On her way to her grandfather's house, Luna messaged her mother that she might come home late. She received a text back from her, telling her to go home by eight. Luna slid her phone back into her bag and grabbed her coin purse from the same pocket. From the yellow light of the tiny bulb that illuminated the vehicle's inside, she collected eight pieces of silver peso coins that she passed forward to the driver. Two younger students in front of her instinctively received her money and relayed it to the driver. Jeepneys are the most used public transportation in the Philippines, most commonly dubbed as the king of the road. They have been around for a long time and mostly dominated the highways. Jeepneys also add vibrance and life to the dull streets through the unique art painted on them. When passengers load the vehicle, they relay their fare to the person nearest to them until it reaches the driver. Change is then passed back to the pass
The passage continued to the narration of a girl's ability to make love potions. She was Susan, and she lived in Samar, a province in the Visayas. Marina heard of Susan when her cousin invited her to come with her to Samar searching for the famous potion maker, unanimously endorsed by anyone who found love that her cousin was aware of. Marina thought it was a frivolous trip, but she agreed to come since she wasn't charged with any expenses throughout the whole trip. She left Celestina to Letty for a week while they left for Samar. Susan was beautiful and enticing. She had a voluptuous body and skin of faint brown, healthy and unblemished. She was the most beautiful she had ever met. Her conceited cousin, to her surprise, did not patronize her beauty nor goaded her to criticize Susan out of insecurity when she met her. They both agreed that she was simple yet ethereal. Susan did not just make philters. She could cast spells, too, since her
Luna stared at her window, watching raindrops trickle down the misty glass. It had been raining all morning, and luckily for her, she didn't have classes every Wednesdays. She sighed. She was supposed to de-stress and mellow out today by doing the groceries, checking out discounted books, and visiting a puppy café, but the weather seemed to disagree with her plans. Luna wasn't the type of person who spent a lot of time on her phone. The consumption of social media for hours doesn't help her relax. What alleviates her stress are the classic long walks, taking silent moments in the park, and simply exerting physical effort to unwind. It is only through this that she felt more in control and motivated. Luna slumped herself on her bed and closed her eyes, hearing only the heavy rain falling on the roof like tiny rocks incessantly plunging. Her phone suddenly buzzed, notifying her of a message from Poppy. She listlessly rose from the bed and grabbed the phone on her bedside table.
It just took her a couple of minutes to reach the place since it was past the rush hour. Luna unmounted her bike and checked her phone to make sure if she was at the right place. She parked her bike a few meters away from the bakery and securely locked it. She saw an old woman sweeping in front of the store and timidly approached her."Good afternoon ma'am, hello. I'm Luna and I'm looking for Dorothy Martes, am I at the right place?" She asked in the most courteous way she could. The old lady stopped sweeping and quickly kept the broomstick away thinking she was a customer."Yes, what can we do for you?" And she hurriedly walked towards the door. Luna was quick to stop her from acting upon her storekeeper's instinct by carefully tapping her shoulder."I'm sorry for the sudden visit. I just came here for this." Luna replied, and retrieved the book in her bag. Confusion ran across the old lady's face and her un-filtered re
Luna pulled her phone out of her pocket. She opened the music app, plugged in her earphones, and listened to a shuffle of songs. She plans to skip school today and go to Bacoor, Cavite instead to search for Wendy Tores or any of her relatives. Hasty she was but she did not think so. She was losing time and her headstrong desire to search for her grandfather got the best of her. Now that she had a chance to do something about the situation, her brain sort of just gets this mental itch to go for it and it will not stop bugging her until she finds her. This risk she was willing to take is nothing compared to the threat of life pending on her grandfather's fate.Three minutes later, the old, rusty, and loud train approached the platform. With heavy mechanical whirring and dark smoke puffing out of the train's pipe, the Philippine National Railway or PNR train set to a halt. The doors slowly opened, letting out hundreds of sweaty passengers from kilometers away. It's as early as eight in t
Luna walked forward and approached the nearest sari-sari store she saw. At first, most of the store owners did not know who the Toreses were or if there were anyone related to them who lived around the area before. Luna continued to search, entering different streets and passages, following different opinion-based directions given to her. Hours passed and she found herself lost in a confined and noisy neighborhood. There were people singing karaoke in the afternoon and men sitting on benches outside their homes, drinking beer under the hot sun. Luna acted like she wasn't lost and walked confidently along the slim passages, trying not to catch unnecessary attention from the bystanders. Luna wasn't easily rattled by situations like this, she was always mentally composed. She continued walking around and asking for directions. After a couple of turns, Luna happened to pass by a group of rowdy men drinking alcohol and singing out-of-tune karaoke, a few of them catcalling her. Luna felt sh
A bunch of students are having a good time in a grand pool party prepared by the mayor's goddaughter. It was the annual sorority party of a particular private university. Most of the party-goers are enjoying the pool in bikinis and beer, some just socializing in mobile bars. Loud party music, booze, glamorous cool kids, and hook-ups filled the place. It was the type of party that Bodie would not not want to attend to. Although a student of a different university, his name itself was a party pass."Bodie! 'Sup, man? It's been a long time." A long-haired tall guy approached Bodie with a wide grin, tapping his back when he got near."All good, Red, all good. How about you and the rest of the guys?" Bodie greeted him. Red hung his arm on Bodie's shoulder and they walked towards the pool area together. Red was Bodie's old friend, the last time they saw each other was two years ago in the same kind of party."So what's new with our Desmond?"Four other guys welcomed Bodie on their table, on
Luna walked inside a café shop situated in front of the train station. A young lady in a black apron and yellow beret employee hat greeted her to which she responded with a smile. Luna scanned the inside as she walked at a slowed pace, looking for an unoccupied table for two. It was lunchtime and she expected the place to be teeming with customers since it was near the train station after all but it wasn't, fortunately. Perhaps because it was new. She took the table beside the window and ordered two iced coffees. One for her, and one for the person she was meeting there today. The guy in the black hoodie she bumped into last night was Van. She reckons that he was from the clan of prescience and augury, seemingly a foreseer. She wanted to talk to him but they were both in a hurry last night. They decided to meet in this café the next day. Luna was anticipating meeting him and to ask him what he saw in the future where her grandfather, the Bakunawa, and herself were in. They were suppos