Girl Meets Ghost And Other Stories by EIC Training PHL

Girl &Meets Ghost other stories W

2 NWP LITE: An Imprint of the Neo-Writers Project PHL RNC Commercial Complex, Brgy San Carlos, Lipa City, Batangas Philippines 4217 https://neowritersphl.wordpress.com https://eictrainingconsultancy.com

All rights reserved. No part of this compilation may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ePublished in the Philippines Layout & Design by Carlo Venson Peña (Philippines) Original layout concept by Lim Soo Yong (Singapore)

F O R E W O R D

ThinkingDifferently is a hashtag I am most fond of. Not only does it define what the Neo-Writers Project (NWP) embodies, it also helps underline more personal goals for myself as a publishing professional and writer, and as an educator and programme designer. Having to look beyond the box of what is deemed as the norm, the accepted, and the quo is a trait that not everyone possesses, but in reality is a skill everyone needs to learn and relearn. A modular mentorship programme designed to develop narrative skills and story-building techniques among youths aged 13-18, the Neo-Writers Project (NWP) is both a showcase of expression and a platform for budding content among young writers. Packed with interactive writing exercises and insightful sessions exploring various inspirations for narrative design, the NWP uses story-telling techniques designed to elevate young writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; writing to publishable standards. It provides a threetier programme schedule of learning through narrative design, storytelling and critical thinking, with each stage increasing in both content and in approach to narrative writing.

The NWP is not just a programme that wants to break moulds, but more so, a movement to give young people a voice and a platform to tell their stories according to how they see it fit, and have those stories published for everyone to read, to enjoy and to learn from. Here in NWP LITE, young writers learn the differences of linear and non-linear narative structure, while developing their own style and acquiring content development skills along the way. In the end, the goal is to create an opportunity to showcase the youths’ unique perspectives of the narratives they weave, based on both fictional and real-life stories they themselves are meshed into. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the schools, and the parents for supporting their children’s writing journey, and for believing that our youths have an important story to tell. I’d like to congratulate our pioneer group of young writers who have taken their first steps in realising their writing pursuits. Welcome to your journey into becoming a writer. There is much to learn, and plenty to do in these our intertwined writing journeys, and we need to take that first bold step to rising together as a nation by #ThinkingDifferently. Learn more about us here: https://neowritersphl.wordpress.com/

Carlo Venson B Peña Head Trainer, Neo-Writers Project PHL/ Managing Director, EIC Training & Consultancy

Carlo Venson B PeĂąa Head Trainer Neo-Writers Project PHL

Photo by Jon Melo of FotoMelo

C O N T E N T S

Foreword 3 Table of Contents 6 Agent Adventurers 8 KIERZTEN NIAMH ESGUERRA

A Treasured Memory 36 CHELIN AURA RECTO Girl Meets Ghost 46 DANIEL REUBEN BANTA The Girl Who Has Superpowers 82 SOPHIA VIEN LEONOR The Girl Who Never Regrets Anything 96 GABRIELLE ALLISON DE TORRES The Sea 104 CARLA VENICE PEÃ&#x2018;A About the Authors 128

Girl &Meets Ghost other stories

AGENT ADVENTURERS Kierzten Niamh Esguerra, 10yo

As they go along their mission, someone is planning something sinister against them. Will they get along while they are with each other? Will they accomplish their mission in time? Will they know who is plotting against them? Read this story to find out how their mission will unfold!

Catalina McHenry and her younger sister, Alyanna, are both agents and adventurers. They will have to go to the Philippines for their next mission, even though they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get along so wellâ&#x20AC;Śbecause they need to do this mission for the citizens.

I 10

work alongside my younger sister, Alyanna, and I can’t stand being with her. I’m 26 years old and Yanna is 22 years old. We are born and raised in Australia. In Sydney, more specifically. My sister and I are complete opposites, even though we are sisters–from our physical to emotional characterestics, we are not the same. She has short, curly hair that when the sun rays gleam on it you would crave for dark chocolate; she got that from our dad’s side. Meanwhile, I have long, short hair. Some people say that when they look at it, it reminds them of a long black road. I got my hair’s characterisyics from my mother’s side. Yanna has eyes that remind me of the grass at our front porch or the fields at Granpa’s place. I, on the other hand, have brown eyes that, when I look into them, remind me of my favourite chocolate bar. I have rosy cheeks that I got from my grandmother’s side while Yanna doesn’t have rosy cheeks at all. I have pinkish lips that I inherited from my mother while Yanna has red lips from my father’s side. Yanna is taller than I am because our mother is tall. Ohhh… I almost forgot. My name is Catalina McHenry but you can call me Cali. I was just comparing our physical characteristics, so I’m now going to compare now our

emotional or mental characteristics (We need to do this so you’ll know both of us better). I’m a secret agent; Yanna and I both are. When I’m on a mission, I am very serious with my work. Unlike Yanna, I cannot tell jokes whenever I want to, especially if we’re in a mission. Don’t get me wrong. I am playful to, but just when I am with my family or close friends. I won’t talk to anyone if we are not friends. Seriously. Well my sister Alyanna is very friendly; she laughs at everything. That explains why people say she is a happy person. On the other hand, I can only tell jokes to my close friends. Well, almost everyone say that I’m a leader to my co-workers. I’m an independent person. I’m very confident when I’m doing my work or mission. People say that I’m very honest to my family and friends, maybe because I don’t know how to lie. I’m going to say that I am also very brave when fulfilling my agent duties. I’m very helpful to others but I am not friendly. I’m an adventurer, because I like to travel to different places. Yanna, on the other hand, needs security from our parents, or our older sister, Skye, or me to guide her. We are completely opposites, right? So that’s why she is dependent unlike me. We are both confident but she is very pleasing to everyone. She is just a little bit honest. She is afraid to try new things or anything that is adventurous because she’s a scaredy-cat. She is not helpful either–I mean she is not always ready to help others, so that’s why she is not that helpful. The only reason why she is like that because WE ARE COMPLETELY OPPOSITES. “Hey, Cali… you know, you are so ugly,” Yanna said, trying to tease me. “You know what Yanna… If I’m ugly, you’ll be ugly too.” I gave her an evil smile. “Ughh! You are so sweet to me when we were in the

Philippines!” she said pouting. “Catalina, Alyanna… stop fighting,” Mom ordered, her voice coming from the kitchen. “You two should just tell us about your adventure,” she continued. Yanna and I just rolled our eyes. “Fine,” we said in unison. I looked at Yanna with my “it’syour-fault” looked but she gave me her evil smile in return. “It started one Sunday evening…” Yanna began telling our story.

ONE SUNDAY EVENING, I was roaming around the headquarters when I heard a voice coming from the speakers. “Agent CM1, please head to Agent B03’s office.” I quickly went to Agent B03’s office but before I could knock she opened the door widely. “Agent CM1, thank goodness you are finally here! Come in, come in,” Agent B03 said as she welcomed me, and we both went inside her office. She ordered me to sit down and she handed me a glass of juice. “So, what do you want to talk about?” I asked her while raising my eyebrows. “We discovered that there is a hidden small volcano not so far away from the Mayon Volcano in the Philippines and that it will erupt anytime soon!” I could see that Agent B03 is very alarmed. “I will help the residents there,” I said calmly. “Thank you but you will not be alone,” Agent B03 added. “You will be with your siste–“ I had to cut what she was about to say. “SM2?” I asked excitedly, but my excitement quickly faded when I heard what she said next. “Agent AM4.” My jaw dropped since I was going to be with my younger sister until our mission was accomplished.

“Y-You can’t do this to me,” I said while shaking my head. “Yes I can and I can’t change my decision anymore even if you beg me. It has been approved by our headmaster,” she said confidently. “Well I guess I can’t do something anymore. Fine. By the way, when are we gonna leave for our mission?” I let out a sigh after I said that. “You’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow,” she replied. “It’s getting late… I should go,” I said and turn my back on her, as I stood. “Thank you, Agent CM1,” Agent B03 said as I led myself outside her office. I was surprised to see my younger sister waiting for me outside Agent B03’s office. “Why are you still here, Yanna?” I asked, as we started walking back home. Soon enough, we were nearing our apartment. “So sad Cali… You’ll be with me until our mission is accomplished.” I knew Yanna was trying to tease me. “This is all your fault, Yanna. We both know that we don’t want to be with each other. You should not have accepted this mission,” I told her. “I didn’t know that you’d be the one who was accompanying me for this mission… Sorry,” she said dryly. I hugged her. “It’s okay… I understand.” She smiled and hugged me back. I admit we were completely opposites, but we are still sisters, and family can have similarities sometimes. “It’s already getting late.” I said and we walked towards our apartment’s doorstep. When we opened the door, we saw Skye at the living room working on her computer. “Where have you two been? It’s almost 10 in the evening,” Skye said without looking at us. “We’re got a new mission in our hands,” Yanna said seriously.

“Really? Wow… What kind of mission?” Skye asked us. “Volcano eruption near Mayon Volcano in the Philippines,” I answered just as seriously. “When are you going to leave?” she asked while I was looking inside our refrigerator for some late dinner options. “The day after tomorrow,” Yanna said, now sitting beside Skye. “How about you, what mission will you solve?” I asked Skye while peeling the skin off a pear I found in the fridge. “I don’t have a mission right now because my mission is already accomplished,” Skye said. She stood up and walked towards the kitchen, probably to make coffee. “I’m tired, I should rest… I have many things to do tomorrow, goodnight,” Yanna said, and she went straight to her room. “Aren’t you tired yet?” I asked Skye. “I am, but I should finish this report and submit this the day after tomorrow,” Skye explained. “You still have time tomorrow, right? So why don’t you finish that tomorrow,” I suggested. “Like Yanna said, I have other things to do tomorrow as well,” Skye sighed. “I’ll rest now. Goodnight,” I said, and made my room. I got my laptop and tried to call Mom after I changed clothes. “Hi Mom! How are you there?” I asked when she answered my call. “Good evening, dear. Why’d you call?” Mom asked me while she munched on a fruit. “I just missed you and Dad. I have a new mission too and I’m doing it with Yanna!” I told her. “Really! I’m so happy to hear that… Cali, as much as I want to talk to you now, I can’t. You should get some sleep too. Goodnight, I love you!” Mom said, turning the camera off.

I WOKE UP because someone was calling me. “Cali! Let’s go. Get ready, we’ll have meeting with Headmaster OC1,” I heard Yanna shouting. “Okay, 20 minutes!” I shouted back. I had to fix my bed and take a bath. Just ten minutes later, I was getting in my suit and fixing my hair. “Thank goodness! We still have an hour before the meeting so let’s eat breakfast!” Yanna said. “Alyanna!? I almost tripped in the bathroom because I thought we are rushing for the meeting. But now you’re saying we still have an hour?!” I wouldn’t lie. I was kinda infuriated because of that. “You are so slow, Catalina; that’s why I woke you up early because I don’t want to be late for our meeting with the headmaster. Now you are mad at me?” Yanna shouted back. “Oh my gosh… guys, what’s happening there?” I heard Skye’s voice coming from her room. “This is all Alyanna’s fault!” I insisted. “What just happended?” Skye asked, storming into the kitchen. “I just woke up early so that we wouldn’t be late for the meeting... and now she’s mad at me,” Yanna said. I gave Yanna my ‘oh-my-gosh’ face. “Catalina, why are you mad at her?” Skye asked me. I answered back confidently, “She woke me up early and I almost tripped inside the bathroom because I thought we were rushing... and after I finished, now she says we have an hour to spare?!”

I went tot he bathroom to brush my teeth and to wash my face. After that, I fell asleep.

“Oh my gosh! You are fighting just because of that!? Let me remind you–Cali, you are already 26 and you, Yanna, you are already 22. Why in the world are you two acting like 7-year-olds!?” Skye said angrily, before going back to her room. “Sorry, Cali…” Yanna said. I just glared at her. “Let’s eat breakfast,” she continued. “I don’t want to eat, I’ll head to the headmaster’s office now,” I said as I darted for the door.

“AGENT CM1!” I heard a familiar voice and I looked around to see where it came from and I saw Kayla Forestor or KF5. “Agent KF5, why’d you call me?” I asked her. “I heard that you and Agent AM4 have a new mission in your hands. I just want to congratulate you,” Agent KF5 then rushed off just as quickly as she shook my hand. I walked straight to our headmaster’s very creepy office. “Agent CM1, where is Agent AM4?” Headmaster asked me. “Headmaster HM6, Agent AM4 is still at our apartment. Let’s talk first,” I replied. Headmaster HM6 looked serious. “Sure.” I was smiling back at the headmaster, but deep inside I was more than just nervous. “How is your relationship with your sister?” he asked me, seeming very interested. “Agent AM4 or Agent SM2?” I asked him without hesitation. “Fine… Answer a question with another question.... Don’t answer my question then. How about your plans for your upcoming mission?” He was trying to change topics. “I still don’t know what to do about that mission,” I answered back quickly but cautiously.

“You should think about that now so that if you need help, we can help you.” Something smelled fishy. “We don’t need help… We’re agents, right? Agents are trained; agents can be trusted. How about you, Headmaster… can you be trusted?” I asked him while smiling slyly at him. “Just kidding,” I finally said. I laughed out loud, because I saw his face: he got scared because of what I said. SCREEEECH––Someone opened the door while we were talking. It was Agent BO3, together with Agent AM4. “Ohhh… Agent CM1 you are already here,” Agent BO3 said. I tipped my head and smiled at her. Agent BO3 and Agent AM4 sat beside me. “So what is this meeting about?” Yanna asked the Headmaster. “This meeting is about your upcoming mission in the Philippines,” Agent BO3 explained. “Ohh… so what’s happening?” I asked in confusion. “You will have other companions for the mission,” the headmaster explained. “What the… We talked about this earlier, right?” I asked him. “Agent CM1, calm down… we are not done explaining,” Agent BO3 rebuked. “Fine. What now?” I asked her, raising my eyebrows and giving her a very annoyed look. “You see, you actually won’t have any companions for the mission…” Yanna and I started screaming ‘yes’ silently. “But we need to talk about Agent CM1 and AM4’s relationship with each other,” she continued. My happiness–or should I say, our happiness–slowly waned after that. “So what you’re trying to say is that we won’t have any companions for the mission if we consider having a good sister-

relationship?” Yanna asked while I awkwardly stared at the walls. “You’re such a great agent. You got that right!” Headmaster HM6 retorted. “What? That’s close to impossible!” Yanna complained, while I acted like I did not hear a word they were saying. “I can see that in your sister’s reaction,” the headmaster said. “So, do you want companions for the mission, or… at least try to have a better relationship with each other?” Agent BO3 snapped. Both of us however, stared at them blankly. “It’s really important to have teamwork when you’re out on a mission right?” she continued. We nodded back. “Agents are like that, right? Honest, brave, cooperative, loving and helpful… so please Agent CM1… Agent AM4. We need you two to at least try to make this work,” the headmaster pleaded. “What happens if we don’t?” I asked the two senior agents. “You will either be assigned companions, or we’ll cancel the mission altogether,” Agent BO3 responded sharply. “So is that a deal?” the headmaster asked. Yanna looked at me, and answered, ‘no.’ I looked at her and asked why. “I can’t stand you, Cali!” she shouted at my face. “Don’t be selfish, Yanna,” I jolted. “We’re doing this for the people, not just for ourselves.” I could feel my face turning red. I was starting to get infuriated with her again. “Stop this instant! We literally just told you that you needed to try to have a better relationship with each other. Stop acting like seven-year-olds. You’re adults!” Agent BO3 shrieked, much to our surprise. “She’s the one who started it,” Yanna shouted. I rolled my eyes at her. “Yanna,” I started, “we really should try to work things out with each other or else we won’t finish this mission in time.” She

“YANNA, WHAT TIME is it?” I asked. “It’s just 10.45.” We had just entered our respective rooms to pack our things. I planned that I would just bring one luggage– enough for my pyjamas, suits, street clothes, shoes… a toothbrush and body and face essentials. After packing, I went to the kitchen

sighed back at me. “Fine–“ she responded, and both the headmaster and Agent BO3 held they breath as Yanna continued, “but you will give us a 6-month vacation.” I gave her that ‘what-are-you-doing’ look, but she looked even more serious that I was. “Deal. That’s amenable,” the headmaster said. “What? Six months! Are you seriously considering that!?” Agent BO3 said shockingly. But the headmaster had made up his mind. Yanna nodded and smiled. “But what if we need them back?” the agent continued. “There are other agents, BO3,” the headmaster said sarcastically. “We don’t have enough agents who are as good as they are, Headmaster,” Agent BO3 said indignantly. “Oh but we do, Agent BO3. We do,” he replied. “Well, we really should be going,” Yanna started. “There are a lot of things to do.” “Both of you are not going anywhere, until this meeting is over,” Agent BO3 shouted. The headmaster gave her a sharp look, and the agent finally surrendered. “Fine–but they should be back after six months.” “Pack your things and rest, so that you will have all the energy that you need for tomorrow,” the headmaster trailed off as Yanna and I said our adieus, and left the headmaster’s creepy office.

and started cooking some fish fillet, Yanna’s favorite. “Hmm… that smells good,” she said, entering the kitchen hall. “Looks good too.” “Think of it as my apology for all the bad things I’ve done to you, Yanna,” I said. “I love you. And even if you turn the world upside down, you will always be my sister.” We hugged briefly after that. “Oh, you are so sweet, Cali,” she replied. “Even though we always fight over things and we don’t get along… yes, we will always be sisters.” I wiped away a few teardrops and began, “Let’s stop the drama… Would you like to help me make lunch?” “Sure thing. Then let’s call Mom and Dad later while we eat,” Yanna suggested. “By the way, where is Skye going to eat?” she added. Just then, Skye entered the kitchen. “Hey guys… Wow, our favorite!” she excitedly said. At the dining room, while eating, we knew we had to tell her something. “We’ll be leaving you here tomorrow…so Yanna and I made you your favorite as a treat,” I said. “Catalina, what did you eat for breakfast?” Skye asked, shoving a morsel of fillet in her mouth. I knew she was kidding though. “Actually, I never got to eat breakfast,” I replied. We all laughed, and dug into lunch afterwards. “Let’s eat,” Yanna said. “This fillet tastes better when it’s hot,” she added. “Yanna, we almost forgot,” I retorted. “We were supposed to call Mom and Dad.” Yanna stood up, got her phone and punched in a few numbers on the screen. “Hi dear! Why are you calling me? You should be eating by now?” I heard Mom say over the phone. “Actually Mom, I am eating together with Skye and Cali

now,” Yanna said smiling. She faced the phone camera towards us so Mom could see. “Hi Mom! Where’s Dad?” Skye asked, her mouth still full. “He’s in the kitchen cooking,” Mom replied. We all sighed. “Mom, you’re the cook in the family,” we said in unison. “He’s better at cooking than me now,” she smiled. “It’s become his new habit of sorts,” she added. “My Marias…” came a voice from the background. “You’re mother is right. I’m better at cooking than her now, so don’t make a fuss of it with her,” Dad said, now facing the camera phone. “Fine!” we all heckled. “By the way, what are you cooking?” Yanna asked before drinking some water. “Uhmm, some salad, chicken and an omelette,” he replied. “What about you? What did you make for lunch?” “Fish fillet…and I cooked it!” I shouted from behind Yanna. My mother’s smile beamed even more, “Wow! That’s Alyanna and Skyellar’s favourite. That’s sweet of you, dear.” “Thanks, Mom,” I said. “After our mission, I’ll make some for you too.” I sent her a flying kiss. “How is the mission going, by the way,” Skye asked while she munched in the background. “Enough about the mission,” I said. “We’re having a sixmonth holiday after that!” “Really!?” Skye said, I guess the roght word is shouted with glee. “Just the two of you?” Dad asked me and Skye. I saw Skye’s expression gradually change. “I guess so,” I said not so sure about it. “But we’re not sure yet.” I continued to cheer Skye up. “That’s unfair, you two will be spending six months with

Mom and Dad, and I will be left here alone,” Skye said sadly while she lowered her eyes. “Skye, we aren’t sure about that yet,” Yanna said while tapping her at her back. “We will convince Headmaster HM6 to allow you to join us, and if he doesn’t let you join us, then we will stay here too.” I said, and then we all hugged. “That’s so sweet of you, li’l sisters,” Skye said. We could tell that she was actually quite touched. “Sorry to interrupt you...but we need to go,” Mom said almost abruptly. “Where are you two going?” I asked them both. “We’ll be meeting someone about our business,” Dad answered my question quickly. “Ohh...okay, take care,” Yanna said. “We’ll talk to you later...bye.” Mom said, before she turmed the camera off. “I’ll wash the dishes... Skye, wipe our dining table, and Yanna, you can sweep our floor.” Like what I said yesterday... I’m the most independent. “What? Cali, you can sweep the floor all by yourself already.. you are now 26,” Yanna complained and like I said...she’s the most dependent among us. “Alyanna, yes you are right...Cali is already 26 and I’m already 28, and you are already 22 but you are the most dependent among the three of us,” Skye explained, but our younger sister was still not convinced. “You want Francis to be attracted to you, right?” I teased her coyly. “Catalina! Stop that right now...” Yanna ordered the annoyed Yanna. “Why?” I asked her in a challenging tone.

“CALI, CALI...” SOMEONE was shaking my body. I opened my eyes. “Why?” I asked Yanna tiredly. “Cali, it’s already 10:00 p.m.”

“Yanna, you are blushing,” Skye said while laughing. “Oh, like when you blush, when Miguel is around?” Yanna teased Skye in revenge. Now, Skye was the one who was blushing. “Haha! That’s what you get, Skye.” I said to her while laughing, but I regretted it immediately because I was the one they were teasing now! “Aww...it’s so sad, Cali. Ralph still ingnores you,” Skye teased until I got super red. I knew that I was turning as red as a tomato by now. “You look like a tomato, Cali...what’s the problem?” Yanna said, stopping her laughter. “Ughh...I hate you two,” I said then rolling my eyes. “That’s what you get when you tease us,” Skye said. I just smiled back at her. “Sorry...I just wanted to keep our apartment happy,” I explained. “It’s okay, sis,” Yanna said as she started cleaning our floor with the old broom. “Apology accepted,” Skye said, while leaning forward and hugging me tightly. “I just want you to remember our happy memories when we leave for our mission,” I told her, and hugged her back. “Guys, stop that...start cleaning!” Yanna said, and we then all burst into laughter. We started cleaning the kitchen, then the living room, and the bedrooms, and after 30 minutes or so, we were already done. “We should rest.” Those were the last three words I heard before I knocked out on my bed.

I opened my eyes widely when I heard those words. “What!? I slept for 8 hours straight?” I was very surprised. “Me too...and we’ll be leaving in an hour,” Yanna said, and so I quickly got up from my bed. “I’ll just get ready,” Yanna said, as she stormed out of my room so I too could get ready. I took a bath, brushed my teeth, put on my agent suit which had my name written on it–Agent CM1–wore my agent boots, put my hair up, and finally, put on some light make-up on my face. Even though it was already night, women agents were required to put some make up. I walked out of my room with my luggages and sat down in our living room. I saw Skye watching a movie there and she seemed so sad. “Ready to go?” she asked without looking at me. “Yes. I don’t know when we’re coming back...so, can I hug you?” I asked her while being a bit teary-eyed. She looked at me and gave me the ‘what’s-happening-to-you’ look. “I’ll miss you so much, so I want to hug you,” I continued and I saw her tears gradually fall. “Even though this scene always happens...I can’t get over it,” I said to her while crying. “Can I join you two in your drama?” We heard Yanna’s voice, so we looked at where the voice was coming from. “Sure, why not?” Skye said to her and we all laughed and hugged each other tightly as if we wouldn’t see each other again after our mission. We then heard someone knocking on our front door and sure enough, Agent BO3 and Headmaster HM6 walked in. “Good evening, agents,” Agent BO3 greeted us. We greeted them back and the Headmaster’s bodyguards carried our luggages. “You guys need to go....the helicopter is waiting for you,” Headmaster said.

I WOKE UP because it was too noisy. I opened my eyes and saw Agent BO3 and Yanna fast asleep. I put Yanna’s head onto my shoulder and looked outside and saw a very stunning view. Just kidding...it was just water beneath us. “Umm...where are we now?” I asked the pilot. “We are already in Micronesia now, ma’am,” he answered. I looked at my phone to check what time it was. It was already 4:51 in the morning! I had slept five hours straight. “Cali?” I heard Yanna’s sleepy voice. “Why?” I asked her back. “Are you okay?” she asked me sleepily. I just smiled back at her and nodded. “Yes. I’m just missing our family,” I answered her and we both dozed off again. “Agents...agents,” Agent BO3 quickened us. “We are

We said our goodbyes to Skye and we went to the rooftop of the apartment building where the helicopter was waiting for us. “Let’s go?” Agent BO3 asked. We nodded and hopped inside the helicopter. “Wait, you’ll be joining us?” Yanna asked BO3, and she just nodded. “It was the Headmaster’s decision... He wanted me to come along with you,” she explained, as the helicopter ascended slowly. “Please wear your headphones,” the pilot shouted over the building noise, and we followed what he said. After a few minutes, we are flying smoothly across the horizon. I was still tired so I rested my head on Yanna’s shoulder. “Cali, you just slept and you are already tired,” Yanna joked but I was really too tired so I dozed off immediately.

already here. Welcome to the Philippines,” she continued. We opened our eyes and scratched off the morning glory off of them. “Really?” Yanna asked excitedly. She looked over the window and she screamed. “Yanna!” I shouted at her and pinched her hard on the wrist, so she would stop screaming. “Sorry...” she apologised shyly. “Please wear you headphones,” the pilot ordered us. We followed his instructions, and we then felt the helocopter gradually descend. After a minute or two, we were already on the ground. “Yey! Let’s go...” I excitedly said, scurrying off the helicopter and carrying our luggages along. “Agents, our journey is just beginning,” Agent BO3 said, but we ignored her. “How far is Bicol from here?” Yanna asked. “Very far...it will take another nine more hours,” Agent BO3 answered us. “What!? That’s too far!” I complained while we are walked under the burning sun. “Then you’ll sleep,” Agent BO3 quickly answered my question sarcastically. “I’m tired of sleeping,” I said. Then I saw Yanna laughing and I just rolled my eyes. “That’s not my problem anymore,” Agent BO3 answered rudely, so I knew it was time to shut up. “What are we gonna ride?” Yanna asked Agent BO3. “We rented our own van with our own driver,” Agent BO3 answered. Minutes later, we came to know this man. “Magandang tanghali po!” the man greeted us but we couln’t understand him. “Sorry...but we can’t understand you,” Yanna explained.

I could see from his facial expression that he was shocked, and it took a while before he could answer us back. “Good afternoon!” he said finally and we went inside the van “Let’s go!” Agent BO3 shouted to the driver. “Don’t you want to eat first?” he asked us. “Thank you for your concern...but we are in a rush,” Yanna said and we started our journey by learning some words. “Magandang Tanghali means good afternoon,” he told us. “Okay...we knew.” One could tell that Agent BO3 is annoyed. “What about ‘Thank you’?” I asked him... I admit, I was enjoying it. “Salamat.” he answered me quickly. “Ohh....What about ‘Beautiful’?” Yanna asked our driver. “Maganda and gwapo means handsome,” he said, and we let out long ‘oh’s’ after that. After learning some words though, I got tired so I slept again and Yanna was left talking with our driver. After two hours of sleep, I got up and felt hungry. “Can we find a place to eat?” I asked Agent BO3 but she just rolled her eyes, and I saw Yanna get annoyed because of that. “Okay, fine!” Agent BO3 shouted, and I could tell that she was really frustrated. “Yes, thank goodness!” I said happily. “But where do we eat?” I ask them. I was really thankful our driver suggested something. “We can eat at a karinderya.” We were so confused so we asked him in unison. “Karinderya?” We all asked him all confused, since my sister and I were Aussies, and Agent BO3 was an American. He stopped the car infront of an abandoned house, I think. “That’s a karinderya? Are you sure this is a place for eating?” Agent BO3 asked him like she was not convinced. Honestly, she

wasn’t the slightest convinced at all. “Is it safe to eat there?” Yanna asked. He looked at us and answered, “If you are really hungry... you would eat what is served.” He sounded sincere, and I was thankful for that. “Can’t we eat in a air-conditioned restaurant?” Yanna asked him but I confronted her. “Yanna, he’s right...we should eat what is served, perhaps... we should be thankful for the food.” I said, hopping out of the van. “Are you serious, Cali?” Agent BO3 asked me. She was not really convinced about my decision. “Bubbles...” But I swallowed my own spittle, because I was uncomfortable calling her Bubbles instead of Agent BO3. “Let’s go, don’t you want to try Filipino style?” I asked her once again. Soon enough, I finally convinced them. “Let’s go!” our driver invited us. We went in after him. I was smiling before we entered, but when we entered the establishment, it was packed with so many people and it seemed so dirty. “We’re gonna eat here?” Yanna asked me, but I couldn’t answer her back because I was too shocked myself. “Magandang tanghali!” an old lady greeted us with a wide smile. “M-Magandang tanghali po,” Agent BO–Bubbles–said and I was shocked that she know how to speak Tagalog. “Nay, hindi po sila nakakaintindi ng tagalog,” our driver told the old lady and she was let out an ‘oooh.’ “Aah, mga foreigners,” a teenaged girl said from behind. She looked like around 17 years old. “Candy!” our driver shouted happily. “Kuya, buti naman at nandito ka na...kanina ka pa namin

hinihintay,” Candy told our driver, and the two hugged. “Anak, gutom na ata ang mga bisita mo,” the old lady said. I could care less about what they are saying though. I just knew I was really hungry and that I should have be eaten two hours ago. “Ma’am, you can choose food over there,” our driver said while pointing his index finger to where some people were lining up. “Okay,” Yanna said and she rushed to the line. I guess she was really hungry too. The karinderya was packed with people inside and we were still wearing our suits and boots, and so it was very hot, aside from the unfortunate fact that there was no fan or air-conditioning inside. We waited in line for around 10 minutes before we could choose some dishes and we were not familiar with these foods. “Ummm...what is this?” I asked a lady. I was referring to a pork dish that had brown sauce all over and some potatoes mixed in with it. “Ahhh...Pork Adobo po.” It was so cringy when they called me ma’am and when they said opo or po. “Then what’s this?” Bubbles asked while pointing her finger to the dish next to the Adobo. “Sinigang po,” the lady said with no expression at all. I guess that she was already mad because we took too long to choose, so we decided to take those two dishes. “270 pesos,” the lady said. We were like little children who didn’t know what to do. “Ate Qeeunie..ako na po ang magbabayad para sa kanila.” Thank goodness our driver came. “Ha? Sigurado ka, Nate?” the lady asked our driver, while sounding very surprised.

“Ate, mga pasahero ko ‘tong mga ‘to,” Nate said, and we just smiled at his Ate Queenie. Soon after, we found ourselves a table and started eating. “Thank you, Nate,” I said and I noticed that he was not eating yet. Actually I was the only one who noticed that because the two were busy eating and enjoying their food. “Aren’t you gonna eat with us?” I asked him and he looked startled at my question. “No, I’m still full...thank you,” he answered quickly and he stood up. I started eating after that. When I placed the food into my mouth and started chewing, I froze. It was so delicious. “Hija, are you okay?” I heard Nate’s mother’s voice behind me and I guess she’s talking to me. “Uhh...yes, I just love your food here. It’s very delicious,” I answered her, and she sat beside me. “Thank you. You know...you’re so beautiful inside and out,” she told me while touching my face. It felt so creepy though, in a nice way. “Nay...” when she heard Nate’s voice she stood up like nothing happened. “It’s okay,” I said smiling, and continued eating. “Pupunta lang ako sa likod,” the old lady said and she rushed outside. I wanted to ask Nate why was she like that, but I cautioned myself. “Cali, are you okay?” Yanna asked me. I got back to reality and just nodded to her in response. “She just missed our sister.” I was caught by surprise that Nate was talking about his family, and eventually realised what he was sharing. “W-What?” I asked him not because I didn’t understand but because I didn’t know why is he telling me this. “I know what you are thinking,” he said to me before biting

“WOW! THAT’S SO cool...I didn’t know that there were so many attractions here.” I heard Bubbles’s voice and it sound so happy. I was confused. I opened my eyes and looked outside. I saw a huge mountain range spanning across the horizon. “Where are we now?” I asked them and they just laughed so hard. “Oh my gosh, Cali.” Yanna said while laughing at me. “You’re always sleeping...that’s why you missed a lot of the attractions,” Bubbles joked, but I didn’t find it funny. “Stop it, Bubbles,” I said, rolling my eyes. I looked outside the window and zipped my mouth. Minutes later, Nate turned the radio on. I checked my phone if Skye texted me and I was right. Skye: Have fun there. See you soon! I responded. Me: I will. I took a nap again...and again...and again...and again until we reached our destination. It was already midnight when we arrived at our hotel. After checking in, we went straight to our rooms, jumped into our beds and slept again. I woke up really early that morning, so I went to the hotel cafeteria and ordered my breakfast. I called Mom while was waiting for my breakfast to come, and thank goodness she answered it

on the food in his mouth. I did not ask him anymore and just continued eating. After an hour our stomachs were more than full from all the food that we had. “Nay, alis na po kami,” Nate told his mother who looked at us teary-eyed. I smiled backat her. “Let’s go!” Bubbles shouted from the van, and we went back inside the vehicle and continued our journey. Okay, after that meal... I started feeling drowsy again so I leaned my head over at Yanna’s shoulders and took a nap.

immediately. “Hi, dear! It’s been a long day,” Mom greeted me and I smiled at her. “Where’s your sister?” I heard Dad’s voice asking. “Still sleeping...she’s with Agent BO3,” I answered Dad’s question before I took a sip of my coffee. “Is it beautiful there?” Mom asked me and I just nodded. “What’s the time there?” Dad asked me and I checked my watch. “6:30 in the morning...I guess it’s 9:30 there,” I said. “Ohh...there’s your sister,” Mom said, and Bubbles and Yanna sat beside me. “You didn’t even wake us up,” Bubbles said as she started looking through the menu card. “Well, because you two are sleepyheads,” I joked. They teased me back, and so I laughed back at them. “Why are you laughing?” Yanna asked me. She looked at me and her eyes were like saying I was very weird. “I’m not mad,” I stopped laughing. My breakfast was already served and I started eating silently. “Sweet hearts...we need to go, you know business stuff,” Dad said. “What? Businesses again?” Yanna complained, but they couldn’t hear her since they had already turned off their camera. “Hi Nate, how are you?” Bubbles asked Nate as he walked in the dining hall. “I’m okay...Bubbles.” Nate responded, and he proceeded to sit with us. “Yes, ma’am...what’s your orders?” the waiter asked Bubbles and Yanna. I just continued eating my breakfast. Just 10 minutes later, I was finally done eating. I went back upstairs again and took a bath. I put my clothes on and put light

IT TOOK US an hour before we reached our destination. When we arrived, we were like taken aback–because we didn’t see a small volcano with unruly vines around it... but residents who seemed to be very happy. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Yanna asked Nate. Bubbles and Nate just nodded, and so we waited for Bubbles to explain everything. “Actually, there was really no volcano with unruly vines around it...” My jaw dropped even if Agent BO3 was not yet done saying what she needed say. “You were sent here for another mission... to have a better sister relationship with each other,” Agent BO3 explained to us. “What!?” Yanna shouted at her, and afterwhich darted away. I ran after her. “Yanna, it’s already our opportunity to relax, so why should we complain?” I said, trying to convince her to see the positive side of things. “You’re right... We can’t let this opportunity pass,” she responded, before hugging me tightly.

make-up on my face. Well, I guess...after an hour I was already done. I turned on the TV in the room. Moments later Agent BO3 and my sister entered the room. “Hey, Cali...how long do you think we will need to stay here?” Yanna asked while Agent BO3 took a bath. “I don’t know...I’m not a fortune teller,” I told her as I blankly stared on the TV, while she was putting on her make-up. We were quiet until we left the hotel and were heading off to our next destination: our mission.

“WE STAYED THERE for about three weeks,” I told Mom, Dad and Skye. And now...I’m here with my younger sister, Yanna, and I still can’t stand being with her all the time. But for me, Yanna and Skye are the best sisters in the world. We are sisters, and we do and will always love each other, no matter what.

A TREASURED MEMORY Chelin Aura Eveon Recto, 10yo

As they picked it up, they had to close their eyes because they felt dizzy. When they came to, they found themselves transported to a different island, far from home. Where do you think they can be? Is this yet another great adventure for them? Find out by travelling with them in their latest adventure yet!

Becca and Cora are both 14 years old, and both love going on adventures. They live in Hawaii. One morning, while they were at the beach, they found a green crystal that had mysterious writing all over it.

I 38

live in a small town in Hawaii, with clean roads and ice cream trucks passing by every morning, playing their catchy music. I’m 14 years old and my friends used to tell me that my eyes reminded them of the ocean. I have brown wavy hair that I got from my mother. I have the right height for a girl like me. People also tell me that I am a walking calculator, which I guess means people find me smart. Oh, my name is Becca. I also love swimming, making sand castles by the beach and collecting seashells by the seashore, as well as hanging out with my best friend, Cora. We both love going on adventures. Last year, we used to live in Canada. We moved out because my dad and I wanted to experience new things, and to explore this beautiful place. My mom works in Japan and doesn’t come visit us anymore. She left for Japan when I was a year old, but we appreciate her hard work for us. We used to communicate with each other by sending each other messages. But now we usually talk by video calling each other before I go to bed. Sometimes though, we don’t get to do this because she is quite busy with her work. Then when I arrived here in Hawaii, I met Cora by coincidence.

ONE SUNNY SUMMER morning, while we were collecting seashells, I saw something mysterious–something green, sparkly and round in the sand. I approached it, grabbed it and called out to Cora. “What is that thing?” she asked. “I don’t know,” I told her. “It actually has a rough texture when you touch it,but it looks so smooth. Come closer and touch it,” I invited. Cora came closer to me and touched it. “Oh, it is rough,”

My dad recognised her dad, and told me that they grew up together in Canada, and that they were best friends. Before Cora and I became best friends, we always fought because we were jealous of each others belongings, and we didn’t talk until our dads told us that it was not good to fight about each others’ belongings and that it didn’t matter who got the nicer or better stuff. Since then, Cora and I have become close friends. Really close friends. I taught her how to make sand castles and we collected seashells by the seashore every morning, since both our houses were near the sea. Cora has straight, jet black hair and eyes that looked like the color of her hair. I haven’t seen her mom yet because her mom works at another country too like my mom. We were very similar to each other, and even had the same age and matching shirts. She loves animals and so she adopted a puppy and named it Cally. Cora is also good at swimming. She always won swimming contests, and even taught me how to swim better. Sometimes, she would swim into the sea while I made sand castles and collected seashells.

she said. “Wait. What’s that? Something is written on it. What does it say?” “Touch me and close your eyes!?” I read what was written on it. “Let’s do it, Cora.” Then we held it with both of our hands and closed our eyes. I felt dizzy at first, and when I opened my eyes, I saw something mysterious that looked like a shadow of a witch. I ignored it. I closed my eyes again, and then after a few seconds, I opened them and saw a stunning view of an unfamiliar sea. “Cora, look!” I shouted. “Whoa! Why are we here?” Cora said in a really worried voice. “I don’t know.” I was starting to get scared. I went nearer the shore, sat on the sand and tried to see if there were any people around. There were none. “I’m thirsty... I’ll drink this water,” Cora said. She was about to drink the water from the sea, when I jolted, “No! It’s going to make you even more dehydrated... I read that from my science book that I got from my dad last Christmas.” ”Oh really? Thanks for warning me,” she said. I told her that we could try looking for fresh water, and we did. We looked around the place, which looked like a deserted island. We kept searching but all we saw were trees and bushes. The island was surrounded by the vast sea and we really didn’t find anyone else, or fresh water for that matter. I thought we were safe but then I realised...we are stranded! I told Cora and she gave a really worried look on her face. I told her to calm down and that we should instead think of a way of how to go back to Hawaii. After a few minutes or so, she did calm down. But then I realised the green crystal ball was not with me anymore. But then I remembered I gave it to Cora...but wait, where was Cora!?

“Cora? Where are you!? Cora!” I couldn’t calm down now.. where could she be? She was just with me a minute ago. I tried to look for her, but I really couldn’t find her. From the trees and bushes, I rushed to the seashore, but Cora was not there. By then, it was nearly nightfall. I stared at the beautiful sunset and sat defeatedly on the sand. I was sad and I was a bit hungry, but I had to find her. I stood up from the sand and then I explored the island some more, trying to find Cora. I saw some rocks and used them to write words on the sand. After a few minutes, I felt fatigued because I still couldn’t find her. Once more, I sat down on the sand and found myself making sand castles. But then...wait…I saw someone! Was it Cora? I ran to the person I saw, and knocked down the sand castle I had just finished making…and there she was. It was Cora... and she was crying. “Why did you run away?” I asked. “Is the green crystal still with you?” “I was thinking of how we could get back to Hawaii, then I started to cry,” she said in a really soft voice. “...Oh yes, the green crystal is still in my pocket,” she continued. I told her to take it out of her pocket. But now, it looked like a map! There was a blue dot that in a small island that said, ‘You are here.’ It looked like a small island that was part of Hawaii. Then I saw another blue dot that said, ‘Your house’–and it was not that far away! I looked at the crystal again and it seemed that another island was in front of the island we were in. Cora looked at what was in front far away, and then she said, “Wait, I see...another island and it looks exactly like the island we live in! Come on let’s

swim back!” “No!” I shouted. “It’s too far... we won’t make it. Let’s think of another way,” I retorted. Then, I thought about the life vests my dad gave me for my birthday. He told me to always put it in my pocket because I could fold then into any size without them ripping. I dug into my pockets and felt something. I pulled it out and….Yes! There were two of them. I put them back in my pocket and looked at the sky. It was already dark. “I think we should grab dinner,” I told Cora. “But we don’t have any food!” she replied. “Yes we do! I have two mini-chocolate bars in my other pocket,” I told her. “Wow, you are really prepared for things like this!” she replied, while laughing. “Let’s talk about our summer vacation while we’re eating,” she continued. “I didn’t do much this summer. But it was fun buying ice cream together every morning,” I said. “Yeah, now I want ice cream. Oh, how I love cookies and cream!” said Cora. “Wait! How about we collect seashells?” she continued. We agreed, and after chocolate, we started collecting seashells by the shore. We saw some with unique shapes, like that of an airplane, and that of a turtle.We even saw lots of baby sea turtles by the seashore. We held them and named them one by one, but soon after, we grew tired and were very sleepy. I told Cora that we should sleep and go back to the beach in the morning. She agreed with my suggestion. We thought of looking for big leaves where we could lie down and fall asleep in, and so we gathered all the leaves that we could find and laid down on them. Much later, I closed my eyes, and I could only hear the

seabreeze and the crashing waves of the sea. I looked at Cora and found that she was already dreaming. Gosh! I guess she was really tired. So I tried to sleep myself.

The next day I heard the waves as if they were trying to wake me up. I got up and stared at the sun...Ouch! Big mistake. It hurt my eyes. I woke Cora up and told her that we needed to fill the life vests with air, and we started right away. Ten minutes later, we were done with the vests and put them on. We wrote our names on the sand before we left and made a sand castle too. We also collected some seashells and continued to make a seashell tower. We bid goodbye to the island and to the cute little turtles, and dipped our feet in the water. It was really hot but we needed to start swimming. We paddled like dogs and happily chatted while swimming. Soon, we got tired and we decided to stop swimming for a while. It was fun floating at sea, since it seemed the sea was getting deeper and deeper. We were swimming for about thirty minutes already, and we were not even halfway across... but we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the island now! We started swimming again and the water was getting warmer.

WE WERE HALFWAY the distance and had been swimming for two hours already. But this time we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop paddling because we were thinking of all the jellyfishes, sharks, sea urchins and other aquatic animals that could be swimming underneath us. It made us swim faster, but by now, we were really thirsty and hungry. We also wanted to play with the turtles again.

+++

While we were swimming, we saw beautiful corals and fascinating fishes we had never seen before...but I was thinking about my home and my dad and that I needed to get back. I thought about positive stuff, like swimming all the way back home. After another hour and thirty minutes, we arrived at our own island. We were so happy to be back! We were removing our life vests when we realised we were at a resort. We ran out of the resort although Cora and I really wanted to play in the sand some more, but we knew we needed to get back home. While we walked along the road, we bumped into people we knew the best...our dads! We were so happy to see them and we immediately told them what happened. Luckily, they trusted us and believed us. We thanked my dad for giving me those vests. We wouldn’t have gotten back without those, and would have been stranded in the other island for days...or even forever! When we got back to our homes, we took showers immediately, but after that, Cora and I went straight back to the beach, took out the green crystal and threw it as far as we could. We wondered who would have the next adventure with that thing. “Wait, look! There is a blue crystal over there! let me get–” Cora said. “No!” I shouted. “We don’t want that to happen again,” I told her, while thinking of what had happened to us during our little adventure. Then we burst into laughter and laid down on the sand. We played there the whole day and when it was nearly night time, we asked our dads if we could sleep by the seashore, with leaves as our bed, just like what we did on the other island. They gave a quizzical look but said yes just the same. We

got ourselves some leaves and slept there that night. I had a dream about going to London with Cora and having another great adventure there. The following morning, when I woke up, I thought, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Maybe we could save up for that London trip, for next time, and then travel all around the world with her, and have slumber parties and be friends forever.â&#x20AC;? It was a really treasured memory with my friend Cora. We really were best friends...best friends forever. It was the best adventure we had together, and we would never forget it. I wrote all of it down in my diary and that diary is still with me, even after twelve years since we had the adventure.

GIRL MEETS GHOST Daniel Reuben Banta, 15yo

On a quest to find this ghostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true identity, Marisse also tries to find hers. The two go on an epic adventure in the ghost realm to look for both of their lost memories. Will they find them? Who is this mysterious ghost that Marisse has seemingly befriended? A story of ghosts, adventures, more ghosts and not-so-predictable plot twists await you in this story!

Marisse Woods is a 14-year-old teenage girl who is recovering from amnesia. Just when she thought everything had gone back to normal, a teenage boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ghost shows up in her life.

W 48

hen I woke up on a hospital bed, I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember anything except lying on a cold, rough surface. I could only see lightsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;white, red, yellow. My vision was blurry and the voices were static. A cloud of purple gas drifted toward me and I felt like my mind was being sucked by a vacuum cleaner. Then, blackness swallowed everything, like how ink floods a piece of paper. Marisse Woods was the name my parents gave me when I woke up from amnesia. I was 14 then. The teary-eyed couple who stood at the foot of the hospital bed spoke the name, with their shaky voices. My past memories of friends appeared once again as they introduced themselves, one by one, while flanking the edges of my bed. Days later, at home, everything seemed to slowly go back to how they used to. My parents also showed me pictures from my childhood, and a few from the most recent family ocassions. The latest picture was me in front of an amusement park in a moonlit summer night. I had short grayish-black hair and was wearing a pastel blue shirt, a turquoise skirt, pink striped socks and pink rubber shoes. I silently cringed when I saw the picture. This was the person who was supposedly me, and I felt

THE SKY WAS gray all over Gloomsdale today. I checked my phone from my satchel–4:00 pm. Gosh! Everything’s too dim for this time of day. As I walked through the huge open black gates attached to mighty pillars where smooth stone Gargoyles stood atop the columns, those pairs of aggressive eyes were locked onto mine, and were like telling me telepathically, “You’re not supposed to be here.” I could hear their deep voices inside my head but I was firm with my decision: I wanted to go home early and lie on my soft, comfy bed, and sleep for a few more hours. I passed the gate and

obliged to copy her outfit. Everyone kept saying I was me again, and it was like I did not even had the amnesia. With this, I thought I felt contented, and so I continued the life I once supposedly forgot. Six months had passed and I lived my life as normally as I thought I used to, before my amnesia. I was waking up, like usual...going to school like usual...hanging out my my friends like usual...and taking the graveyard shortcut to my house, like usual. Whenever I walked from school to my house, I always took the shortcut through the graveyard, instead of going around ten blocks. I have never really believed in ghosts although I also did believe that ghosts were harmless. The spirits in the movies are just exaggerated, I would scuff, so I never really feared that an angry spirit would just casually haunt me–flicking the light switches, possessing people, and flipping tables–because I also believed that they did not have the power to do such things. Honestly, I was more concerned about my colorful clothes, and the pink shoes that got mud splashed all over it all the time.

dared not to look back, although I could still feel the cold stares of the stone creatures. I heard them say, “You will regret this.” But I knew for a fact that it was all in my head. I shrugged it all off and continued walking. The chilling wind blew, my short black hair swayed along with it and a squadron of brown dry leaves ran past me in a hurry. I shivered, slowly realising what I needed to regret, by coming here. “I knew I should’ve worn a jacket,” I whispered in regret. I continued walking down on the narrow gravel road. The graveyard was infested with tombstones and mausoleums of every shape and size. Still, there were some greenery around, like a few maple trees and oak, and the moist soil was carpeted with blades of grass. This grass was kept two inches long, but it seemed to absorb the gray paint of the nitches, and it donned a slightly pale-green tint. Each step I took made a cracking sound, like when bones broke. With each crack! I would avert my eyes on another tombstone, and read names the likes of Andromendea, Felixander, Sandralene, and Virgilunacriss. The number of unusual names grew more frequently, until I was too tired to read their names and managed to keep my eyes on the gravel path in front of me. In the middle of the graveyard, however, I saw that one tree. Since the last time I took this shortcut though, I could swear I had never seen anything like this tree before. It was odd, since the tree seemed planted on the gravel road but its branches were healthy with leaves–the greenest I’d seen so far in this graveyard–so much so that they seemed to radiate with life. I approached the strange tree with caution but what was behind the tree was something more peculiar than the tree itself. There is a tombstone under a long patch of grass behind the tree. Baffled and surprised, I had to make sure I was not dreaming. I blinked thrice and rubbed my eyes a few times, but when I opened them, yet another mystery was right before my eyes: there was

someone sitting on the tombstone, his back toward me gazing, and him gazing toward the distance. I decided to approach him. In my curiosity, I tapped his shoulder–and in that millisecond that I touched his shoulder–I knew I should’ve run but it was too late: the person decided to face his interrupter. His eyes met mine–his with a surprised look. To me, it seemed his eyes were a pair of blue pools of hundreds of swirling souls (who knows, maybe my ancestor was one of those forsaken souls). I could feel my soul leaving my body, and I found myself trapped in those blue eyes. The blue glow felt like a warm fire on a winter day–soothing, healing, and melting. That pair of eyes gave out life and warmth for my own cold, gray eyes. I was slowly slipping away and I didn’t mind giving in. It took me two snaps to take me back to reality, and another second to realise the person’s white fingers directly snapping at my unconscious stare. “Miss, are you alright?” he said, sounding concerned. He was wearing a blue bonnet over his head, a red-andblack checkered collared shirt over another yellow shirt, some ripped black jeans, and blue sneakers. I had the audacity to tilt my head to confirm that the brand was Converse. I took another look at his face, and I knew he wasn’t like any other normal boy I’ve seen before. I didn’t notice his hand earlier, but the rest of his skin was creamy white and translucent and his hair were like clumps of melted candlewax that decided to sprout from his frontal lobe, which were loosely hidden by his bonnet. This was a ghost, I thought. His translucent complexion and unnatural eyes said so. Despite my belief that ghosts were harmless, I wasn’t actually sure about that, since I’ve seen a ghost in real life. But there was a ghost right in front of me now, waving

his ghostly hand over my face. My faith on harmless ghosts was about to be tested. In a shaky voice, I said, “Good afternoon! Howdy’ do?” All the while, I kept asking myself, ‘What the hell was I doing?’ “Eh, I’m good. Fine weather today, isn’t it?” I had no idea of whether he was humoring me or was being sarcastic but I gave out a grin anyway. He then turned to watch the scenery again, and now had pointed a finger northwest of him. “Look at that guy hanging under that tree...it’s very unusual to commit suicide in a graveyard,” he said dryly. I stared at where he pointed and saw a person hanging by his neck: his head had turned blue, his skin was gray and decomposing, his eyes wide open and lifeless, and his mouth was agape. I was too focused on the ghost that I did not see the horrid sight earlier. I found myself letting out a terrified scream, and I started running as fast as I could, away from that place. Fearing that the ghost might be following me, I looked back just to see if the ghost was still in the same tombstone I left him. he was, but now his arms were casually resting on his sides. I kept running with the wind and the crisp brown leaves carried by it; the crunch of the mix of gravel and dried leaves was deafening and I was leaving a trail of tears along the way. The sight of the exit shone through my blurred vision–it was an identical gate as the entrance, with the same stone imps that were laughing at me, and whose voices were getting louder by the minute; their rising pitch got higher the nearer I got to the exit. My shoes’ loud thumps on the concrete cancelled out all noise, even halting the howling wind in my ears. I took ten panicky breaths and one deep one, and then wiped away my tears. I took one final look on the stone gargoyles, and I thought I heard them say, We told you so… fading into silence. When I finally got home, I closed the door and collapsed my

LUNCH BREAK IN school. The sun was up high in the clear blue

body over the couch. My mom was doing her cooking then, and after whipping her long red hair, she set her wide-eyed worried look and she said, “Marisse, honey, what’s the matter? You look like you were possessed by a ghost.” “Actually mom, I saw one.” “No, I mean take a look at yourself in the mirror. Your hair’s a mess!” I got up from the couch and ran to the nearest mirror. My mom was right though: my once beautiful short grayish-black hair became the aftermath of a hurricane. My clothes were all dirty– my pastel blue shirt and turquoise skirt were all soiled with either dust or dirt, and my white and pink striped long socks never stood a chance. Then Mom asked me, “Hon, are you sure you’re not taking drugs?” It was usually only my mom, Marnie, and I who were at home during the week. My dad, Tommy, worked as an accountant for this big company, which meant he was always out of town and would only be at home during weekends and holidays breaks. This meant that Mom was always on my case. “No mom–I already told you, I saw a ghost when I took the shortcut through the graveyard!” But she just giggled and shook her head. “Honey, I already told you that the graveyard is dangerous.” “Whatever mom... I’m going to bed.” I climbed up the stairs and went straight to my room. “Dinner’s almost ready, but before you crash on that bed, make sure to change your clothes first. I just changed the bed sheets this morning; they’ll get dirty too soon if you don’t.” I wanted rest so badly but being the good daughter, I did a change of clothes first before I dozed off.

sky. The building of the school and the cafeteria behind it were two separate buildings and no tree shaded the space between the two buildings, so that all students had to cross the hot concrete in between, where the sun released its fiery wrath. The cafeteria was half the size of the main building. It was a two-storey painted concrete cave decorated with benches and tables. It had a large opening but the deeper one walked inside, the hotter it got because the ventilation was quite poor. Some electric fans were scattered here and there but they just couldn’t beat the tropical heat. I knew it wasn’t just myself who heard the wails of discomfort in the air. I made my way through the crowd, holding my lunch bag close to me, I walked towards my friends and I’s special table. That green six-seater table was positioned in what we called a heaven spot: one of the few places in the cafeteria where it was miraculously cool enough to make any student momentarily stop complaining about the heat. What was so special about that table from the other heaven spot tables was that we marked the underside of the wooden table with a fork, with the initials “MFTH”–M for me, Marisse; F for Freddy; T for Theodore; and H for Hanna. As I crossed the sizzling concrete, Freddy flanked my right, and Hanna–who just dropped a dozen beads of sweat at the sight of Theodore wearing his thick fur coat–was by my left. My friends walked beside me now like we were a row of soldiers marching on no man’s land. While the rest of the students ran, we walked like we were too cool to be melted by the sun–although the truth was that we were the lesser kind of students–we defied the rule of the norm, and people always saw us as weirdos. When we reached, fortunately, our table wasn’t taken. Due to the heat and hassle of eating lunch at the cafeteria, more students

chose to bring their own lunch and eat in their classrooms instead. This meant that the cafeteria held fewer students than usual. We made our way to our special table, took our seats, and began eating our lunch. We always liked to chat while we sat, eating like how a happy family would. They were the only group that I could call family in school. While eating, with a disgruntled look on her face, Hanna gave Theodore a slap on his shoulder and said, “My god, Theo! It’s over a hundred degrees in that coat and you don’t even break a single sweat. We are all skeptical that you might not even be a human at all!” Theodore replied lazily, “No heat nor cold for the man with the fluff coat. Rain or shine baby!” These were his usual catchphrases every time anyone asked him to take off his fur coat. Hanna shook her head in disappointment and the rest of us gave a small laugh. Then Theodore looked at me with those black eyes and said, while twirling his curly, black hair, “Hey Marisse... I need to copy your homework in Math. I forgot to do it at home.” “Sure, buddy. just make sure you return it to me after class,” I smiled. Theodore was a genius, he always got the highest score in any exam in his class–even without studying or taking notes of anything. His memory power exceeded the entire batch of grade ten students. Needless to say, we were already skeptical if our friend Theo was human or actually a robot. He would’ve been in the first honours if he just exerted effort in projects–but his crystal-clear future had become thanks to all his slacking. His reasons: depression and a lack of motivation. You could see all that gloom just in his appearance: he was a lanky boy with black hair, black eyes, a pale face, dark eyebags, and was one who never took off that beige fur coat. Three big black buttons keeps it wrapped around his body, while the fur rested on

his shoulders and cuffed his wrists. “Makes me look cool and it hides my body,” as he would always say. No one has ever seen his body–not even us, his close friends–and it remains unknown and I’ve figured, was better left undiscovered. That moment, I remembered the graveyard incident from yesterday and the flashes of fear flooded my mind, filling me with emotions that turned into words, and then that all burst out of my mouth, “I made a conversation with a ghost!” They all paused and looked at me. “Mars, you okay?” Hanna said puzzled. “Really? How was it?” Freddy asked in amazement and curiosity. “Yesterday, I talked to a ghost and it showed me a dead body. You guys know I’m deathly afraid of seeing a dead body, right?” “Was it the ghost’s dead body?” Freddy asked. “No, he didn’t look like it...” “So this was a boy ghost, huh?’ Hanna said in anticipation; my fear went from bad to worse after that. Boy, did I have a bad feeling about this. Hanna loved to write fan-fiction and draw fan art. She wrote a lot of romance mixed with other genres, depending on the couple she was writing about. It was always about two persons, things, or a person and a thing that would eventually love each other. She always spent her free time–especially her weekends– writing inside her room. Her writing style was lovely but the couples she chose to star in her stories were always unique and often times, disturbing. I mean who would ship’ Dora the Explorer and the Map? I even memorised a paragraph from that book she wrote, which really hit me hard...and laughing. “The map with his new muscular body knelt on one leg

in front of Dora and said, ‘We can go anywhere you wish with my endless knowledge of all places, but it seems that you have found the map to my heart.’ Dora’s cheeks turned red and she was trembling with love.” Now, I worry that she might make a story out of me and the ghost. “That could be a great book you know,” she smiled baring her pink braces. My fears have become reality. Hanna was the smallest in the group. She had the tips of her hair coloured blue, although her natural hair colour was black. Aside from wearing braces, she also wore yellow spectacles. She loved wearing sweaters but because of the heat, she would tie her tea green sweater around her waist, exposing her plain white shirt. We shared the same interest in wearing striped socks; hers were always paired with maroon sneakers. Today, she wore yellow and blue striped socks. The word book echoed in my head and I did not waste my time to stop her because I could never change her mind once she found another new subject for one of her books. Thankfully Freddy protested, “Ah don’t. It’s going to be horrible, I guarantee one-hundred percent.” Hanna retorted, “You don’t know anything about writing. Books and horror movies are different, stupid.” “–But I read Creepypasta.” “You don’t know anything about love!” So Freddy’s protest was invalidated and I was still screwed. Great. Freddy squinted his eyes at Hanna, and then rolled his eyes towards me, “Maybe it would be better to put all this ghost stuff to rest. It might be an angry ghost that’s seeking for revenge and–” “Haunt me for all eternity by flicking lights, possessing people, and flipping tables... I know,” I continued. “Anyway, you should ask the ghost what it wants, so it can

be put to rest. If it wants to kill you though, I suggest sprinkling it with blessed sea salt,” he said, with his closed eyes while stroking his sorry excuse for a goatee. “I should do that...thanks man!” I gave him a smile. “The salt’s on me, Marisse,” he replied. Freddy loved anything horrific. He has watched all horror movies that he could get, He had access to the deep web and he shared with us all sorts of weird stuff. He has been reading horror stories and Creepypasta ever since I met him in first grade–this resulted to him learning all the safety precautions and survival skills when faced with the paranormal and the supernatural. He was literally our horror almanac. If there were to be a zombie apocalypse, all of us would definitely stick with him all the way. He had carrot-coloured hair, eyes that looked like copper when glinted with light, a few facial hairs on his chin (his version of a goatee), wore a black shirt with bold red lettering printed on it, which read: “Friday the 13th,” and paired everything with orange khakis. We finished our lunch and then left the table, heading to the main building of the school. We exchanged goodbyes and parted ways towards our own different classrooms. Later in the day, after classes, I caught up with my friends once again. We walked on our way home and the graveyard was the first stop. I found myself in front of the those very same black gates. Today was just like yesterday. The sky was all gray and depressed again, the air had a stillness, and the cold breeze felt like it could reach the freezing point. The gargoyles looked exactly the same as I left them yesterday; they stared at me with those cold, watchful eyes and that made me shiver all over. But this time, my friends were there with me and I felt Hanna’s small warm hand land gently on my shoulder. “Maybe we should go around instead, in case we see your

ghost friend again, right?” Hanna offered. She didn’t care about my sanity though; she only cared about writing a book. Also, she doesn’t actually believe in ghosts, so she thought I was just seeing things. “Or maybe we should just go with Marisse and hang out in her house. I’m sure her mom would make us some cookies,” Freddy suggested. Even though he is most familiar with the dark and gloomy settings of horror movies and books, Freddy had always been a ball of glorious sunshine. I looked at Theodore who made no sound whatsoever; he just nodded to everything. He looked more dead than anything in the graveyard though, with the gray surroundings, making him almost look like a corpse who had died of an medieval disease. I stared beyond the gates and looked for a tree on a gravel road but there was none to be seen. Curiously though, I could feel it–the ghost boy, I mean. The mystery phantom was no fantasy, I knew; it wasn’t all a dream because I could feel it. It was like we were connected and I was attracted to it, err, him. Was he waiting for me? I grabbed Hanna’s hand then she grabbed Freddy who then dragged Theodore like a balloon–all of them were giving me a quizzical look and yet–I found myself walking towards the graveyard. I felt I had to; it was for proof. The cracking sounds between a pair of shoes and gravel became two, then three, then four. I passed by familiar names of tombstones and that one familiar tree. “We must be getting close,” I thought. I closed my eyes to hear the sound of our cracking footsteps and the amplified whistling of the wind. I opened my eyes again, and everything went silent. And there it was–the tree over the gravel road, where I

left it yesterday. The leaves had not left their branches, and so I rushed to see the tombstone behind the tree...and there it was just as I left it yesterday! Though there were no signs of the ghost but I exclaimed anyway, “Guys are you seeing any of this!?” No response. “Guys?” I turned to look behind me, only to see no one. Fear immediately crept in, and I looked frantically on all sides searching for my friends but there is no one there but me. I took out my phone from my satchel: 3:59 p.m. What was happening? Time itself was behaving unusually in this area. Just then, the earth rumbled and the tombstone started to glow a bluish flicker. The tombstone rose from the ground, unearthing a door beneath it. The door was made of black wood and was framed with smooth, red stone. The door opened, making a loud creaking sound as it did; then the ghost came out from it. He took a deep breath, savouring the clean air like someone who hasn’t left their room for a month. His inhalation exercises were cut short though, and he let out a wheeze when he saw me. “Oh hello there, miss!” he greeted. I was still shaken–I was conversing with a ghost, again!–but I gathered my courage and replied, “It’s a good afternoon, isn’t it? What place is this?” “Good timing, miss... I need your help.” He took my hand and to my surprise, his hand didn’t go through mine. He dragged me towards the door and a bright light flooded my eyes for a second.

WHEN I CAME to, I found myself in a place that looked like a starless outer space, but had doors of different shapes and sizes. Brick roads made of glowing blue bricks were scattered like the

branches of a wild bush. Spirits of different shapes and colours walked along the roads, the area looked lively with the dead. The ghost released my hand and he told me to follow him. I looked down beneath the road just to see an endless abyss of roads and doors. “I haven’t actually gotten your name yet, miss,” the ghost said with a friendly smile. “Marisse...Marisse Woods. D’you have a name?” I felt rude asking him if he had a name. “The ghosts here always call me Ghost Boy. So I made my own nickname out of that–Goby–but they kept calling me Ghost Boy...but for a change please, call me Goby.” “Goby it is...” I said, trying to be polite. I reached out my hand to him for a quick handshake but an extremely strong force dragged me quickly towards the door in front of me. When I woke up, I was on the grass, and my friends were gathered around me in a circle. My vision was all blurry and my head felt dizzy. Hanna then landed an almighty slap on my face. “Ouch!” I shouted as the sharp pain on my cheek pulled me back to consciousness. “Oh my god, Mars, you had us worried! You just fell on the ground unconscious.” She then hugged me tightly. “How long was I out?” “Five minutes,” Freddy replied. “But the tree! The tombstone! They were right there!” I said hysterically. I gently push Hanna aside and looked around only to see nothing over the gravel road. Freddy was behind Hanna, and a wide-eyed emotion-lacking Theodore stood beside him. “Marisse, what are you talking about?” Hanna asked with a raised eyebrow. “We should get you home,” Freddy suggested.

They held me up and walked alongside me, my arms around Theodore and Freddy’s shoulders. I still felt a tad dizzy because Hanna’s slap shook my head. I let go of the boys after leaving the graveyard and we continued walking to my house. “Don’t tell Mom I passed out,” I said with a stern look. Everyone agreed and nodded. I knocked on the door; my mother opened it. She was wearing her favourite green oven mittens. “Hey kids good to see you again! Come inside.” “Thank you, Mrs. Woods, but we only escorted Marisse here and we better get going as well,” Hanna said smiling. “Is that so? Well, thank you and be careful on your way home, all right?” “Yeah thanks guys,” I muttered as I got in the house. Mom closed the door behind me. I sluggishly climbed up the stairs but my mom interrupted, “Marisse honey, maybe it’s better to eat dinner before going to bed...am I right?” I stopped at my tracks, and hunger dragged me down towards the dining room. Later, after dinner, I was in my room, brushing my teeth. After that, I changed into my pyjamas and fell asleep face down on the bed. I woke up to someone whispering my name to my ear. I shifted to face the ceiling and the voice called out louder, “Marisse! Psst wake up!” My sleepy eyes looked left and right, but saw nothing. I started to wonder if this was a dream. “Marisse under your bed!” The voice was louder this time. But I told myself, this was just a dream, a remnant from the events that happened earlier. That I just needed more sleep…but... My heart skipped a beat and I shrieked a sharp yelp as my bed was thrown up a few centimetres in the air and it landed with

a loud thud. I woke up instantly, was in shock mostly, and I sat up on the bed, my hands still grabbing on the mattress. My eyes darted on a ghostly white hand that gripped the blanket-covered frame of the bed. It pulled the sheets so hard that it pulled the soft blanket off, exposing my legs to the cold air of the night...and then there was a thud and a loud ‘oof!’ right after. I fell off the bed along with the sheet. I got on all fours and checked what was under my bed. The familiar checkered shirt came into view; Goby’s head was covered with my blanket and the bottom half of his body was under my bed. He jerked off the blanket, covering his head in the process and groaned afterwards. The exposed parts of his body; his hands, face and hair kept their translucent state but tonight they emitted a soft white glow. His blue eyes refused to glow but there was a new set of souls swirling around them. His eyes met mine but this time, I refused to focus on his eyes entirely. “You left me earlier. I need your help...we must go now.” Once again, he took my hand and dragged me down, my back made a thud on the floor and I slid to a door under the bed– head first. I found myself in the ghost world once again, but instead of falling face first on the blue brick road, I found myself lying on my back with the door above my head parallel to the road. Wearing my pink pyjamas, the ghost world felt a little colder. Goby took my arm and pulled me up. I shook off his hand from my arm in annoyance and confusion. I wanted to know what was happening. This ghost mojo was going on for days now. “I think you have a lot to explain, mister. Right this moment.” “Geez, Mom, you don’t have to say it that way–” he teased. I gave him a stern look and his comeback is put to a halt, “Fine.”

He floated mid-air, crossing his legs. “Go on, fire away,” he said, placing his chin on his fist. So I began asking, “Where am I?” “You are in a place called the Crossroads. Basically this place is the afterlife, either you go to the two H rooms or be an eternal wanderer by entering doors, thus entering places and different worlds,” he responded. “Why was there a door under my bed?” “All beds have a door underneath them. That’s the secret of the boogieman,” he said, while still foating on mid-air. “Why am I here? I’m still alive, aren’t I?” “You are currently in your astral form, which is possible to do so because of a human talent called astral projection; your spiritual body is temporarily away from your physical body,” he retorted quickly. “What about the tree and the tombstone in the graveyard?” I asked again. “That’s a sanctuary. There’s a designated sanctuary in every town,” he responded matter-of-factly. “Then how come I entered it while I was awake?” I said confused. “You must have passed out, didn’t you?” he asked. I started thinking: when I passed out earlier I could have projected my spirit. Leaving my body for that short period of time I was with Goby. Things were starting to get clear but I still had a few questions. “Why do you need help? And of all people, why me?” I asked. Goby took a deep breath before responding. From the earlier mood of him answering questions likened to a game show, things quickly turned for him into questions from a truth-or-dare game. The swirling in his eyes slowed down as he spoke, “I want to remember who I am. For every 1000th death, that 1000th will

be a Soul Collector, fortune and destiny made me a Soul Collector. First, our memories are erased then our job is to collect souls then deliver them to the souls master. No one knows what he does to the souls.” “Why me then?” I was starting to get more confused. He floated down to the floor and stood, “I lived my short life in Gloomsdale. It’s only been like a year since my death and you are my first and probably the best chance to find out my identity.” I covered my mouth as I gasped. I did not have any idea who he was. I had amnesia–of course I wouldn’t! I saw that his effort of explaining everything and bringing me here would become fruitless. This ghost only wanted to get back his memories. I hesitated to say the truth but I knew I had to, “I also have no memory of my past life.” I looked down in guilt and shame. What would he say? His first and last chance of finding out his identity had failed. It made me sadder to think about it, but then I thought, what could he do to my soul now that I seemed useless to him? This could be the end of my life, I feared. “You had amnesia?” he asked. “Yes.” I my lips thinned into a straight line. “–There is a way to get your memories back,” he said, trying to make out a smirk. Six months ago, right after I woke up to the sight of two strangers teary-eyed at the foot of the hospital bed, and despite the fuzziness of the dextrose and long slumber, I managed to cock my head sideways and asked, “‘Where am I?” “Do I know you two?” “The woman kneeled by my side, and clutching my hands tightly, said, “Marisse honey, it’s me your mom!” I said nothing as my eyes followed the tear that streaked her face. “I don’t remember anything,” was all I could say.

From that point, the woman broke into a sob and the man beside her comforted her. They nodded and looked at each other, and as the woman wiped away her tears, they started to tell me stuff like my name–Marisse Woods–their names, Marnie and Tommy Woods; that they were my parents; and that I suffered from amnesia after I fainted and was in a coma for the last three weeks. I just nodded and I slowly satiated my hunger for information and memory. I did not ask a single question about me then and I just took in what was given to me. At home, I found pictures of me and my parents told of stories about our family trips, and my birthday parties. I guess I was complete after that, but I felt I lacked something. I lacked what people with complete memories had: I was empty of the emotions from the memories of my past. Now, I felt the need to get back those memories. To have the chance to feel those wonderful emotions set inside those memories. I saw the chance that I could finally be more than my completed state. “We have to get your memories from the Memory Eaters. I see this will be a long night,” he sighed. “Wait, what!? Memory Eaters!?” I raised my brow. “Ah, yes...the hive-minded Memory Eaters. They work like bees. They wander the Crossroads to harvest memories for a year, and then they return to their hive to feed their queen. They usually harvest complete memories of bodiless souls and just small fragments from embodied souls. In your case, the common cause of amnesia: a sharp blow to the head. The weaker your mind gets, the weaker the connection of the body and soul. Unfortunately, a Memory Eater must have been nearby and harvested your memories,” Goby shared. “How do you even know all of this?” I asked.

“There’s a huge library here in the Crossroads...I spend my free time reading there,” he responded. “Well how are we going to find that one particular Memory Eater?” I asked again. “With this.” He pulled a chained compass from his left pocket and rested it on his palm. It was no ordinary compass though: the glass was domed like a knick-knack, and the bottom was lined with bronze. In the glass dome, a thin rod made of blue glowing metal rested coldly. “This compass will point to the thing you want. I just need you to look at the centre of this compass for ten seconds and think about getting your memories back,” then he placed the compass in front of my face. I stared and focused on the shiny silver dot in the middle of the compass and Goby starts counting down, “Ten…nine… eight…” I focused harder and thought about reclaiming my lost memories. “I need my memories,” I thought to myelf. “Five…four…three…two…one…” The tiny rod in the compass suddenly spun around the dome wildly, and then suddenly came to a complete stop, pointing upwards. Goby rested the compass on his palm then gave it a light tap on the glass. The rod spun anew and pointed northwest at a 65-degree angle. Goby turned, following where the compass pointed to. The rod pointed to a faraway door that floated in midair. It had no roads connected to it, and was just a normal floating door in the realm of the dead. With the compass on his hand, Goby pulled me close to his side. Then the white swirls in his left eye sank deeper in his eyes and he grew a large pair of ghostly white wings that spread out like an angel’s, ready for flight. The wings flapped, blowing blue

dusty clouds on the road–a strong flap to increase our altitude and a mighty strong flap that sent us into the air. The wings were not made of white feathers though. They were actually made from clumps of souls compressed into thin sheets to form a pair of wings. Each wing was riddled with black spots that resembled the eyes and mouths of the souls, and their faces were kept in the same, almost featureless expression of surprise–like the holes on a coconut. The wings moved gracefully with every flap; flight itself, for Goby, was literally a symphony of hundreds of souls. We approached the destination in increasing velocity as the air ran colder in our faces. Goby’s eyes felt empty with nothing swirling in it. He slowed his flight to a glide and completely stopped when we reached the door. The door was etched with ‘I)’ and Goby explained, “This one leads to a dream. It better not be a nightmare though.” I opened the door and Goby threw me inside. On the other side of the door was a small room. The gray paint over the walls was no more as lifeless as the bright light of an old analogue television that showed nothing but static. In the middle of the room was a person wearing a fur coat; the fur looked like the thorns of a rose that were bathed in darkness. The person did not move; he stared blankly at the TV, only to watch his dead show. Silence conquered the entire room. All around, the aura felt sad and depressing. I knew whose dream I had entered: Theodore’s. Poor Theodore, even his dreams were dull, and yet none of his friends would even be surprised because it was Theodore–a poor soul plagued by shadows. We would try to help him and he did smile, but then the following day, his gloom would be back. We have lost all hope and just concluded that it was just Theodore being Theodore. Goby entered the room leaving the door behind him slightly

ajar. The swirling whites in his eyes slowly came back from whence they came. He caught me eyeing Theodore, “You know this guy?” he asked. “Yes,” I responded. He approached Theodore’s right side, walking opposite to mine, following the direction of the compass that now pointed to the TV. “Talk to him. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s sleep,” Goby instructed me. I sat and talked to Theodore, “Theo, it’s me Marisse.” Theodore turned his head and his eyes met mine. His curly hair wriggled like hairy snakes, “Hey Marisse. What a surprise to see you in my dream.” “We need to stop your show and check what’s in your TV for a sec. Will that be all right?” I asked. “Sure just make it quick. I’m a bit–” he paused and twitched, “I’m a bit impatient,” he continued in his gloomy tone. I gave a go signal to Goby and he placed his hand inside the television. His arms shook, trying to grab whatever was inside the tube. Theodore twitched every few seconds and the thorns on his fur grew in length. A few minutes later, Goby grunted and his arm shook more violently inside the television. Apparently, this Memory Eater was hard to catch. Theodore continued to twitch every few seconds and the thorns grew to almost a foot long. Theodore’s blank face was now a face of impatience and frustration. “Anytime now Goby,” I said, starting to feel Theodore’s restlessness. Goby moved his hand violently this time, tilting the TV in the process. “Almost––Got––It!” He jerked his hand out of the TV, and a pink, translucent, snake-like ghost with a head the size of a beach ball was wriggling in his hand. A purple orb glowed inside of the

head’s core and the Memory Eater screeched as it struggled to escape. By this time, Theodore had stood up and his head had stopped twitching. He transformed into a figure with a devoid black head, two blaring red eyes, and a large grin that spanned from ear to ear, baring his long, white teeth. The beige fur coat was now bloodstained and the thorns had sharpened and elongated to about two feet! Theodore–or the creature he turned himself into–started snarling like an agitated dog, and his eyes squinted into slits. With a deep raspy voice alongside his own, he said, “Took you too long, ghost boy…” His grin grew wider. A strand of the fur extended into a tentacle and swiftly slashed Goby’s wrist, causing him to let go of the Memory Eater. Goby fell on his buttocks, clutching his wounded wrist, while the Memory Eater made Its escape through the open door. “Be careful, Marisse... If you die in someone else’s dream, your soul dies for real,” Goby quickly cautioned. He then took a gun out from his pocket and fired, hitting Theodore on the chest. Theodore quickly returned to his old self and collapsed on the floor. “What did you do to him!?” I frantically ran to Theodore only to see no blood. “Don’t worry...it’s like a spirit tranquiliser.” He shoved his gun back to his pocket and looked at the compass. “C’mon, a few more hours ‘till sunrise... We gotta go quickly!” Goby said.

WE REACHED OUR destination. There was no symbol carved on the door. Goby started, “This leads somewhere in the over-world.” Goby went in first, and we found ourselves in someone else’s house. Coming out from their closet, Goby jogged quietly, with

myself following closely. We gave chase to the Memory Eater, until we entered the door to the basement. From there, we returned to the Crossroads, and Goby ran and entered another door but before I entered it, I checked for any symbols on the door. Another ‘I)’ symbol. I knew now that this door led to a dream. I entered the door with caution. I found myself in an ice cream parlour some time in the 90’s. People were enjoying their ice cream, and the cold smoke of the desserts cooled the air. I almost thought of taking a break with a cup of hot sundae. I heared the people in the parlour make sensible conversations. Some talked about their day, while others chatted about leaving town for a holiday, and still others made comments about their ice cream. This was all but a dream but the dreamer’s imagination is so powerful that the dream felt so real. I wondered which dreamer was behind all this, and there among the seats beside the window pane was Hanna enjoying her strawberry ice cream. Of course! This was Hanna’s dream. Not only was she a writer, she was also a creative artist. I was about to compliment her excellent dreaming when I got distracted by the person sitting across Hanna’s table. It was a guy who was quite muscular body. He wore a white shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, but his yellow head had no face, but it had a bold question mark though. A sharp whistle called my attention; it was Goby by the counter, waving at me. I approached him and said, “It’s another dream. This time, it’s my friend Hanna’s. I gotta go talk to her.” Goby sat by the bar stool, both elbows on the counter and the compass in his hand, facing him. “Compliments to the dreamer! The ice cream here tastes great. Care for a cup? My treat,” Goby said. A cup of vanilla ice

cream slid on the counter for him. “Yeah I was craving for a sundae just now,” I smiled. “I’ll be back. Don’t try to take a scoop of my ice cream, you hear?” Goby took a scoop of his ice cream and nodded. He said, with his mouth full of ice cream, “Uh also, ask about the whereabouts of the Memory Eater.” He swallowed his ice cream and spoke with ice cream vapour coming out from his mouth. “Compass goes haywire with powerful thoughts,” he continued, while munching. I slowly approached Hanna so that she could see me coming toward her. She stood up, shouted my name and signaled me to sit beside her. The question mark-faced person waved with his beefy arm at me the instant I sat beside Hanna. Hanna took my hand I placed on the table, and introduced me to her friend, “Mr Right, this is my best friend, Marisse... Marisse this is my boyfriend, Mr Right.” Mr Right reached out his hand and we shook hands. Then he looked at Hanna and gestured with his hands, like he was talking but no words came out. Hanna giggled and glanced at me with her V-shaped smile, and then took a scoop of her strawberry ice cream. Mr Right talked again and Hanna laughed, muted by her closed mouth that was still filled with ice cream. She swallowed the ice cream and continued to laugh. Hanna gave me a nudge, and said, “I’m glad you’re here, Marisse. Like, I did imagine you to be here anyway.” “I’m actually in your dream, Hanna,” I replied. Suddenly, she became agitated. Hanna stood up and shouted, “Nonsense! I command you to bark!” Annoyed with her disbelief, I disobeyed. She became more intrigued than angry this time. “Say something Marisse would.”

I rolled my eyes. “Your fan-fics are horrible and you will never find your Mr Right.” Hanna placed her hand on her chest and sat down. “Ouch! It really is you, Marisse... How did you get here?” she asked. “It’s a long story. Let’s just say...uhmm...astral projection,” I grinned. Hanna squinted and looked at me straight in the eye after a long pause. Then she said, ”Astral projection, huh? Something smells like a ghost––a GF...a Ghost Friend!” She then clapped her hands twice, the whole dream paused. She caught sight of the movement by the counter, and with a snap of her finger, a surprised Goby was instantly teleported to sit beside Mr Right–with a cone of ice cream and the compass in his hands. Hanna leaned her arm against the surface of the table, her eyebrow raised and her lips were smug. Goby looked like a deer caught in headlights, kept in a frozen gaze on Hanna. He moved his eyes left and right, and then back to Hanna. He grinned and said, “Uh, hi? Friend of Marisse, right?” He slowly took a scoop of ice cream in his mouth, “Oh, by the way, the ice cream is very delish.” Hanna took a look on his clothes then a good squint on his swirling eyes, “Nice outfit.” Hanna then turned to me, keeping her silly look, and then laid it down on Goby, “I’m totally shipping you two.” She continued to smile wider. I sigh-laughed while Goby pouted and raised his shoulders. I tried to keep a weak smile with the last ounce of the pride I had. Just like I said, you couldn’t change Hanna’s mind. Now she had an idea of how Goby looked like, she could start writing her next book. “Can I get Marisse’s sundae?” Goby asked.

“No. Stay here, honey,” she snapped, and in an instant the sundae I ordered appeared in front of me. “Well, can I at least eat my ice cream?” Goby asked again. “Time is frozen. Save it for later. Marisse and I want to know more about you,” she siad coyly. Goby dropped his ice cream cone on the table and crossed his arms, “Well can I at least request for a search?” I barged into their conversation, “Hanna, it’s really important, pretty please?” Hanna nodded, ‘Well, it better be a handsome guy,” and she finally let out a genuine smile. Goby shook his head, “Well, it isn’t––” He paused while Hanna’s smile quickly faded away. He then continued, “We’re looking for a snake with a huge pink head.” “Hold on for a sec–” Hanna said while she placed her fingers on her temples. Then she closed her eyes. Everything around us started to glitch, and then everything came to a sudden stop. Everything fell silent but we felt the cool vapours of ice cream on our skins. Hanna removed her fingers from her temples and opened her eyes once again, “It’s under the counter... I’ll remove the people for you.” In the blink of an eye, everyone except for us four–including Mr Right–disappeared. Goby and I left our seats and we slowly approached the counter with caution and preparedness. “Marisse, go behind the counter and try to catch the Memory Eater while I stay here to catch it when it gets out... Got it?” I nodded then Goby walked out of the door. As I got closer to the counter, I heard the sound of static and slowly the noise grew louder. Randomly, the static sound made a swooshing sound, like waves crashing onto a beach. Once beside the counter, I slowed my pace so that my footsteps were at their maximum silence. I crouched beside the

counter and the static stopped. Confused, I leaned forward to see what the Memory Eater was doing–– SCREEEEECH! The ghostly creature scratched my face! “AHHHHH!” I scream so loud that the Memory Eater quickly slithered away towards the exit. It went through the door followed by a loud thud and some muffled screeching. “Fudgecicles! Slipped past my hands!” Goby cursed in frustration. “LET’S GO, MARISSE!” he groaned. I ran to the exit, and just then, Goby gave me a blue orb that was similar to his eyes. It was an orb that had hundreds of souls swirling in them. Goby ordered me to crack the orb open and when it did, the orb erupted into a fat roll of white souls that twisted and wriggled. This roll attached itself on my shoulder blades before transforming into a pair of wings, similar to Goby’s. Goby flew to chase the speeding Memory Eater and my wings mirrored his wings’ movement, and soon I took flight. We twisted and turned, maneuvering through the tangled mess of roads and doors. Not too soon after, the Memory Eater was almost within Goby’s reach. He gripped the tail of the ghost creature and hugged it with his arms and wings, flinging both of them diving towards the bottom of the Crossroads. My wings then flapped to a halt, and I tried looking for Goby from above the branches of roads. Suddenly, a scream echoed. It sounded like Goby...but then there was another scream and a shout, “GO. MOVE NOW!” I heard another noise–the sound of breaking brick walls from a distance. It amplified and the surroundings slowly tinged with a pinkish colour. Goby zoomed in and snatched my hand. We flew fast, but I still noticed that his left eye was missing; only a socket with a small

blue dot hiding inside it was left of the eye. A few moments later, Goby let go of my hand and we gently landed on a road. Just then I saw a familiar door attached to the road–it was the door that led to underneath my bed! “I didn’t know we were this close to their hive!” Goby almost shouted, but restrained himself. He pulled me closer, took my hand and placed something in it. I opened my hand, only to see a small white orb. “It’s your memories,” he paused and then sighed, “A Memory Eater queen is too strong, even for me. I may not make it back.” He then smiled with the saddest eyes and said, “Go back to the over-world... You should be safe there. When you reach, swallow the orb... That should bring back your memories.” He then lifted his shirt up to expose a large hole in his chest. Then he continued, “I may live because inside my body are more soul orbs. I have a chance to defeat this hive with these, but I don’t exactly know the strength of the queen... She could swat me like a fly.” I felt a tear welling up in my eye, “I haven’t returned you the favour of getting your memories back. I can’t tell you who you are yet. Please come back alive, Goby.” “I hope I will.” His sad eyes sparked some hope and he quickly turned his back to face the hive that was now right in front of us. I backtracked and returned to the over-world, through the door, and back in my bedroom. My bed quivered, revealing the open door that still showed Goby. “I forgot to tell you,” he said as he casually scratched the back of his head, “the whole I-need-to-know-my-identity thing was a lie. My memories we never erased, but we held hands several times, and that’s enough for me.”

AFTER FIXING MY bed, I sat up against the wall and gazed over the soft glowing ball of light in my hand. I couldn’t take my mind off of Goby’s last words. Why did he lie to me? What is the whole point of the adventure then? ‘We held hands several times, that’s enough.’ What did he mean by that? Before I swallowed up my orb of memories, I took a guess: Goby was someone I was really close with. Quite possibly, we were...lovers? I could solve all this mystery once I got back my memories, I told myself. I took a deep breath, and then swallowed the whole white orb like a pill. I closed my eyes and everything became white. Then they started coming back. My memories. Slowly. One at a time. I remembered my childhood... I remembered my first steps, my first birthday, my first day of school... Where I met Freddy during our family outing by the beach... My 6th grade graduation. I remembered all the happy memories and the sad ones too. I smiled as I savoured every memory that came back. I remembered my first day in high school, and where I met Hanna and Theodore in my class.

Goby then looked behind him, and was welcomed by a loud roar. Pink coloured everything on the other side of the door, and some of the pinkish stuff were also trying to escape through the open door–into my room! Goby shut the door quickly and just as quickly, everything went silent, save for the peaceful sounds of chirping crickets from outside my bedroom window.

A braceless Hanna was still a beginner in her drawing career, and a straight-haired Theodore was a ball of sunshine before hebecame all emo, and Freddy was without his facial hair and knew nothing about the horrors of the horror genre. Most of my high school life was spent with them, and I found myself giggling at those memories. Then I remembered there was a fifth friend–a boy who wore a blue bonnet, a red and black checkered collared shirt over a yellow tee, some black jeans, and blue sneakers... He had been in all of the adventures of the MFTH... I remembered there was a G in the MFTH. His name was Ghunter Ombrey and we called him ‘Goby.’ One day in 9th grade, Goby came to school with a bouquet of roses and called for my name in my room. He offered me the posy and then he said, “Marisse, we’ve been together for quite a while now and I’m here with a nice bouquet of flowers because I like you––I-I mean, I really do.” With a smile on his face he took a deep breath and almost yelped, “Can you be my girlfriend?” Everyone who’d been watching us stood frozen as they waited for my answer. But I had to refuse. Goby was a nice person and all, but it was just not him. I felt he wasn’t right for me, and that there was another guy for me to I can love. I sighed, “Sorry, Goby. No. I can’t.” Everyone gasped and soon left the room one by one. Goby stayed dumbstruck in his place until the rest of the gang went to fetch him. Apparently they were all in it, and they had agreed to help him. Hanna gave me a disappointed nod and left with the others. The next day, Goby didn’t come to school. Freddy went to his house after school to check up on him. Another day passed and Goby was nowhere to be found in school. Freddy reported to

the gang and shared that Goby was fine and that he just needed some time to recover from his emotional shock. Three days of Goby’s absence, he returned to school like nothing happened. He remained in our group but I found it awkward to make eye contact with him. Sometimes, I would catch him looking at me, and I felt he still loved me but he had decided to hide it. I remembered a week in my 10th grade when the gang went to a mall. I crossed the road while my eyes were glued to my phone’s screen. The loud truck horn froze me in my tracks. Someone then shouted my name, and I looked back to see Goby running towards me. The loud horn became more deafening as Goby pushed me toward the sidewalk, but now I remember hitting my head on the pavement. Now, I remember lying on the cold, rough surface. That all I could see were flashes of lights–white, red and yellow. My vision became blurry and the voices became mere static. A cloud of purple gas drifted towards me and I felt my mind was being sucked by a vacuum... Then blackness swallowed everything. Like ink flooding a piece of paper. I woke up on a hospital bed. The warm rays of sunrise soothed my aching head and I felt the warm hand of my mom wrapped around mine. She was looking at the sunset when she noticed me waking up. “Marisse, you’ve awaken!” she smiled her biggest smile and tears started to well up in her eyes. “What happened?” I asked. “Yesterday, a truck lost control and almost stuck you. Your friend Ghunter saved you...but he didn’t make it, honey... He died instantly when the truck struck him,” Mom said. She continued, “The doctor said that you could have

amnesia because of the injuries to your head but it seems you’re fine now...” She stood up, wiped her tears and said, “I should get you some breakfast. You must be hungry.” She had a refined sense of excitement as she walked out of the room. I thought hard and tried to assess what happened: I woke up in the same hospital bed but I could remember everything. Everything. I thought I had amnesia, and I remembered that detail vividly, even though six months had already passed. I remembered living my life as it was, the adventure, the ride back home...when Goby took back my memories and swallowing the ball of light. I realised I woke up a day after the Memory Eater was supposed to take my memories, only this time I woke up without amnesia. “I forgot to tell you,” he said as he casually scratched the back of his head, “the whole I-need-to-know-my-identity thing was a lie. My memories we never erased, but we held hands several times, and that’s enough for me.” Those are Goby’s last words. I understood them now. He died and turned into a soul collector and I really had amnesia. In my sleep, my astral form followed him to the Crossroads to get my memories. Then after my memories had returned, I woke up with my whole body and soul safe from all dangers, and with my memories all intact. The six months I spent... Was it all a dream? Then it dawned to me: Goby gave his life in exchange for mine. He also gave his after-life for me.

I didn’t owe him once. I owed him TWICE. I buried my face in my hands. I chanted repeatedly while tears continued to run under my arms and fall on the blanket. “I’m sorry... Thank you.”

THE GIRL WHO HAS SUPERPOWERS Sophia Vien Leonor, 10yo

When the time came that Daisy was about to apologise to her friends, they unfortunately went missing, she didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t now where to find themâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;but there was something that can help her. Will she find out how she can help her friends? Will she ever find them in time?

Daisy is a girl who lives in an island. She has three friends and they have always been by her side. But because of someone, their friendship fell apart.

D 84

aisy is smart and kind girl but is also a shy girl. She lived on an island at Puerto Galera, an island that is very far from the city itself. She has three friends: Micah, Anikka and Jesslyn. Every morning, as soon as she woke up, she would always open the window and wave at the villagers. Her school is not that far although they have to cross an island to reach their school. “Welcome to the Island Academy,” the teacher said as they walked into the main gate of the school. “I can’t wait to go to class,” said Jesslyn. “So what are you waiting for? Come on!” shouted Annika, with her loud voice. Daisy and Micah just followed the two girls. Suddenly, Daisy and her friends heard an announcement. “There will be a singing contest next week... If you want to join, please proceed to our Special Activity Programmes Office and look for Ms Hopps, our SAP coordinator,” the announcer said. “I want to join that!” said Daisy. Out of nowhere, someone started jeering. “Oh no, you can’t! Just stay in your seat ‘cause you’re a shy girl, am I right girls?” said Krystal, the leader of the CCPG’s (Cute, Cool and Popular Girls, called so because they always looked fancy and this was the name the students called them).

“Yes you are right, Krystal! So, bye losers!” said Jane who was also a CCPG member. Daisy felt bad about herself but Micah consoled her, “Don`t you worry, Daisy. Those girls are just yearning for attention.” “Yes, Micah is right. Do not focus on those girls; focus on what you want,” Jesslyn added while they were entering their classroom. It was Mr Peńa’s journalism class and Daisy was now paying full attention to what the proctor was saying. Micah, Annika and Jesslyn on the other hand, were sitting like couch potatoes but were also paying attention to the class. After a few minutes, the bell rang and it was their break time. The four girls went to the canteen to buy food. After buying, while they walked along the hallway, a bright light blocked their path. Upon inspection, it looked like a fairy! ”Who are you?” asked Daisy. “I am a fairy, your guardian fairy...and I have a good news for you,” said the fairy. “What is it?” said Daisy and her friends, almost in unison. “You have been chosen to be the one who will have a superpower in this Island,” the fairy said. Daisy was surprised with what the fairy said. Then suddenly a bright light came from inside her body and she felt she was becoming stronger. “These powers that I gave include teleportation, invisibility, flight and green light power, which can help you...but please do not tell anyone about it. And you, Daisy’s friends, do not tell ayone about her powers either,” the guardian fairy added. The girls all agreed. “I have to go,” said the fairy, who then suddenly vanished. On their way back to the classroom, Jesslyn was so amazed with what just happened.

“Wow! That was very amazing!” said Jesslyn. When they reached the science laboratory for the presentation, the teacher announced the groupings. For Daisy’s group, her members were Jane, Micah and Anikka. She was kind of sad because Jesslyn was not included in their group. Then the teacher told them to choose their leader, but Krystal suddenly shouted at Daisy’s group, “Pick Jane as the leader, since she is responsible!” But Daisy, Micah and Anikka ignored her. “We choose Micah to be the leader,” Daisy said. The rest of the groups were also announced. Afterwards, the teacher discussed what they needed to do. They were to build a presentation about the solar system. Daisy’s group planned and planned, but Jane always disagreed. Soon, the bell rang and it was time for lunch. The four friends usually ate together, but today lunch was different. It was because Jesslyn met a new friend named Jeniffer, who was also a friend of Micah and Anikka. They ate together without Daisy. “Hi!” Daisy said as she greeted her friends but no one cared about her. Then she asked her friends “Why are you acting so different now?” “Okay, this is the truth: since there were groupings in science you’ve always talked and played with Jane,” said Jesslyn. “Yeah, that’s right! That’s why we chose another friend to replace you,” added Anikka. “What have you done? You broke our friendship and thought I wouldn’t recognise you three as my best friends?” said Daisy who had grown mad about all of this. “I am sorry but we cannot let Jeniffer eat all alone and leave her,” said the girls. “But you can just leave me at a corner? If you want this kind of friendship, then fine! I will give you a chance to be friends with

DESPITE THE PROBLEMS with their friendship, Daisy joined the contest and her parents watched her perform. Fortunately, she won but her friends were not there to see the whole competition. She tried to use her powers to make her feel relaxed and feel happier because she won the singing contest, but it was in vain. On her way home, she felt very sad and her mom and dad asked her why. She told them about her problem with her friends and her parents said that on the following day, she should be kind to her friends, and give new friends a chance, so that everyone could be friends again. The next day, Daisy went straight to her classroom to look for her friends. She was shocked to find that her friends were not there. She went out searching to look her friends but she could not find them in the canteen, or in the kiosk, or even in the library. Daisy was getting very worried about all this, and so she decided to call out to her fairy. “Guardian fairy!” she bellowed. “Yes, I am here, Daisy. You may speak,” said the fairy. “I can’t find my friends anywhere… Maybe because they don’t like me anymore...” said Daisy. “It is not that, Daisy,” the fairy started. “I have something to tell you… There are some good news and some bad news… The good news is that they forgave you… The bad news is, your friends have been kidnapped!” added the fairy in a loud voice. “What!? Where and why!?” Daisy asked in a serious and worried voice. “This is what I saw: They were kidnapped by a mad scientist

Jeniffer...and if you want, I will not be your friend anymore.. I will just be your classmate and your groupmate,” she said, holding back her tears.

who is planning to conduct experiments on children here in Puerto Galera… and you have to save them, by using your ultimate powers…” the fairy said. “But where are they!?” she asked. “It is a mystery, but I know you will find your friends soon,” the fairy said, before she disappeared. After that, Daisy noticed an unfamiliar van outside the school campus. She approached the van to see what was happening, although she guessed her friends would not be there. Suddenly she was very shocked to see that there were three girls who were trying to shout and their voices were too familiar to Daisy. She wanted to find out more about it, and so she used her invisibility powers to get a closer look. She was right: they were her friends! Suddenly, she heard the voice of a mad man, likely to be the mad scientist that her guardian fairy was talking about. “Hahaha! You kids, don’t you even dare to get out of this van, because I will be needing you three for my experiment! I will force children to become my followers and they will make me king, so that I can rule our island!” said the mad scientist. “We’ll escape for sure, with the help of Daisy, our best friend!” Jesslyn shouted, as she struggled with the ropes that held their hands. “Oh, c’mon chipmunks! She will never save you…so, goodbye!” he said as he closed the back door of the van. “Oh no! How am I supposed to save my friends now? I know they need me,” Daisy said in a very worried tone. She thought of a plan. “Hmmm… Maybe I should consult my guardian fairy… Guardian fairy!” Daisy said. “Yes, I am here. You may speak,” came the fairy’s voice from out of thin air. “I’ve found the mad scientist, and he has kidnapped my

THE FOLLOWING DAY, Daisy started with her training. She desperately tried a few times to master her powers, and eventually she did, and she perfected it! “I am ready to face the mad scientist!” Daisy said. “But remember, child...try to be careful,” the fairy said before she vanished. First, Daisy tried to teleport going outside the school grounds. She then rode a boat, and a few minutes later, she was in the dungeon-like place that she heard the mad scientist mention. A few moments more, she arrived at the mad scientist’s home. “Invisibility power, activate,” Daisy softly said. After her powers kicked in, she went into his home, and first observed what he was doing. She saw that he was about to inject some liquid to Anikka. Immediately, she used her flame powers and shouted, “You cannot do that to my friends!” She threw the flames onto the mad scientist’s head. Although he was shot in the head, he stood up and exclaimed, “Guards! Take her to the dungeon!”

friends. He plans to use them in his scheme to make followers of them, so that he can rule this island and be king,” Daisy said in a quickened, worried voice. “I know where the mad scientist might be going,” the fairy said. ‘Next to this island is where he lives. He became mad because his inventions got rejected by the islanders here. He is seeking revenge for not being accepted by the people,” the fairy continued. “It’s not that easy to free your friends because you need to practice your powers more. Here, take this necklace and bracelet… It will give you more protection. We will start your training tomorrow.” Then, the fairy disappeared.

“No, you cannot do that to my friend!” Micah shouted from their cage. “Ha! You’re shouting at me!? Here, feel this potion’s power and become my follower!” the mad scientist said, throwing a bottle full of potion at Micah and the rest of Daisy’s friends. Suddenly, they turned into beast-like girls and were hypnotised. “O hail, our king! O hail, our king!” the three girl-beasts uttered. “Ughhh! Why didn’t my powers work” Daisy said in a soft voice, before being hit in the head by one of the guards. When she came to, she found herself stuck in a dungeon with sticks, nails, a small hook and a hammer and she do not know what will she should do. But she knew she had to save her friends even though her friends were acting a little bit crazy because of the potion that the mad scientist put. “Hahahaha! Now you three are my assistants, and your first task is to secure the dungeon so that pesky girl cannot make her way out,” the mad scientist said to Daisy’s friends. But Daisy believed that there was a way out. So she started thinking, “Hmmm... Aha! I got it! I will use the things in this dungeon so that I can escape...” So she waited until her three friends–now beasts–fell asleep and then she started making something out of the sticks, nails, hook and hammer that she found. After she finished buildin it, she called it a hooker. She tried to get the key from Micah’s hands and fortunately, she succeeded. She got the key and unlocked the dungeon. But suddenly, her friends woke up, and in her panic, she locked the doors again and she put the key behind her back. She pretended to sleep. Soon after, she heard the mad scientist was walking towads her cell. “Hahahaha, you’re very tired from trying to escape... don’t bother trying! You will be here forever!” the mad scientist

muttered, although Daisy was still pretending to be asleep. “And you three as well!” he said as he shouted at the beasts. “We’re sorry, master,” Daisy’s friends said. “We will make sure that the girl won’t escape!” the three girls added. “Make sure of that!” the mad scientist said, and soon he was out of the dungeon. Luckily Daisy did escape because even though the mad man told her friends not to sleep, they still did. Daisy opened the dungeon doors and she poured the antidote potion on her friends. And soon, they were back to their old selves. “What just actually happened!?” Jesslyn said. “It’s a very long story. For now, we have to get out of here,” Daisy said. “Oh no, you won’t, four little kitties!” the mad scientist suddenly said coming from seemingly nowhere. The girls were startled. “Try, you old man!” Micah said. Much to his the surprise, Micah, Anikka and Jesslyn started throwing stones at the mad scientist, while Daisy used her flame and invisible powers. “Ahhhh! Guards, help me!” he shouted. But it is too late for him and his guards. In the commotion, Anikka walked slowly into one of the cabinets without anyone seeing her, and she took the sleeping potion from one of the shelves. She read the instructions on the bottle: This potion will only last for 12 hours. She threw it to the guards and they all fell to the ground sleeping. Then she threw the hypnotising potion onto mad scientist. Suddenly the scientist said, “Your majesties, where will I go?” “Open the dungeon, then I will lock you in it!” Anikka said. The mad scientist did go inside the dungeon, and got locked

in. And the day was saved! “Thanks for saving us, Daisy,” Jesslyn said. “Yeah, if you didn’t come to save us I think we’d be hypnotised forever,” Micah started crying. “What! I thought the hypnotising potion was just for 12 hours?” Daisy said smirking. “That is what you think,” Anikka said. “ So where’s our next stop? I’m kinda hungry... I want a cheeseburger right about now,” Anikka said. “Hahaha! You’re always hungry,” Micah chuckled.

THEY WERE WALKING in the middle of an mad scientist’s island when they saw the Island News Brodcasting Centre (or I-N-B-C). “Look the INBC,” Micah said pointing at the tower. “Maybe they will interview us!” Daisy said excitedly. “For what reason?” Jesslyn asked. “Because of the problem we just solved, remember?” Daisy said. The girls agreed with Daisy and ran towards the centre. Inside, the reporters of INBC asked her and her friends many questions. “What is your name, Miss?” the reporter asked. “I am Daisy,” she answered back. “We will just be interviewing about what you kids have done,” the reporter said. “Ummm, about the mad scientist?”she asked. “Yes, about that!” the reporter replied. “Okay, that’s fine with me, but not here in this forest–– because it’s dark in here,” Daisy said. “Oh, okay,” all of the cameramen replied. Soon after, the girls and the media were in a helicopter headed for the Island Palace, which was where the President stayed, although the interview was

to be held outside the palace. “So what do you think was the plan of that evil scientist to your friends?” a reporter asked. “Well the evil scientist planned to experiment on children to make them his slaves,” Daisy explained. “What did you do to overcome your fear? And how did you save your friends?”another reporter asked. “They are my very best friends and I will do anything for them. Not only did I use my own skills, I also used my magical powers,”she exclaimed. They were all shocked when Daisy said that, but Daisy gave the biggest smile to the camera. “That’s the spirit!” Anikka surprisingly shouted. “What would you say to all the people who are watching now?” another reporter asked again. “Challenges are just challenges. All of us can encounter them because no one is perfect. But remember, if your friend has a problem, help him or her because friends take care and love each other, especially through tough times,” Daisy said smiling. “Cheers for Daisy and her friends,” everyone shouted. After the interview, Anikka, Micah and Jesslyn asked forgiveness. “We’re sorry,” MIcah said. “It is fine,” Daisy said. “C’mon, let’s celebrate!” Later that day, they organised a party for everyone in the island, and invited even the CCPG’s. “Ohhh thank you, Daisy,” Krystal exclaimed. But Krystal was surprised when Jesslyn throw a big bucket of cold water. “Oh no! My Arianna Grande’s signature dress from New York”, Krystal said in a cringe-worthy shriek. “Hahaha what a prank” Daisy said.

“Jane, help meeeeeee!” Krystal said. “No I won’t! Hahahaha! I am not a bad girl anymore,” Jane said. After that, she smiled at Daisy and her friends, and enjoyed the party.

THE GIRL WHO NEVER REGRETS ANYTHING Gabrielle Allison De Torres, 10yo

Her best friend decided to confront her so that Rose could change back to her old self. Will her best friend succeed by talking to Rose? Well, find out by reading the story!

Rose is a 15-year-old girl who never regrets anything. She changed herself to not get bullied but when she did, all of her classmates and teachers disliked her even more, including her best friend who was not comfortable with her changed personality.

O 98

nce there was a girl named Rose. She was a 15yearold girl with brown hair and hazel brown eyes. She sometimes reminisces her past––when she was bullied by her classmates, a lot. One day, she decided to change her self and her personality entirely, but when she did, her classmates and teachers started hating her attitude. Soon, her grades started to get lower. Rose had a friend named Jennie, and sometimes they went to school together. The other students thought they were not smart, and one of their classmates even whispered, “They are not focusing on their studies. How ridiculous!” Jennie heard what the student said and she was about to tell Rose about it when the teacher came. She then decided to tell her best friend at break time. She was still making a mental note of that when she heard the bell rang and she said to herself, “Now is the perfect time to tell Rose.” The two walked out of the classroom and went to the cafeteria, where they sat on one of the available seats. Rose told Jennie, “I’m just gonna go to the restroom.” Jennie replied, “Okay.”

IT WAS THE last subject for the day. At homeroom, Rose’s mind could rest from all her classmates’ blabbering. Soon enough, when she got home from school, she was greeted by her mom and dad.

After Rose came back from the loo, Jennie started, “Rose, I have something to tell you.“ Rose replied, “Okay,” “I heard one of our classmate say that we were not focusing on our studies,“ Jennie whispered. Rose replied irritated,“So what?“ Jennie answered, “Don’t get mad. I’m just telling you.” “I don’t care about what they say,” Rose said. The bell rang and they returned to their classroom. There, the teacher started discussions, but she noticed that Rose was not paying attention to the lesson. The teacher was so shoocked because this was her first time to have a student in her class who was not paying attention to the lesson. Infuriated, the teacher said, “Rose, please pay attention to the class or you’re getting a detention!” Rose answered “Fine...ugghh.” But in Rose’s mind she was actually saying, “I would go to detention and I’ll never regret it.” Time passed by quickly, and the teacher was done discussing the lesson. When she had left the classroom, their other classmates started to whisper and Rose overheard what most of them were saying. She couldn’t take it anymore, and so she shouted, “Can you guys please stop talking about it!” And her classmates stopped whispering, and just stayed silent.

100

However, they knew she had a quiz the following day, and urged her to study. But she didn’t. Not at all. All she did was draw and did other stuff. She yawned while she drew, and so she decided to clean up her things, change into comfy clothes, and prepped herself for sleep. “I wish there’s nothing that’s gonna be annoying tomorrow... And goodnight world.” Time skipped to morning, and as she awoke, Rose said, “Good morning, world.” She took a bath and then dressed up in her school uniform. She wore her school shoes and got her bag from the cupboard, and made her way down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. After she was done, went on to brush her teeth and found her mom and dad waiting for her in the car. They drove Rose to school, and at the drop-off, Rose said, “Thanks Mom and Dad!” She waved at them and they waved back. Inside the school, when she entered the classroom, she found her classmates whispering about her again. In her mind, she said, “Early in the morning, these people are whispering about me...“ And so with a loud voice, she bellowed to her classmates, “If you don’t stop whispering about me, I will tell all of your secrets and everything else in between, so that you will know how it feels to be talked about!“ The class fell silent. To herself, Rose said, “If i hear them talking about me one more time, I swear it will be my turn! And I would never regret it Hahahah––“ But Jennie overheard this, smirked and said, “Nice job.“ Rose said, “I don’t regret anything. It feels so good to not regret anything.“

101

At break time, Rose saw two girls looking at them mischievously. Rose responded with a smirk. She then got a glass of water and poured it over the two girls. The girls screamed because the water was so cold. One of the girl asked, “What was that for!?” Rose replied, “For giving us a mischievous stare!” The second girl retorted, “We were not looking at you. We were looking at that other girl!” Rose answered, “You’re just making excuses to not get caught... Liars!” The other girl replied, “Then believe it your way!” They walked out of the cafeteria and a lot of people were staring. Rose shouted, ”Don’t look at me like that!” The other students changed their direction, to not be too obvious. “Hey, if you guys still change your direction, it’s still obvious because you’re still in the cafeteria and you already saw what happened!” The other students remained silent, and Rose and Jennie walked out of the cafeteria. On their way to the classroom, everything was very quiet. The two friends sat in their seats. Soon, the bell rang. The teacher came in and gave the test papers for them to answer. Quickly, Rose went through the test. In just a few minutes, Rose was done, but she never checked whether her answers were correct or not. A while later, the teacher collected the papers and when she checked it, she was so surprised with the results. When she gave back the test papers, she called out to Rose, “Rose, what happened to your scores? It got lower!?” Rose replied, “I don’t care. I never anything, not even regretting not to study.”

The teacher then shouted, ”Off to detention!” “Fine,” Rose replied. Rose got back to her seat and the teacher left the room. Her classmates started talking about what happened, and Rose got so mad, she shouted, “Shut Up!” Everybody fell silent.

102

AT HOME, ROSE received a text from Jennie. I have to tell you something tomorrow. Rose replied, “Okey.” The next day, at the cafeteria, Jennie and Rose were seriously talking. Jennie said, “Rose, I think you should be your old, kind self again. You’re hurting everybody around you through your actions...I’m telling you this because I am your friend. That's the reason why you always get into detention... Now even the teachers are very shocked... please change to your old self.” Rose said, “Let me think about it first.” As they walked into the classroom, the class started and Rose could not focus on the lessons because she couldn’t forget what Jennie said. And while she walked home, she was still thinking about what Jeannie said. She asked herself, “Should I change back to my old personality?” When she reached her house, she went straight to her room, still thinking of what Jennie said. She couldn’t sleep that night.

ONE WEEK HAD passed and she still hadn’t made a decision. But one day, she indeed made her decision. She decided to change back to her old personality All of the teachers and students, especially her classmates,

103

were very shocked that she changed back to her old personality. Many students were very happy that she changed back to her old personalityâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;especially Jennie. Roseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scores soon became higher than before and things then returned to normal.

THE SEA

Carla Venice PeĂąa, 10yo

104

As she gets closer and closer to finding her father, she suddenly hits a dead end. She and her best friend struggle to survive and comfort each other. More and more unusual things come along their way and she cannot take it anymore. A new discovery of who she really is comes along and she wishes to go home because of that. Will she ever find her father? And will she ever find out who she really is?

105

Marina Suarezâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father disappeared five years ago, leaving no trace behind. She has had enough of her life and decides to go out looking for her father, dragging her best friend along.

A 106

s the sea breeze blew, the water splashed on her feet, and the golden sunset reflecting on the sea was sinking deeper into the afternoon sky. Marina Suarez stared at the bright blue waters of Taal lake. She was an attractive, young teenager with smooth curly dark brown cloud-like hair that turned an auburn shade when light hit it. She had a deep set of hazel eyes that glinted under the moonlight, and beautiful brown skin that was tanned from the time she spent by the lake of Taal volcano. Although she was born like this, she hated being the centre of attention as much as she loved the sea. She had only made one friend in her whole 17 years of life: Jane Sanchez. She had met Jane eight years ago. It was that time when Marina’s father was still in contact with the family. Marina had been playing outside, supervised by her mother, when Jane–her then new neighbour–went out with her parents to try to make friends. Marina was not shy then. She had a perfectly happy life. Marina went up to Jane to ask if she wanted to play. Jane happily accepted and the girls chatted till dinner. Since then, they were always together. Marina had other friends too, but they left her when Marina’s father disappeared. Marina decided to go home. It was getting late and her

IT WAS A bright sunny day on the harbour. The sun was extremely hot, and twelve year-old Marina and her mother waited for her

107

mother must have been looking for her by now. As she passed by the familiar scents of the street overpowered her, especially the floury, fresh-bread aroma from the bakery that she and her father used to buy pastries from. She used to love that bakery; she even knew who the staff were. But when her father disappeared without a trace, she had never stepped into that bakery again. It felt too painful for her, like a hand was squeezing her already damaged heart. As Marina was turning around the corner, she saw Judie Suarez, her mother–who was like the older version of Marina– waiting by the door of their small yet cozy two-storey house.The house was mostly white, with little waves of different hues of blue lining the bottom of the outside walls. “Hi Mom,” Marina said with her usual tone, which hinted only a glimpse of her sadness. “I made you your favourite soup–tinola!” her mother exclaimed. “Mmmm…. I am hungry…” Marina replied to her mother, laughing. After dinner, she excused herself from her mother, and went straight to her room. Some strings that bore her favourite memories hung by the ocean blue walls that were decorated with hand-drawn dolphins and other sea creatures. She stared at one of the pictures that showed her family on a yacht in one of their family outings. Mum looked so happy… And dad, he looked goofy, with his black curly hair and weird flower tee shirt that matched his shorts. She missed him, her father. She then found herself thinking about him, and the day he disappeared.

108

father’s boat to arrive. They had not seen Marlin Suarez in months. Marlin, Marina’s father was a marine biologist who specialised in octopuses, and took trips to explore their natural habitat. As they waited, one of Marlin’s friends called out to Marina’s mother. “Judie!” he called. “I have some news about Marlin!” Judie, who was holding Marina’s hand, rushed towards him gripping Marina’s hand even tighter. Marina who was getting less, and less excited and getting more and more impatient, tugged on her mother’s shirt. ”Mom, where is dad’s boat?” she asked her. “Not now, honey,” her mother replied sternly, not even looking at her. Now, Marina was a sensible child so she waited for her mother to stop talking before she asked any other question. When Marina’s mom stopped talking, she turned to her daughter. “Marina,” her mother started. She was paler than usual, Marina observed. “You’re father’s boat got lost in a zone that he was not supposed to be.” Her voice was shaking, Marina tried to look like she was not gonna cry. “So...” she whispered softly. “They can’t find him.”

MARINA WOKE UP as she always did, with her long brown locks tangled up, and the usual morning breeze blew through her bedroom window. As she brushed out the tangles, Marina looked into the mirror. Find me… the wind whispered. “It must be my imagination,” she told herself. After eating breakfast and taking a bath, Marina ran out the door shouting a goodbye to her mother, who was also getting ready for her job as a nurse in the local district hospital.

109

RING! RING! RING! The bell sounded for the beginning of classes. “Excuse me, pardon me,” Marina said as she pushed through the crowds. They ignored her though. Like always, she said to herself. She finally made it to her English class where Ms Gwen, her favourite teacher, was already beginning to discuss. Soon after, as the lunch bell rang, all the students ran to the canteen. “Jane!” Marina called, as she spotted Jane within the crowd. “Hey, Marina,” Jane said spotting her. Jane was a teenager who had straight jet black hair that was silky and straight, black eyes that seemed to glint when she smiled, and beautiful dark brown skin that was a shade lighter than Marina’s. As she and Marina finished their lunch, they sat on the bench, where the usually did. “Hey, it’s the girl who loves water!” one of the girls snarled at Marina. “Well, why don’t we give her some?” another girl said, drenching Marina with ice cold water. “I wish you would stop doing that,” Marina said quietly, trying to hide her tears. “Leave her alone!” Jane shouted as she pulled Marina to the side. Find me… the wind whispered again. “When are you going to tell your mom?” Jane said. “I won’t,” Marina replied. “I’m running away.” When the final bell rang signaling the end of the day, Marina rushed outside with Jane, who was trying to keep up. Find me… Again and again. You can’t just leave,” she said. “Your mom would be heartbroken.”

“I’ll send her messages,” Marina replied stubbornly. “You won’t have supplies.” “I’ll buy them.” By this time they were at Marina’s house, in her bedroom. She was packing. “I’ll come with,” Jane said. “You don’t have to,” Marina answered quietly, though she truly wanted Jane to come. “I will.”

110

THAT NIGHT, THEY decided to leave. They left a note for Judie that explained why they had to go. Jane had no idea how or where they were going to go, but Marina had a plan. A bad one, but at the least she had one. “Why are we at the harbour?” Jane asked. “Shhh,” Marina said sharply. “They’ll hear us.” She then pulled Jane behind a crate. “–What exactly is your plan?” “–We’re borrowing a boat.” “–That is literally the worst plan ever... What if we get caught?” The thought made her shiver. Find me... “–We won’t.” When they got to the boat they were going to “borrow,” they immediately started loading in their things, which included some clothes, shampoo (they did not want to be completely unhygienic), some food that would possibly last them about a week or so, and some gas. They turned on the speedboat. It was louder than they expected though. Not long after, the guards was running after

111

them. “Drive, Marina! Drive!” Jane screamed. RRRR… The engine roared. They were off the shore in no time. Marina looked back; she was gonna miss this place–the only place she called home. And now they were on a speed boat to find her father who had not been seen or heard of for the last six years. RRRR… The roar of the engine woke Marina up. “Huh?” She thought she was driving. “Mornin’ sunshine... Got a good night’s sleep?” asked Jane. “Yup...but how did you get on the wheel?” Marina asked. “You fainted from exhaustion... I mean, you’ve been driving for the past five hours. So I took over, Jane explained. “Thanks, Jane,” Marina said gratefully. She washed her hair–there were two tubs in the boat, and she used one to get water, and that was where she washed her hair–took out breakfast, ate, and then took over driving the boat, so that Jane could eat. For the past two days, every day became like this. Until they found an island. Meanwhile, at Marina’s household, Mrs Judie Suarez, Mr Erik and Mrs Pheobe Sanchez, were phoning everyone they knew. “Marina left her phone!” Judie exclaimed. “Jane too. Ahhhh!” Pheobe screamed as she slipped on the floor. A piece of paper was to blame. As they read what was on it, both of them becme more shocked and worried. The letter read: Mom, I’m sorry I had to leave. I can’t take the way society is anymore. Jane is with me, we’re going to look for Dad. Sorry I didn’t tell you, Mom. I was too scared to tell you. I miss you.

Jane and I must be at the sea by the time you read this. We love you! ––Marina and Jane

112

THEY WERE STILL at sea and the clouds were getting darker. Jane was asleep and Marina was driving. What if I can’t find dad? What if he doesn’t want to be found? Her mind kept saying these over and over. Suddenly, there was silence. Come…Come…COME…COME… It was getting louder, and louder, the wind was getting stronger by the second. “Jane!” Marina shouted. “Jane!” she shouted again. She broke off from the wheel and shook her. “Marina?” Jane said, still a bit sleepy. “A storm!” Marina yelled as she got back to driving. The waves were hitting the speed boat hard, and they were getting wet everywhere. Jane was fully awake by now, and using the buckets on the ship, she started to scoop the water off of the deck. Just then, a giant wave hit the side of the speed boat, dousing everything, but Marina’s grip on the wheel stayed firm. “We are not tipping over,” she said to herself. All of a sudden, Jane slipped and fell overboard. “No!” screamed Marina. She knew she had to let go of the wheel. Desperately, she tried to reach out her hand for Jane. “Got you...” she said, as she got Jane back on the deck. Trouble was not over yet though. “Drive!” Jane yelled as she gripped tightly on to the rail. Soon, she was covering the supplies. And just in time too. Another big wave hit them. And another. And another.

113

They could barely breathe now, with all the waves, the wind. They were wet all over and were still in trouble. Now the biggest wave they had ever seen threatened to sink their boat. The boat capsized and while it did, Jane got hit on the head. Marina swam her hardest towards her, and she grabbed Jane and the remaining supplies. The strong waves hit her again, but she kept going. Everything seemed against her. The wind howled as Marina’s body felt like it was ready to give up. She kept going, and going...now, every part of her hurt. Jane was still unconsious, and she and Marina were floating in the middle of the ocean. Marina desprately looked for any piece of wood that they could hang on to.”Yes!” Marina yelled when she finally grabbed hold onto one. She climbed on and pulled Jane up with her. “Wake up, Jane! Wake up, please!” Marina shouted. She knew she desparetely needed Jane. She needed her best friend. “Uhhmm,” Jane moaned, spitting out sea water. “Everything hurts,” she complained. “You’re alive...you’re alive!” Marina squeeled in happiness– something she did not do very often. “Are you okay?” Marina asked. “I’m fine,” Jane answered, still sputtering and coughing. “What happened?” she asked as regained some of her strength. As Marina retold the tale, Jane felt gratitude for her best friend who saved her life. As the storm calmed, for a moment, the two girls felt a little safer and not so far away from home. Meanwhile, at home, Judie, Pheobe and Erik were still worrying about the girls, because, well, they were just kids. Their kids. Judie decided to take another round about through the town. Carrying some water–and Marina and Jane’s picture–she went out the door calling out to Pheobe and Erik who were

searching on the web to find any news from friends about the girls’ whereabouts. Soon, Judie was headed for the harbour. Marina had mentioned something about being far out at sea, Judie thought. She approached the guards by the dock. “Excuse me,” Judie called. “Have you seen these two girls?” she asked the guards standing by the pole. The guards closely examined the photo, and confirmed that they had seen the girls. “Those girls stole a family’s speed boat and took off,” the guards explained. Judie was jumping for joy on the inside. Now, if only she could figure out where they were. She jumped into the water.

114

“LAND HO!” JANE yelled as she saw a mass of land ahead. Marina got excited and started paddling the boat with her bare hands. Jane did the same. It took them an hour of paddling before they reached to the island. Little did the girls know that this island they came upon was unlike any other. It was not on any map at all. No one knew that this island existed, and no one knew about the strange secrets it hid. “It’s as beautiful as Eden here,” exclaimed Jane, as they jumped on the sandy shore. But Marina was not paying attention. She was immediately captivated by a strange looking tree nearby. If you took a quick glimpse, you would think that is was an ordinary tree but, when you looked closer, you would see a strange looking spiral-shape right at the very heart of that tree. It was attractive and Marina wanted to figure out what it was. She tried to touch it, but she couldn’t...because she passed right through the tree–and she fell! While in the air, she could hear Jane falling behind her. Then

115

splash! She was submerged in water. Everything blacked out. Thump…thump…thump… Marina’s heart beat as fast as a hummingbird’s. She was now wide awake and was underwater… in a bubble. Jane was beside her in another bubble, but she was still unconsious. It’s dark down here, she thought. I’m dreaming...i’m dreaming… Marina repeated over and over, as she closed her eyes. Then she opened her eyes, only to discover that she was still there, in that dark empty place. Plop! Plop! It was a fish. The only fish in that entire cavern and it glowed; it glowed like the moon. It was blue–her favourite colour–and was almost transparent. It had strange markings on each side and had the most adorable eyes that stared at her own. Plop! The fish plopped into the bubble. It was so tiny. Just enough to fit in her palm. As Marina stood there holding the tiny fish, she knew that they had bonded–the fish and her. It was glowing even brighter now, as if it was glowing from happiness. “I’ll keep you,” she told herself. “Yes…” she heard a voice in her head say. The fish was communicating with her. “My name is Luna.” She woke up. She was holding a floating ball of water which rested on her hand where the tiny fish called Luna still glowed. Jane was right beside her staring as well into the little fish. Marina was amazed. She moved her other palm over it to the left and the little orb opened halfway. She moved her palm to the right and the orb closed. She looked up to Jane, who was staring at her. “What was that!?” Jane shouted with amazement. “I...I don’t know,” Marina answered, confused at what she

116

did with the bubble. “Hihi...” a voice in her head said. It was the fish. “Uhhm… Jane the fish is talking to me inside my brain.” Jane stared at Marina looking very confused. “How?” she asked. “I don’t know but I want to find out.” Just then, she and Jane saw themselves beholding a mesmerising world before them. The sky here was dark as the night in our world but stars in all sorts of bright sparkling colours coated its heavens. All sorts of familiar and unfamiliar animal species roamed this world, and many flew past them effortlessly. The fish were dazzling and danced like acrobats in the water. The trees and bushes were bejeweled with what looked like berries, and luscious fruits dangled on their vines. Little did the girls knew however that beneath all this beauty laid magic more powerful than anything they have ever seen. Their bubbles soon came to a halt. Marina, after admiring the scene, beckoned Jane to set up camp. “Jane help me find some wood,” Marina said. “Okay,” Jane replied, as she started gathering some sticks and twigs, while Marina gathered some leaves from nearby trees. “We need to set up camp because I’m guessing we’ll be staying here for a while, while we figure out how to get out of this place,” Marina responded, after Jane asked why they were setting up camp. “It was afternoon when we got transported here so it’s probably night. we can try looking for a cave or something tomorrow, she added. “Maybe we could build a boat?” Jane suggested. “Or a raft. “Good idea, Jane. Let’s start in the morning.” As Marina was lulled into deep slumber, she found herself underwater once more

117

in another bubble with Luna. “Hello, Marina,” the fish said, as it communicated telepathically. She was still in the orb. “Could you let me out for a bit, I would like to stretch for a while,” Luna said. “Of course,” Marina said. As she opened the orb, the little fish got out and swam around Marina, tickling her in the process. Marina laughed so hard, and soon realised that she was feeling genuinely happy for the first time in six years. “That is enough fun for now,” the fish said as she swished her tail back and forth expanding the bubble. She then started to glow even brighter until she was enclosed in the light. Soon, the light faded reavealing that Luna transformed into a kind looking woman wearing light blue robes. With her beautiful aqua eyes that seemed riddled with wisdom and strength, the lady was stunning, Marina thought. Her hair was a wavy cloud that was tinted with different shades of blue. Her skin was a tint of mixed aquamarine and minty green. Her hands had fins and she had gills at the right side of her neck. Oddly though, she carried a large scythe at one hand. “Hello, Marina,” the lady said. “Hi,” came Marina’s response. “I came here to send a message to you, and to guide you on this journey,” Luna said. “Sadly, I come to bring good and bad news,” she continued, forming an orb much like the one she was kept in. An image started to form–at first it was blurry and hazy. When the image started to become clearer, she realised it was her father. No, it could not have been her father. Her father had dark brown, joyful eyes, curly black hair that bounced even without hair gel, and had perfectly ironed clothes. But it was her father for he had the same eyes–except this version was lacking the joy and humour, and instead, was full of

118

fear and doubt. It was the same curly hair that she played with when she was young but they were now droopy. And to top that, his clothes were all tattered and torn. “Mari,” a hoarse weak voice that was barely a whisper, spoke a nickname only my father knew. “Your mother and I hid something from you. We were once the King and Queen of a kingdom under the sea called Elipse, where the people were like our most faithful messenger and warrior, Luna. We were the things you people called mer-people, But we prided ourselves as Elps. We protected all the creatures of the sea and could morph water into different shapes, and used many powers. But, our kingdom had long been destroyed and the last remaining power of the Elps lies within your hands. Mari, I cannot sustain my powers any more. I am leaving the last of my strength to you and your mother. You must continue without me. Goodbye Mari.” Then, the image disappeared. Marina broke down to sobs, “Luna, Luna! Tell me where he is! Tell me! Did I run away for nothing? Am I to find out that my father is dead?” “Marina, calm down,” Luna said softly. “How? How can you calm down if you ran away from home to find out that the person you’re looking for is dead!?” she screamed, her voice cracking. Marina sat down on the seabed to calm herself. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “No, Marina. You came here for a reason... To learn how to control your powers. Your father will always be there with you, and so will I. And Jane too. She is a good friend, Marina. Turn to her,” said Luna, who faded in her dreams. When Marina awoke up, she was clutching Luna who had wrapped herself and the girl in one big glowing orb. She knew she would never see her father’s face again, or feel his reasurring

A FEW WEEKS had passed and Marina was already in full control of her powers. She learnt to manipulate water into different shapes and give them life. She could also create storms and cyclones and make water in to any weapon. Marina could also create anything she thought of, even without water around, since she could pick out water droplets from the air around her and the clouds, although she worked best with water itself. Luna taught Jane how to fight as well, and to use her

119

embrace anymore. Jane found Marina in her tent surrounded by an orb and beside her was Luna. Jane reached her hand in and her arms passed through. Then her torso and her legs. The orb expanded to accommodate a third occupant. Jane discovered she could breathe inside the orb, and soon settled beside Marina. She put her arm around her best friend, and a sudden flash shook her, and just like that, she knew all that happened. “Marina?” she asked, trying to hide the fear. Marina suddenly embraced Jane, and started crying onto her shoulder. She hugged her friend in return. They sat there in silence, enjoying the peace. Even for a while. They spent the rest of the day talking in the orb or eating what had been left of the supplies, just like they did inside their tents back in Batangas. Later in the day, Marina showed Jane Luna’s true form. “Hello Jane,” Luna said as she finished transforming. “Hi…” Jane said, mesmerised while Marina stood beside her laughing. “It is time for Marina to learn how to control her powers.”

120

surroundings for resources. All the while, Luna was reluctant to tell the girls why they were training when they asked every so often, so she told them that it was her master’s wish for his daughter– that was still partly true though. But oe day, the girls became too persistent. Luna finally gave in: she told them the prophecy of the Elps and it went like this: As the king of the Elpans fall, He shall steal the powers that call. In the land that is hidden, Lies the power that is forbidden. He will rise at the strike of dawn, And call upon his worst pawn. But a heroine, she shall rise, She will lead him to his demise. With an ally by her side, The forces of good and evil shall collide. When Marina heard this, she fell writhing in pain, as she saw glimpses of a creature so hideous that she tried to get into her own dreamscape and see what she could do. “Marina! Are you okay?” Jane said instantly, standing by Marina’s side. Luna touched Marina’s forehead, and she stopped. She then lifted her up, using an orb that she used to surround her before. “I am truly sorry, Jane. I should not have told you,” Luna said, as she looked at Marina’s unconsious body. “It’s okay, really, we just wanted to–” but she didn’t finish her words. They continued to walk to camp silently.

“YES, I’VE DONE IT!” Marina said to herself as she opened her eyes to see a beautiful horizon. The lush green vegetation looked spectacular against the blue lake. It was Taal lake. She was home.

121

But, as she turned around to face the city she saw a massive whirlwind. There are no whirlwinds in the Philippines. She ran towards her town. As she did, she looked closer at the whirlwind. It was the thing she saw after she heard the prophecy. It was exactly how she saw it. With a massive tail and an almost translucent body covered with another layer of translucent scales, the creature had wings the size of a building, and glinting pale-blue teeth. Its mouth was foaming like a rabid dog and it had horns that were big enough to pierce through buses. But the thing about the beast that stood out the most was its eyes: the golden rims that surrounded the pupil mirrored pure hate and evil. Its pupils were as black as a black hole. “PHEOBE, ERIK GET OUT OF HERE!” shouted a familliar voice. “Mom?” Marina said as she turned around only to find her mother wearing a white top and jeans while manipulating the water from the tank that crashed over a building. She was trying to distract the creating while calling out to Jane’s parents. Other residents were also trying to get on the white seashell-looking craft that actually looked more like a giant hermit crab. “Mom!” Marina shouted as she tried to run towards her mother. “Marina, are you all right?” her mother asked while momentarily looking away from the creature. “What is that?” Marina asked as she shouted over the screaming people and the thing smashing everything in its path. “It’s one of his minions–his pets,” her she replied. “Marina, you have to get out of here... It’s not safe, dear” her mother cautioned. “But I’ve already mastered my powers, Mom. I came to help you,” she protested.

122

“Marina, please, if you really want to help, ask Luna about the Transformative Spell. See you soon my child...” she said. Marina woke up after that. “Jane!” Marina screamed as she woke up, her head still throbbing. “You’re awake! Jane cried out in relief as she entered the little room made out of sticks and leaves. “Fill me in...what happened after I fell?” Marina asked in an urgent tone. “Well we brought you back here and while you were unconsious you were saying something about a creature and the Transformative Spell or something like that,” Jane said. “Jane, I had a dream–no, actually, I bended the dreamscape… I was not with Luna... I was at home. Our home. What do you think? Should I ask Luna?” Marina said, as she finished recalling the story. “Maybe, but, it was just a dream,” hesitated Jane. “I know, but it was so vivid and real,” Marina replied. “So? What now?” Jane asked. “We tell Luna,” Marina said sternly.

“THE TRANSFORMATIVE SPELL?” Luna said in surprise. “Mom told me to ask you…” Marina said. “If the queen commands it, then so it shall be,” said Luna in an obedient tone. Meanwhile, back at Batangas, it was utter chaos. Everything that happened in Marina’s dream was actually happening. At first Judie couldn’t belive it. Marina was alive.... and she knew how to bend the dreamscape? It was impossible...unless Luna trained her. Marina, please, if you really want to help...ask Luna about

AT THE FIRST day of her training for the transformation spell, she thought it would be easy. But it was 100 percent pure torture. It turned out that it was the easiest spell of all, but somehow, she just couldn’t do it. “It is okay, Marina. This is normal. It is especially harder because you’re not used to it. Remember, as royalty, you have to transform into three things: An Elpan, your chosen animal form, and, back into a human,” Marina recalled Luna saying. First, she tried turning into an Elpan. It did work, but only long enough to see herself in a mirror, and she didn’t even have a mirror. It took almost six weeks for her to master that part of the spell, and soon after, she found out that her animal form was that of an octopus. While she tried mastering her animal form, Luna and Jane were growing anxious. They hadn’t told Marina the news, but they knew they had to. They decided to wait until the next day before telling her. “Marina, remember that Prophecy and the line that mentioned the word dawn?” Jane asked. “Yes... What about it?” asked Marina. “Well Luna and I figured out that the exact date that he was going to attack will be on December 12, at precisely 12:00am. “So? We don’t even know when that is.” “Yes we do, When we left it was late August. Luna has been keeping track of how many weeks we’ve been here...and it’s a been twelve weeks...” Jane said anxiously.

123

the Transformative Spell. See you soon my child... For now, she hoped for the best while underneath a shell of a giant hermit crab with other residents and her friends.

“So you do know when December 12 is?” Marina asked. “Yeah, it’s tomorrow,” Jane said reluctantly. After their conversation, Marina asked Luna if she could train a little later so she would have time to sleep for the rest of the day, and if she could wake her up during meals, or when it was time to train. Luna thought this was a great idea, and so she agreed. Jane joined Marina and rested as well. When it was half past nine, Luna waked Marina and Jane up. As Jane practiced her moves, Marina transformed into an Elpan and Luna materialised a whole army of bizzare creatures: one had scales for skin but at the same time had human features like legs. Marina was guessing it was a female because of the other human features. It had gills even though it was part-human. Another creature had a human torso and legs, although his legs were also covered with scales.

124

IT WAS HALF past eleven and the soldiers were ready. Jane wore indestructable armour, while Marina who now had a bluish green tone to her skin, and green and blue hair although her eyes remained in its hazel tint. She wore a silky, yet indestructible dress that flowed past her knees. It was white and blue, and came with some very comfortable mint green boots that were actually made from a kind of rock found in Elipse, which was traditionally used for battle armour. At 11:45, they were all out on the grass, soldiers patroling the area. THUMP...THUMP...THUMP... The ground shook. A creature bigger than the one terrorising her hometown came out of the woods, glowing red with power. This was him. He had an army of disfigured-looking hybrids of all sorts of species, but he was the most disfigured of them all. His torso was

125

of a human, yet he did not have a nose; instead he had two holes on his face, and brandished a mischevious grin. The rest of his body was covered with scales, and instead of feet he had a pair of snake tails. However, the most terrifying of his features were his eyes. They were golden and glistening and were red around the edges and carried an even more evil tinge. “So this is the warrior that shall deafeat me? Well, well, well, why not just go and flee?” its deep voice echoed. “You will fall, you beast. I will not back down!” shouted Marina. Little human wants to play, Just give up and I’ll let you stay. I’ll spare your lives including yours This does not have to end in wars. He smiled. “I will never join you,” Marina shrieked. He frowned. “Ahh!” he bellowed as he and his army charged towards them. “Luna, Jane! Lead the soldiers to the armies. I’ll take care of him,” Marina exclaimed. Jane did not like the idea, but she followed. “Hey fish breath!” Marina yelled as she diverted the creature from his army. The land that you are standing on, Will lead to a great new dawn. It is where you shall heave your final breath, And give in to your death. “I will never give up no matter what!” Marina shouted again. “Foolish girl! You shall perish!” he shouted, lashing one his tails at the heroine. Marina ran. It was too huge a gap to jump over though. She then materialised her own scythe and slashed his tail.

126

It did nothing. He was too big. Haha! You shall perish girl! “You think!?” she said smirking at the beast, while plunging her scythe into his tail once more. She materialised more scythes and plunged each of them into his flesh. Little girl, I am indestructable. “You wish!” Marina yelled, as she dematerialised each of the scythes, but one. She used that one to connect all the gashes. “Ahhh!” the creature screamed in agony. Marina used this opportunity to climb up to its chest. “Get off of me!” he shouted, trying to grab her. She grabbed on tight as she materialised three scythes and plunged them into his chest. He instantly disintegrated. But Marina fell flat on the ground. THUD! “Ugh… wha...what happened?” “Marina!” Jane cried out, hugging her with tears in her eyes. “What happened?” “The things just disintegrated on the spot,” Jane answered. “We saw you lying on the ground,” Luna continued. She was happy that they won though. She embraced Jane and Luna. She was perfectly happy.

A FEW MONTHS later, They all returned home–including Luna who was given the power to transform into a human by Marina’s mother. Judie told Pheobe and Erik about her identity and they promised to keep it a secret. Twenty years later, Marina had her own family and had never stopped looking for Elipse. Her expeditions soon ran out of budget and she decided to go on her last expedition. Her husband and her best friend, Jane

127

came with her. Marina left her daughter with her mother and went off. The murky waters of Taal were not going to stop her. She sensed something, not something bad, but the feeling of home. She tranformed. A little hut too perfect for rock formations started to become clear. She went inside. She saw something amazing: fifteen Elpans were having supper. But, one of them stood out. Could it be? She squinted her eyes. It was! â&#x20AC;&#x153;Father!â&#x20AC;? She ran to him, and hugged him and the other Elpans one by one. Now, she felt truly happy.

A B O U T T H E A U T H O R S

CARLA VENICE PEÑA Carla loves reading all kinds of books, especially fiction books. she was inspired by one of her favourite stories, “The Girl Between Two Worlds,” to write this story. Carla hates heights, but like one of her characters, she loves the ocean and animals.

128

CHELIN AURA EVEON RECTO Chelin loves reading books. She likes reading series and chapter books. she also sings and loves crafting. Chelin plays the piano, and has pet dogs! She is creative and is bookworm since forever. She is also very close to her friends. DANIEL REUBEN BANTA Daniel is an amateur artist and is a budding writer. He loves reading horror stories and like cartoon shows that feature dimensional jumping, and those with deep dark lore. He has started to write stories because he also wants to draw their covers. GABRIELLE ALLISON DE TORRES Gaby loves dogs and flowering plants. She likes reading her Gerenimo Stilton books, and she cannot sleep without hugging her pillows. She likes listening to music, and dislikes stinky stuff. She is obsessed with clothes and shoes! Gaby likes drinking lemonade and watching sports, but hates horror movies. She also draws, sings and dances.

SOFIA VIEN LEONOR Sophia loves to read books like Dork Diaries, Geronimo Stilton, Goddess Girls and a lot more. She also enjoys reading the almanac. Sophia plays board games too, like Uno, Monopoly, and Exploding Kittens, among others. She is also a part of her schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newspaper.

129

KIERZTEN NIAMH ESGUERRA Kierzten loves reading adventure books, and collects them too. She loves to dance as well. Kierzten admits that she can be moody and childish at times. She loves soft things like stress balls and stuffed toys. Kierzten can be quite weird at times; she a dog-lover, a nature-lover and a bookworm.

Girl Meets Ghost and Other Stories is the first e-book anthology under EICâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship writing course, the Neo-Writers Project (NWP) LITE. Featuring six stories from budding writers aged between 10 and 15, this e-book is the result of close to three months of mentorship under the programme.

130

A modular mentorship writing suite designed for youths, to develop core language skills and critical thinking through story-building and narrative techniques, the Neo-Writers Project (NWP) PHL is both a showcase of expression and a platform for fresh content created by budding young writers.

https://neowritersphl.wordpress.com/