DECISIONS III

Ivan was beyond furious. He clenched his hands into tights fists before punching the wall in his room, smearing his blood over it.

All those years that he didn't see her, he didn't make a fuss about it. He tried looking for her but his networks couldn't seem to find anything about her which made him believe that his grandfather has something to do with it.

He didn't want to become a doctor like his parents. He wanted to become successful in some other ways that would make things easier to find her, so he chose to build his own company. Together with his friend, Alex, he made a name in IT industry, but the woman was still hiding somewhere or hidden from him.

Ivan was panting from anger. He's laboring breath was choking him. He didn't mean to show his anger towards his mother, but the woman was so important to him even if things turned out different than what was expected to be.

"I'll find you. No matter what happens to me, I'll make sure to find you and give you the life you deserve." he muttered to himself, walking towards his bedside table where the only picture was placed. His trembling, blood covered hands wanted to take it but he was afraid of dirtying his last token of connection to the past that he once had.

With all things being considered, Ivan called his best friend, the only person he can rely on in these kinds of situation.

"Hey Ivan. What's up? Missing me?" Alex joked on the phone when he answered his call. He was currently out of town, on vacation.

"I miss you so much that I want to cut your vacation off and get you back to work." Ivan answered, his voice lacking emotions.

"Come on man. It isn't even a week yet. Seriously?" Alex whined on the other end of the line, putting his game console down. He was playing a video game with his cousin using the new Xbox 360 that he bought for him.

"Hm." This monosyllabic response made Alex speechless. It took him a full minute before he burst into a fit of laughter.

"Hey Ivan, you are not really serious, are you? This is not fair!" Alex got up from the couch and walked towards the terrace, facing the beach that he loved so much.

The place that Alexander's parents lives was in a countryside. It has lesser population compared to the city he worked in and it has great view. The luscious green mountain, the different kinds of flowers with different colors on the roadside, the clear beach-water and the fresh produce from the farms were really breath taking. His parents bought a house and lot there when he was young. Due to poor health, Alex had to stay in a place with less pollution and less crowd. The only time he was able to leave the place was when he was in high school. He left with his mother to study overseas where he met Ivan in the process.

"I need your help. I can't trust anyone else on this matter except you." This time Ivan's voice held some seriousness in it that you can't find anything to refute.

"What's with the serious matter? Are you proposing to your girl?" he teased him again knowing well that there wasn't any progress at all in his courtship.

"If it's my proposal to her, I wouldn't let you know." Ivan retorted that made Alexander laughed so hard.

"Alright. Such a bully. What is it that you wanted me to do?" he turned into serious mode with a serious task at hand.

Ivan filled him in the details of the things he needed to do and why he had to do it. It wasn't much but there were things to consider as well specially that his parents had so many friends and connections that would make news easier to grasp.

"Hell! Ivan, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Alex exclaimed after listening to all the details that Ivan had planned for this task.

"It just came to my mind a few seconds ago. I really want to find her Alex. I would regret it for the rest of my life if I couldn't say the words I wanted to say to her." Ivan admitted to his friend the reason why.

Growing up, Ivan and Alex learned to depend on each other through hardest times. They built a bond that wasn't easy to break and they don't keep secrets from each other as well. It was even Ivan who knew first what Alex likes in a relationship. Before coming out of the closet, Alex talked to Ivan about it and it didn't bother him at all. His friend will always be his friend no matter what the gender is.

"Remember not to tell anyone and be careful when you do this task." Ivan reminded him again.

"Of course. When did I ever fail you?" Alex stated proudly pounding his chest like a proud monkey. "You make sure to earn lots of money, too. In this lifetime, I'm depending on you."

"Stop speaking nonsense. 'In this lifetime, I'm depending on you'. Where the hell did you get this idea?" Ivan's faint laughter echoed on Alex's ear.

"Ha! Whatever this statement is, it still made you laugh. You should laugh more you know. It would make you look less scary in front of our staff." Ivan didn't say anything on that matter. What can he do? He didn't like smiling at all when he couldn't even find the woman he was looking for and he was cheated as well.

"Life is cruel Alex." Ivan just whispered out of nothing, staring into space with his blank gaze.

"Life is cruel but it made you stronger when you learned your lesson." Alex refuted on his statement and it was the truth and reality.