Chapter 76– The Collision
The moment the auditorium session ended—
Section E moved.
Fast.
Too fast to look normal.
---
"Find her."
That was all Keifer said.
But it was enough.
---
Nobody questioned him.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody called him delusional now.
Because that name—
that exact name—
was impossible.
---
Jasper Jean Mariano.
JJ.
---
Alive?
Here?
In Bangalore?
In the same class?
---
No.
No way.
But also—
what if?
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The Search Begins
The campus exploded with movement as students left the auditorium.
Voices everywhere.
Crowds forming.
Orientation volunteers shouting directions.
---
And inside all that chaos—
Section E split instantly.
---
Felix and David checked the admin block.
Calix and Endrix went toward the registration area.
Rory and Eman checked the cafeteria side.
---
The girls from Section 305 were already trying to search too.
Ella texting rapidly.
Freya unusually tense.
Rakhi almost running.
Mica silent but visibly shaken.
---
And Keifer—
went toward the central library route with Percy, Aries, and Yuri.
---
Nobody spoke much.
Not because they didn't want to.
Because nobody trusted their own heartbeat right now.
---
Percy finally muttered:
"If this is some cosmic joke, I'm suing destiny."
Yuri nodded immediately.
"Same."
---
Aries stayed quieter.
Watching Keifer carefully.
---
Because Keifer looked terrifyingly calm.
And that was worse.
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Meanwhile – JJ
JJ had skipped the auditorium midway.
Too crowded.
Too loud.
Too overwhelming.
---
She walked alone through one of the quieter paths near the library side.
Black hoodie sleeves slightly covering her hands.
Bag hanging loosely from one shoulder.
---
Her mind felt strangely restless today.
Not scared.
Not nervous.
Just… unsettled.
---
Like something important was close.
Something she forgot but her body remembered.
---
Students passed around her constantly.
But the strange feeling only grew stronger.
---
She turned near the library corner—
while looking down at her phone briefly.
---
And collided directly into someone.
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The Moment
Everything happened too fast.
---
JJ lost balance instantly.
Body tilting backward.
Phone slipping from her hand.
---
But before she could fall—
strong arms caught her.
Firm.
Automatic.
Protective.
---
Her breath caught.
---
One arm around her waist.
One hand gripping her wrist tightly to steady her.
---
The world froze.
---
Keifer looked down.
And stopped breathing.
---
JJ looked up.
And forgot how to move.
---
Close.
Too close.
---
His black shirt sleeves rolled slightly.
Sharp jawline.
Dark eyes already locked onto hers like he was afraid to blink.
---
And suddenly—
that strange ache inside her chest exploded.
---
Not pain.
Recognition.
Something terrifyingly familiar.
---
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
---
Behind Keifer—
Percy, Aries, and Yuri froze completely.
Like reality had punched all four of them simultaneously.
---
Because she was there.
Actually there.
Alive.
Breathing.
Standing right in front of them.
---
JJ frowned slightly.
Confused by the intensity in their expressions.
---
Meanwhile—
Keifer's grip around her waist tightened unconsciously.
Like his body reacted before his mind could.
---
Because after one year—
after grief, destruction, rage, silence—
he was finally touching her again.
---
His JJ.
His mutya.
His wife in every way except law.
---
Alive.
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"…JJ," he whispered.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just broken.
---
The sound of that name hitting her ears did something strange to her heartbeat.
---
But confusion crossed her face almost immediately afterward.
---
"…what?"
---
And just like that—
the universe reminded him brutally.
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She didn't know him.
---
She looked at him like a stranger.
A strangely familiar stranger.
But still—
a stranger.
---
Behind him—
Percy's eyes already turned red.
Yuri looked genuinely shaken.
Even Aries forgot how to speak for a second.
---
Because the impossible had happened.
They found her.
---
But not really.
Because the girl standing in front of them—
didn't remember any of them at all.
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The Cruelest Reunion
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed properly.
---
The corridor near the library suddenly felt too small for the amount of emotion trapped inside it.
---
JJ stood in the center of all of them—
confused.
Uneasy.
Looking at faces that looked at her like they had found their entire world again.
---
But she didn't know why.
---
Keifer's hand slowly loosened from around her waist after catching her.
Not because he wanted to let go.
Because reality forced him to.
---
And JJ stepped back slightly.
A small step.
But it felt like a knife straight through his chest.
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"I think…" she said softly, "…you mistook me for someone else."
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Silence.
Complete silence.
---
Percy's eyes instantly reddened.
Yuri looked like someone punched all the air out of him.
Even Aries—
the calmest among all of them—
went completely still.
---
Because no.
No.
This wasn't right.
---
Not after one year.
Not after destroying themselves trying to survive her absence.
Not after reading her goodbye letters like holy scriptures.
---
She couldn't look at them like strangers.
She just couldn't.
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"JJ…" Percy whispered again.
His voice cracked badly this time.
---
JJ looked toward him politely.
Politely.
Like he was just another classmate.
---
That almost broke him completely.
---
"…do I know you?" she asked carefully.
---
Percy actually looked away immediately after hearing that.
Because he couldn't take it.
---
This girl—
this same girl—
used to steal his hoodies, punch his arm, scream at him for eating her snacks, sleep on his shoulder during movie nights—
and now she looked at him like he was nobody.
---
Yuri laughed once suddenly.
A broken sound.
Disbelieving.
---
"No," he muttered. "No way…"
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The rest of Section E arrived fully now.
Felix.
David.
Rory.
Eman.
Calix.
Endrix.
---
Then the girls—
Ella.
Freya.
Rakhi.
Mica.
---
And the moment they saw her—
everything shattered again.
---
Ella's hand instantly covered her mouth.
Freya froze completely.
Rakhi's eyes filled immediately.
Mica just stared silently like she forgot how to react.
---
Because she was alive.
Alive.
Standing right there.
---
Their JJ.
Their chaos.
Their loudest person.
The heart of all of them.
---
But her eyes carried no recognition.
None.
---
JJ looked around nervously now.
"…okay, seriously, what's happening?"
---
Aries forced himself to step forward first.
Gentle.
Careful.
Like approaching something fragile.
---
"Hey," he said softly. "No one's going to hurt you."
---
Something about his voice made JJ relax slightly.
Instinct.
Not memory.
---
But confusion still stayed all over her face.
---
"You all know me?"
---
No one answered immediately.
Because how do you explain to someone—
that they were once your entire world?
---
Keifer still hadn't looked away from her once.
Not once.
---
He looked like someone surviving and dying at the same time.
---
Finally—
quietly—
he spoke.
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"You don't remember us?"
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JJ hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
---
"…I had memory loss."
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Everything inside them dropped instantly.
---
"My memories before Ahmedabad are mostly gone."
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Gone.
---
The word echoed brutally through all of them.
---
Gone.
Her memories were gone.
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Section E.
Manila.
The Fernandez mansion.
Late night chaos.
School fights.
Group chats.
Movie nights.
Her brothers.
Her family.
---
Gone.
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And him.
Most painfully—
him.
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Keifer's breathing became uneven for the first time.
Very slight.
But visible.
---
Because this girl once looked at him like he was her safest place in the universe.
And now—
there wasn't even recognition in her eyes.
---
JJ looked at all of them again carefully.
And for some reason—
her chest hurt.
Badly.
---
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like her heart knew something her mind didn't.
---
Especially when she looked at Keifer.
---
Something about him felt terrifyingly familiar.
Safe.
Heavy.
Painful.
---
Like unfinished love.
---
But she didn't understand why.
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"…I'm sorry," she said softly.
And that sentence nearly destroyed all of them.
---
Because JJ never apologized like this before.
Not carefully.
Not formally.
Not with distance.
---
Percy suddenly laughed quietly.
Then wiped his eyes angrily.
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"She forgot us," he whispered.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
Just broken.
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Yuri sat down on the nearby bench suddenly.
Like his legs stopped working.
---
Freya finally started crying silently.
Ella hugged her immediately.
Rakhi turned away completely.
Even Calix lowered his head.
---
Because they spent one whole year mourning her disappearance—
only to find out the universe chose something crueler instead.
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She lived.
But without them.
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And Keifer—
Keifer looked at her like his soul had been ripped open quietly.
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Because the girl he loved more than life itself was finally standing in front of him again.
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But when she looked into his eyes—
she saw a stranger.