She turned to him, an unsettled gasp upon her lips even as she quickly rose from the stool she had been perched upon.

Her mind had been lost in reverie, her thoughts trapped in a lifetime of what had felt like endless suffering...

The white hand that had settled upon her shoulder had instantly brought her to awareness, her ebony lashes spreading as her eyes opened wide, the dim light refracting on the gold-rimmed green hidden within.

Her dusky head shook, her thick curtain of hair bobbing as she slowly backed away, one hand extended before her.

"Cung pwede, hinde," she whispered. Please, no, the native language easing off her tongue without thought.

The wide, bustling frame of Sonia bustled over and took hold of her wrist, and abruptly tugged her back onto the stool she had so quickly abandoned. Mumbling in garbled Tagalog, the woman thrust a plate of steaming rice and fish before her, putting a bottle of precious bottled water alongside it before turning away. Mayumi glanced after Sonia, her fear turning to confusion.

The raucous sounds of the bar suddenly rushed in, as Purit sidled through the curtain and towards the table where Mayumi sat. One of her tiny, slender hands placed a moisture-covered bottle of beer before the anglo, the red label of the San Marcos seeming almost garish in the muted light. Purit offered a small smile to Bob and pointed at the stool opposite Mayumi.

"Ah, I see you have met Mayumi - she is my friend from Baguio, do you know her?" she asked softly. Mayumi turned towards Purit, her confused expression apparent. Purit smiled and patted her shoulder, than made the introduction in her halting english.

"Mayumi, this is Bob - he flies planes from Clark. He comes here often, though normally not this early in the day." She opened her mouth and was about to say more when a loud, demanding American voice called for her. She shrugged one shoulder and again left, slipping past the coconut hair and into the growing crowd in the barroom.

Mayumi's fingers curled listlessly about the glass of clear water before her, and she awkwardly raised it to her lips to take a few swallows before setting it down with a soft sigh, her little pink tongue darting out to lap up the last remaining droplets on her once-parched lips.

She turned, a sheepish expression on her face now as she took in the American soldier before her, and she shyly ducked her head.

"I am sorry," she said softly, pausing. "I... I am simply tired, and hungry, and am trying to figure how I am going to go," she flushed as she stammered out the english words and then hesitantly reached for the water, taking a few more sips before setting it down and pointing at the same stool Purit had gestured the man to.

"It is nice to meet you, Bob," she said quietly, and then offered him a shy smile as she bent her head once more and began slowly eating the rice and bits of fish off her plate.