“Supper is ready!” Rosa shouted from the kitchen.“Is it going to be rice again?” Odette asked the young men.“Of course, there will be rice at every meal,” Pedro answered.“It’s the main food here in the Philippines—rice or corn, and sometimes potatoes or sweet potatoes,” Isagani informed them.“It’s all carbs. I don’t want to get fat!” Odette looked horrified as she imagined herself eating all these carbohydrate-heavy foods.“Carbs? What’s that?” Pedro asked.“Uhm... I mean, isn’t all that food going to make you fat?” she said, embarrassed.“We balance our food with fruits and vegetables, and with everything going on right now, it’s impossible for us to get fat! Hahaha!” Pedro laughed at her reddened face.“Besides, you’re not fat. Anyone who says you are must be blind!” he added, stealing a glance at Odette’s body from head to toe.Odette’s face grew even redder upon hearing those flattering words from the young man. “I know, right?” she laughed, pretending to be self-confident, tho
Miraculously, Alice woke up very early. She was sandwiched between her two friends—Odette’s feet on top of her lower legs, and Johnson’s arm wrapped around her waist. She got up, trying not to wake them, and quietly walked outside, finding Ramon sitting on a wooden bench in the living room.“Good morning,” she greeted Ramon.“Good morning, Alice. If you want to take a bath, you can do so after Rosa comes out of the bathroom,” he replied.“Yes, where is the bathroom, please?” she asked.“It’s outside, in the backyard. Isagani and Pedro are also out there,” he answered.She stepped outside and saw Isagani and Pedro taking a bath at the artesian well.“Good morning, guys,” she said, noticing their well-toned physiques.“Good morning!” they replied in unison.“Where’s the bathroom?” Alice asked.They pointed to a small bamboo cabin beside the house. It looked like a square box about five square meters, with a roof made of dried leaves.“If you’re going to take a bath, we can fill up the wa
Johnson looked helplessly at Alice as the women surrounded him. Alice shook her head and smiled at the men standing around him. "We need to continue with the training," she told them.Alice clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Let us continue, everybody!" she said loudly."Go back to your places!" Johnson jogged to Alice's side with a relieved expression on his face. "Thank God, you saved me from being harassed," he whispered to her.Everyone returned to their places, including Odette and Fernando."Make sure your arms and hands are firm while punching your opponent!" Alice instructed the group. Noticing how quickly the trainees were learning, she decided to introduce a new technique. "Let’s add the kicking technique today. Johnson will show you how to balance your body and maintain proper posture while kicking." She gestured for Johnson to demonstrate."Let’s start with some simple leg lifts," Johnson said."It's important that your body is balanced. When you lift your left
“Oh my, this is a beautiful place!” Alice exclaimed as they arrived at the secluded lake.“This is like paradise!” Odette said loudly, glancing at Fernando. “I love it!” she added with enthusiasm.Pedro and the other men sprinted toward the lake, stripping off their shirts before jumping in. The girls, however, walked cautiously to the lake’s edge, testing the water’s temperature.A few of the men climbed the waterfall, leaping off into the lake below.“Hmph! Show-offs!” one of the girls laughed at the two men who jumped from the top.Alice noticed a path leading up to the falls. Intrigued, she started walking toward it but soon found herself distracted by a row of fruit trees. The fruits looked delicious.I wonder what those are. They look tasty, Alice thought, moving closer to the tree. It was a rambutan tree, with fruit similar to lychees—hairy on the outside and red when ripe. Alice stared at the tempting fruits but couldn’t figure out how to reach them.She stood there, staring up
Johnson caught Alice just before she slipped beneath the water. He wondered what she had seen, knowing full well that she had experienced another vision. He lifted her with ease, as though she weighed nothing at all. The crowd around them stared at Alice, stunned to see her unconscious.Pedro and Isagani rushed over to help."What happened to her?" Pedro asked."It's nothing serious," Johnson replied. "She just spent too much time underwater and passed out, but she'll be fine.""Are you sure she's okay?" Isagani asked, concerned."I'm sure. You two go back and enjoy yourselves. I'll take her home," Johnson assured them as he carried Alice toward Ramon’s house.Pedro and Isagani exchanged puzzled glances, scratching their heads."I guess she’s alright if he says so," Pedro muttered."I hope so," Isagani added, still unsure.They returned to the lake, where their friends bombarded them with questions. Pedro and Isagani reassured the group that Alice would be fine and would resume trainin
There was blood everywhere, and people were screaming and running in all directions. The Japanese soldiers were gaining the upper hand."Quick, we need to hide!" Apolonia grabbed Alice's hand and started pulling her toward the woods."No! I need to find my friends first!" Alice tried to break free, but Rosa held her arms, helping Apolonia drag her."You help the wounded first. I'll meet you in the woods." Apolonia pointed at a few people lying on the ground, still alive.Gunshots rang out, and the clanging of metal filled the air as soldiers who had run out of ammunition resorted to using short swords to fight the guerrillas."Alice! Watch out!" Isagani shouted from in front of her. Instinctively, Alice ducked, giving Isagani the chance to stab the Japanese soldier who was about to attack her.She realized that the Japanese troops had likely discovered their hideout, catching Ramon and the others off guard. Alice grabbed the rifle of the dead Japanese soldier beside her and began calmi
As they banter with each other, Alice cannot help but think of the vision she saw on the lake and the one that came to her while she was unconscious. She is also thinking about the voice that mentioned something about five days. It is a warning.Alice is smart enough to know that five days from now, her vision will come true. She realizes that what she saw was an event that will happen if she does nothing to prevent it. This is not a trivial matter and needs urgent attention. She hurriedly tells her friends about it. She doesn’t care if Fernando is there—since he and Odette are soon to be married—she thinks he can help persuade Ramon and the others to quickly form a strategy to ensure their safety.“Fernando, this is very important, and I hope you won’t think I’m evil or strange.” Alice looks seriously at Fernando after telling him the story.“Not at all, you’re lucky to have this gift,” Fernando answers solemnly. He’s spooked at first, but after realizing that Alice can be a great hel
"What do you propose?" the captain asked Alice."Instead of fighting them head-on, why don't we use sneak attacks? That way, they won't be able to contact their comrades for backup," Alice replied hurriedly."You mean, we’re going to ambush them?" The captain considered the strategy Alice was suggesting."Yes, but we don’t need to use rifles or guns. They’ll just attract too much attention," Alice explained."What?! Are we supposed to use machetes or our bare hands? We’ll be dead for sure!" the captain exclaimed."No. We can wait in the cave and ambush them. Instead of using guns, we’ll use poisoned arrows," Alice said, glancing around at the others."Poisoned arrows?" The captain tapped his chin thoughtfully."I saw some thorn apples and rosary peas in the woods earlier. If they drink the poison or inhale the smoke from burning thorn apples, they’ll hallucinate or even go mad. As for the rosary peas, if we dip the tips of the arrows into the seeds, the poison will kill them. But we ne
Alice knew that to face Corazon, she needed to understand her enemy completely, even if that meant delving into the shadows of Corazon’s past. And so, as her friends remained close, Alice channeled her energy toward the spirit realm again—not just to search for Johnson and Leonora, but to uncover Corazon’s beginnings, the seed of darkness that had once blossomed within her.A Glimpse into Corazon’s PastIn the heart of a small village nestled between ancient trees and winding rivers, Corazon grew up as a child unlike any other. Long before she became a black witch, she was simply a girl with dark, curious eyes and a mind that wandered where others dared not go. While the other children played and laughed in the sunlit meadows, Corazon’s gaze lingered on the shadows that seemed to shift and breathe along the forest’s edge. She noticed what others ignored—the spaces between light and dark where strange things lurked, unseen yet undeniably real.One evening, as she watched a faint shadow
Alice lay awake, her mind thrumming with the image of Johnson’s ghostly form flickering before her and his haunting warning. She’s coming. The words echoed in her mind, making her feel more vulnerable and hunted than ever. Corazon was not just a shadow from her past—she was coming, and she was hungry for vengeance. But Alice wasn’t the same person Corazon had once overpowered. She had grown stronger, mastering gifts that went beyond anything she’d ever imagined.With each night, her powers sharpened further. She could feel the pulse of life in the plants outside her window, the murmur of the animals in the woods nearby, even the whispers of energy in the air. She was beginning to see that everything around her was connected, woven into an intricate web that she could touch, manipulate, and reshape. The world had become her ally, a vast and powerful force that flowed through her veins as naturally as her own blood.But as her power grew, so did her dread. The closer she got to Corazon,
In a matter of weeks, Alice had nearly perfected her skill in astral projection, slipping into the spirit realm with ease. But her triumph felt hollow; despite her dedication, she still couldn’t find any trace of Johnson or Leonora. She had poured months into honing her abilities, pushing herself beyond her limits night after night, ignoring Leonora’s advice to train gradually. The toll on her body was unmistakable, yet she persisted, consumed by the need to master her skills.One evening, Alice opened her eyes slowly, her surroundings a blur as she struggled to focus. The room was dimly lit, and as her vision cleared, she saw Pedro seated beside her bed, his face drawn with worry.“How are you feeling?” he asked softly, his gaze flickering with concern.Alice managed a weak smile, though it took almost all the energy she could muster. “I feel… drained, like everything’s been sapped out of me.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and her limbs felt heavy, as though her strength had seeped
As Alice and Pedro stood under the whispering trees and flickering lantern light, the elements pulsed around her, each with its own rhythm, calling her to push deeper. She had trained so hard, seeking a breakthrough. Tonight, she felt closer to something—some truth lying just out of reach, a glimmer of hope. Johnson, Leonora… they had to be there, somewhere just beyond the veil of her consciousness.Pedro’s eyes followed her, worry mingled with a quiet awe. “What do you need me to do?” he asked, ready for anything.Alice looked up at him, grateful for his steady presence. “Just stay here. I… I think I need to try something new.” She bit her lip, remembering what Leonora had told her once, about the power of sending one’s spirit out beyond the body. It was a risky skill, one Leonora had called astral projection, but Alice knew she had to try. If she couldn’t find her loved ones physically, maybe she could rea
Alice felt as though time had abandoned its flow, suspended in an endless haze. Since her haunting vision of Johnson and Leonora in Corazon’s mansion, silence fell over her mind's eye, as if Corazon had locked them away, hiding their presence in the shadows. That brief, final glimpse had stirred her desperation to a fever pitch, sparking a fire within her that pushed her powers to new heights.Now, her mental telepathy had reached an extraordinary peak. No longer confined to human thoughts, her mind wandered through the murmurs of animals, the whispers of trees, even the silent language of earth, wind, fire, and water. She felt each element as if it were an old friend. The animals, plants, and elements communicated with her in a language as clear as her own thoughts, weaving nature into her emotional tapestry.Yet with every new surge of strength, a faint ache gnawed at her heart—a reminder of the ones she couldn’t reach. Her bond with Johnson, her best friend and love
Alice’s pulse quickened as the dark, chilling presence crept over her, a feeling she’d come to recognize all too well. It wrapped around her like a shroud, suffocating and persistent, pressing into her mind until her senses screamed with dread. She reached out instinctively, stretching her mind toward Leonora and Johnson, but their presence was faint, as if something blocked her from connecting to them fully. The sense of wrongness was so profound that it stole her breath.In the nights that followed, the visions began again, as vivid and invasive as they’d been in the past. Alice saw Corazon's mansion, its lavish halls draped in silk and gold, filled with the muted sounds of revelry and dark promises. Flickering images came to her—Leonora, now eighteen years old, isolated in an opulent room, her pretty face pale yet steady, as though prepared for what was to come. But beneath that calm façade, a steely determination glimmered, tempered by a fea
As soon as Alice and the others stepped outside, she felt a sudden lightness, like a weight lifting from her shoulders. The dark presence that had lingered around them for days seemed to vanish, dissipating like fog in the morning sun. She reached out with her powers, searching the vast, invisible web that connected her to Leonora and Johnson, but there was nothing. It was as if the darkness had never existed.“She’s gone,” Alice muttered in disbelief, her voice a mixture of relief and frustration. She dropped to her knees, feeling a wave of helplessness. “I can’t find them, any of them—Leonora, Johnson, Corazon... It’s like they’ve disappeared.”Pedro knelt beside her, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. “We’ll find them, Alice,” he assured her, his tone soft yet firm. “You’re not alone in this.”Alice nodded, though her heart felt heavy. She allowed Pedro to help her
Alice’s vision blurred as the winds around her finally began to calm, her anguished shout echoing into the stillness. Her grief and fury had summoned a storm within her, the very elements responding to her pain, swirling around her with a force she could barely contain. Pedro, Fernando, and Odette gripped her shoulders tightly, trying to steady her. The stormy air crackled with an unearthly energy, as if the world itself were on the brink of something vast and impossible.But even as the winds died down, Alice’s heart was consumed by a single, desperate thought: I just want to know if Nana -----will be safe.The wish burned within her, fueled by an unyielding need to see a future where Leonora lived free from Corazon’s evil grasp. She felt the wish so strongly that it seemed to become a part of her, as real as the ground beneath her feet, as deep as the bond she shared with her companions."Do you feel that?" Alice asked, her voice barel
Alice’s frustration grew with every passing day, the sting of her last encounter with Corazon lingering in her mind. She had come so close to breaking Corazon’s hold over Johnson, only for the sorceress to escape, shrouding herself and Johnson within an impenetrable barrier. Desperate for answers, Alice sought out the one person she thought might understand magic’s intricate workings: Her Nana Leonora, the young girl with a natural gift for healing and an innate sense of the unseen.Leonora sat cross-legged on the floor of her her bed, her large eyes fixed on Alice with quiet understanding as she listened to her tale. Though young, Leonora had wisdom beyond her years, an intuition that Alice admired. When Alice finished describing Corazon’s spell and her failed attempt to break it, Leonora’s expression grew thoughtful.“It sounds like Corazon’s magic isn’t just dark but deeply rooted,” Leonora said softly. “Her spell is made to bind, to hold. Breaking it will take more