I was completely dumbfounded. So all these commotion, all these eyes on me, and everything that is happening right now is Chris’ fault. I hit him on his shoulders, “what the hell?!” That’s the most rational thing I could say. So then he explained how all these works. He told me that once inside the village – us, we were to follow the tradition and that meant every tradition. From wearing what they wear, eating what they eat, and doing what they were all doing. “Why did you do that?!” I was shouting at him while he’s just laughing. “I’ll court you, for real.” He had that sincere eyes and a bright smile which is why I couldn’t understand. Yes, we had an understanding last night and I let him be there for me but to do things like this is far from my imaginations. I just cannot believe him. All eyes were on us so I pulled Chris. We walked until the house where we stayed last night. “No. There, you have my answers so stop all these. Make them stop all these.” He looked at me. He was

Serenade is an act in which a guy comes to the girl’s house to offer songs to her and to visit her as well. It is used here for courting and to show how sincere a man is I bit the insides of my cheeks. Chris stood in front of me and smirked. I stood in front of the door and crossed my arms – waiting for what he’ll do. “Really? In the middle of the night?” He didn’t answer, after the children gave me the flowers, they all stood at the back of Chris who started strumming the guitar again and played another song from Rivermaya. “Nobody knows just why we’re here.” And just with that song, he’s got my ears. Ang daya dahil alam niya ang mga paborito ko. Just when he finished the song, he looked at me and smiled. The kids gave him a thumbs up before they all ran away leaving Chris and Sina. I called Sina, so she’d not leave us behind but she just smiled at me and then waved her hand goodbye. “So, could it be fate or random circumstance?” He chuckled. I don’t have anything negative to

My heart pounded. It feels like my heart would leave my body as it pumped so hard. I find it difficult to breathe as times go by. Once again, I feared it. I feared it, and this time I could absolutely admit that I still couldn’t face death no matter how hard I say that I am completely ready for it. We eventually landed safely. Chris held me like fragile glass as we were greeted by the officers at the coast. They all checked us if we were fine. Luckily, we’re all unharmed. Just wet due to the heavy storm that greeted us in the middle of the sail. “We should rest at the nearest inn first.” Chris suggested. I insisted that we should just went ahead to the location that Andrei had sent us, but he didn’t listen to me. “Let’s please rest and fix ourselves, we might catch a cold. Please?” He gave me that look once again so I sighed in defeat, “just two hours.” We’re near Dr. Carval and getting to him would clear out the danger that we are facing with the other Chris. And Levy, of cou

It felt like I was defeated on a battlefield. My tears won’t stop from streaming down once again. It kept coming back to me how Chris looked at me and fought my father’s men. He didn’t want to leave but that’s the best thing he could do. I could still see the way that he looked at me before he jumped over the wall. He mouthed words I couldn’t understand but there is something that tells me that it meant he would come back and get me away from my father. Some of my father’s men ran after Chris while some of them took me to a van. After seeing familiar faces, now I am more than a hundred percent sure that this is all my father’s doing. “Hi, Ms. Leira.” Apollo – one of my father’s most rusted men greeted me with a vicious smile. I hate him. Even before, and now more than ever. Apollo was just five years older than me. He spends more time with my father than I did. He was with him more often than his own family. And Apollo took advantage of that – of course my father trusts him so much

Seeing her in this situation has brought so much emotion to me. It was more than just a dream. She’s here. In the middle of darkness was her soul, standing in front of me. I don’t know what to say. My tongue got tied. As I let go of the hug, I didn’t know why she told me to just forget her. Unlike me, she doesn’t seem happy. She just stood in front of me. She wore the same dress on the day she died. Her body is glowing – emitting a blinding light – but I don’t care as long as I can see her. “Leira?” With a confused look, I asked her. I wanted to get near her again but she didn’t let me. Although her body appears like a soul, I was able to touch her. It feels like a dream to see her – the real her. “Let me go, Chris.” She’s pleading. Her voice had become that sweet voice that I could hear of everytime we would have an argument and she would use that mellifluous voice in order to deceive me and get whatever she wanted. I looked at her, wanting to talk with her. Like how she is,