Daddy, Chasing Mommy Back is On Us!

Jason recalled how Mayaboy would refer to all of them as townspeople when she was their tour guide in the past. She had been too lazy to remember all of their names back then, and she still referred to Jason as 'the townsman' even when he was the only one who had stayed behind in the mountains. Back then, he teased her by saying that he was thankful that she only referred to him as a townsman and not a foreigner.

Right then, Mayaboy lowered her firewood to speak to him. "Are you here on a trip? Our tourism business has been growing in the past few years, but I'm surprised to see you traveling here again. The scenery here isn't as gorgeous as it used to be in the past." She was chit-chatting with him as if she had just met an old friend, but Jason couldn't bring himself to utter a single word in front of her.

He had considered all sorts of possibilities while he was on the way to the mountains. He had expected her to change since they had been apart for so many years, but he hadn't expected her change to be so drastic. Now, her skin was rough, and her hands covered with cuts, scars, and calluses. Also, her hair was a total mess, and her clothes were ragged and torn. She's still such a young girl. How did things turn out this way for her?

"What's going on? Say something!" She beamed as she looked at Jason. The only thing that remained the same was her broad, bright smile.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you doing your work? What's taking you so long?!" Another voice could be heard shouting from inside the house.

Mayaboy's expression stiffened right then. "I'm so sorry. I have to go now. Where do you stay? Should I go look for you some other day?"

"I'm staying at the guesthouse," Jason replied.

"Okay." Mayaboy rushed into the house with the firewood after that. She remained silent even as the woman in the house continued to curse and shout at her. When he saw how the firewood was weighing down on the girl's skinny and frail body, Jason felt a sharp ache in his chest. He was close to tears when he finally turned away and returned to the guesthouse. He couldn't bear to watch her any longer. All he could do then was to wait for her to visit him.

Jason stayed up until ten that night. He thought that she would no longer visit him that day, but he immediately jumped to his feet when he heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. There she was, standing outside, with her cracked lips spread into a big smile. "You haven't gone to sleep, right?"

"No. Please come in," Jason uttered as he shuffled aside to let her in.

"I'm so sorry. I should have visited earlier, but there were too many things to be done at home. That's why I'm only here at this hour." She wore a rather embarrassed expression as she spoke. Initially, she hadn't planned on visiting a man in the middle of the night, but she had to prepare dinner, wash the clothes and wait for her in-laws to go to bed before she was allowed to rest.

Both of them fell silent for a while then. Neither one of them knew what to say to the other. As usual, it was Mayaboy who broke the awkward silence first. "Have you been well?" "Yeah. I've been good," he replied.

"Why didn't you come with your wife

and children this time? The air here

is really fresh. I heard that the air

in

the city is extremely polluted. That's why all the townspeople like visiting the countryside. You should bring your family over for some fresh air," she said.

At that, Jason gave her a faint smile. "I'm not married yet."

She parted her lips to make an expression of both surprise and embarrassment. "I thought you were supposed to get engaged to someone after you headed home the last time. Didn't you get married after the engagement?" she asked.

"We separated after that." He didn't bother to share the details.

“What a shame." Mayaboy had been Jason's dutiful listener back then, and he even showed her pictures Jane. He had mentioned that he

didn't like the idea of arranged net

marriages. “It's a shame! It's been so long now, but I still recall how pretty that woman was!" Mayaboy smiled.

"What about you? Are you doing well?" Jason finally found the courage to ask her the question that had been on his mind, though he knew that the question itself was pointless.

"I'm good. I'm fine. I was just a little unlucky as I was said to have cursed my husband to his death a while after I got married to him. I guess it's better for me to stay single." She lowered her head as if she had done something wrong.

"You're not fine at all," Jason muttered as he reached over to take her hand into his. Right then, she gasped sharply as she pulled her hand away from him.