Crestfall

Chapter 3: The Legend

Chapter 3: The Legend

4:01 P.M.

"Class dismissed." Those two words made the hearts of my classmates leap. For them, they already called it a day, but for me...

"You're late.~~" Oh look. Janinna's jolly again. Earlier when I went back to the classroom from the library, I saw her gossiping cheerfully with some of our girl classmates. Damn those mood swings.

"Let's go!" She held her right hand up like a general charging for an all-out attack.

"Hey." I finally took the chance to speak. We just walked past the school gate.

"Yes, Jared.." She smiled.

"...Would you please tell me what is going on here? When we are on the library, you acted so weird. You were like those mannequins inside the department store."

"Do you really want to know?~~" She smiled.

"Yes."

She smiled.

I frowned upon seeing her smile to me over and over again. It is true that you look gorgeous when you smile, but there should be a limit.

She held my hand and pulled me. We didn't stop walking. She even ignored the embarrassed faces of the students we bumped on the way. I just smiled at that students and whispered, "I'm sorry. In a rush."

We stopped at the waiting shed beside the highway.

"Would you come with me?" She finally spoke. Her eyes glued to the vehicles passing by.

"Where?"

"My house." She looked at me, then smiled.

∆∆∆

Travelling from Kampola to Paraiso is a 45-minute walk by foot and a 15-minute ride by jeepney, tricycle, or any other kinds of passenger vehicles. Janinna and I waited for five minutes in the waiting shed before a jeepney arrived. We arrived at the municipal hall of Paraiso at 4:28 P.M.

"My parents are home, so you have to behave. Okay?~~" She happily said. I just nodded my head in agreement. This is my first time going to a girl's house, and Janinna is not just a 'girl'. She got my Cute Girl Rank No. 1, right? I am really nervous now.

Janinna said her house was six blocks away from Ivan's house. The idiotic smiler's premise sits on an apartment complex eight blocks from my house, so I deduced that she lives not that far from our house. I asked if we could stop at mine first, in which she agreed without any second thoughts.

At first, I had the intention to make her fluster with that request. Now that she wholly agreed to it, I instantly regretted it.

We arrived at our house at around 4:40 P.M. I initially wanted to ask her to stay outside while I quickly change to my daily clothes, but I held it in when I saw her walk past me and straight to our doorstep. She knocked twice and after at least 5 seconds, my mom opened the door. Janinna introduced herself with grace and my mom let her in. I almost felt like I'm the outsider here.

I immediately went up to my room after I asked Janinna to stay at the living room couch. I was getting undressed when I overheard her conversation with Mom, Dad, and Sarah.

"Hello, dear. Please make yourself at home." Mom said.

"Thank you so much!~~" Even not seeing her physically, I can imagine her smile with just the way she talks.

"How old are you?" That was Dad.

"I'm seventeen, sir."

"No. Don't call me 'sir'. Just Tito."

"Okay, Tito."

"Are you my brother's girlfriend?"

Oi.

There was silence for a moment. I even stopped my movements and waited for Janinna's answer.

"*giggles* No, little girl. I'm just his classmate~~"

Phew.

After wearing my jacket and looked at myself at the mirror for almost-infinite-times, I went down the living room. Mom and Dad sat at the long sofa chair, Sarah was nowhere to be found, and Janinna was still sitting at the couch while sipping her orange juice.

"Hey, let's go." I said.

"Wow. You look awesome, Jared.~~" Janinna giggled.

Mom and Dad looked at each other, and nodded. Hey, hey. Don't get the wrong idea.

"...Thanks, Janinna. Do we have to stay here..or we--"

"Okay!~~ Tito, Tita, your son is so persistent~~" She smiled again. If your smile is worth a peso, I'd be the wealthiest person in this country.

Janinna stood up and we walked out of the house. She waved her hand cheerfully to Mom and Dad - who was waving back at us.

"Hey, Janinna. You should start talking now. We wasted too much time. Why are we going to your house? What is it that you can't tell me at the library, or at the school, or on our way home?"

"Because it is not worth saying. I'll SHOW it to you." Her watery green eyes stared at me.

It was already dark when we stopped in front of a pink gate. I think we're here. Janinna pushed the doorbell installed beside the gate.

*DING DONG*

After almost a minute of waiting, the gate opened and a woman of her 30's showed.

"Good evening, Seniorita. I am sorry it took so long. I just finished cooking your dinner. Seniora is waiting for you."

Seniorita. Nice name you have there... Wait a second! SENIORITA?!! You are THAT rich?!

"Thank you, Yaya." Janinna said to her nanny. 'Yaya' is nanny in the Philippines, in case you're curious.

We entered the gate and I saw a large flower field cut in half by the road connecting the gate and a large fortress-like building 50 meters from where we are standing. I guess that enourmous flower field is JUST their garden.

I poked her shoulder.

"Huh?.. Yes, Jared?"

"That creepy-looking mansion out there..." I pointed at the mansion. "...is that your house?"

"Yes. Let's go!~~" Janinna shouted and pulled my hand.

I was exhausted when we arrived at their house. Janinna opened the front door and I saw a very beautiful woman inside, standing on the stairs. She wore a white one-piece dress. Her hair was clipped to the left with a hair clip. She has this familiar face. Also, a familiar smile. No doubt. She is...

"Hi, Mom!~~" Janinna ran to her mother and hugged her very tightly. Watching this kind of scenery makes my heart warm.

"Hello, dear. How's your day?"

"Just fine..." After saying that, Janinna reached for her mom's right ear and whispered something. After it...

"Oh. Really?" Her mother looked at me with the smile I am getting used to see.

"Good evening, Ma'am." I slightly bowed my head down.

"Just call me, Tita. I heard Janinna wants to show you something."

"Ah. Yes. Maybe..." I replied.

"Alright, then! Go to your room now, Janinna. I'll bring you your dinner." Tita said and smiled.

Upon stepping past the door that I only see as a boss dungeon entrance in video games, I was welcomed by a crazy a*s, humongous foyer that is reminiscent of the Croft Manor's entrance hall in Tomb Raider. Yes, I play a lot of video games, thank you very much.

At the center of the foyer, there's this big receiving area where, I guess, they accommodate guests in general. Two sets of staircases on each side of the wall goes up to the second floor where I think the rooms are located. In between the staircases, the receiving area consists of a sofa set, a coffee table, a magazine rack, a fireplace installed on the wall, and a western-ish style carpet covers the whole floor of this area.

Janinna held my arm and gestured me to follow her, which I obeyed. We trailed up the left staircase and turned left the massive hallway of the second floor. Speaking of the hallway, it reminds me of the hallway in Stanley Hotel, minus the elevator and creepy twins at the end of it. We walked until the last door on the right and she opened the door.

"Welcome to my room!~~"

Janinna's room is not a room, by the way. This is a freakin' studio type apartment. I appreciate the humility but this irks me. I WANT A ROOM LIKE THIS!

There are a lot of stuffed toys and dolls, a very hugh LCD flat screen monitor installed at the wall, a shelf of colorful books, a life-size Janinna, a big princess-type bed, a --

"!!!" I quickly gasped for air as I was about to shout, but Janinna interrupted me by calling out my name. I instinctively looked at her.

What startled me was that 'life-size Janinna' I saw was the one whom I talked to in the library! I could never forget that poker face.

"Is that..." I am shivering at this point.

"Let me explain." She mutters while she slowly walked towards her bed and gracefully sat on it.

"Who is that? You're twin sister?!" I asked as I was slowly sitting to the chair beside the bookshelf.

"I don't have any siblings. That is exactly what I want to show you. My supernatural ability. She is my decoy." Janinna answered. She walked towards her 'decoy' and waved her hand in the air. A small gust blew around the room and as the wind was circling around...

"..."

...Janinna's decoy slowly turned into dust and vanished.

"My ancestors have the ability to create decoys to cover themselves in times of emergency. Now, we call that decoys as 'doppelgangers'. That ability was passed from generations to generations. And now, I have that ability, too. The 'Janinna' that showed up to you in the library this noon was, obviously, not me."

My eyes couldn't believe what they just saw, but I have to man up right now. I just saw a thing that could potentially blow up the minds of the scientists worldwide and can cause massive crisis for the science and physics industry.

One thing I subconsciously noticed is the decoy's face. Maybe, the doppelgangers can perfectly copy their creator's physical appearance and state of mind - except their emotions.

Janinna continued, "Now, let's talk about the StarLight. Have you ever heard the whole story of the Legend of Senea's Star?"

"No."

"Okay. Listen carefully. I'll make this short so there's no reason you'll sleep in the middle of the story. Here it goes..."

~Once upon a time, there was a tribe of fairies who lived in a very hugh tree called Bran. The fairies believed that the tree of Bran gave life to them, and as long as the tree grows and lives, they will, too. Of course, if there is a tribe, there is a leader. Her name was Senea. She ruled the tribe of fairies for over 1000 years, yet she still looked very beautiful.

But, despite the law and being the leader of the tribe, Senea fell in love to a human in secret. She gave birth to a beautiful girl, which she named Leira. Leira was kept by her father and they left the town where the tree of Bran was located to keep the secret of their family to the fairies' tribe.

Inside the tree of Bran, there is a very large stone that the fairies believe to be the tree's heart. They called it the Crestfall. They protected that stone to every intruder that intends to take it. The Crestfall is formed from smaller stones called Crests. Every Crest holds individual element and power that balances the life of Bran. So if you remove a Crest, Bran will lose its Equilibrium of Life and it will slowly die, but the power of that Crest will be retained and whoever holds it - whether it is a fairy or a soul or a human - the power of that Crest will be dissolved inside the holder's body, and the holder can use its power whenever he likes. That's why the fairies protected it so badly so that no evil can uphold its unlimited power.~

I nodded to every sentence she says as a way of saying, "Okay. And then.."

~One day, a group of evil souls took over Bran by killing all the fairies. It was a very tragic event. The only survivor was Senea. She took the Crestfall and ran away, but the souls were too fast and powerful so they caught Senea.

But before Senea was caught by a soul in a form of a lightning sorceress, she used all of her magic powers to put the Crestfall inside her, but she was not able to control its immense power. The Crestfall took her life instead, and it used Senea's power to shoot itself to the sky. The souls saw the Crestfall shoot up to the sky and they believed it was the soul of Senea reaching for the Heavens, because when they caught Senea, she was already dead.~

"Okay. What about Leira? What happened to her? The bloodline of the fairies didn't end there because Leira is a half-fairy, right?"

"You ARE listening! Very good, Jared!~~ Just the same time Senea ran for her life, Leira heard the voice of her mother. She told her something."

"What was it?"

"'Leira, my daughter, you will see a bright ball that will fly towards the Heavens. It is me and our bloodline's heart and soul, the Crestfall. Please watch it for me. Every night I will look down to you, so make sure you will look up to me. But time will come and eventually the crests will go back down there. Please do whatever it takes to find and collect all the crests and you will see me again.' That was what she said."

"I'm surprised she was able to leave her a voicemail. Unbeli--"

"Won't you ask why I am saying this 'unbelievable' stuff to you?" Janinna interrupted what I was about to say.

Yeah. Think about it. Why would she do all these things for me? I am just a normal human. A happy human. If she, as a doppelganger creator or whatever they are called, can say all of this fantasy stuff to some supernatural human out there, that would be more beneficial to her and their cause.

Before I could speak, three knocks on the door was heard.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"It's Mom." Janinna said and approached the door.

Janinna's mom wore a very flashy apron while holding a tray full of foods and delicacies.

"Oh. Have you finished your storytelling, honey? Here." Tita laid down the tray on the small table beside the chair I'm sitting. The tray had a bowl full of rice, some Filipino cuisines like sinigang, adobo, and caldereta. There is also a large bowl full of candies and sweets.

"Eat all you can. Enjoy your meal!" Janinna's mom smiled endlessly while walking towards the door.

"By the way..." I thought about something while she already started wolfing down her food.

"..Whoth ith ith?" Janinna answered. She said, "What is it?". Have you forgotten that you don't have to talk while your mouth is full?

I sighed, but continued, "...what was the StarLight? Do you mean the stone that just dropped on the town's park last night was Senea's shard? Does that count as a Crest?"

Janinna swallowed all of her mouth's contents, drank some water, then answered, "Yes, and no."

"Elaborate, please." I said as I remove the plastic packaging of a chocolate candy.

"Yes, it is indeed a Crest. No, it is not a shard of Senea. The legend of Senea's star was only created to cover the truth from the souls. Senea will not come back just as she promised to her daughter. She knew that the Crestfall were using ALL of her powers, but Senea's power is limited. It can only last for a thousand years. After Senea's power is depleted, there should not be enough power for the Crestfall to stay hidden there." She pointed up.

"Once the power is depleted, Crestfall, you know, falls. As it is falling, it's integrity will be compromised, shattering it back to the smaller Crests, and that would also mean that it will be scattered, not just here, but possibly out there." Her arm went all the way up to gesture way farther above than her earlier point.

"What? You mean, outer space?"

"Yep."

Right. Nothing surprises me at this point.

"So how would we know if the thing that fell down here in Paraiso last night was a legitimate Crest?"

"Mom thinks that if we can take the stone that had fallen down to the town's park, we would know what is the element of that Crest."

Obviously. Wait...

"Element?"

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Someone knocked again at the door. Maybe it's her mom again.

"Come in." Janinna called. The door creaked open...

"..."

...a familiar face opened the door. It was her...

"Dopel, report." Janinna commanded to her doppelganger who opened the door.

Seriously, did you just spread out a lot of doppelgangers in the whole town?

"Master, I just found out the element of the Crest that dropped here exactly 21 hours and 34 minutes ago."

I was about to look at my watch to calculate if it is exact, but Janinna spoke,

"What is it, then?"

Silence enveloped the room for three blinks, then the decoy opened her soft lips,

"The Fire Crest."

As I was about to comment, the decoy spoke again. Could you please let me speak for a second?

"..But some of my resources say that the local government of Paraiso will sell the stone to a group of scientists in France."

"What?! No way! We must get the Fire Crest before it's too late! You must get it, Jared!" Janinna yelled uncontrollably.

"What? Why me?! Go call your fellow doppelganger masters and form a 'force' that is actually able to save that stone. I'm just a normal human person."

"No, Jared. Come to think of it, you still didn't even ask me why I revealed all of those classified information to you!"

"Huh. Okay. Why then?"

"Because you are the last male descendant of Senea!"

I dropped the chocolate candy I was holding.