Light and Shadow 3: Power Within 

Light and Shadow 3: Power Within

I’m in the middle of my class, but I can’t seem to focus on the lesson as I keep sketching. I focused on the face of the lady, the seven magnificent creatures, and the strange, otherworldly place that kept appearing in my dreams.

I only started doing this recently, after realizing that these weren’t just ordinary dreams. Na sa likod ako at walang katabi, idagdag pang may malalaking katawan ang na sa harapan ko. No one noticed me as I finished my sketches, especially not my teacher.

Walang kakaibang nangyari sa akin sa mga nagdaang mga araw, bukod na lamang sa mga panaginip ko. I’ve lived my entire life as a normal teenager: school, homework, helping Mimi and Nana around the house—just normal stuff.

I’ve never really experienced anything… unsettling. Sure, there were the usual teenage anxieties, which are normal, but this is different. This is a deep, gnawing unease that settles in my stomach and makes my hands clammy.

Dahil ba ‘to sa panaginip ko kanina?

It’s like a constant whisper in the back of my mind, telling me something bad is about to happen. Bumuntong-hininga ako at pinagpatuloy ang aking ginagawa hanggang sa matapos ang aking klase. Kinuha ko ang mga gamit ko at mabilis na umalis.

Gaya ng dati, mag-isa akong naglalakad sa hallway, and walking alone through the hallways was a familiar routine. I hurried down the hallway, but as I turned a corner, I bumped into a huge and hard figure. The impact was so hard that I fell to the ground with a thud.

I groaned as I rubbed the sore spot on my arm and looked up to see who I had collided with. My heart suddenly skipped a beat when I saw the man’s cold eyes looking down at me. I was frozen on the ground, unable to move an inch.

It was as if my instincts were screaming that he was dangerous and that I should stay away from him. Habang tinititigan ko siya ay nagtaka ako nang mapansin kong tila mayroong lumalabas na itim na usok sa katawan niya.

Tila huminto rin ang oras dahil sa biglaang pagtahimik ng paligid. Ngunit nang akmang tatayo na ako ay napansin ko na lamang na nasa ibang lugar na kami! I found myself with this man at the far end of the campus, where the old, abandoned buildings loomed.

Students were forbidden to enter this part of the school, making it eerily quiet. The silence was almost deafening as I scanned the area. P-Paanong napunta kami rito…? Kanina lang ay na sa hallway kami at maraming estudyante!

Hindi ko mapigilang mapalunok habang patuloy sa mabilis na pagtibok ang puso ko. Hindi maganda ang pakiramdam ko sa lalaking na sa harapan ko ngayon. Dahan-dahan akong tumayo, gulong-gulo sa mga nangyayari ngunit wala akong oras upang isipin pa kung ano ang nangyayari.

“Who are you…?” Tanong ko habang dahan-dahang umaatras. Ngunit napigil ang pag-atras ko nang mayroon akong tamaan.

“You have to come with us.”

Mabilis akong lumayo nang ibulong niya ang mga salitang ‘yon sa aking tenga. I glanced behind me and realized another man was wearing the same unusual clothing as the one I had bumped into. It was a strange outfit, unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

Pero anong sabi niya…?

“No way! Bakit naman ako sasama sa inyo?!” Sagot ko, at akmang tatakbo na sa kabilang direksyon nang biglang may lumabas na lalaking kaparehas din nila ng suot.

I was completely shocked when another man suddenly appeared in front of me and I couldn’t believe what I just witnessed. But my shock quickly turned to terror, when two more men appeared behind me out of nowhere again.

Now I was surrounded, cornered by five men. Mas lumakas pa ang tibok ng puso ko at nanghihina na ang mga tuhod ko dahil sa takot. Isang tingin ko pa lamang sa kanila, alam ko nang hindi sila normal na tao…

I look around just to see the old buildings, their windows dark and empty, like hollowed-out eyes, while the only sound is the howling wind that seems to echo through the empty halls. It was a long way from the main building, and I couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down my spine. 

Wala na akong takas sa kanila at gusto ko na lamang maiyak. “S-Sino kayo?!” Muli kong tanong.

“You have to come with us, daughter of the Third Order…”

One of them spoke in a cold, chilling tone. But what did he say? The air even seemed to crackle with a dangerous energy. Habang halo-halo na ang nararamdaman ko, hanggang sa pinagdikit-dikit nila ang kanilang mga palad, just then, a sudden strong gust of wind began to swirl around us.

It was slowly intensifying into a tornado, whipping my hair around my face. However, the wind abruptly transformed into black smoke, sending a wave of panic through me. They suddenly began speaking in a language I couldn’t understand.

“W-What’s happening?! Get me out of here!”

I tried escaping, pero parang mayroong nakaharang sa akin na hindi ko nakikita kaya nang sinubukan kong tumakas ay bumalik lang ako sa kinatatayuan ko. Ito na ba yung sinasabi ng babae sa akin sa panaginip ko?!

When I looked up above, I saw a black hole opening, pulling me towards it. “No! Stop!” I hopelessly shouted. “Someone help me!”

In that crucial moment, as darkness enveloped us even further and as I tried resisting, I felt something swirl within me, as it was trying to come out. Just as I was about to be completely pulled into the black hole, I heard a strangely familiar voice inside my head.

“Let it come out, my child…”

After hearing those words, I stopped resisting and simply allowed whatever was inside me to come out. What happened next was completely unexpected: suddenly, a brilliant golden light came out from me, creating a powerful shockwave that sent these men flying backward with tremendous force.

Holy crap! What just happened?!

Nawala ang malakas na hangin at ang itim na usok na pumapaikot sa amin kanina. The black hole had vanished kaya nahulog ako sa lupa na ikinangiwi ko. Tiningnan ko ang mga lalaki na gusto akong kidnapin, ngunit nang makita kong muli silang tumayo ay mabilis akong tumakbo.

But I was cornered again, the five men closing in, their faces contorted with rage. They lunged, and instinctively, the training Mimi and Nana had drilled me over the years took over. I ducked under a wild swing, the air whistling past my ear, and countered with a sharp elbow to the man’s ribs.

He grunted and stumbled back, giving me just enough space to spin and block another attacker’s fist with my forearm. One of them extended his hand towards me, and a dark, swirling energy began to merge around it.

Kinilabutan ako sa nakita dahil ito ang unang beses kong makakita ng gano’n! Hindi ko na alam kung anong nangyayari, at higit sa lahat, hindi ko na alam kung normal ba talaga akong tao! Then suddenly a warmth bloomed in my own hands.

I looked down and saw a soft golden light emanating from my palms, pulsing with power. As the dark energy launched towards me, I instinctively thrust my hands forward, and the golden light met the darkness head-on.

There was a brief, blinding flash at narinig ko pa ang kakila-kilabot na sigaw ng lalaki na parang nasasaktan, and then… the man was gone. Just… gone. Vanished into thin air, as if he’d never been there. Natigilan ako dahil sa nangyari, hindi makapaniwalang ako ang may gawa no’n.

The other men, their faces now etched with confusion and fear, tried similar attacks. One summoned shadow blades, another seemed to manipulate the shadows themselves, trying to bind me. But each time, the same thing happened to them.

As soon as their dark powers came into contact with the golden light radiating from me, they simply… ceased to exist. One moment they were there, snarling and menacing, pero pagkatapos no’n ay wala na sila ng parang bula.

They were gone, leaving only a faint shimmer in the air where they had stood. I was breathing heavily, habang mabilis ang tibok ng aking puso. I didn’t understand what was happening, or where this light was coming from, but it was protecting me.

I stood here, my hands still glowing faintly, watching the empty space where the five men had just been. A mix of disbelief and dawning realization washing over me. Hindi ako makapaniwala sa nangyari kaya hindi ko mapigilang kurutin ang sarili ko.

“Huhu! Totoo nga!” Hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko at nag-uumpisa na akong matakot. Madilim na at napaka-tahimik ng paligid, not until I heard the familiar voice of Mimi and Nana.

“Hope! Anak!”

Mabilis ko silang nilingon, at nang makita ko ang kanilang mukha na puno ng pag-aalala at takot, hindi ko na napigilan pang umiyak. Lalo na nang makalapit si Mimi at yakapin ako ng mahigpit. I could feel my body trembling as Mimi’s soothing voice tried to calm me.

“Shhh… it’s okay, baby. Mimi’s here. Everything is fine now.”

“I’m scared… Mimi, I’m scared…” pag-amin ko na tinugunan lamang ni Mimi ng isang mahigpit na yakap.

“Kailangan na nating umalis dito. Someone’s coming,” rinig ko namang wika ni Nana at seryoso ang kaniyang tono.

“Come on, sweetie. Let’s get out of here,” Mimi said at pareho nila akong inilalayan dahil nangangatog pa rin ang aking mga tuhod.

Am I not a normal person?

***