Chapter 9

When Rama arrived in Palermo with his parents when they picked him up in Asti, they went straight to the police station.
There he reported about abducting and killing him, Mr. Barioga. He gave a cartographic sketch to those who abducted and shot him.
Mr. Barioga was also immediately arrested after the warrant was issued. His account was enough evidence to catch it. He had also filed a case of bribing him before. A few weeks later, Romeo's group was also caught, which put more pressure on Mr. Barioga to imprison it.
Now, his problem is solved. He is now thinking of finding the person who helped him. He said it was just in Sperlonga.
HIS FRIENDS RUSHED GIOVANNA to their house when they found out that he had returned home. Bianca and Jana even cried when they saw him.
"Drama again," he snapped at the two as he wiped his eyes.
"Of course, we missed you so much. It's good that your case has been solved. You've been here for two weeks, you haven't even texted," said Jana, who had already let go of her hug.
"Yes! You really are a witch, you worried us a lot when you ran away. If only I had known you were in Sperlonga, I would have rushed you there long ago," Bianca said, hitting him.
"Oh, if I were to tell you, I must have been caught by the police a long time ago. I was just busy that's why I just told you that I'm home."
"Really! You don't trust me. Am I going to betray you?" she protested what he said.
"You won't betray me. But due to the lack of brake fluid in your mouth, you must have slipped a long time ago and betrayed me by accident," he said accompanied by laughter.
And the three of them laughed.
They sat together on his bed. Just like the old times, when they were still in high school. Story.
"Yes, by the way. Why didn't you just face your case before?" Bianca asked him without itchiness.
"I was confused then. I was scared. I didn't know what to do at that time. So, I ran away and hid," he explained.
There was a moment of silence between the three of them.
"You know..." he began and lay down on the bed.
His eyes focused on the ceiling. Smiling.
"I met a man there."
"Huh? Who?" the two asked him at the same time.
And he told his two friends what happened to him in Sperlonga. 
Ever since they were in elementary school, they no longer keep secrets.
They were telling secrets and only the three of them knew at the time.
His two friends listened intently to his story. He didn't notice her tears slowly falling when she told her two friends about the night she said goodbye to Dante and the last night she saw him.
"Do you love him?" Jana asked gently him while stroking his back.
He just nodded.
Bianca to him.
"Why don't you fight for him?" it's a question
He didn't answer, instead he showed the engagement ring he was wearing. "This is the reason. I'm already committed to Enzo and I want to fulfill my promise to him," he said emphatically.
"Oh... so sad for you. But that's okay, sis. If you are really meant for each other, time will find a way for you to be together," said Jana.
RAMA WAS SITTING SILENTLY in his swivel chair in his office. It had been three weeks since he had been back there. He was also lost there for a year and he missed the place that was Lyon. He only found out from his staff and his parents have been looking for him for a long time.
Now he knows himself but he can't remember who helped him and he survived. How he ended up in Sperlonga. His doctor said that he developed amnesia and that is a good sign that his memory is slowly returning. Not all returned.
Selective memory is the only thing he remembers.
"Oh god, babe. I'm glad to see you alive," said a mestiza woman who hugged her.
He just let her hug him and tried to search his memory for the woman's identity. When he loosened his embrace and looked at her, he still couldn't remember it.
"Don't you remember me, babe?" she tearfully asked him.
He shook his head.
"It's me, Evera," he introduced her. "I am your fiancée," he added.
"He's right son," said a male voice behind them. His father, Don Jenito. "Be patient with him Evera. Rama still has amnesia."
"I understand, Uncle," he said. He faced her and closed her face in his palms. "Let me help you, my love, to remember everything," Evera continued and then he kissed her sweetly on the lips.
As he kissed her, some memories came to his mind. He kissed a girl but it wasn't Evera. He pushed it away.
Evera was surprised by his push. He also couldn't believe he had done that to the girl.
He didn't know why he felt a strange anger towards the woman when he had just seen her. If she is his girlfriend, why can't he feel even thrill or joy in his heart. Instead, there was anger in his heart.
He saw her cheeks turn red, probably from embarrassment at what he did to her.
"What are you doing, Rama? Evera is your fiancée," his Papa confronted him who was also stunned by what he did to Evera.
"I don't know, Pa. I don't know!" And he quickly went out of his office to avoid his father. As far as he remembered, his father was bad at getting angry. Why didn't all his memories come back? For him to know and remember the people he meets every day. It's hard for him to pretend he's normal and doesn't have amnesia.
GIOVANNA WAS BUSY when she returned to her office in the main branch of her Pastry. It had been three weeks since he returned to them. Only then did he go to the precinct to give his affidavit as to why he ran away and hid. How he was accused and his affidavit matched what the police saw in the CCTV footage. So now he's back in his office, taking care of the payments to their suppliers.
The ledger he immediately focused on when he returned there. It turned out that his mother and Bianca were running smoothly while he was in Sperlonga. All reports are detailed including receipts. In fact, their income is much higher than when he was managing there as well as its branches.
"You can run a business, Ma," he happily praised his Mama who was sitting in front of him.
"Not much, son. Bianca and I just worked together to run the Pastry," Mama answered
He looked a little younger than when he had last seen him. Maybe it's because they were busy with business and didn't think about the problem with their family. Maybe it's because of the arrangement between him and his Papa and he made you very happy.
"Yes friend. We even fumbled at first, but in the long run we got used to it and we learned everything," added Bianca.
"Thank you very much for not neglecting my business during those times," he said happily.
"That's okay friend. What are friends for?" And Bianca hugged him.
He wept with great joy. She was truly his friend. Because of the times he needed it, it never left him. He didn't even betray her. He was lucky with these.
He also thanked God and his mother completely changed and he and his father became friends again. Right now, he couldn't ask for anything more in his life, except for his love life. To see Dante again.
THE following week, Giovanna was busy opening a second branch of her Pastry in Turin City. Early in the morning, he was leaving the house with Bianca and sometimes Jana. It is usually midnight when he comes home.
Somehow being busy with his business helped to somehow distract Dante from his mind. When he is not busy, the three of them go out as friends as they always do. But now he is careful.
It was a good start for her when she forgot about Dante . Maybe they are not for each other. They are not destined. He knew that eventually he would also forget Dante forever. She always imprinted in her mind that her romance with Dante was just a dream and that it didn't really happen in real life.
The day of the opening of his second branch in Turin arrived. Just Saturday afternoon, he was already in Turin with Bianca and Jana. Of course he is still with his Mama who is arranging a few details for the opening lion.
That night on Saturday, Bianca took him to the birthday party of his supposed cousin in Balingasag. There were already many guests when they arrived there. He was a bit uncomfortable with the people there because they were dressed too formally except for their three friends. His mom just left him in the apartelle they rented because she was tired and wanted to rest.
But to everyone there, her beauty was remarkable. Even though she was only wearing a three sisters skirt and a pink blouse, she still didn't beat the other women there.
The three of them sat at a table in a sulk of the garden. Bianca said goodbye to her and Jana just a moment later. It is said that he will go to the celebrant first who is said to be up and getting dressed.
"I hope our opening goes well tomorrow, what?" he suddenly said.
"Of course! It's Auntie! Do you know that when you were hiding, she really focused all her attention on managing your Pastry. What's really changed is what?" Jana with restless eyes in search of handsome men.
"You still haven't really changed, Jana."
"What? Which one?" it's boasting.
"Hey! You know what I'm talking about, right?
'Your penchant for handsome men. You're not really carried away by your past relationships, are you?" he said with a sigh.
"Hey Giovanna! It's like you're not used to me anymore. Just let me go, huh? I can handle myself when it comes to things like this," he said.
"It's up to you! After all, you're old. You know what you're doing and how rare it is," he said.
Rama was NOT comfortable in his seat at that party. It's like the warmth of his feeling that he can't explain. He seemed to want to go somewhere at that party. It's like he wants to see something he doesn't know.
He was invited for that birthday party since the celebrant was his maternal cousin and he was the one the celebrant asked to be her escort because she had not yet had a boyfriend. He couldn't reject that cousin of his because he spoiled him.
Of all his cousins, this is the closest to him and this is the only one he will never forget. I hope that his memories will all come back and that his other cousins who he snubs when they see him will not sulk when they see him just because he can't remember them.
He really wants to remember everything so that his problem is over and all the questions that are bothering him can be answered.
"I think I want to go home Pardz," he said to Ronald who was busy looking for beautiful chicks at the party. They call him Pardz. He's been her best friend since high school.
"What the hell is that, Pardz?" We've just arrived and it's not even warmed up where I'm sitting, we're going home right away?" he whined.
"I can't be restless. Come suddenly that's how i feel I just don't know. I can't explain," he said, who was already standing and pacing in front of Ronald who was really restless.
"You have to go out sometimes too,
Pardz. You don't go out anymore. Your daily route is just work and home. How can you remember all of us if we are locked up all the time," he said.
Ronald has a point. Yes indeed. How can he recognize and remember everyone around him if he just stays locked up? How can the questions that always bother him be answered when he is only in the four corners of his office and his room?
He sighed. "You know what? I have this feeling that I am committed to someone else, but I don't know who and who that person is," he said suddenly.
"Yes you are! To Evera. Haven't you been together for a long time?”
"No. She's not. We're separated. She confessed to me the other night that she's pregnant by her Irish boyfriend who she met when I disappeared."
"Hmmm... Look, Pardz. There are many ladies here tonight," Ronald told him. "Look around.
“'There! 'There! Pretty ones and sexy ones. Look at it. The one in pink." He suddenly grinned. "Just forget about whoever that girl is messing with your mind. Whoever he is, he must have forgotten you."
He looked in the direction it pointed.
He frowned. There was a woman with him at the table. just a moment later, a woman and her cousin, the celebrant, came there. He stared at the girl in pink.
She looks familiar!
He seems to want to approach her and talk to her. But there is a part of his personality that keeps him from approaching it. And he didn't know what his reason was for doing that.
"Pardz, are you okay?" Ronald yelled at him.
"Oh, sorry," he said. "I'm fine." It shook. "Do you know him?"
"I don't know. But she looks familiar," he said as his eyes were fixed on her.
What will he do? Will he approach her to acknowledge her? Maybe he knows him and it will help him to get his memory back.
GIOVANNA COULD NOT understand her feelings as he sat there talking to Jana and Bianca. He was nervous that he couldn't understand those moments. It was as if there were pairs of eyes watching him. Whoever it was he had no idea.
He stood up from his seat. He wanted to walk around for a while and get some fresh air. He seems to be hot. He simply wandered his eyes in the garden to find a place where he could get some air. But he suddenly froze when his eyes caught a corner of the garden. He felt his world stop spinning when their eyes met the man who was now approaching her.
He can't be wrong. Dante was approaching him. But he was surprised by the expression on her face. He didn't even see any excitement in it.
"Giovanna? Hey! It looks like you got stoned over there?" Jana said.
"OMG! Dante, approaching..." Giovanna said.
"Huh? Where? Where?" said Bianca who was suddenly confused.
He couldn't understand the expression on his face. He didn't seem excited to see him. But his forehead was still frowning. It's like he doesn't know him.
His mouth fell at the thought that maybe his memory had returned and he had forgotten him.
The corners of his eyes started to heat up when he was in front of him. He wanted to hug him but there was one part of his mind that was preventing him from doing so because he might be embarrassed
"Hi! You look familiar to me. Have we met before?" he asked him when he got close.
He stared at his hand as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
Stopping himself from crying in front of this, he still smiled at Dante. Now he proved that it hurts not to be recognized by the person you love.
"I guess so," he said. 
His two friends are still by his side who have no idea what is really happening with them now with Dante .
"Oh! By the way, I'm Rama Moradas," he said and extended his hand to him with a smile. "Where did you get that bracelet? I seem to have one." He was reluctant to accept his hand, and when Bianca nudged him, he shook hands with the young man. He felt like he was burned when their palms came together
"I'm Giovanna Evangelista..." He gave him a forced smile. He seems to be weak from his eyes on him and he can't hold back the tears when they face each other. So he decided to say goodbye here with his friends.
"It was given to me by the man I love. Sorry, my friends and I have to leave and we have to take care of something else inside," he said with a smile and immediately pulled the two friends to get away from there immediately.
Rama was left standing there scowling.
IN ONE CORNER of the garden, Giovanna was crying a lot. Bianca and Jana teased him that he really had no idea about the conversation he was having with Dante earlier, whose real name is Rama Moradas.
"Why doesn't he know you Giovanna?" Bianca asked immediately when she was taken care of.
"Yes, my friend! He's so fine, hah" Jana immediately seconded the motion as if thrilled.
"It's a long story. He had amnesia when we met in Sperlonga. Maybe his memory has come back so he didn't recognize me," he explained as he continued to sob.
"Wait. Maybe, he will remember you too. Because didn't he say, you look familiar to him? That means there is still a part of his brain or let's say in his heart that recognized or remembered you. He just can't determine if who are you really," Jana consoled him.
Jana has a point. There is a possibility that he will remember her again. But what else? He and Enzo are getting married next month. 

Book Comment (58)

  • avatar
    Liyana Mohammad

    Nice story

    12d

      0
  • avatar
    YAt

    مومتيع

    29/09

      0
  • avatar
    AmirAmir

    nice

    27/09

      0
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