...🔥🌳🔥...

Summer in the Philippines isn't just about the sticky sweat or the sun's scorching kiss on the skin. For me, summer has a color: a blazing red that looks like blood spilled on the asphalt. It was the color of the Fire Trees—the Caballeros—that bloomed at every corner of our small town whenever April and May arrived. They were beautiful, yes, but they looked like warnings. Like nature was bleeding to tell us something we weren't ready to hear.

I was only ten years old then. I was a child of scuffed knees and messy ponytails, chasing the ghost of a lost toy. My favorite doll was missing, a small gift from Mama before she was taken by heaven. For a child, losing the last memory of a loved one felt like the end of the world.

"I'll find you," I whispered to the wind as I walked along the roadside.

The heat was oppressive, shimmering in waves above the black pavement. The air smelled of a mix of dry earth and the sweet, slightly bitter fragrance of the Fire Tree flowers. Every step I took was accompanied by the rustle of red petals falling like crimson snow. It was a picturesque afternoon, the kind you'd see in a travel brochure, but there was a heavy stillness in the air that felt... wrong.

I stopped under a large Fire Tree. There, in the shade of branches that looked like fingers straining to reach the sky, I sat down and began to sob. My tears were hot and messy. That was where I first saw her.

A woman approached me.

She moved with a grace that didn't belong in the dusty streets. She looked like a vision of peace amidst the scorching heat. She wore a white dress that danced slightly in the breeze. Her smile was like a cool glass of water in the middle of a desert—refreshing, kind, and filled with a motherly warmth that I had long been craving.

"Why is this beautiful child crying?" she asked. Her voice was like wind chimes, soft and melodic.

I looked at her, wiping my eyes. "My toy is missing. It was a gift from my Mama..."

She sat beside me under the red canopy of the trees. She wasn't afraid of getting her white dress dirty. She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped my cheeks. "Don't cry anymore. Sometimes, things that are lost aren't truly gone. They’re just resting or finding a way to be replaced by something more important."

She reached for my hand. From her pocket, she pulled out something that shined under the sunlight. It was a bracelet.

It wasn't just any piece of jewelry. It was silver, intricately designed with small charms that rattled softly. There was a weight to it that felt ancient, almost sacred.

"This is my favorite," she said, as she fastened the bracelet onto my small wrist. "I want you to have it. So you won't be sad anymore. This bracelet will protect you. Just think of every jingle as my voice telling you to stay strong."

"But... why?" I asked, amazed by the shimmer of the silver against my skin.

She stroked my hair. "Because children with kind hearts should never run out of reasons to smile."

I hugged her.

I didn't even know her name, but I felt a connection that defied logic. She smelled like expensive perfume and vanilla—a scent that blended strangely well with the metallic tang of the fire trees.

We stayed like that for a few seconds—a stranger and a yearning child, meeting under the blazing red.

"I have to leave for a bit, dear," she said as she pulled away from the hug. "My husband and child are waiting for me. We're going to a holiday celebration."

She stood up and walked toward a black vehicle parked nearby. Before she entered, she turned and waved. Her white dress was the only thing that wasn't red in my field of vision.

That was the last time I saw her smile.

I continued walking, holding the bracelet as if it were an amulet. But the peace of that afternoon was short-lived.

As I was crossing the road usually covered in Fire Tree petals, I heard the bone-chilling screech of brakes.

Screeeeeeeeech!

A fast-moving vehicle lost control. Paralyzed by fear, my feet were frozen in the middle of the asphalt. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact.

But before I could be hit, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me away.

We tumbled onto the grass, both gasping for air. My heart was thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird.

When I opened my eyes, a man was kneeling in front of me. I couldn't make out his entire face because of the sun's glare, but I saw a distinct tattoo on his arm while he made sure I didn't have a scratch. He looked panicked, his eyes darting toward the main road where chaos was already unfolding because the car had crashed into a shop.

"Are you okay, kid?" he asked quickly.

I was still too dazed to answer.

Before I could speak, his phone suddenly rang. His face turned pale as he listened to the person on the other end. "What? No... I'm on my way!"

He looked at me one last time, a gaze full of urgency and a mysterious bitterness.

"Stay here. Don't leave." And in an instant, he ran away, disappearing into the smoke and the red flowers dancing in the wind.

He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone with the silence of my own shock.

"Suanne! My child!"

I heard a familiar voice when the police arrived.

It was Papa.

He rushed toward me, his uniform rumpled and his face filled with intense fear. When he saw me sitting on the grass, he immediately knelt and carried me.

"My God, Suanne..." He embraced me so tightly I could hardly breathe.

I could feel his shoulders trembling. My father, the strong policeman I knew, was in tears. His tears fell on my hair, warm and salty.

"I thought I had lost you, too."

"Papa, someone saved me," I whispered, but he didn't seem to hear me in his overwhelming emotion.

He just kept whispering my name as if it were a prayer.

I looked up at the Fire Trees. The sun was slowly setting, making the red of the petals even more vivid.

It was the last day of my childhood innocence.

In one afternoon, I received a gift from a female stranger, and my life was saved by a male stranger. Both disappeared, but they left me in the middle of a question without an answer.

They say summer is a season for growth.

But for me, that summer was the beginning of a secret.

The Curse of the Crimson Petals.

The bracelet on my wrist grew warm, stained with dirt from my fall, but it remained shining. I didn't know then that this gift wasn't just an ornament.

It was a key.

Since then, whenever I see Fire Trees, I don't see beauty. I feel the ghost of the hands that pulled me from death and the smell of vanilla that floated in the air before everything turned to chaos.

Ten years have passed. The trees have bloomed once more. The heat is returning. And under these trees, amidst the falling red petals, a story I thought was buried in oblivion will begin.

This summer, it won't just be flowers falling. Masks will fall, too. And behind every kiss, every unscripted encounter, and every lie, there is a truth that has long been waiting to be found—beneath the blazing Fire Trees of summer.

...~•°°°•~...

...Author's Note: The past is like fire—it can give you warmth, or it can consume you. And beneath the Caballero trees, the truth always carries the color of blood....

...🔥🌳🔥...

...AerixielDaiminse...

...🔥🌳🔥...

Hot.

That is the first word that always comes to mind whenever the month of April arrives on our campus.

In college, the heat isn't just about the stickiness of the weather; it is a symbol of "hell week," of sleepless nights in the library, and of the rush to finish every lecture just to take shelter in the air-conditioned study halls.

I am 18 now, a Nursing student in the middle of a struggle with anatomy and physiology.

It’s a stage of life where everyone seems to be in a hurry—hurrying to become a professional, hurrying to leave their hometown, and hurrying to find someone to accompany them during long hours of hospital duty.

But amidst the collective rush of the world, I remained tied to a promise. A promise made with the only person who has known me since the days when we didn't care about GPA or the future.

Bailey Zuva-Mendez.

"Suanne, look at the Caballeros. They're beautiful again, aren't they? It’s like they never get tired of blooming even though the sun's rays are so harsh," Bailey said while we were walking across our university's quadrangle.

I looked out toward our college building.

Visible was the road lined with Fire Trees that looked like blazing torches under the blue sky.

To other students, those trees are a symbol of the upcoming vacation or a background for their graduation photos. But for me, every red petal carries a weight.

I gripped my wrist tightly. Beneath my white Nursing uniform, the bracelet given by that woman ten years ago was still there.

I never take it off.

It has become a silent habit, a part of my skin. Every jingle of its charms is like a whisper from the past—a reminder that amidst the beauty of the Fire Trees, a hidden danger lurks.

"Suanne? Are you listening? I said, it would be great to take photos there later before we go home," Bailey said again, tugging slightly at the sleeve of my uniform.

I smiled faintly. "Of course. As long as you’re the one taking them; you know my shots are always blurred because of my coffee jitters."

Bailey is my "safe haven." Since birth, we’ve been inseparable.

We grew up together, dreamed together, and most importantly—we swore an oath together.

When we were kids, while playing under one of the Fire Trees, we made a pact. The Pact of the Single Blessedness.

“No one gets left behind, Suanne. The two of us will grow old together in a mansion full of cats. No men, no headaches, no crying,” she declared back then while raising a glass of palamig.

I believed in that promise. I defended that promise all the way to college.

For me, my friendship with Bailey was enough to fill any space that a romantic relationship might leave behind. Who needs a boyfriend when you have a best friend who can finish your sentences and cry with you whenever you fail an exam?

But this afternoon, as we walked toward our favorite spot on the field, there was something different about Bailey.

Her steps were restless. Her eyes kept darting to her phone as if she were waiting for a message that would change her world.

"Bailey, are you okay? You've been acting like a fidgety cricket for a while now," I noted as we sat down under a tree.

She took a deep breath. The heat of the air seemed to grow even heavier.

"Suanne... I have something to tell you. But promise me, you won't get mad? Promise me, you won't disown me?"

I furrowed my brows.

The anxiety in my chest was like a small drumming that was gradually speeding up.

"What is it? Don't tell me you shifted courses without me knowing?"

"No, it's not that," she whispered.

She showed me her phone. There, on the screen, was a photo. A photo of Bailey leaning on a man's shoulder.

I knew that man. Kendric. A quiet IT student who was always in the corner of the student lounge. The kind of guy you'd barely notice because he was always hunched over his laptop with headsets on.

"Suanne... Kendric and I are together. It's been almost a month."

It felt like I had been doused with freezing water in the middle of the scorching heat. The surroundings seemed to stop spinning. The noise of the org meetings nearby, the sound of the cicadas—all of it vanished. The only thing I could hear were the repeated words: We’re together.

"A month?" My voice trembled slightly. "You hid it from me for a month, Bailey? After everything? After our pact?"

"Suanne, please understand. I didn't mean to fall for him. It just happened! When he helped me with my coding project for my GE elective, suddenly... my heart just started beating fast," she explained, her eyes starting to well up with tears. "I was afraid to tell you because I know how strict you are about our pact. But Suanne, I love him."

Love. A simple word with the power to tear down walls that we had built for ten years.

"So, what happens to us now? To our plan for the mansion and the cats? Is all of that worthless just because of some Kendric?" My disappointment began to turn into anger.

Not because I didn't want her to be happy, but because I felt like I was left behind in the middle of the campus while she had boarded another path.

"It’s not like that, Suanne! You're still my best friend! Nothing will change between us," she insisted, holding my hand.

"Everything will change, Bailey. Don't lie to me. The time that was supposed to be for the two of us to study, he’ll take it. The secrets that only I knew, you’ll share them with him," I stood up, unable to endure the tension any longer. "Single Blessedness has become Single Loneliness for me."

We had a heated argument under the red trees. Many words were thrown that felt like sharp petals cutting into the skin.

I reproached her for her promise, while she defended her right to love. But in the end, as I looked at my crying best friend, my anger melted and was replaced by a bitter acceptance.

"Fine," I said, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "I'll support you. But Bailey, I only ask one thing. Make sure he doesn't fool you. Because if he dumps you, I'll be the first one to say 'I told you so' before I hug you."

Bailey hugged me tightly. "Thank you, Suanne! I promise, you'll never be a third wheel."

But I knew the truth. Every relationship has a price to pay. And that price was my security.

When our last period ended that afternoon, that was when I felt the true impact of Bailey's revelation.

Usually, we would walk out of the gate together, complaining about quizzes or planning which canteen to eat at. But now, I was standing in front of the university, alone.

"Suanne, I'm really sorry! I promised Kendric I'd help him check the equipment for their lab today. It's our anniversary—monthsary, I mean," Bailey said, her face full of guilt but her excitement evident in her eyes.

"It's fine. Go ahead. Don't keep him waiting," I replied, forcing my voice to sound firm.

I watched her run toward the parking lot where the man who changed our world was waiting. She waved at me before they left. And there, amidst the surge of students, I felt a kind of silence that was deafening.

I started walking.

My route home passes through the road lined with Fire Trees outside the campus.

When I was a child, I was afraid of this road because of what happened eight years ago.

But as I grew up, I learned to consider it part of my routine.

Now, the trees are at the peak of their bloom. The asphalt is almost invisible because of the thickness of the fallen red flowers.

The sun was starting to set, casting long, orange shadows across the road. The air was still hot, but a slight breeze began to pick up, making the fire trees sway like silent giants. It was a beautiful sight, almost surreal. But in my mind, Bailey’s face kept playing over and over as she said she loved Kendric.

A heavy sense of isolation enveloped me. I felt like a background character in a romance film who was left behind while the protagonist had found her match. My steps were heavy, every jingle of the bracelet on my wrist feeling like a taunt.

Protect you? I whispered to myself, looking at the bracelet. With everything happening, who is really protecting me?

I reached the densest part of the Fire Trees. The road here is somewhat secluded and few people pass by because most use the main highway. Here, the scent of the flowers is more intense—a fragrance that is sweet, mixed with the smell of dry earth and the approaching night.

I stopped for a moment to adjust the strap of my nursing bag. The silence in this part of the road was different. No horns, no voices. The only thing I could hear was the rustling of leaves and my own breathing.

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. It was that same "wrong" feeling I had eight years ago. A feeling that I was not alone.

I was about to quicken my pace when I suddenly heard a sound behind me. A rustle of dry leaves and petals, as if something had been stepped on. The sound was enough to make my heart stop beating.

I was just about to turn around when a voice broke the silence. A voice that was unfamiliar, yet carried a strange authority and urgency.

"Hey!"

Before I could answer, or even see the face of whoever called out to me, a shadow quickly approached...

...🔥🌳🔥...

...AerixielDaiminse...

...🔥🌳🔥...

I don’t know which was more deafening—the silence of the road surrounded by the Caballeros or the rapid thumping of my heart as I sensed a shadow behind me.

That afternoon, April 27, should have been an ordinary end to a long day at the university.

I should have been walking home, thinking about the terms I needed to memorize for Anatomy and Physiology, or perhaps nursing the slight bitterness of being alone while Bailey was out on a date.

But fate has a cruel sense of humor.

When I heard that call—a short, urgent "Hey!"—my instincts as a human, and perhaps as a Nursing student trained to stay alert, were to turn around.

I thought someone needed help. I thought someone had dropped something.

But before my body could fully turn, the world suddenly collapsed in a rapid succession of events.

I didn't see his face immediately. All I felt was the swift approach of a tall figure.

He moved like a predator, or perhaps like someone being hunted. Before I could even open my mouth to ask a question, I felt strong arms wrap around me. It wasn't a gentle embrace; it was a desperate hold, pinning my arms down and wrapping around my shoulders.

And then, it happened.

His lips crashed against mine.

It wasn't the kind of kiss you read about in those cheesy romance novels that Bailey loves.

There were no fireworks. There was no slow music. It was a collision of frantic energy and cold desperation.

My eyes widened in absolute shock, reflecting the blurring red petals of the Fire Trees above us. His scent hit me instantly—a mix of expensive citrus cologne, the metallic tang of the summer heat, and something dark, like rain-soaked earth.

His lips were firm, pressing against mine with an intensity that felt more like a shield than affection.

I could feel the erratic thumping of his chest against my own, a rhythm so fast it felt like a ticking time bomb.

For a split second, I was paralyzed. The sheer audacity of the act, the violation of my personal space, and the betrayal of my own beliefs left me frozen in the middle of that crimson-lined road.

I, Suanne Salcedo... the thought raced through my mind as my eyes remained wide with shock. I, who have remained faithful to the Pact of the Single Blessedness, who have avoided the messy traps of teenage romance like a plague... had my first kiss stolen on this April afternoon.

It wasn't just stolen. It was shattered.

The Nursing student inside me was the first to wake up. I am not a damsel in distress; I know how to handle pressure, and more importantly, I know how to fight back.

My adrenaline kicked in, surging through my veins like fire.

"Mmmph!" I struggled, jerking my body with a force fueled by pure, unadulterated rage.

I shoved my palms against his chest, pushing him away with every ounce of strength I had. The contact was brief but firm, and finally, he stumbled back, breaking the unwanted intimacy.

I gasped for air, my lips tingling with a mixture of heat and phantom pressure. I stood there, trembling not in fear, but in fury. My nursing bag had slipped from one shoulder, and my hair, usually tied in a neat ponytail for school, was now slightly disheveled.

"What the hell was that?!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the silent row of Fire Trees.

Finally, I saw him.

Or at least, the silhouette of him.

He was tall, dressed in a way that suggested he belonged to the upper crust of the campus—a clean, expensive-looking jacket despite the heat, and dark trousers. His hair was a mess, dark strands falling over eyes that were currently wide with a realization that matched my own.

He didn't look like a pervert. He looked... horrified.

"Look, I—" he started, his voice a low, husky baritone that vibrated with a strange kind of calm despite his frantic movements earlier.

He took a step back, his hands raised as if in surrender.

"You pervert! Scoundrel!" I hissed, my hand automatically going to my mouth, wiping it as if I could erase the sensation of his lips. "Who even are you?! What right do you have to do that?!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes darting behind him, looking at the road we just came from as if expecting someone to emerge from the shadows. "I mistook you for someone else. I... I didn't mean to—"

"Mistook me?!" I laughed, a bitter, hysterical sound. "With a road this wide and my uniform this white, you made a mistake?! You just took my first kiss, you jerk! Do you even know what you've done?!"

To me, a kiss wasn't just a physical act. It was a choice.

A choice I had decided to waive for the sake of my friendship with Bailey and my own peace of mind. And now, this stranger—this shadow among the Fire Trees—had stripped that choice away from me in a matter of seconds.

He looked at me then, really looked at me. For a moment, the frantic energy slowed down. There was a coldness in his gaze, a calculated depth that made me feel even more uncomfortable. But then, the urgency returned to his face.

"I really am sorry," he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "I have to go. Just... just forget this happened."

"Forget?!" I stepped forward, ready to grab him, to demand his name, to drag him to the nearest police station or at least the school's security office. "You won't get away with this that easily!"

But he was faster.

With a final, cryptic look of apology, he turned and sprinted into the shadows of the Fire Trees. He moved with a practiced ease, his figure disappearing behind the thick trunks and the falling red petals.

In a matter of seconds, the only evidence of his presence was the lingering scent of citrus and the disturbed petals on the ground.

I stood there, alone, breathing heavily. The orange glow of the sunset was fading into a bruised purple, and the Fire Trees looked more like warnings than ever.

"I will find you," I whispered to the empty air, my voice thick with a promise of retribution. "I swear to everything I hold dear, I will find you and make you regret this."

I picked up my bag, my hands still shaking. The bracelet on my wrist clinked—a sharp, silver sound that felt like it was mocking me. Protect you? If only.

The walk home was a blur. My mind was a chaotic mess of anatomical terms and the memory of that frantic kiss.

I felt violated, not just physically, but ideologically.

I, Suanne Salcedo, the girl who didn't care for romance, the girl who stood dignified even when her best friend chose a boy over her... had been reduced to a target of a stranger’s mistake.

As soon as I reached the safety of my room, I didn't even bother changing out of my uniform. I flopped onto my bed and grabbed my phone. My fingers flew across the screen as I dialed Bailey’s number.

She picked up on the third ring, her voice sounding light and airy, clearly still on a high from her date with Kendric.

"Suanne! Oh my god, you won't believe what Kendric got me—"

"Bailey, listen to me," I interrupted, my voice sharp and trembling. "I was ambushed."

The line went silent for a second. "Ambushed? What? Was there a robber? Are you hurt? Where are you?!"

"I'm home. And no, he didn't take my phone or my wallet," I said, sitting up and hugging a pillow to my chest. "He took something else. He took my first kiss, Bailey. Under the Fire Trees. A complete stranger just... he just grabbed me and kissed me!"

"Wait... WHAT?!" Bailey’s scream was so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. "Who?! Do you know him? Was it a student? Suanne, oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm not okay! I'm furious!" I started my rant, the words pouring out like a broken dam. "I, Suanne Salcedo, who was faithful to the pact of Single Blessedness, had my first kiss stolen on this April, 18th year of my life! You know I don't care about those things, right? I have my studies, I have my plans, I have my dignity! And then this... this guy, who looked like he owns the world but acts like a thief, just uses me as a shield or a mistake or whatever he called it!"

"He said it was a mistake?" Bailey’s voice was now a mix of concern and curiosity.

"Yes! He said he mistook me for someone else. Can you believe the nerve? Mistook me?! As if I'm just some generic girl standing under a tree! He had this citrus smell, Bailey. High-end. And he was tall. But he ran away like a coward. He told me to 'just forget it happened.' Can you believe that?!"

"Suanne, relax, breathe," Bailey tried to soothe me, though I could hear her whispering to someone—probably Kendric—in the background. "Describe him more. Maybe we know him. Was he from school?"

"I don't know! It was dark, and the Fire Trees were everywhere. I just know he had this cold, calm voice even when he was apologizing. And he had a tattoo on his arm, but it was too fast to see what it was," I lay back down, staring at the ceiling. "I hate him, Bailey. I hate that he made my first kiss something I'll remember with anger instead of... well, whatever normal people feel."

"I'm so sorry, Suanne," Bailey said softly. "Do you want me to come over?"

"No, stay with Kendric. I just needed to vent," I sighed, feeling a bit of the tension leave my body, replaced by a dull ache of exhaustion. "I just... I feel like that pact we made was a shield, and he just shattered it without even knowing."

"The pact isn't about the kiss, Suanne. It's about us," Bailey reminded me. "But I get it. Your first kiss was supposed to be a choice. I'm sorry a jerk took that away."

"I'll find him," I said, my voice hardening again. "If he's a student in our university, he won't be able to hide for long. No one treats a Salcedo like a temporary hiding spot."

We talked for a few more minutes, with Bailey trying to distract me with stories of Kendric’s geeky charms, but my mind kept drifting back to the Fire Trees. To the way the red petals fell like crimson snow around us. To the frantic thumping of his heart.

After I hung up, I walked to the mirror and looked at my reflection. My lips were still a bit red. My eyes looked darker, more intense.

This was the first ambush of the summer. Little did I know, it was just the beginning of a fire that would consume everything I thought I knew about loyalty, justice, and the secrets buried under the red blossoms of the Caballero.

I touched the silver bracelet on my wrist. It was cold.

"The summer has just begun," I whispered to the room.

And somewhere out there, among the shadows and the scent of citrus, the guy who mistook me for someone else was probably thinking he had escaped.

He was wrong. Because if there's one thing a Nursing student knows, it's how to trace a symptom back to its source.

And he was a symptom I intended to cure with the full force of my wrath.

...🔥🌳🔥...

...AerixielDaiminse...