone!!!

Ok here is my new year's greeting, I hope it's ok. ^_^

I wish everyone a happy lunar new year. For everyone to have an ocean of happiness, a sea of success, a river of love and a sonata of romance. I wish that everything you're searching for will find its way into your life this year and that your health will be better than ever!

Ok, now as for me, I'm hoping to let go some of the bad things I've came across last year and free myself of its burdens that it brings me. Since I'm around that age, I don't think it's too much to wish for a budding romance? lol. ^_^ A great year with no tears or worries will do. =D

I'm also hoping to finish yet another fan fiction this year! That's a more realistic goal or wish of mine as compared to the other ones.

For this Lunar New Year, I'm hoping to be able to go up to the temple and pray for myself and my family. But saying as I live in the Eastern part of America, there's not many temples here. I don't know what the one I'll go to will be like, I guess it doesn't matter as long as I have the heart for it. Well I will stop rambling now. Happy Lunar New Year everyone!!!

This image was taken by me at my bus stop with my rather convenient iPod Touch 4G. I'm not much of a photographer but I like it. To me it signals that beyond this reality that we see, there is an endless horizon of dreams and possibilities. I'm hoping that this year I'll come a little bit closer to that horizon.

From Dawn Till Dusk - 05 - Reliance on Instincts

2011-02-02T14:39:00.001-08:00

===
November 2, 2009……10:10 p.m.
===

She sat uncomfortably in the passenger seat to his exotic sport car. Tavia held an emotionless face as she gripped the seatbelt around her waist tightly, trying not to scream as Raymond sped down the busy highway. He was weaving in and out of traffic, playing around with other drivers and worst of all, playing around with her. He held a nice smirk on his pretty face as he shot occasional glances at her while they drove down. After a while of remaining quiet, Raymond finally let out a sound of laughter.

“What is wrong with you?” Raymond asked, trying to hold back from laughing.

“You’re driving at over a hundred miles per hour in an open hooded vehicle. I’m surprised I haven’t flown out of your car by now,” Tavia replied, trying hard to remain calm.

“I’m sorry, it’s kind of an emergency,” Raymond replied. “I probably shouldn’t have taken you along, but I can’t leave you alone in that night club either.”

In her mind, Tavia would’ve rather stayed back at the busy night club than go in a speeding ride with Raymond Lam. To her, the worst that could happen at the club was for some guy to hit her up. She could easily get up and leave rather than be strapped down into a leather seat, clinging onto only a seatbelt for dear life. Her heart was pounding. Her heartbeat rose as she turned away from the road and faced Raymond.

“What kind of emergency is this? After that phone call you shot out of there like the cops were going to get you,” Tavia asked, remembering the look on Raymond’s face earlier.

“Eh, just another relapse of addiction,” Raymond replied, shrugging it off. “It happens all the time but you can’t help but worry. Do me a favor and get the envelope in my glove compartment out. When I stop the car we’re running.”

Tavia reached into the compartment and pulled out the only thing inside. Out of curiosity, she looked inside the envelope and took a breath to see the brand new needle and a clear tube of liquid. “Is this heroine?” she asked with the first thing that came to her mind.

Raymond nodded.

“You should’ve left me in that club,” she mumbled.

Apparently Raymond had heard her since he turned to her to get her full attention.

“Eyes on the road!” Tavia yelled in fear of a crash.

Raymond didn’t listen, instead he moved in closer to her. “Do you want me to leave you there? It is ten right now and the big players usually come there at this time. Would such a classy lawyer like you want to be trapped with about ten more triads with no conscience? They would do such crazy things to you you’d be pleading for death.”

“You admit that triads have no conscience and yet you’re one yourself,” Tavia commented.

He laughed. “Even if I have nothing, I know I still have a conscience left,” Raymond replied in a softer voice as his eyes returned to the road.

Her hands were still tightly gripping the seatbelt. She once again sat in silence. This time she wasn’t silenced by fear but instead she was silenced by thoughts. She couldn’t understand this man. Raymond Lam, he is a triad himself yet when he speaks of them as a group he uses the vilest words to describe them. His view of the triads is no different than a cop. Tavia then wondered about his words. He said he knew he still had a conscience. Out of curiosity, she wanted to dwell deeper into the subject and find out if he had a story behind his thoughts or were they just some more words to draw her to him. She didn’t know but she stayed quiet.

===
The car suddenly jolted to an abrupt stop as Raymond stomped on the brakes a few inches before they crashed into a light post. They were right under an unfamiliar apartment building. Tavia followed Raymond as she grabbed the envelope and ran behind him, rushing up the entrance stairs and into the moving elevator.

“Where are we going?” Tavia asked, noticing that Raymond’s eyes were watching the dial on the elevator go up. He seemed tense, not like his usual self.

“I’ll give you an explanation later. Can you just please help me out on this one?”

Tavia nodded.

“Don’t ever,” Raymond spoke. “Tell anyone else about this. Not even to your closest friends.”

Tavia was quiet but she gave him a nod.

The two shot out of the elevator just as the sliding metal doors opened wide enough for their bodies to fit through. Tavia followed Raymond down the hall as he searched his pocket for a key. He pulled it out and quickly unlocked the doors, storming inside as if the clock was ticking against his favor.
Once inside, Tavia was caught by surprised. In one look she took in the entire room. It was a nice little apartment with a warm, home-like atmosphere yet it was something uncommon for a triad to stay in. She noticed the girl in the corner behind the sofa as Raymond took her hands and pulled her over. Tavia sat down beside him, trying to stay out of the way as she watched him. She recognized the girl to be Yoyo Chen. Her hair was shuffled and her shirt seemed messed up and torn. There were tears on her eyes as she gripped her head in pain. She was cringing, crying in Raymond’s arms as he comforted her. Tavia knew that Yoyo was one of Raymond’s many girlfriends, but she didn’t expect to see him care this much.

“I can’t take it anymore Ray,” she cried, gripping Raymond’s arm.

“It’s ok,” he comforted her. “I’m here now, it’s ok kiddo.”

Tavia didn’t expect to see this. She noticed that Raymond had called Yoyo ‘kiddo’. It was rather unusual for even Raymond Lam to call his girlfriend that. Tavia sat and watched as Raymond hastily took out the needle and the tube of heroine. As he poured the drug into the tube, he held Yoyo tightly in his arms, preventing her from flailing in pain as he injected the drugs into her arms. Tavia wanted to yell at him, asking him why he was giving her more drugs but she just couldn’t. During that situation, Tavia just couldn’t open her mouth to utter a word or to even make a sound. In her eyes, Raymond seemed protective of Yoyo as he held Yoyo tightly in his arms, hugging her and waiting patiently for the drugs to go into effect as it calmed her down. He stroked her hair and whispered words of comfort to her ear but he didn’t kiss her. Raymond seemed more like a brother to Yoyo than a boyfriend.
After a long while, Yoyo finally calmed down. In his arms she fell asleep quickly perhaps worn out from the immense pain of addiction she had to deal with earlier. Raymond picked her up and laid her on her bed, pulling a blanket over her tiny body. He then walked Tavia back out into the living room as they both took a seat at the small dining table in the kitchen. Raymond washed his hands and then turned to her.

“Do you want anything to eat?” he asked her. “There’s some food in the fridge.”

Tavia shook her head. “You owe me an explanation though,” she spoke softly.

He nodded and sighed. Raymond that sat down in front of her. He had a smirk on his face again, but this time she noticed something about it. It was the same smirk he would always give out to everyone, but it was a fake as well. His smirk used cockiness and playfulness to hide his true emotions inside. When she saw this, Tavia had so many questions in her mind that she wanted to ask him but she stopped herself. She was waiting for his explanation right now and it wouldn’t be such a good idea to overload on questions that would remain unanswered.

“Promise not to repeat this to anyone else and I’ll tell you everything,” Raymond spoke. In this woman, he sensed something he couldn’t find in others. In her he found trust and comfort, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe that he could still find them in someone, especially a woman.

Tavia nodded with a solemn face. “I promise,” she replied seriously. That was the first time in a long time that she had whole-heartedly made a promise to a guy and she didn’t expect that guy to be a triad leader like Raymond Lam.

“Yoyo was the one who called me on the phone when we were at the club. She called and said ‘it’s happening again. I can’t take it this time. It’s so irritating.’”, Raymond paused. “Some time ago when I first joined the triads, I found out Yoyo had an addiction to heroine. We tried to keep it under control and a secret. No one knows that she’s addicted and the reason being was that I didn’t want anyone using this addiction to take advantage of us. So whenever she had a relapse, she would call me and I would bring her the things she needed. Lately it’s gotten to be so often. I feel horrible as her brother.”

“Her brother?” Tavia asked. “You mean you and Yoyo aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend and instead you two are actually brothers and sisters?”

Raymond nodded. “Hard to believe isn’t it? I decided to lie that Yoyo is my girlfriend so that with my status, not many people would and could hurt her. I can’t let anything happen to my little sister you know.”

Tavia placed her hand on top of Raymond’s. She didn’t know why she did so. She just knew that she didn’t want to let him go at this moment. Whether he was lying or not wasn’t a question anymore because she didn’t care. She just wanted to listen more to him and find out why this man had such a big secret.

“If you can’t let anything happen to her, why did you become a triad in the first place?”

“It’s not like I can choose,” Raymond replied. He gently hooked onto her hand as he spoke to her. “When we were little, our parents owed a lot of money to the triads or loan sharks if you call them that. I did horrible in school so the hope on me growing up and making money was out of the question. All I could do was join the triads and help them sell some drugs in my school. It made some money but soon my parents died. We of course still had to pay off the debt. Loan sharks aren’t like certified loaners who actually have somewhat of a moral. I had to pay the debt off if I wanted Yoyo to stay alive. So I kept working for them. Apparently I was a smart boy back then,” Raymond laughed. “I did a lot of deals and got the attention of the big lady in charge. She gave me and Yoyo a place to stay for a while and helped me as I got up through the ranks. Eventually, I had my own territory and status. Yoyo wasn’t as involved in the gang as me but to keep her safe, I decided to lie that she was my girlfriend so that no one would touch her. She’s still so childish and has a hot temper sometimes so she got herself noticed for being rash and spoiled. I don’t care, as long as she’s alright. Seeing her addiction get worse hurts you know, but there’s nothing else I can do. And I can’t quit being a triad now, not when Yoyo needs the drugs more than ever. Besides, getting out of the underground life isn’t that easy.”

“It must’ve been hard for you,” Tavia spoke softly, looking into his eyes.

He shook his head with a smile. This smile of his melted her soul as she saw the way his lips had curled upwards. His smile didn’t show arrogance or cockiness, instead it showed appreciation and thankfulness. It was a look on Raymond she could get used to seeing. “It’s not hard,” he replied. “Not when I still have her. Besides, I’m not technically alone. At my back I have the support of the big leader of the 14K.”

“You said that a woman took you two in for a while and helped you. I thought the leader of the 14K was a young guy, not a woman,” Tavia spoke.

“That guy is her son. She’s the real leader who makes all the big decisions. She has the most respect out of everyone in charge.”

“Who is this woman?”

“Michelle Yim,” Raymond replied.

Something suddenly clicked in her mind. Tavia recognized that woman’s name from somewhere. She couldn’t exactly remember where she heard it or from who but she had definitely heard someone mention this woman before.

“Though she’s the big lady in charge, she’s not a bad person,” Raymond added. “At least she’s better than all the other immoral idiots in this gang. When I stayed with her, she was gentle and was a good mother. She can cook very well too and she spoke gently. She has a very warm smile and an open heart as she helped me and Yoyo. The only quality of hers that would make her triad material was that she’s calculating and manipulative. She’s also really clever and protective. She took over the role of the leader after her husband’s death, the old leader of 14K.”

===
November 3, 2009……9:00 a.m.
===

Fala leaned on the metal fence with her hands in her pocket. She could see her breath draw out in the cold autumn morning as she waited. She was sure she had arrived earlier than the meeting time and she blamed herself for that. Why in the world did she show up this early just to breathe in cold air? Feeling colder, she turned and paced in circles around the spot where she stood earlier, hoping to work up her system to warm herself down. With her arm she clamped a small yet thick looking envelope close to her. Her eyes were wandering, searching.

“Hey,” a voice suddenly startled her. “Did you wait long?” It was a male voice.

She turned around, her face wearing a neutral expression as she faced the man she had been waiting for. “No,” she lied. Looking up at Ruco’s smiling face, she began questioning him, just like usual, like every time they met. “So Ruco, what has my sister been up to?”

“Just the usual stuff,” he answered. “She uses me as a spy basically and gets tips on cases so that she could solve them faster.”

Fala nodded. Inside, she knew that wasn’t all Nancy had been up to lately. She knew something else was wrong, but she didn’t know if Ruco would tell her or not. Inside her head she debated for a while whether or not to ask him, but she ended up doing so. “That’s not all,” Fala finally spoke. “I’m sure Nancy’s been up to something else. You hang around her often. What has she been doing? She and Ron keep getting in fights more and more often. When I saw them the other day, it couldn’t have been more obvious that they are fighting.”

In return, he was quiet for a moment. Ruco seemed to be thinking about something before he spoke. “Ah, I don’t know if I should tell you this,” he mumbled.

“What is it? Ruco I’m paying you to give me information about my sis and to keep her out of trouble,” Fala explained to him the whole reason why they kept having meetings.

“I know, I know, but she’s too stubborn and while it’s hard for me to keep her out of trouble.”

“What has she been doing?” Fala asked, knowing Ruco had something to hide.

“Well,” he began reluctantly. “She’s gotten really involved with the gang,” he replied.

“You’re joking,” she breathed.

“Not involved as in illegal activities but,” he paused to think. “Well somehow Nancy had convinced most of the people who work under Raymond that she’s a part of their gang. I think she has a better reputation than I do now. It’s kind of scary how easy she is pulling this off. The worse thing is, Raymond doesn’t seem to notice a thing. Nancy even had one of her friends hold a position near Raymond. Tavia I think was her name. I recognized her.”

“She got Tavia involved in this too?” Fala asked, surprised. “What the hell is she thinking? Either she is taking Raymond Lam very seriously or she is just out of her mind.”

“I’ll try to go and talk to her,” Ruco offered.

“No it’s fine,” Fala cut in. “I’ll talk to her.” Her eyes were distant as she ran many thoughts through her mind. She kept thinking of how she will confront her sister about the matter, knowing that Nancy would suspect Fala had hired Ruco to give her news. After a while, she finally turned back to Ruco. “Ruco thanks,” she spoke, handing him the envelope she had in her hand. “Here’s your pay for this time.”

Different from all other times they met, Ruco didn’t eagerly take the envelope this time. Instead he made an unreadable expression. “You don’t have to pay me anymore,” he spoke.

“What are you talking about? I need you so I can know what my sister is doing and so she won’t get herself in danger,” Fala responded without thinking.

“I will still give you news and help Nancy out, I just won’t take your money anymore.”

She was confused. That was the first time in her life that a triad had turned away from money.

“We’re friends right?” Ruco smiled, seeing a light nod as a response. “I won’t take your money.”

===
November 3, 2009……10:30 a.m.
===

His eyes were burning and he felt trapped inside his clothes as he stood before the small group, planning out how they will make an arrest. When he turned back to their white board filled with writings, information and pictures, Ron discreetly rubbed his eyes. He yawned quickly before turning back to face the crowd. By the looks on their faces, he knew everyone was tired. Even if they got everything done today, the safest bet would be to make the arrest a couple days later. Bosco looked unshaven and in need of some precious sleep. Kate was the most awake out of the group but by the dark circles around her eyes he could see that she needed some sleep to. Ron then turned to Nancy’s desk, seeing an empty chair. He had forgotten that ever since their fight, Nancy had spent more time outside than in the office. He wouldn’t admit it, but Ron missed her presence during his briefing as she sat back in her chair, relaxed while he himself was so stiff in front of them all.

“Alright, so everyone understands that in a few short days, we will be making the arrest on Yoyo Chen? All the evidence we need is here. If we can get her to admit to her crime then that would be even better,” Ron spoke in a strong, leading voice.

As the small crowd dispersed, Ron was about to make his way over to Kate, asking her to mix him a coffee. She stood there looking at him, waiting with a small smile on her face. Her smile suddenly disappeared when Ron felt someone pull on his arm and turned him around. Nancy stood behind him, looking up at him with an expressionless face. He didn’t know when she had shown up or if she had stood by the doorway the whole time. Nancy looked tired as well as if she had been up working just like them. She pulled him towards the door and into the break room. Ron followed her until they stopped abruptly in the middle of the room.

“You’re arresting the wrong person,” Nancy spoke in a hard tone.

By the sound of it, Ron knew Nancy was still fired up at him. He kept a straight face. “You’re not going to argue with me again are you?”

“I’m not arguing with you,” she defended as she handed him a small recording device. “Just listen to the recording and you will have all the proof you need. Macy Chan is the murderer and I’m sure of it.”

He sighed, “Nancy we’ve been through this before…”

She suddenly cut him off by turning around to face the coffee machine. Ron couldn’t see what she was doing as he stood behind her. “As I said,” she spoke. “I’m not arguing with you.” When she turned back around, Ron could see her holding a hot cup of fresh brewed coffee in her hand. Carefully she handed it to him and without another word she left the office. Ron watched her from behind. When she disappeared from his view, he sighed again and played with the recording device in his hand as he sat down with the cup of coffee.

“So stubborn,” he mumbled to himself. He didn’t know if he was saying Nancy was stubborn or admitting that he was the stubborn one.

===
November 5, 2009……4:00 p.m.
===

He could see the fat man quivering in the corner, his face black and blue from a beating session just five minutes earlier. Raymond in his blue khaki vest walked up to the man, wearing an intimidating face as he glared into his eyes. He was quiet, waiting to see the man’s reaction as he got closer. The fat man had nowhere to run as he was trapped in by Raymond and four of his other men, all looking like they could take his life any second.

The man had a shaky voice as he spoke, “Big brother,” he stuttered. “Please give me more time.”

“You know I usually don’t do something like this myself,” Raymond replied calmly. He squared his shoulder and stood taller against the portly man. “Where’s my money?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have it. Please give me another week. I swear I’ll have it for you by then.”

“One week, one week,” Raymond spoke. “After this you’ll ask for another one week.”

“Please big brother, I still have a wife and kids to care for,” he pleaded. “Please give me another week.” He was practically on the floor, begging before the young man.

Raymond reached into his pocket and pulled out a small but scary looking pocket knife. He slowly opened it and then held it up close against the man, touching the blade against his skin. “Where is my money?” Raymond asked again, this time emphasizing every word.

The man was on his knees now crying and breathing hard, pleading for his life. “Please, I don’t have that large of a sum right now. Please give me more time,” he begged.

He held his knife tighter as he pushed if forward, seeming to have stabbed the portly man’s abdomen with it. Instead Raymond’s blade point was purposely held a few inches off so that he only stabbed the brick wall behind them as a warning. “One more week,” Raymond spoke. “After that one week, you’re going to answer to a gun.”

“Thank you,” the man thanked as he ran away quickly. The other four men around Raymond slowly dispersed as they went in different directions. Raymond headed back to his car, smiling as he got in with his new lawyer and close friend.

Tavia had been sitting in the car. She saw everything from Raymond’s act of intimidation to his fake warning. She shook her head once he got in the car. Raymond only smiled at her, letting out a small chuckle as he started the engine. After a short moment they finally drove off and pulled onto a busy highway. Raymond leaned forward, looking around for directions as he spoke to Tavia.

“You’re awfully quiet today,” he commented.

She laughed and shook her head. “I can’t believe you’d take me to see that,” she replied.

“It was unexpected. I was originally planning to take you out for a drink.”

“A lot of things are unexpected with you,” Tavia joked.

“That’s the life sweetie,” Raymond smiled, flashing her one of his killer smiles as she rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. “That’s no way to thank me for taking you out.”

“If you want to take me out, at least put some effort into it,” Tavia replied, partly joking but partly serious as well.

“Oh I almost forgot, you’re a classy lady,” Raymond laughed. “Fine, how about dinner next week?” he asked.

Tavia nodded with no words in reply.

“Wear the prettiest dress you’ve got classy lady,” Raymond laughed as he continued to tease her, finding amusement in making her smile and shake her head at him.

After a while of getting to know her, he found Tavia’s smile to be such a drug. She had the prettiest smile ever and he just couldn’t get enough of it. Beside that fact, he also enjoyed making her smile. He felt comfortable around her and he didn’t feel the need to keep her a far distance away. He felt something odd traveling through him when he was with her. He didn’t understand what it was. It was warmth but there was some fear in it at the same time. It made him feel good and happy. What was that kind of feeling?

What I've Been Up To...

2011-01-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

This was before the snow...

Standing in front of my high school, I took a picture of the sunrise with my iPod. Surprisingly it turned out a lot better than I had hoped, even though I'm not much of a photographer.

Finally it was snowing. My family and I were on a Family Bonding Night and we just walked out of a restaurant. Jimmy, my youngest brother was trying to catch the snow. Being in America for so long, snow is common to me and the land is kind of boring where I live, but there is still something about it that makes me smile.

Supposedly this was after a winter snow storm. It's not really much of a storm if you ask me. I took this photo from the giant window in my living room. The good thing that came out of this "storm" was that I had no school the next day and a 2-hour delay the day after so I was happy.

My baby cousin Madelyn! Born on January 1, 2011. She is a New Year's baby!!! How lucky haha. She's my favorite cousin and my uncle and aunt allowed me to hold her, bottle feed her and let her burp. She was the first baby I ever got to feed. I didn't even feed my little brothers because I was too young when they were this little.

Of course I've been working on my fan fiction too. At first I ran into some troubles with the plot because I wanted to add more action to my story. I actually had a small writer's block. But then after just laying down on my bed, I thought of good ideas for it. Somehow my bed is just so helpful that way. So I've decided not to make this a story focusing on action but more on love...

Aside from "From Dawn Till Dusk", I'm also working on "Midnight Sun"!!! I came up with the name way before Stephenie Meyer so ha! I actually came up with this in 7th grade, about four years ago. That was way before Twilight became popular so ha! I have proof too! I let a friend of mine read a draft of it and I was smart enough to put the date on it haha.

Well "Midnight Sun" is coming alone nicely. I won't reveal the plot until I decide to post it though. I think I'm going to wait until I'm a little deeper in with "From Dawn Till Dusk".

No More Tears

2011-01-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

Many times I’ve cried in pain.
Tears spill out again, again.
Once I thought it’d never end.
Trapped alone, I can’t amend.

Till this night come storming by,
I’ve been hurt but I didn’t cry.
All the tears are locked away.
Deep within my heart they’ll stay.

Even when he breaks my heart,
I won’t cry. It’s not so hard.
Listen to the flowing wind,
I am fine. I have not sinned.

Through the years I’m finally done.
No more tears. In me they’re gone.
Been through heartbreak, been through pain.
Told myself, don’t cry again.

Why?

2011-01-27T15:01:00.000-08:00

When I know that love is pain,
Why did I fall through again?
Loving you was not my choice.
Even with my boundless voice,
I cannot make you return
A love for me, a love that burns.

Many times I’m all alone,
Told myself I’m on my own.
Loneliness is now a friend,
Emptiness, a space I’ll bend.
Yet my heart beats like a fool,
Using me just like a tool.

Why must I love one like you?
One of which I never knew?
You wouldn’t give this girl a chance.
Why must I stay in a trance?
One way love is never fun,
Yet my heart is still not done.

Why must I go love a guy?
Unknowingly, he makes me cry.
Many tries, I’ve let you go.
But you’ll come back. That fact I know.
Why must I go love in pain?
Time and time, and time again.

I'm Crying

2011-01-27T14:59:00.001-08:00

When you look at me, what can you see?
Can you see that tear? That tear hidden in me.
Would you believe me if I told you,
There’s something about me you never knew?
That all along I have been crying.
I say it doesn’t hurt but I’m lying.
The tears dry up but my heart still bleeds.
As time goes by the sorrow seeds.

Look at me. I seem so happy now don’t I?
No one could believe that I can cry.
The silly girl with endless dreams and fantasy
Can shed a tear. So let it be.
You wouldn’t believe it but I’m crying.
I smile now but I am lying.
The silence is just too much. I cannot stand.
Yet you stand there, watching. Give me no hand?

I feel the pain. I feel the sadness drown my mind.
Why do you walk away? Why leave me behind?
The tears I cry are for the love, the pain and sorrows.
I fake my strength. While inside I’m a tempest of woe.
I can’t believe it but I’m crying.
I try to think that I am lying.
That pain doesn’t hurt and this heart doesn’t ache.
Yet the tears slipping out bring a sign that I’ll break.

I can’t believe it but I’m crying.
Life doesn’t hurt and I’m lying.
At times I find myself sighing.
I can’t believe it. I’m crying.

Loving You

2011-01-27T14:57:00.001-08:00

Loving you was not a choice.
Loving you was no decision.
Fate brings me what I don’t want,
Destiny, what I can’t handle.
You’re the one to break my heart.
Yet this love I have is art.

I Love Him

2011-01-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

He picked up the pieces to my broken heart.
He waited for me when I’m torn apart.
His arms are comforting; he held me close.
His gaze is sensitive. My heartbeat rose.

The one who held me together, all these years,
The boy who sat there to hold my tears,
He never left or even turned.
He stayed with me, how much it burned.

It took so long for me to know,
He’s love me. He loves me so.
Now I can see how much is true,
I can’t deny I love him too.

Asian Adventures ep. - 01

2011-01-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

Asian Adventures ep. 01 - Meagan and Her Muffin

[NO RACIST JOKES ARE TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY]
The adventures of an Asian in America...quite odd and random. ^_^