BEYOND THE FACADE

Love story.

"We had fun at the party today. Damn! I wish the party never got to end.," Planting a peck on Harold's soft chin, Avery recounted the fun she had at her birthday party hosted by her boyfriend, Harold to celebrate their 4th relationship anniversary...

No one could imagine that he would throw such a big birthday party considering his low income. He broke the bank to ensure the relationship was well celebrated. It has always been Avery's dream to have an elaborate relationship anniversary party at the beach.

And just when she thought it was never gonna happen, boom! Harold came through with the big surprise party that swept Avery off her feet.

"You deserve the world.

What you saw at the beach was just the tip of the iceberg," Harold bragged as he locked lips with Avery on the road, disregarding passers-by.

"You too should go get a room already. Do you realize we are in a public place? People might see us. Gosh!. We should focus on getting a cab home," Avery's cousin, Phoebe, clears her throat to interrupt the drunk couple.

"Who cares? Anyways, I wouldn't blame you. It's because you're single and go into a stupor.." Avery teased Phoebe and resumed her scintillating romance with Harold.

"That wasn't supposed to be funny, was it? Ew! You stink of bad breath. You both need a hot bath. We are stranded on this lonely road and all you can think about is romance. This is so ridiculous. You do realize how risky this is? We might get robbed or attacked by thugs. Doesn't that bother you? Well, if you're not bothered, I am." Joanna let out her frustration at their nonchalance. They don't seem bothered by the dark clouds and danger hovering around them.

"Take a chill pill. No one's gonna get hurt while I'm here. Trust me, I'll be the knight in your shining armor."

Harold bragged and taunted Joanna for being scared. Fortunately for them, a cab headlight flickered from a distance.

"Hey, please stop. We need help," Phoebe waved, signaling the cab man to drive in their direction.

"Told you. Here comes a cab to get us home," defending their act, Harold said in a cranky voice. Still intoxicated by the strong liquor he struggled to get in the cab with Avery, leaving Joanna alone to drop their luggage inside the car booth.

"7th Avenue, y close, please. Don't worry about the fee. Just get us out of here. I don't like the aura hovering around this place," Joanna ordered the cab man, slipping a $300 into his palm. Halfway through the trip, the cab stopped moving to compound their woes.

"What just happened?

I hope it is not what I'm thinking?"

Joanna rolled her eyes.

"I'm afraid there's a problem. I need to fix my cab," the cab man admitted, descending from the vehicle to resolve the issue. Joanna was pissed off and scared at the same time. She turned to her right and shook her head at her cousin and Harold who were snoring like dragons. They were oblivious to what was happening.

It's 20 minutes past 10 pm and the car still hasn't been fixed yet. Anxiety was freaking the hell out of Joanna as she alighted from the cab and edged closer to the cab driver, scanning the environment carefully to be certain it was danger free.

"Have you fixed it already? What's taking you so long? I hate the way I'm feeling right now. Can't you call someone to come get us out of here?"

"I'm afraid, not. I'm so sorry it turned out this way. Now, we can only hope for a miracle." The cab driver uttered in self-pity, trying to get Joanna to pardon his silly act, but she ignored him, constantly checking on Harold and Avery who were still rooted in deep slumber unbothered. A few minutes later, they heard a loud gunshot in the air. Hurriedly, they both went into hiding.

"Oh, no. Seems we are in danger. Please do something! I don't wanna get hurt. Call the cops or something. I'm so scared. I don't wanna die," Joanna shivered like a hen drenched by the rain as held on to the cab man for safety.

" my cousin and her man.

We can't just expose them to so much danger, they might get hurt. We need to go help them." pointing at the cab, she quickly realized Avery and Harold were still asleep.

"You've got nothing to worry about. They'd be just fine. We need to protect ourselves first. We come for them later,"

"So disgusting! We found ourselves in this mess, thanks to you. The least you could just do is help out in any way. You don't expect me to fold my arms while they get hurt, right? Never. I'm going right there to alert them," Joanna was obstinate as she rushed back to the cab to alert Avery and Harold of the impending danger.

"Wake up you too,"

"Go away. Are we home yet?" Avery yawned, polluting the air with her stinking breath.

"Home? You gotta be kidding.

Come out of the cab, you two. Seems there's an ongoing robbery. Can't you hear the gunshots?" Joanna prompted, dragging both of them out of the cab.

"What are you doing? Let me go. I need to sleep. I'm so damn tired.

You're hallucinating. There's no gunshot anywhere. Are you deaf or something?" Avery protested and remained glued to the chair. Suddenly, another gunshot was fired in the air. With immediate effect, Avery and Harold dashed out of the cab and went into hiding with Joanna.

"How long has this been happening and why are we stuck on the road," gasping for breath, Harold. freaked out like a kid. He forgot where he bragged that he was gonna be their hero.

"Does that even matter right now? We should be thinking of getting out of here alive. For your question, the cab had a breakdown the cab driver couldn't detect." Joanna responded, glancing sideways, ensuring her safety. After a while, total stillness enclosed the atmosphere, raising their hopes that the peace was restored.

"I think they're gone now. Let's go back inside the cab. We can't be hiding like fugitives," the cab driver hinted, limping to his car while observing the situation closely. Just then many cars, suspected to be a convoy, drove past them and made a reverse, stopping in front of them. Winding up the windshield, a big tall light skinned extremely handsome guy in his late 30s spoke out, "Hey, I can see your cab is faulty. Come hop in for a ride to your destination. It's not safe out here. I'm sure you heard the gunshots,"

While Joanna and the others were contemplating if he was some sort of kidnapper, Avery was already seated at the back, next to the stranger, abandoning their luggage inside the booth. "You heard him. It's late. Let's hop in already," she yelled at them while sitting comfortably as though she owned the vehicle.

Staring at each other in the eyes, Avery and Harold hurriedly grabbed the luggage along and drove off with the stranger, leaving the cab driver behind. He would rather pass the night in his cab while he seeks a solution the next morning.