CHAPTER 1
PROLOGUE
Terror – it had the power to momentarily stop or slow down time, to mute surrounding sounds and centralize it inside you, for you to hear nothing but your own heart beating, the wordless panic in your head, your labored breathing, or maybe, you wouldn’t even notice anything. Maybe, you would just shut down as you stared blankly at the horror standing before you until blessed survival instinct shook you out of it and you actually tried to run and save yourself.
That was her at this moment, rooted on the spot, frozen in fear as that... that ‘thing’ zoned in on her with its bloodshot eyes gleaming through its long, oily, unkempt black hair. The lengthy tubular tongue slithering through rows of big razor-sharp teeth looked as menacing as its long, pointed nails that grew from thin, gnarly hands.
How could such a hideous creature have the backdrop of the moon shining so beautifully in the night sky?
How could it even be here in front of her? This creature should have only ever existed in the pages of folklore, but now it was there right in front of her, its presence as good as the announcement of her impending end.
The creature bared its sharp teeth more prominently. She took in a deep breath. Then, her eyes met her best friend’s wide-eyed gaze.
What’s there to think about? We go, catch up with some folks, eat some seafood, see some sights, spend some money, and go home. Sounds easy to me.
As if reading her mind, her best friend simply shrugged, making her curse at her internally.
If I got out of this alive, I swear --!
She turned her eyes back to the monster in front of her and, as she blinked, it was as if time ticked to that fated second when things finally went down.
The creature launched itself toward her with malice burning in its eyes.
Everything became a blur of instinct-driven motions, curses of disbelief and denial, and screams of panic echoing in this humid summer night.
CHAPTER 1
Screams. More screams from everywhere.
Familiar voices. Harsh whispers.
They didn’t even know.
They would never know.
Resentment. Fear.
Anguish.
“... your fault...”
“Stop!”
“... why...”
“... chosen...”
“... survive...”
“... unfair...”
Sharp sounds. Even more screams.
“Mir?”
“... can refuse...”
“Mir, hey?”
“... but the path will always follow...”
“Stop ignoring me!”
“Always.”
“MIR!”
Her eyes snapped open. She cursed as she felt the pounding headache once again.
“W-What?” she groggily muttered as she turned her eyes to the screen, where a young woman with big dark eyes was staring back at her. This person was her best friend, Vina. Her normally long black hair was dyed platinum blonde today, and the mole under her right eye was as prominent as ever.
For a moment, Vina was quiet, staring at Mir with a serious expression on her face. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she changed her mind with a shake of her head. Instead, she smiled widely and said,
“As I was saying, I have money, but I’m alone and bored.”
It took a moment for Mir to process what she had just said, so she blinked and blinked before she was finally in the mood to speak,
“... And?”
Vina took a deep breath before cheerfully announcing,
“So, let’s go on a trip!”
“No,” Mir immediately responded.
“I’m so bored I could die!”
“Go do something fun then.”
“Hence, we go on a trip!”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Why don’t you go play with your toys?”
Vina gasped as if Mir had just insulted her dog and her entire bloodline.
“Excuse you! They’re not toys! They’re lovers!”
Mir looked her straight in the eye without any emotion at all.
“Lovers... sure.”
The sentence ’Except you date how many every how many days?’ hung between them.
“Anyway! So, yeah, going back, going back,” Vina forcefully insisted, the smile on her lips becoming wider by the second. “Where was I? Ah! So yeah, I have money, but I’m alone and bored.”
Mir sighed before tonelessly grumbling, “Your words sound like the start of a misfortune.”
“You see, it so happens Ate Ena is asking me to go visit them over the summer,” Vina tattled, ignoring Mir’s words. “You remember the cousins, right? Right?”
Mir nodded, not really scared of Vina’s threatening gaze.
“They’re your cousins, though....”
Mir and Vina had been friends since they were very young. At that time, they spent their childhood with three other kids who happened to be siblings. They were the children of Uncle Lito and his wife, Auntie Josie. Uncle Lito was Vina’s late mother’s younger brother. They all used to live in the same town until Uncle Lito inherited the ancestral home in Western Visayas, and the family moved away.
Innocent and carefree days, Mir thought to herself. Then she said,
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“Urgh! Of course, you need to go with me!”
“Don’t wanna.”
“You didn’t even pause to think about it!”
“Uhm,” she paused before shaking her head, “Don’t wanna.”
“How could you say that?! Don’t you miss those three idiots?”
“We’re all adults now. You probably shouldn’t be calling them names anymore.”
“That’s neither here nor there! You’re coming, right?”
“Don’t wanna.”
“Come on! You need a vacation, too!”
“Not really. Home is comfy. Home is fun. Home is safe. Home is life.”
Vina suddenly became quiet again for a moment as she gave Mir a serious gaze. Then, she opened her mouth and said,
“Look, Mir, my bestie, my beloved childhood friend, you... You need to go out more, see the world, breathe, and live.”
Mir could feel her spirit deflate from Vina’s words. Why was this person disrupting her quiet life? What was so difficult to understand? She liked the life she was living right now.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Think about what? Ate Ena is pregnant, too. It’s a good time to catch up, don’t you think?”
“Wow, congratulations to her.”
And she was being sincere.
“Tell her that yourself,” Vina scoffed before grinning widely. “So, you’re coming with me, right?”
“Tiring. Costly. Bothersome,” Mir sighed heavily as she leaned back in her chair. “I don’t see any benefit.”
Vina eyed her a bit. Then, she carefully opened her mouth.
“Bestie, you’ve been working from home since graduating. Aren’t you tired of seeing and doing the same things every single day? It’s been a few years, you know.”
Mir gave her an empty look in return.
“I fail to see the problem.”
“You need to enjoy life, too!”
This time, Mir gave her an incredulous look.
“I’m enjoying life really well, though?”
“How will you meet Mr. Right if you don’t go out? What? Do you think he’ll come parachuting down your roof?”
Mir paused, considering, then said, “That... That’s actually an interesting thought... Let’s see if that ever happens.”
Vina stifled a frustrated scream. Mir merely looked at her with amusement, but that didn’t last long.
For the first time, she began to feel the weight of the years that had gone by. Vina was right. It had been a while since she voluntarily retreated from society.
“Anyway, let’s go visit the cousins, okay?”
Seeing the frustrated look on Vina’s face, she let out a deep sigh and finally slowly said,
“I’ll think about it.”
“What’s there to think about? We go, catch up with some folks, eat some seafood, see some sights, spend some money, and go home. Sounds easy to me.”
Mir rolled her eyes at her, but did think about it. It had been a while since she had done something outside of doing the groceries.
“Fine,” she finally decided. “I sure hope it’s as easy as you said.”
“Geez, what else could happen?”
“Indeed, what else could happen?” Mir nodded more to herself than to Vina for assurance.
Mir’s eyes slowly swept around her room. Crosses, rosaries, and various wall frames filled with religious scriptures were nailed on all four walls of her room. Similarly, statues of religious figures of different sizes were placed on all surfaces that could carry their weight. Herbs, bottles of salts, and vials of liquids were also all over the room.
She somehow had doubts in her heart.
Bright! It’s too bright!
One very sunny day, several weeks later, a wilted Mir found herself standing outside an airport.
She pulled her cap lower in a pathetic attempt to shield her eyes from the brightness of the sun. For someone like her who normally spent her days inside her room, with curtains forever closed, existing only ever under artificial lights, the sun was her biggest enemy.
“They’ll be here soon,” Vina said cheerfully next to her, a metaphorical sun.
They were currently standing at the pick-up area waiting for their ride.
The sky is too blue for my taste, she thought to herself, already starting to regret her decision.
