The following day, as Rendo goes to class again, he is having second thoughts about meeting Verona again. The cautious person as he always is, he thinks about the matter with care.

"I mean, I can just ditch her, right? It's not as if I'm obligated to meet her. After that, we'd never meet again...," he tells himself.

Still, it turns out to be something like a battle between personalities raging within him. Come to think of it, he could easily make the decision. What is it that he seems to have hard time taking a stand about the matter? Somehow, his body might be taking notes in class like a programmed computer, but his mind is transported to the past. Yet another flashback reveals itself to us.

June 2020: Pasig City, NCR

Rendo is set to attend church on a fine Sunday morning, but not to hear the preaching. It comes later in the day. In the morning, he attends Sunday School classes. Yes, Sunday School is not only for children. They are for adults, too. His parents thought that college may take a toll in their son's faith, so they decided to send him to Sunday School again. As the classes go on, Rendo recalls the days when he attended Sunday School as a child. He used to attend a different church then. Soon enough, it was break time. He was quick to grab a snack and then go back to his seat. He kept silent, not talking to anyone during the short break. Just then, he noticed someone at the other end of their row another person who seem to have not taken the liberty of talking with the others. Even as classes resumed, he still took chances at looking at the person on the other side.

He observes that she is actually of little stature. At least compared to other people in that class, she may be the smallest of them all. She brings out her phone every now and then, but apparently, she is not even taking notes. She just leans back and forth at almost timed intervals. Does she have a bad back or something? The teacher does not mind, but when question and answer time came, he asked something on a Bible verse concerning death and salvation. Most in the class seemed to not know the answer. They just murmur to themselves. Meanwhile, Rendo knew the answer, but he is not someone who enjoys the attention. For him, he thought he would seem like a show-off to them. Seconds passed, and the teacher may have been enjoying the confusion for that while.

"Pastor," one person says while raising a hand, "may I answer?"

The teacher pointed to that person, and it turns out to be the one Rendo has been observing all this time!

"Yes, what is it?" the teacher asked with a smile.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

She stands up, gets the microphone given her by a teacher aide, and answers, "You're referring to Hebrews 9:27-28, which states that, And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."

The teacher looked at the class and said that the answer is definitely correct. However, that is not the only thing that has been answered. When that person stood up, Rendo managed to have a good look. He was particularly impressed with the answer as he was pondering the same thing, and then, he suddenly realized that he must have known her before.

He said to himself, "That's right! I... I know her... What's her name again? Um... Yes, Pascual, right. But, what's the first name? Hrr."

For the entire question and answer portion, Rendo did not have any participation. Much of his brain processing power has been occupied with recalling a name once archived in memory. Just as class ended, he finally remembers the name he seeks, but another challenge lies ahead. His courage just ran out. He thought, "Would this person actually want to see me? I mean, we're not exactly friends, but we're not exactly enemies either? Perhaps I'm a stranger to her now?"

Still, the sight of her leaving refueled his courage. He almost jumped out of his chair and using his speed, he is in front of her in no time. Stopping her, Rendo speaks up first.

"Um... H-hello?"

She looks down first then going up, from feet to head. With her usual bored face, she asks him.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Say, are you Eliza? Pascual?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh. You... Do you remember...?"

"Remember what?"

In his mind, he was thinking of pulling a quip like, "Do you remember love?", which is derived from an anime, but his other personality stopped him. Besides, she might not receive it well.

So, he continued, "Do you remember me?"

She examined his face again, and then her face lightened a bit. It seems the mood is changed.

"Why, yes, of course. How can I forget you?"

"Y-you mean that?"

"Yup. You're Rendo, right?"

And with that, he hears someone yelling inside him, "Score one for the boys back home!"

Indeed, after that event, they went out together after classes. Of course, this is usually to have lunch only, and then attend church service after. This went on for some two months, and they seemed to have enjoyed this catching up process. It turns out that Eliza was one of Rendo's juniors back in high school. In fact, he usually taught her in history and foreign languages at the school library for almost a year. Since it was his last year in high school, he did not have much time to spare, but evidently, memories were made and reminisced. Both are excellent in school, and Rendo appreciates Eliza's eagerness to learn. At least for Rendo, it was like a time warp. They are together again. This time, not in the quiet library, but in the solemn church. Still, even though Rendo tended to be more superior in academics, her intelligence never ceases to amaze him. It was not a simple catching up either, as they came to know more of each other in every passing day. They find similarities between them, as well as differences. However, as August of that year came, Rendo finds out something shocking. The question is, will it surprise you, too?