The Moonlight Daughters

Flames Above the Water

Ana is in the back yard playing with black. She's been outside for thirty minutes now. Black enjoys the ball Ana tosses away and then he goes to where the ball dropped and he picks it up with his jaws and returns it to her. Meanwhile, while they are having a good time playing ball, her mother came at the door.

She told her that they have a visitor and the visitor is waiting for them inside at the living area. Ana's cheery face faded when she heard the news. The owner is going to get Black now. She's still having a good time with the dog. She wishes the owner should come later. However, it's the owner so what right does she have to object. And so, she picked up Black into her bosom and she took the dog inside.

Ana is now in the living area. She found a young boy standing next to the sofa. The boy smiled nervously. Ana kinda fond of him. He has a good looking face.

"Are you this dog's owner?" she asked.

The young boy nodded. "Yep. That's me."

Ana immediately went closer to him. "I am Ana."

"I am Cainnick."

****

At school...

Grace Joy was standing in a line for an audition. Everyone was readying their talents. Some were with guitars, some with wind instruments, while others hold nothing but they were vocalizing. Grace Joy sighed to lessen her nervousness.

"Number forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four and forty-five!" the announcer called.

"Get inside, now," she instructed. Then, the five auditionees went into the room. Grace Joy was now the first in line holding the number plate forty-six. Her heartbeat was faster as she moved forward in front of the room's door.

While looking through the open door, she can see that the inside was spacious. It has a few seats. She can see judges sitting while facing a small platform where the auditionees stood. Behind them were a few audiences. Upon seeing those people, she got more nervous. Behind the stage was a huge window. It was covered by a transparent curtain so she can't see the outside clearly but light.

"Relax Grace Joy. Just relax," she was trying to calm herself.

"This is the club that you wanna join, so just relax. You know how to sing. That's no problem." She was raising up her confidence.

She was shaking her hands to warm her up. Then, someone at the back tapped her shoulder. She got startled as she turned around to know who did that.

"Excuse me," the girl spoke.

"Hi," Grace Joy greeted.

"Is auditionee number fifty finished?" she asked.

"Not yet. Actually, number forty-six to fifty is the next batch to get inside," Grace Joy answered. The girl rolled her eyes and sighed in relief.

"Oh. Thank goodness. I made it," she said. "What's your number miss,"

"Number forty-six," she replied.

"Oh good. You see, I am number forty-seven. I am next after you," she told her. "Hay! Thank God, I made it in time."

Grace Joy smiled.

Then, the announcer came out along with the five who were called.

"Forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine and fifty!" She called.

The five raised their hands.

"You can come in now," the announcer said.

And so, before she entered, Grace took a deep breath, and then she smiled.

****

"I can't believe that Sir Matthew made you do this thing. I mean, this is too much," Gilhameer said. He was sitting down on the last row of the bleacher seat holding a cup of hot coffee while he was watching Cainnick on the lower row sweeping off the dust and some litters.

"This is outrageous. Buwisit!" he whined. "What wrong have I done to him?"

"Umm...besides crushing his beloved vase? Nothing," Gilhameer replied.

"This punishment is too much. I mean, just for a vase? I was sincere when I was apologizing a while ago. Moreover, I told him that I am going to pay him immediately."

"He does not like shortcuts. He wants you to suffer, dude," Gilhameer said and then he took a sip.

Cainnick sighed. He looked at his friend who was slurping.

"You like?" Gilhameer asked as he offers him his coffee.

"This is so wrong. Not unless there is some other punished student to help me up. It's much better if I clean an entire classroom. It's a lot smaller."

"Dude, believe me. You are not the first one to suffer cleaning in here alone. I remember when my classmate was caught cheating during the exam. Mr. Matthew immediately sent him here to clean." Gilhameer told him.

"At least he committed cheating. Well, no offense but he deserved it. But for me? You know me. I am just a decent Igorot."

"That's the part of the world." Then, he put down his cup and stood up. He picked up the broom which was laying beside him. He went down to the row lower than where Cainnick was.

"Tsk." Cainnick slowly shook his head. He was so upset and disappointed.

Gilhameer went close to him.

"Okay..." Gilhameer was thinking. "You forgot to tell me about how you found your dog."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," Cainnick's negative aura suddenly lessen after Gilhameer reminded him about that. He was thinking that he will forget what he was cleaning for somehow if he will tell out the story to his friend.

He was about to say a word but he suddenly paused when he sensed a very familiar feeling.

"Arg. Not again?" Gilhameer reacted just when he felt that feeling again.

"He's that guy, right?" Cainnick asked. The two turned their heads around to where the door is. They weren't surprised to see him at all. He was just about to enter the gym. He entered with a very serious face and his eyes were threatening

The two put down their brooms while they are still looking at him. They slowly walked down toward the court. The stranger also moved slowly to them.

"What do you want from us?" Cainnick asked while he was getting near him.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

Cainnick and Gilhameer both looked at each other. Both their foreheads creased while wondering what's up with him. A second later, they faced him again.

"Wait a minute..." Gilhameer spoke. "Do we know you?"

The stranger chuckled faintly.

"I know your intentions... Adan."

The two looked at each other once more. They were getting more confused.

"Adan?" Cainnick asked.

"You are probably mistaken. I am not Adan," Gilhameer replied.

"Oh? Let's see about that," he smirked. "I know you are him. You changed some skin again, you sicko," he told Gilhameer. Because of that, Gilhameer was getting more puzzled.

"Say what?" Cainnick spoke. He looked at Gilhameer with a confused expression painted on his face."I believe that this is just a misunderstanding."

****

Sherdel just entered the huge library.

"Hello babe?" he immediately holds his phone near his ear.

"Hey, where are you?" Alexa responded on the other line.

"At the librarian's desk," Sherdel answered.

"Okay, okay. Just stay in there, okay. I am about to go there anyway."

"Just get in here fast."

"Okay. Just wait for me there." Alexa cut off their conversation.

He hung up his phone. He took a deep breath and then he ballooned his cheeks. He felt frustrated. It felt like he was being bossed around by Alexa. He remained standing in front of the librarian's desk. He held his head down. He remained standing for a couple of minutes more but she wasn't there yet. And so, the impatient Sherdel moved forward and walked along the spaces between the shelves.

He finally got into the spaces beyond those rows of shelves. He began to search her on one table to another. He had already cleared five tables. Yet, she wasn't there. He searched further. But instead, he found Grace Joy. He found her at a table. She was asleep. Her hands were crossed together on the table and it's where she lay head. Beside her head was an open book.

He stopped by just after he saw her. He got a chair from an unoccupied table and he slowly and quietly placed it on the other side of the table across her. He quietly sat down to avoid waking her up. Then, he crossed his arms on his chest and bit his lips. He stared at her for a moment before he noticed what was she reading. On the left page, he saw an image of a mermaid sitting on a rock. Above her is a huge moon as she stares at it. Below her are raging waves. He then looked at the other page at the right - it's the description of the mermaid.

Sherdel creased his forehead, wondering if she's fascinated with mythical stuff. He laughed faintly.

"What a nerd."He smirked.

He slammed his hands on the table as he stood up. Grace Joy woke up after. She was shocked to death just when she heard the sound Sherdel had caused. It was so unexpected for her. She got more surprised when she saw that Sherdel in front of her and he was leaving.

"Hayst!" Grace Joy whined. He left her puzzled. Grace Joy was wondering if he was watching her sleep the whole time. Moreover, she was wondering if he was sitting across her all the time she was asleep.

She again felt the guilt since what she did to his big brother. Which they will never know how and why he collapsed.