The Alpha and The Hunter

Thirty years ago...

Amanda Cirillo lives on a calm and serene island, she grew raised in a humble household. Her father was a fisherman, but he perished from drowning ten years ago. In those instances, she relied only on her mother, Mildred. At the age of twenty, she was already supporting her mother in earning money for their family's income resources. They were just impoverished, although she was able to cope with all of her difficulties because she believed it was only a challenge that she had to overcome. Amanda is presently riding a bike to carry the fish she collected in the ocean to the market; she is aware that this work is solely for males, but she no longer considers it merely a means of subsistence. But then someone crashed into her bike, which was a costly automobile, spilling three buckets of fish she was carrying at the time. Her life was willing to ditch when she noticed that the fish had gotten into the mud and could no longer be recovered since the canal was full with dead insects and had an awful stench. She could not help but be upset because the fish were all she intended them to eat that day, but she was just unfortunate.

"What will be our food now?" She tells herself depressingly that she wants to weep but can not since tears are already gathering in her eyes. Soon, her attention was drawn to a man getting out of his automobile, which was wearing a sunglasses and also not far away, maybe with his age on it. Amanda just bowed since it was evident, even in the man's shape, that he hailed from a powerful and influential family, her character is excellent, since it is a custom on their island that if anybody affluent comes into their region, they should not stare them down right in their eyes as a form of respect, which Amanda did.

The man immediately took off his sunglasses and looked directly at Amanda who had earlier focused attention on her basket as she watched the fish being slowly carried away by the water in the canal. She wanted to cry, but she just kept these tears from dripping because she already knew that the man in front of her would only consider her weak. She knows that crying is only considered a weakness by anyone, and they do not care what your reason for crying is what matters to them is just what they see. She was almost sniffing her own cold because she was trying to hold back her tears, when she saw that the water had completely washed away the pile of fish she was carrying lately, she could not stop her tears from falling from her eyes. She knew that their stomachs would rumble again tonight with extreme hunger because she had no money to take home, if only she had not been disgraced she would probably have given her customer the fish she caught from the ocean and it would have given her money in which she will buy what they will eat.

The mysterious man also stared at her for a while, observing every part of her face as if it were a scene that he would not tire of looking at any moment. But Amanda did not notice it because her attention was only focused on the canal even though the fish she had caught in the ocean was no longer there. She was crying quietly in those moments and had no plans to look at the man who had collided with her or even to blame it for the collision made with her, but she did not. She knew that what happened was an accident and no one wanted it to happen, and if anyone was to blame for the two of them it was still their responsibility to understand the incident no matter how much it affected their lives. And that alone indicates how kind and long-suffering Amanda was, she was raised with patience and with an understanding of everything and that is what her mother liked about her.

Eventually the mysterious man went to his car and immediately took something there that he knew would help the woman, he no longer hesitated to hand Amanda the tissue he had taken from his car. The woman took it immediately but she only paid attention to the tissue given by the man and not to its appearance, at this moment she still did not know what the face of the mysterious man was and she had no intention of knowing because her mind was busy with what she would do to solve the problem she was facing. She did not want to go home without any money and food to bring, she did not want to see his mother hungry. Mildred does not complain every time Amanda does not bring home food or money, Amanda just does not want to see that they have nothing to eat because she knows that is not the life she dreams of with her mother. In fact, even though Amanda had no money to take home, she still smiled and hugged her daughter in return, because she was aware of the hardship her daughter was going through in the middle of the ocean to find their livelihood, she did not mind the danger that waiting for her, even though she knew it was the cause of her father's death. She was a brave and hardworking woman, so that even their neighbors admired her greatly for this habit and attitude of hers.

"Thank y-you!" She mentioned immediately after she reached for the tissue given by the mysterious man and immediately wiped away her own tears, in her voice could be seen the extreme sadness that she was just trying to raise so that the man in front of her could clearly hear what she is talking about.

She did not know how the man reacted to what she said but she preferred to just go to the baskets of fish she had caught, she immediately tied them to the back of her old bike. She immediately got on her bike without paying attention to the man who had collided with her, she wanted to leave and be alone. She wanted to solve this problem while it was still early, because she knew that even if her mother would not admit and tell her that she was also sad whenever they had nothing to eat. Mildred also could not work because she had heart disease and should not be soaking in the heater, and could feel too much emotion, Amanda does not want her mother to blame herself for the misery they had now, in the view that she is the only one working with their family.

She was about to start her bike when the mysterious man suddenly stopped in front of her earlier, she did not know how it got so quickly in front of her as long as she knew that she was surprised when it was already blocking her bike's direction and then unexpectedly she looked him in the face, Amanda's jaw almost dropped when she saw the smooth and perfect shape of the man's face, in addition, it is not boring to look at the beautiful shape of its eyes, he seems so perfect.

Amanda almost swallowed her own saliva because she felt it was a disgrace for her to stare at the man's face, she immediately bowed down and closed her eyes tightly because of the embarrassment she felt all of a sudden.

Hours later...

"If the reason why you are sulking at the moment, is the accidental dumping of the fish you caught in the dirty water. Do not worry about that, and also do not feel nervous I will make a way so I can wash the clothes of the rich individuals in the town. It is easy, we know that their home is full of air conditioning, then probably I can not feel the heat there and I promise that I will not feel too much joy, sadness, anger and so on that can trigger of my heart disease. Let me do that, to somehow lessen the weight of responsibility you feel, I know you are having a hard time, Amanda. You cannot be the only one to work in our family, we are the only two here, and as a mother it is my responsibility to take care of you and give you a good life-"

Mildred, Amanda's mother, could not continue what she wanted to say when her daughter, who had just been staring at their window and seemed to be deep in thought, suddenly hugged her. Mildred knew that the problem was that she had nothing with them to eat because everything she had worked for went to waste when someone collided with a bike that she always used whenever she went to the market to sell the fish she caught in the ocean. Fortunately, her bike was not damaged, because she would be even more devastated when it happened, she also stocked that bike for a long time so that she could import fish faster and she would not have to go back and forth while from the heater the baskets of fish that others were still alive.

Until that moment Amanda still did not stop hugging her mother, this is also what she used to do to alleviate the sadness she felt and somehow reduce the weight it was carrying on her back. For her what happened to her earlier was completely unacceptable because she worked hard to catch those fish for more than five hours in the middle of the sea, then everything would just go to nothing. She does not want to blame people for the misfortune that is happening in her life but she prefers to just understand what is happening and she knows that whatever the reason behind it is a path for her good future.

"Mother, no matter what hardships I go through in my life, you know I can handle it. You raised me bravely and without relentless problems, sometimes it is problems that give me up because I am so stubborn. I am ready to serve you for the rest of my life. I do, and I promise to guide you until my last breath. This time I can say you are wrong, because it is my responsibility as a child to help you. Help us get out of poverty and help dream of making our lives better, but I can do my responsibility if you do not reprimand me. How many times have I told you that you are not allowed to work even if you are surrounded by thousands of ice when you work, I still won't allow it. I want you to train your own to be a queen as you live here, while it is still early because one day, you will be the leader of our very enormous and beyond elegant palace. Not a president's palace because I can not afford to be a leader of the country, though, I will build a palatial house for my very beautiful mother." Amanda immediately mentioned that it made her mother laugh, this is the only thing that makes her happy because since her husband died, Amanda's father, she has been in so much pain and grief that she thinks nothing can match.

She could hardly eat properly because of that incident but Amanda was there to take care of her even though it was only ten years since her father died, she also became aware of the reality and their way of life. She takes care of her mother without any complaining, instead of she spend her time playing with her friends and their neighbors she is always just inside their home and taking care of her mother. At the age of thirteen she learned to catch fishes with his uncle Wilbert, his mother's brother. It taught her how to fish properly, which she quickly learned, and there she began to earn a living for her mother to feed her every day.

"Thank you so much, Amanda. I am so lucky because you became my child, I think I am the luckiest mother in the world because I became a mother and I had a child of someone like you." She mentioned reason why Amanda broke away from their embrace, a smile drew on her lips as she watched her mother.

"You are making my head too big, maybe later I will be more proud of myself. That is not a good behavior, isn't that what you told me? No matter what happens in a person's life, whether she can achieve her dreams and have the wealth she hoped for, she should not forget to look at her whereabouts because she may have fallen where she is now." Amanda immediately uttered the reason why her mother pinched her on the side jokingly.

"It is a different scenario. I am proud that you are my child and you should be proud that you are a kind and helpful kid. There's nothing wrong with that, my daughter." Laughing Mildred said as she ruffled Amanda's long and straight hair, it could not help but smile wide because of the sheer joy she was feeling in those moments. Even if they did not eat, she didn't care about it, they would not starve if they did not even eat tonight.

Amanda was about to speak but suddenly they heard a loud shout from their neighbor, which is why they look at each other.

"Our house will be demolished! Get out of your homes! They will drive us out of here!"

Continuation...

Amanda immediately came out of their little home which is not far from the ocean where she works and behind her at that moment was Mildred, her mother who was very worried about whatever was out there but she just avoids getting too emotional and nervous badly at the same time because it was awful for her condition. When Amanda saw her uncle Wilbert carrying a lamp to serve as light that night, because they also did not have enough lights to illuminate the whole place she immediately approached him and asked what was the reason for the loud noise of their neighbors.

"What is the problem, uncle?" She immediately asked as she looked behind her uncle where the people who had lived on the small island for a long time were shouting and they seemed to be evicting someone from their supposed home. The pitiful children were already crying and seemed to have no idea what was going on around, and even Amanda still could not understand in those moments what was happening the only thing she was waiting for was the answer from her uncle Wilbert.

Amanda later turned her attention back to the man in front of her and only then noticed his belongings, her uncle was carrying a large plastic bag in his right hand that seemed to contain some of his valuables including some of his clothes and fishing equipment that Amanda was very surprised at.

"The houses on the shore will be demolished because the buyer of this land intends to turn it into a tourist attraction. So we are being ousted tonight since the owner of the island has ordered them to start demolishing, and you should pack your things now because when they get at your house, they will make sure they do not have any of your possessions left." Uncle Wilbert immediately says cause Mildred to be that worried, she does not know how she will feel especially since they have nowhere to live by the time they leave here, they have been living by the seashore for more than three decades, and she does not even thought that the day would come when she would be expelled from here. Many memories were left in this home, especially since it was here that the love that had formed between him and Amanda's father began, she could not leave their home because since the death of her husband she had promised him that in this is also the place she will die.

"I can not allow us to leave here. The government gave us this land, and it can never be owned by anyone else. You know that, unclce, but why do not you work out a way to resist? Like them?" Amanda said, her voice was full of anger, she was already loved in this place, because she grew up here and had a mind. It was in this place that served as a memory to her father, and it could not be lost to her, they could not leave. At the same time she looks at the people who are evicting the demolishers, they use their full force to not let them enter their home even if in exchange for what they are doing are their lives they do not care. Wilbert knows that Amanda is not quick to get angry and never gets annoyed with anyone even if it has done her wrong. But she is different now, because in these moments, she is not only at stake as well as the future of her and her mother as well as the memory that for life will be left in this place because of her father.

Wilbert knew that so he wasted no more time and immediately took down the big plastic he was carrying and faced Amanda. "I have been in this place for a long time, Amanda. And like you, it also has sentimental value to me. I want to fight and not leave here but I realized that we have no fight because the government has been selling the island where we are staying for a long time, it was only bought by a rich man who came from a distant and well -known place. We can not do anything there, Amanda. Even if we fight, no matter what else we do, we have no right to this place anymore." Her uncle emphatically reasoned for Amanda to close her eyes because of the frustration she felt soon after her mother grabbed her arm and hugged her tightly, she was already crying at those moments.

"He is right, Amanda. There is nothing we can do anymore, because we have no right to this place." Mildred mentioned at the same time as her tears welled up in her cheeks, she could not control her emotions because the conversation was their house which serves as their home for a long time. Later Amanda also hugged her mother back, and immediately wiped away her tears. Amanda knew that if this situation was difficult for her it would be even more difficult for her mother. Her mother loved this place, and so did she, perhaps even though she did not want to leave it seemed like she still could not do anything so she said that.

She kissed her mother on the forehead after a few seconds they hugged each other tightly.

"I will make a way, we can not leave here. Do not worry, okay? Just stay here." Amanda mentioned at the same time that she was smiling, a sign that she wanted her mother to know that she would do everything she could to fulfill what she said. Mildred had done nothing more, and her son could no longer be restrained when he suddenly ran into the crowd.

And even Wilbert could not stop Amanda anymore, because he knew how dangerous the situation was, because he knew that whatever he do to stopped her, still she would not follow him. It will even force her to stand for what she thinks is right, and it has one word that no one can break.

"Oh, God. Guide her."

"We are not leaving here, this is our home!"

"We own this island and you cannot destroy it!"

"We will not allow you all to enter our area and destroy our home one by one!"

"Why did you suddenly demolish this place? You did not inform us! It is already late, and the people here are asleep, what you are doing is no longer humane!"

"We do not have a place to live anymore, we are begging you, have mercy! Let us stay here, poor children who are naive in the world! Have pity to our children who are naive in the world they have nowhere to live because we do not have enough money to find a new place to live, and in this sea is the only occupation of our husbands!"

As Amanda gets closer and closer to the location of the group of people which they are blocking the demolishers from entering in their location completely, she hears the grievances of her neighbors, their voices are full of resentment as they utter those words that are discernably hidden in the heart every word that comes out of their mouth causes Amanda to be even more courageous to fight for what she thinks is right. Everyone was forced to push away the people who had just arrived to destroy their home, a few moments later the situation became even more chaotic because someone was already throwing stones at the glass bottles, causing Amanda's left arm to be bruised and almost more blood was coming out of her body because of the size of the wound she had sustained.

People still continued to stone the bottle even though there were hurt and injured ones which is why Amanda felt annoyed in those moments.

"Enough.." Amanda mentions poorly but people still can not hear her because they are busy pushing the demolishers so that they can not get close to their residence and they still do not stop using violence, the situation is even worse due to excessive amount of individuals fussing Amanda was already sitting on the sand, and it was difficult to get up right away because of the pain of her ass on the force of the fall. Amanda closed her eyes tightly and immediately got up from the fall even though it was hard she still tried. Her eyes were full of annoyance especially when she heard the bottles being broken, and the worse there were people injured because of this incident, which made her very angry. She struggled to get to the middle of the two camps even though it was crowded and difficult she managed while holding the large wound on her arm, when she finally got close in that direction she immediately spoke which caused the people to suddenly become silent.

"Aren't you really going to stop?! That's enough! You can not get over this mess with violence, you can still talk about it calmly without getting hurt. I know you want to stay here, so do I. But please do not forget that the first thing we have been taught here since we were born, it is to be disciplined. I hope you apply that to today's situation, no matter how messy it is, it will be fixed in the right way." Amanda loudly said the reason for the two camps to be even quieter, she knew in what she did there was still hope that she would regain their place, she got this habit from her father. He is calm when talking but has the strength of voice to get the attention of the crowd that Amanda admires so much about him. Amanda's neighbors remained stooped as if ashamed of their displayed behavior, perhaps it was just out of their emotions because it was not easy for them to leave their home but their only mistake was to use force to win.

"I hope you all understand what I am talking about, it is also for the salvation of us all. It is bad to hurt others no matter what they have done to us, we must keep our feet on the ground." Amanda spoke again and this time her voice was low, as if she knew she had already gotten the attention of the majority. Amanda is well known in their area for the diligence it brings, if there are no fish that her neighbors has caught she gives away the fish she catches for free, she is not stingy and it knows how to get along. So perhaps her neighbors loved her so much because of the kindness and goodness of her heart that was ever one of the qualities that made her more beautiful.

"Sorry, miss.If we have disturbed your area too much, we do not want to disturb you but we are just doing our job due to this is what the new owner of the land on which your home is located is ordering us and we can not really do noting about it." Pronounced by a man who took the lead in demolishing Amanda's place, because of what he said Amanda immediately went to his whereabouts to talk to him properly. Based on the tone of the masculine man he also did not want to do what they are doing but he could not do anything because it was his job.

"I want to talk to that person, who is he?" Amanda immediately asked in her voice full of determination to fix this mess and she still hoped to stay in this place for the rest of her life. In those moments she could no longer bear the pain of her arm and hip the only thing that mattered to her was that her question will be answered.

The man was about to answer but he could not even speak when suddenly a rich man came who got everyone's attention especially Amanda because this man was familiar with her. A man with words that everyone had expected but seemed to be a big slap in the face to Amanda.

"I already own this area."

"I already own this area."

In those moments Amanda did not even know what her reaction would be even though the man in front of her now was the man who had hit her earlier. This time Amanda's gaze was glued to the mysterious man as he walked towards his whereabouts and was in turn given wide passage by the demolishers. Whatever the reason she looked at the man for a long period of time was no longer because she admired his physical form that much like earlier, at that moment she was suddenly enveloped in annoyance but she kept it from dominating her.

"This island has been contracted to me for a great many years, and from now on, whether you like it or not, you must leave this place immediately because I will not hesitate to instruct my servants to harm you once you are still defiant." The man said, and it seemed like every word that came out of his mouth and the tone of his speech was full of arrogance for Amanda. Add to that the idea that while the mysterious man was saying those words he was still looking directly into Amanda's eyes who had also been staring into his eyes earlier. Because of what he said, the people living on that island became aggressive again and could hardly understand what they were saying because they were speaking almost at the same time and they were all shouting and overlapping their voices.

When Wilbert, Amanda's uncle, noticed the incident, he immediately headed in the direction where the people were, leaving Mildred, his youngest sister, in front of their home. He knew Amanda needed his help in these moments and he knew it was a blasphemy he had done before, he planned to leave and just turn his back on the land where he came from, and he thought to himself that Amanda was right. If you have the ability to stop something, do it, and whatever the outcome, you will never regret it. In the middle of the crowd he saw Amanda who seemed to be losing hope, even though he could not read the emotion that enveloped into his niece, he knew that she was also discouraged in those moments because she was no longer heared by the people, especially since she knows that they are dominated by their emotions which will only make the situation worse and they may never be able to regain their supposed home again.

"That's enough! Let Amanda speak with that man. Keep everyone calm, the situation will only get worse if you go through everything in the heat of your head. I know whatever will happen tonight Amanda will not disappoint us." With all the strength of Wilbert's voice, he mention, in those moments everyone's attention went to him, as well as to Amanda whom he saw again with hope in her eyes because of what he had done there was again silence, which gave the sign to Amanda not to despair especially when she sees her uncle trusting her to solve this problem. Especially hearing the word of affirmation from the people, who she knew had so much trust in her.

"Right. Let's just let Amanda speak for us."

"Amanda is good at sorting out the mess, I know she won't let us leave this place."

"Let's all shut up first and let Amanda speak for the good of all."

Because of Amanda's audible whispers she immediately let out a genuine smile on her uncle, which she let out in gratitude for it. Whether she admits it or not, she also felt weak before as if she was losing hope already, she knew they had nothing against this situation because their land had been sold, but all she wanted was peace and not to lose hope that it might be given more to them the title and let live here for a long time if the owner is kind. But it looks like she made a mistake, it does not indicate that someone is kind if he hands you a tissue when you cry. She seemed wrong to assume the man in front of her now, so maybethat is why she was disgusted with him by the time he appears. Soon the people immediately left and moved a few miles away from where Amanda and the landlord were to give them the privacy of being able to talk in depth. At that moment Amanda also had relief and somehow hope arose in her heart at what her villagers had done. She took a deep breath and looked at the mysterious man again, she no longer followed the superstition in their place that it was forbidden to look at the face of a person capable of life, because she had also disobeyed it several times before secretly. Later the man also ordered his servants to leave first and also let him talk to Amanda only by hand sign, which the woman was secretly amazed because less than a second it was immediately followed by muscular men.

Later someone handed the mysterious man a folder full of papers, when he received it he immediately handed it to Amanda.

"These are the documents that state when I bought this island, and if you still do not believe those documents we can then present it to the authorities so that you can prove that what I am saying is correct. I already legally own this island and I can evict those within my jurisdiction whenever I want." The man said again after making sure that Amanda had read the contents of those papers. Instead of backing away, the woman, as he expected, he was surprised when Amanda suddenly looked at him as if he did not care what he was saying.

"Yes, Mr. Theodore Vouvali. You do legally own this land but that does not mean you have the right to treat the people who live here like animals that you will evict whenever you want. They are human beings not your puppet." Amanda said emphatically, every word of it she made sure to stab at the chest of the mysterious man because for her it seemed insulting the way it was spoken now. Sbe found out the man's name through the documents given to her that indeed this island was already in Theodore's name.

"I thought you should talk to me politely and respectfully, your colleagues still trusted you to tame me, because I believe it is up to me to decide if I will let you live in the place I own. However, it seems that based on the tone of your voice, you will have a hard time getting me to let you do what you want to happen." Theodore said at the same time with his weak laugh as if he was making Amanda's mind even more confused at those times. Amanda immediately looked at her neighbors and there she saw their eyes on her indicating how much they trusted her, she swallowed her own saliva because she knew what the man in front of her was saying was right. This is true in that he said he was the only hope of her colleagues not to be removed from the place they were used to, and they fully gave their trust to Amanda in this situation. So Amanda should just do everything to make them happy and contented no matter what the outcome of her conversation with Theodore may be. Despite feeling annoyed, she immediately let out a forced smile when her attention went to the man, she didn't want to and she just wanted to be with the man in front of her.

"I will do everything, just do not send us away from this island. Have mercy, we do not have any other place to live, we do not have enough money to build a house or even rent. We only earn enough for our family from fishing, do you remember before? you crashed the bike I was riding and the fish I caught went to nothing, my mother and I did not eat earlier, but you did not hear me say any bad words, did you? I am not saying this to make you feel guilty but it seems like that, what I mean is, I know you did not really mean that. So this time I hope you will grant me my request." Amanda said as if she was obsessed with what she wanted to happen, she even managed to hold Theodore's right hand as he begged.

A few moments passed and Amanda was still begging, in those moments Theodore was just watching her with a smile on his lips.

"I am a merciful person, I will agree. Just on one condition." He immediately mentions in the middle of Amanda pleading with him.

Amanda immediately took a deep breath and she knew that whatever the man was going to say there was nothing she could do, she asked what is it and his immediate answer was that she did not fully expect.

"Marry me."