Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

Weird Encounters

My name is Ana. An eighteen-year-old girl. I am now a first-year college student studying at Horizon Reached University. And I am secretly a mermaid.

I was very young when I suddenly came into an unnerving place. A place where the sun always shines. A place where rag leaves are abundant. At the heart of that place was a huge lake, calm and blue. It was where I first transformed.

Sometimes I was there, sometimes I was not. I thought it was like a dream but it felt like I was not. The plants, the trees, and the breeze blowing onto me were real. It was a place of mystery. I got there involuntarily.

However, I was not alone. Every time I get there, I keep on meeting these two girls. Their names are Grace and Seline. We became friends. Like me, they are mermaids chosen by the land. There will be more adventure waiting for me. I wonder where they are now? Are they also wondering about my existence?

I am a girl who has an extraordinary secret. I am a girl who is living between two realities. I am a girl chosen by a sacred place I don't even know. I am a girl with a deep secret...

***Blue Water****

Her next class was still an hour away. Ana was with her fellow Arts Club members. They were at the first-floor corridor of the Ramos Building - another building adjacent to the UPA Building. She, with three senior high students and two college students, was distributing flyers to the students who were walking in that area.

"Kuya. Arts Club po. Don't forget to join our club," she persuaded. But she was ignored.

Another girl came toward her.

"Hi, ate!" she reached out her hand handling a flyer. "Arts Club po. Please join." Yet, she was ignored.

Meanwhile, a Grade-12 student, the president of the club, approached her.

"Study Hour's already over. Let's continue this tomorrow," She told her.

"Yeah, I agree." Ana agreed. "I am tired".

And then...

A group composed of five girls was suddenly seen walking and approaching while laughing. They were all in college. The Art Club members slowly compressed towards each other while seeing them coming.

They began to murmur.

"Here comes the look-downers."

"They assume they are the most beautiful."

"They are all ugly. One of them thinks she's sexy. The truth is, she's a pig."

"Uhus! You are only rich, uy!"

"They are all sluts..."

"What do they think they are? Owners of this school?"

And other more terms they spoke out. Ana was silent, just staring at the approaching group with an insecure expression on her face.

Finally, they stopped by. Ana's club members crossed their arms across their chests as they scowled. The girls also did the same.

"Can you please just walk? We have already cleared the path for you. See?" A college freshman told them.

The girl who appeared to be the eldest and their leader rolled her eyes.

"Ugh...Look who's talking," she said. The girls behind her laughed.

"What do you want? Ate Jennifer." Ana asked.

"Nothing. I just want to see Eliza." She said. " Unfortunately...I forgot she was sick," She creased the upper part of her nose.

" And I am happy that she isn't around right now because, at last, I can have my revenge on you." She pointed one to another. "And you! And you." Then she turned her fingers to Marjorie, a second-year college student and a friend of Elisa. "And especially you!"

" Hoy! You are the ones who always start a ruckus." Marjorie talked back. Everyone on her side agreed. "But the sad thing is... you are all losers."

"Right! Right!" The five with her yelled.

"You don't do much in your life, do you? That's why you always seek war. It's not because you have a very good life. It doesn't mean you five..." Marjorie paused for a second. She put her hands on her forehead as she closed her eyes.

"Oh yeah... you have another recruit.," She continued. "Lorie is her name, right?"She muttered. " Even if you add her to your group, you still are evil sluts. So, stay away from the Arts Club because we all know we are all paying to be here."

After that, Marjorie and her comrades walked away, leaving them there speechless.

:::::::::::::::::

She couldn't move on to that awkward moment that happened to her with Sherdel a while back. While Grace Joy wasn't looking, Sherdel's eyes were examining her anxiously. Grace Joy knew that he was still looking at her even though her pupils were focused on the blackboard. Slowly, she rotated her head to see if he was still looking. Immediately, Sherdel faced to the front. Confirmed, he was still making fun of her. She rotated her head back in front, then she began to take down notes. Sherdel slowly turned his head to glance at her once more. Grace Joy wasn't looking.

Then, unexpectedly, the phone he laid down on his desk vibrated. It made him startle. The vibration reacted to the wooden surface and so the sound was enhanced so that everyone around him did hear. Even Grace Joy turned her head around toward Sherdel. Sherdel immediately shut down his phone.

He looked to see Grace. She just gave him an awkward smile instead of a complaint. Sherdel slightly smiled back, then he raised his left arm. "S-sorry," he said. The way he said it was not sincere, and neither was the tone of joking. The way he said it appeals to no emotion. Then he apologized to the others. After that, he put his phone inside the 'pocket' under the flat wooden desk.

While staring at the blackboard, Grace finally said something. "Hi," she said.

Sherdel looked at her with his eyes blank with out any sincerity. He squinted as he ask a question without a care. "Who the hell are you?"

Offended by what he just said, Grace briefly looked at him with disappointment. She stared back at the front.

"Really, you have been awkwardly staring at me for how many minutes and that's what you're going say to me?" she complained.

Sherdel scoffed. "What else do you want me to say? 'Hi'? 'Hello'?"

Grace turned her head toward him. She smiled. "I am hoping you respond with a more polite response."

"Sorry, I don't do that. Especially to someone I barely know."

"Okay," Grace nodded. She turned her head back to the front. "How rude. I can't believe you are not what I expected you to be."

Sherdel heard what she said. "What do you mean 'expecting you to be?" he asked.

Grace widened her eyes. She was surprised. She didn't know that he had that strong sense of hearing. She thought she muttered low enough.

"Hmm...? Nothing. Nothing. Don't mind me. I am talking to myself," she replied.

"So, you remember me."

"Yeah," she replied. "Unfortunately..."

"Look. Whatever you heard from that time, must be kept only to yourself, okay? No one has to know about that," he told her.

"Don't worry. You're lucky I am not that kind of vocal person," she said.

"Good," Sherdel nodded. "Let's pretend that never happened. If possible, let's not know each other," he said.

"Okay?" Grace responded with one of her eyebrows raised.

Then, the teacher noticed them. All the students are looking at the blackboard except for those two.

"Mr. Alhibing. Do you know each other?" she immediately asked.

"Alhibing?" Grace widened her eyes with shock. She looked at him, then she looked at the teacher. "Really?"

Sherdel flashed his eyebrows, then he clicked his tongue on Grace.

"Really? You seem to know each other. Are you a cousin of theirs?" she asked further.

"Oh. No, ma'am. In fact, I never met him in my whole life," Grace replied.

Then Gregory chimed in. "So, he is flirting with you or something?"

"AYEEEIII!" Everyone in the room reacted as they suddenly felt the romantic excitement. Grace felt embarrassed by their reactions.

"No," she shook her head.

"Ahem! Womanizer! Ahem!" Gregory coughed faking to taunt Sherdel.

Sherdel rolled his eyes. He glanced at Gregory with a piercing warning in his eyes. He was irritated by the accusation by Gregory. There he goes again, there is not a single day that Sherdel wasn't pissed whenever that stupid cousin of his is around.

"He's just being friendly. I mean, what's wrong with that?" Grace retaliated against the class.

"Okay! Kids. Let's get back to our lecture. Anyways, don't chat while I am still in the middle of my lecture," the teacher informed them.

"Sorry, ma'am," Grace apologized. Sherdel just nodded.

:::::::::::

It was already the end of the day. Grace Joy's first day of school was also over. It was past five when she was walking down the stairs of the Ramos Building heading to the first floor. There is a corridor on the first floor that students use as a path to head to the nearby United Philippine Architect's (UPA) Building.

When she got there in the corridor, lots of students were there. Some were at the corner, gathered in groups standing by while watching the rain outside. Some were walking to the UPA Building. Some were heading to the opposite side. Ana was one of those people. She was in a hurry since she was getting late for the club meeting held on the second floor of the building.

Ana couldn't explain what she was feeling. Her psychic senses kicked in again. She can feel her brain pumping out some electrical impulse. Never knowing that the reason why her active psychic sense was Grace who was coming to her. Her brain pumping was getting stronger and stronger. The ring in her mind was getting louder, annoying her ears. Yet, she ignored that sensation. She continued to rush to the stairs.

Grace, on the other hand, had no idea that her long-lost friend was approaching. She saw Ana coming but she didn't know it was her because Ana was wearing a cap making her face hard to identify, especially since Grace had never met her in person.

Ana's psychic impulse reached its peak when she collided her left shoulder with Grace's right shoulder. Like she just heard a bomb up close, her ear shut down. Instead, all she heard was a ring with no other background noises.

Grace looked at her with just a glance. However, it was just a brief glance.

"Sorry," Grace apologized, then she resumed walking.

However, Ana stopped and looked back to see the girl she collided with walking away.

"Grace?" she muttered. Her sense of hearing came back to normal. Her brain was not behaving unusually anymore.

She cannot believe it. Was it Grace who she collided with? Was it just her eyes were playing tricks with her? If that girls who she collided with really was Grace, then that explains the reason why she was experiencing another psychic anomaly. She couldn't thnk of another reason. That must be it! However, she never met Grace in person. She wasn't sure if she's going to follow the girl she collided with to confirm if that's really Grace, a friend she had met at that place in her dream. She wasn't confident at all.

"Ana!" one of her clubmates called to her from a distance. She was on the stairs standing there, waiting for Ana to come over.

Ana snapped out of her wondering. She turned to see her clubmate.

"We're gonna be late if you further stand there," she said.

"Oh. Right. The club," Ana suddenly paced again. She ran towards the stairs. She shrugged off the doubts in her mind and chose to think about her tasks that day instead.

:::::::::::

That night...

The moon was shining bright and lit up a dark forest. In the forest was Wendel, who was panting as he ran as fast as he could. He kept on stumbling over and over but he kept on standing up and running to avoid the hunter who was after him. The hunter was trying to shoot him as it chased him. Wendel was getting more tense, fearing his life to disappear just by a silver bullet. He stumbled once more. That time he could barely stand up since the hunter shot him in the foot. When the hunter was close enough, he did jump into the air, planning to slam his heavily built body at Wendel. Wendel quickly turned himself into a wolf as tall as a sedan. As the hunter landed on him, Wendel faced up and slashed the hunter with his claw. The hunter was sent away flying until he hit a tree trunk. Wendel got up. Just when he was about to run, the hunter stood up as quickly as he could. He immediately pointed the gun at Wendel. With all his last remaining strength, he pulled the trigger. Wherever part of Wendel's body the bullet came through, it was okay as long as he didn't miss the target. The bullet struck through Wendel's abdomen. Wendel squealed in pain as he fell over.

Instead of a take-back, he immediately ran away while the enemy was immobilized. The hunter couldn't do anything at that time since it was hard for him to get up because of the injuries. The hunter fell and laid himself down on the leafy soil. He was breathing heavily while waiting for his very last breath to be exhaled.

Wendel successfully ran away from the scene despite him being shot in the leg and somewhere in his abdomen. He left, leaving traces of blood on the ground.

Ana gasped as she woke up in her bed. She was catching her breath as her eyes widened in shock. It was just a dream. She sat up for a while to relax.

"It's just a dream...it's just a dream...," she murmured. "Thank God it's just a dream."

She looked out her window. The lighting was shining on the entire background, including her room, although the window was covered with a curtain. From the loud sound coming from the roof, she could tell the rain was heavy and was accompanied by thunder.

::::::::::::::

The sky was dark, the thunder roaring, and the rain poured hard. The temperature outside was cold.

It was late at night. However, Benjie was in the kitchen cooking food, sinigang na hipon, for dinner. On the other hand, Kendrick was asleep on the couch in the living room while the TV was on.

Benjie was stirring the pot of broth as he hummed. However, his spirit broke when his mark shone again.

"Argh! Damn it! Damn! SHOOT!" he yelled in pain. Although the pain happened in a second, it really tortured him. It felt like he was electrocuted or stung by a hundred jellyfish. Even though he could no longer feel pain, his mark was still shining. His hand was shaking due to the pain the mark just inflicted seconds ago.

The sudden sting also made him throw the pot he was stirring off the stove. It fell down to the floor causing the shrimps, the broth, and the condiments to spill out.

"Kuya Benjie?" Ken immediately came to check on him. He was surprised to see a pot with a spilled hot viand on the floor.

He looked at his big brother who was standing before the pot. He suddenly got worried seeing Benjie covering the tattoo on his wrist with his other hand. Benjie's arm was shaking. Ken just froze. He was terrified.

"Are you okay?"

Suddenly, Benjie started to grow some fur. His eyes turned light brown and resembled those of a wolf. His teeth are sharpening.

"I can sense someone's coming," Benjie told him softly.

"But my senses don't--"Ken's statement cut when a loud crackle of broken glass was heard. The glass was from the window in the living room.

"Stay here. I'll go check it out," Benjie instructed.

"What? No, I'll go with--"

"Stay here, okay? That's my order," Benjie insisted.

Ken had no choice but to nod. Benjie then went ahead to the living room.

Benjie came in. He immediately noticed the shards of glass scattered on the floor. To his surprise, he saw a guy sitting down below the broken window. The stranger was leaning his back on the wall. He was breathing heavily as he anxiously looked at Benjie. He was shaking due to the cold, and he was very wet. He was covering a stab wound in his hip with his hands. It was not only the part of his abdomen that was bleeding. There were scratch marks on his face and his arms.

Benjie looked at the part he was covering. He could see blood flowing down. He was terrified. He wondered where he came from, what happened to him and who he was. He never saw that guy all his life.

His mark was shining brighter. It was at that moment that his mark was shined the longest. His mind was buzzing loudly again but louder. His pulse raced faster.

But from the looks of it, the stranger is not there to invade. That time, Benjie had to save the guy.

"You..." the guy spoke. He raised one of his hands forward to Benjie's direction.

Benjie was surprised. There is a tattoo on his wrist too. The same mark that he has. Like what the tattoo was doing on Benjie's wrist, the stranger's tattoo was shining brightly, responding to Benjie's.

"Who are you?" Benjie asked, terrified and confused about what was happening.

Then, he became unconscious, dropped his hand and he closed his eyes. Immediately, Benjie came over and he called Ken for assistance.

:::::::::::

Benjie was in the hallway of a hospital. He was standing restlessly while staring at the glass wall. On the other side of that glass was a room where the stranger was admitted. The stranger was lying on a hospital bed sleeping with an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose.

Ken came over. He smiled at his big brother to boost his optimism. Benjie smiled back. He took his eyes back to the glass.

"Who is he?" Ken asked.

Benjie shook his head. "I don't know."

"He has the same tattoo as yours. How did that happen?" Ken asked further.

"Ken. I... I can't understand this -- my situation, too," Benjie said. "I don't know why I had this in the first place. I don't know how I got it. I just woke up and 'bam' the lizard is there.'

Then, Seth finally found them there. There were two agents with him. "Benjamin!" he called.

Benjie and Ken widened their eyes in surprise, wondering why they were at the same hospital they were in.

"Why are you here?" Benjie anxiously asked.

"Are you guys okay?" Seth asked worriedly.

"What do you mean? We are fine. What are you doing here anyway? Didn't I tell you we must not meet again?" Benjie said.

"My agents say that there is an invader in your house. Where is he?" Seth asked.

"What? How did you--?"

"Sorry, Benjie. As I said, you and your little brother are under surveillance," Seth replied.

"I told you not to show your face or any of your association crap out of my face?" Benjie said frustratingly.

"You are a part of a case. As long as you have that wrist tattoo, you are strictly watched from afar."

"Tell me. What happened?"

Benjie shook his head as he glared. "Who is that guy over there?" He pointed at the resting stranger. "Why does he have the same freaking tattoo on his wrist?"

"What?" Seth brought his eyebrows together. He was surprised.

"Don't act like you don't know. Who is he and why the frig do we have the same mark?"

"I don't know," Seth answered. "However, thanks for bringing him here alive, or else another disaster might happen. You are lucky he came to you."

"You really believe that those strange things happened because of this?" Benjie chuckled while he showed him his tattoo.

Seth didn't give him a direct answer. He just smiled and he stated his instructions instead. "Thank you for keeping an eye on him. From now on, he's under our custody. He'll be protected by my agents. He'll be guarded twenty-four seven to make sure no one's going to touch him. You two can go home now and rest."

"There is no one going home tonight," Benjie insisted. "We were the ones who sent him here safe and sound. You don't have the right to claim him for your stupid investigation. I will get the answer that I want alone, without any of your--"

"And you'll get it by the time he wakes up," Seth interrupted. "Work with us here, okay?"

"Kuya. I think he's right. He was in danger when we found him. Right now, he needs protection from them," Ken told his big bro.

"If you don't want to be guarded, then okay, so be it. I trust you to take care of yourself. But taking away his right to be protected just because of our stupid past does not help him at all. He is vulnerable right now. Do you think you can protect him from the hunters all by yourselves?" Seth argued.

Benjie turned away and faced the wall. He was pressured. He can't believe his mind is agreeing with the man he doesn't trust. He put his forearm on the wall and he put his forehead on it like a pillow.

"Kuya?" Ken touched Benjie's shoulder.

Benjie then moved away from the wall. Without looking at anyone of them, he quietly turned away and walked away angrily. Ken followed him afterward. They left Seth and his agents there. Seth sighed in relief. Their argument was smoother than he thought it would be.