Bianca was busy in sweeping off the dried leaves in the garden. That’s her favorite kind of place in the convent. It was so quiet and she could even sniff out some fresh cold air. Then, she stopped for a while and put the broomstick at the side of the Pomelo tree.

Her eyes glistened when she saw the different kinds of Hibiscus flower blooming on every side. Glancing at the side to side to check if there were other nuns coming to her direction, then she carefully plucked one red Hibiscus flower when she realized that she’s completely alone. After that, she put the flower on the side of her ear. Then, she held the broomstick and continued to sweep out the ground. The bell rang twice. It was the time for praying the Angelus. Bianca carried the broomstick. Then, she started to run towards the convent.

----~~~----

Mirko went inside the kitchen again. He got the shopping list that Princess had made and he checked them thoroughly. After that, he said goodbye to Princess before leaving the Sweet Heart Cafe.

After two hours, Mirko finished the groceries and some other supplies from the Book store. Carrying two big plastic bags into his left hand and a paper bag in his other hand was no easy task, but Mirko got used to it for many days. The parking lot was seemed silent. The street lights going to the corner where his light blue Pajero parked, were broken. He didn’t mind if it was dark and creepy.

Mirko just continued to walk until he reached his light blue Pajero at the very end at the right side of the parking lot. He turned off the alarm and opened the car trunk. Then, he was about to close the car trunk when the flashlight hurt his eyes.

Someone punched his face that caused his car keys to fell into the ground. Someone’s accomplice kicked his lower body near his waist. Mirko tried to counterattack the attacker but he didn’t have a chance to punch him back. There’s a loud noise heard in the whole parking lot. Even his Pajero alarm rang up. Then, his body began to grow weaker as the blood dripped from inside. Slowly, he closed his eyes and lost consciousness. Both of his attacker and his accomplice carried him inside his Pajero.

----~~~----

“Bianca, you must buy some candles in the nearest mall.” Sister Carmen ordered. “Please don’t forget to buy some three packs of the matchbox. We needed it urgently for our altar near the Refectory.” Then, Sister Carmen gave her 100 pesos for the payment.

After all, Bianca didn’t need to take some public transportation going to the nearest mall. The malls were just a few meters away at Cordis Lesu. Briana kept on singing her favorite praise songs while she was passing to the streets. At last, she had seen the ‘Outside World’ where she could see ordinary people walking, tricycles and different cars roamed around Main Road.

Few shopping-goers were inside the First Mall that Bianca visited. First, she thought to walk around in every shop for a while. Then, she put the pack of Sperma candles and three boxes of a matchbox. And, she needed to hurry, so she won’t be hearing any sermon from the Mother Superior afterward. The Angelus won’t start if the Paschal Candle will not be lighted. It was located near the altar of Our Lady of Lourdes statue near the small chapel.

It was a little bit dark outside, so Bianca opened her flashlight as she waved side by side. She was about to enter the gate of Cordis Lesu when she saw something weird. She stopped for a while and pointed the flashlight into the weird thing lying in the side of the road.

When the flashlight shone at side, Bianca covered her mouth when she realized that it was a human being. Even though his handsome face was covered with blood, she could still see his small lips, pointed nose. His skin was white as milk. She checked his pulse, and she could hear him hardly breathing.

Bianca carried him by her shoulders, although he was heavier than the 50 kilos sack of rice. Then, she lost her balance and both of them fell down to the ground. Her lips lightly brushed into his. Her first kiss was supposedly been given to the man that she chose to love. Now, it’s stolen by this stranger. Her cheeks turned red as the strange electricity went through her blood veins. It passed in every corner inside of her body.

“Bianca!” Meljae called up her name twice. Then, Meljae ran to her after she saw her presence. She was still catching her breath as she sat beside her. “Goodness, I’m so tired of searching for you!” Meljae was working as a helper like her in the Cordis Lesu. Then, she covered her mouth by her hand upon seeing the unconscious body of a man. “What if he’s already dead? We might be caught by the police?” She whispered in a muffled tone. “Hey, I don’t want to be your accomplice cause I'll remain my mouth to be shut.”

“Then, shut your mouth for a while.” Bianca checked his pulse. “He’s not dead yet, because I could still hear his poor breathing. This guy needed to be treated immediately and we must report this to Sister Rafaela.”

Meljae helped her on carrying the bloodied man. The nuns were in a state of shock when they saw on what they’ve brought. Slowly, Bianca laid him in the leatherette sofa adjacent to the Prayer Room. After that, she explained to them what happened a while ago. Then, the nuns talked for a while on what they shall do with the man.

“Maybe, he did some criminal case.” Sister Hazel said. “Our congregation might be involved if he will stay with us.”

“But he also needed our help, my fellow sisters.” All of the Sisters stared at Sister Rafaela. Sister Rafaela didn’t mind them and looked at the man from head to toe. Then, she glanced at Bianca. “Give him the first-aid first. Within this case, it might enhance your skills as a Nursing Aide.”

Immediately, Bianca followed her orders. First, she went to Sister Rafaela’s office. Upon her return, she was holding the first aid kit while the nuns were surrounded the man. They prayed fervently, and each of them was holding different rosary beads.

“May the Good Lord help you, dear?” Gently, Sister Carmen patted her head. Then, she went back in praying the rosary.

Next, she cleaned every dried blood into his face, arms, and hands. Slowly, she unbuttoned his Polo Shirt and lifted it upwards. The nuns covered their eyes upon seeing his washboard 6 pack abs.

"Shocks, he’s so very handsome!" Meljae exclaimed joyously.

"Ssssh." Sister Hazel hissed and laid her finger into Meljae’s lips to keep her quiet.

Bianca saw shallow bullet wounds from the right side of his chest. Luckily, it didn’t hit directly to his heart. Next, she wore her surgical gloves. Next, Meljae gave her the sterilized tweezers and scalpel. Slowly, she pulled out the bullet. Then, they heard a loud cry coming from the man’s mouth because of his suffering from the pain-causing by the bullet wounds. Then, he kept on biting his lower lip until the blood dripped over. Because of the outcry, it made the nuns stopped from praying. There was a quick silence. Then, they went back to their rosary. After she pulled out the bullets, she put them inside the small empty jar. Slowly, she stitched each of the wounds using by the biological thread.

“Will Mr. Handsome still be alive?” Meljae whispered.

“Soon, the blood flow in his wounds will be stopped.” She breathed heavily. Gently, she wiped the wounds with alcohol. Meljae helped her in wrapping the bandage around his chest.

“Let’s wait for a while maybe a few minutes. If the blood flow will not stop, then we need to rush him in the hospital.”

“I hope that you will succeed, Bianca.” Sister Rafaela said and tapped her shoulder. “We hope that God will listen to our prayers for the fast recovery of this young man.”

“I do wish, Sister Rafaela.” Bianca pulled off the surgical gloves and threw it in the trash bin.

----~~~----

Slowly, Mirko opened his eyes. For him, the place was very unfamiliar. There were many statues of different Saints, Jesus and Mary everywhere. Maybe, he was already in the heavens above. But, he couldn’t see any clouds or angels surrounding him. However, he could still remember his beautiful dream. There were many ladies dressed in white surrounded him. He couldn’t see any halo above their heads or feathery wings. Maybe, there were wingless angels who were fetching him to heaven.

For him, it was not the right time to die because he didn’t meet yet the lady of his dreams; the lady that he could love for his whole life. He also wanted to build his own family with lots of kids, maybe three or more. If he just listened on what his Kuya Marko said last time, then he could court Princess. Maybe this time, he won’t get to the heavens so fast and stayed in the earth for a long matter of time.

His imagination went off when a pretty lady approached him. She was wearing a simple T-shirt and a black skirt which its edges touched her legs. Maybe the lady was no other than but Princess. He asked himself for a while and watched the movement of the ceiling fan. But his thoughts were wrong when the nun followed the pretty lady. The nun was wearing a yellow veil and white habit.

“Thank God and you’ve been awakened.” Bianca happily announced. “By the way, my name is Bianca.” She glanced at the nun behind her. “This is Sister Rafaela, the Mother Superior of Cordis Lesu.” She introduced formally and offered him a handshake.

Instead of accepting it, Mirko moved backward. He closed his eyes because of experiencing the pain coming from his bandage that had been wrapped around his chest. Then, he laid down his body in order to endure the pain.

“Sir, we need to change your bandage. I need to take a closer look in order to see if your wounds are already fully-healed.” She explained with a calming voice.

"You don’t need to call me, Sir. Just call me, Mirko." Again, he closed both eyes. Her face was seemed familiar to him. Maybe, they already met in their past lives. Or, it's just a plain deja vu. "I would like to express my sincere thanks for saving my life."

Bianca smiled shyly while removing his old bandage. Sister Rafaela gave him rosary beads. The nun told him that praying the rosary will aid in his fast recovery. When Bianca was almost finished on removing it, he cried out of pain. But when he took a glance at the lady, his pain coming from his wounds slowly went off. Mirko thought that she’s the apple of letting the doctor away. In his case, Bianca was the one who made him forget his pain. Sister Rafaela helped Bianca in wrapping the new bandage around his chest.

“Possibly, next week, your wounds will be healed.” Bianca guessed.

Mirko held her arm. They didn’t avoid staring at each other’s eyes for at least ten seconds. Then, he saw Bianca’s cheeks turned into red. And, she shook her head and looked away to avoid him.

“Bianca.” Sister Rafaela called her that broke the nippy silence between them. “Please bring lunch for our visitor. There's leftover creamy mushroom soup, that you can reheat it later. After that, you must help Meljae in taking care of Sister Flor.” Sister Rafaela was referring to the old nun who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. And, she was occupying the next room to his. The old nun cannot sit nor stand due to her old age and sickness. Meljae and Bianca were taking turns to care for the frail nun.