The rain was pouring heavily and the wind was fierce in Manila that night. Glaiza had just finished her duty at a public hospital. Tired, hungry, and soaking wet, she was walking home to her rented room when she saw a bundle beside the trash can. It was a man, lying down, his face covered in mud and blood, shivering from the cold. His clothes were tattered and looked like they hadn’t been washed in months. Many people walked past, but everyone showed disgust and avoided him. Some even kicked the man’s feet to get him out of the way.
As a nurse, Glaiza couldn’t stand what she saw. She approached him. “Mister? Are you okay?” she asked. The man didn’t answer, but his eyes were wide open, full of fear and confusion. Glaiza saw a deep wound on his head. She knew that if she left him, the man would die from infection or hypothermia. Despite the fear that he might be a bad person, Glaiza’s heart won. She helped the man up. He was heavy, but she managed to get him into a tricycle and brought him to her small apartment.
For several weeks, Glaiza became the man’s nurse. She bathed him, treated his wounds, and dressed him in her late father’s old clothes. When the man was clean, Glaiza was surprised. He was handsome. He had a prominent nose, smooth skin that had only been hidden by dirt, and a respectable stature. But there was a problem—he couldn’t remember anything. He didn’t know his name or where he came from. All he knew was fear. Glaiza called him “Kiko.”
Since Kiko had no place to stay, Glaiza agreed to let him remain there while he recovered. Kiko was very kind. He cleaned the house, cooked, and waited for Glaiza to return from work. Despite his amnesia, Kiko was intelligent. He spoke English well and knew about complex things, but he didn’t know why he knew them. In their simple life within the small room, they fell in love. Glaiza loved Kiko not for who he was before, but for who he was now—kind, loving, and faithful.
However, their relationship did not remain a secret. Neighbors and the landlady learned that there was a “homeless man” in Glaiza’s room. Gossip started. “Oh dear, Nurse Glaiza is living with a beggar!” “How disgusting, he might have a disease!” The situation worsened when their love bore fruit. Glaiza got pregnant.
When the hospital learned about it, she became a target of ridicule. Doctors and fellow nurses who once admired her diligence were now disgusted. “What a waste, Glaiza. You had such a great future, and you ruined it for a man with no name and no money,” her Head Nurse said. Due to alleged “immorality” and pressure from judgmental colleagues, Glaiza’s contract was not renewed. She lost her job while pregnant.
She went home to her apartment in tears. Kiko hugged her. “Sorry, Glaiza. This is my fault. I’m a burden to you,” Kiko cried. “No, Kiko. I love you. We can handle this,” Glaiza replied. But their hardship didn’t end there. The next day, the Landlady banged on their door. “Glaiza! Get out of here! I don’t want scandalous people in my apartment! Your crazy husband might be carrying some disease!”
They were evicted. Glaiza and Kiko had no choice but to carry their few belongings and live in a makeshift shack (barong-barong) near the train tracks. They experienced extreme hardship. Glaiza, even while pregnant, sold native delicacies. Kiko scavenged for bottles and newspapers. Sometimes, when he earned a little, Kiko would buy a rose for Glaiza. “I may not be able to give you a palace, but I promise, you won’t be alone,” Kiko said.
One day, while Kiko was in the market selling the items he had salvaged, a convoy of expensive vehicles passed by. A black Rolls Royce and three Land Cruisers. They stopped due to traffic. Kiko looked at the reflection in the Rolls Royce’s window. He saw his own reflection. Suddenly, his head began to ache. Intense pain. It felt like a blood vessel had burst. He fell to his knees on the street, clutching his head, screaming.
“Sir! Sir!” people shouted.
Inside the Rolls Royce, an elderly woman saw the man kneeling outside. The Doña’s eyes widened. “Stop the car! Right now!” the Doña yelled at the driver.
The Doña got out along with bodyguards carrying high-caliber weapons. The crowd panicked. They thought someone was going to be arrested. The Doña approached Kiko, who was writhing in pain. She held his face.
“Miguel? Son?! Is that you?!” the Doña cried.
Kiko looked up. When he saw the old woman’s face, the door to his memory suddenly opened. The accident. His fall down the ravine. His name. His life.
“Mama…” Kiko whispered before he lost consciousness.
Kiko (whose real name was Miguel) was rushed to the best hospital. Glaiza learned what happened from the gossip in the market. “Your husband was taken by rich people! They might put him in jail!”
Glaiza was terrified. Pregnant and penniless, she rushed to the hospital where Kiko was reportedly taken. She was blocked by the guards because of her shabby appearance. “Beggars are not allowed here!” the guard shouted. “My husband is inside! Kiko!” Glaiza cried.
Just then, the Doña—Doña Consuelo, the owner of the largest Shipping Lines company in Asia—came out. She heard Glaiza’s cry.
“Let her in,” the Doña ordered.
When Glaiza entered the room, she saw Kiko—Miguel—lying on a soft bed, clean, on an IV drip, and surrounded by doctors. His appearance was completely different. He looked like a prince.
Glaiza approached him, trembling. “Kiko?”
Miguel opened his eyes. He looked at Glaiza. For a few seconds, Glaiza felt anxious. What if his memory had returned and he no longer knew her? What if he was now disgusted by her because he turned out to be rich?
But Miguel smiled. He reached out for Glaiza’s hand.
“Glaiza… My love,” Miguel said.
Glaiza sobbed uncontrollably. He hadn’t forgotten her.
Doña Consuelo told the whole story. Miguel had gone missing a year ago after being ambushed and his car falling into a ravine. They thought he was dead. He was a billionaire, a Harvard graduate, and the heir to the empire.
Miguel faced his mother. “Mom, this woman… she gave me life when I couldn’t remember anything. She clothed me, fed me, and loved me when I was a homeless man scorned by the world. She is pregnant with my child.”
Doña Consuelo approached Glaiza. Glaiza expected the Doña to be angry, but she was wrong. She hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Hija (Daughter). Thank you for taking care of my son. I owe you his life.”
Soon after, Miguel recovered. He returned to their shack, not to live, but to show those who oppressed them the truth. He arrived in a helicopter, accompanied by Glaiza in a designer dress.
The Landlady who evicted them nearly fainted when Miguel bought the entire apartment complex and the land it stood on. “I’m buying this,” Miguel said, “To tear it down and build a free hospital for the poor. And you, find somewhere else to live.”
Glaiza’s colleagues at the hospital who mocked her? They turned pale when they learned that the new owner of the hospital was Miguel’s family.
Glaiza called the Head Nurse who had scorned her. “Ma’am,” Glaiza said, “I won’t seek revenge. But I hope that the next time you see a homeless or poor person, you don’t judge them. Because beneath the dirt, they also have a beating heart.”
Miguel and Glaiza married in a grand ceremony. Their child was born the heir to billions of wealth. But more than money, they raised their child with the story of a love that began by the roadside—a love that did not look at external appearance, but at a pure heart.
Glaiza proved that true wealth is not seen in a wallet, but in one’s character. And the person who is willing to love in the midst of nothing is the one who is ultimately blessed the most.