Ramon suddenly laughs out loud after hearing what favor Alexa asked. He knows she was not asking for herself, and it must be for her grandmother. He remembered when they were young, she never asked anyone for help, and she would not accept charity.
There were many times when she did not have any lunch money, and no matter how hard he tried to treat her for a meal, she would decline. She would rather starve than accept. That was how proud she was, but now she said it, she wanted to borrow money. Ramon had a stunned look on his face...
Alexa saw it and felt embarrassed. She did not know why, but she somehow felt Ramon was someone she could trust enough to ask for help, "Forget it! You don't have to lend me money, it was not that important. The most important thing right now is to find my grandma." She said it in a low tone of voice, barely audible that if Ramon's hearing was not that great, he would not be able to understand what she was mumbling the whole time.
Ramon sensed that Alexa thought he was laughing at her, and he rectified the situation right away.
"Alexa, I'm sorry! I was not laughing at your request. It was something else. Alright!" Ramon could not tell her the exact reason why he was laughing, or she would feel more awkward if she was reminded of her attitude back then versus now.
"You are right; let us forget about the money for now. We need to find your grandma first, and once that is resolved, then we could continue with the favor you're asking. And yes! I will let you borrow any amount you need as long as I can afford it. Now, smile and let us continue searching for your grandma." Ramon was trying to cheer Alexa without success.
Alexa felt relief after hearing that one problem would be quickly solved. They head back towards the place where her grandmother usually play Mahjong to see if she's there. Unfortunately, grandma Santos was not there and they had no choice but to go back home.
On the way back, she tried calling her grandma Santos' cellphone one more. However, the result was the same, no answer.
"Grandma, do not do this to me. I am having a hard time as it is without you giving me a heart attack in the process." Alexa mumbles to herself while Ramon was just listening quietly feeling sorry for her way of life.
'I promise you Alexa, I will make sure that from now on... You only get the best of everything. I will make sure that you only smile and never cry.' He thought to himself as he guided Alexa back to her home.
===
Meanwhile, Pierre and Greta watched the whole situation from afar. They wanted to help so bad; however, they did not even know what Alexa's grandmother looks like. Therefore, they would not be of any help since they did not know who they were going to look for.
On top of that, they were foreigners and would stick out and get scammed along the way. The two decided to report the whole situation to their superiors. They would let them decide on what course of action to take in helping her. .
Alexa slump down to the hard wooden makeshift sofa complaining, "God, this is too much, can you give me a break for once? I'm exhausted, and I could use a break once in a while you know." Alexa was muttering to herself, while Ramon was listening and not saying a word.
Alexa just sat there like a zombie, and she had no idea what else could she do. She tried calling but there was no answer. She asked around the neighborhood, but no one saw her. She stayed inside the house, but grandmother Santos did not come home. What else could she do? Due to fatigue and stress, Alexa was out cold. She fell asleep while sitting.
Ramon was afraid that she would have a stiff neck and body aches when she woke up. He took upon himself to lift her and carried her to the only bedroom in the house. He was thinking he could lay her down on a soft bed.
What he saw when he entered shocked him, the room was bare with any furniture. The only thing they have inside was a makeshift cabinet, a shelf that's holding some blankets and a couple of pillows. He stood at the threshold of the room unable to decide on what to do...
He never realized how poor Alexa was, and how sad her life had been all this time. He knew she was an orphan, and she was raised by her adopted grandmother alone, but he has no idea how impoverished Alexa and her adopted grandmother were until now.
Ramon was still carrying Alexa, unable to find the courage to put her down on that hard flooring.
He was about to turn around and lay her down to the hard sofa when Alexa suddenly started mumbling...
She must be dreaming something very sad because she started sobbing and it broke Ramon's heart...