The Moonlight Daughters

Found

From the hot smoking ash shed by the burned wood arose a crow. It squawks while it flaps its wings to rise above the ash. The group who watched it miraculously appear were shocked and amazed at the same time. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

The crow stood on the remains of the burnt wood. It squawked once more. The old lady opened her eyes and paused her chant. She held the crow with her two bare hands.

"Anapem han makin uka'sna. (Find who owned this).San nagan di makin bagi...Nick(The name is ...Nick)," she whispered.

Then, she gave it a little piece of cloth she tore out from a shirt Undoy's friend had given to him. The crow immediately took it with its beak. The old lady stood up and she let the blackbird go. She and the five watched it flew away from the place.

The five people later moved closer to Lola Aurora.

"That's it?" Danny asked her.

"Not yet, Danny," the old woman replied. She looked at the sky once more, but the bird was gone.

"I'll say we have to wait while the crow does his job," she told.

"How long are we going to wait?" Benjie asked.

"It depends. Maybe tonight or tomorrow."

Then she knelt down again.

"As much as possible, do not try to disturb me if you want to find him earlier than I expect," she advised as she closed her eyes. She breathes so deep to regain her concentration.

The group then walked away from her.

....

Grace Joy was walking along the shaded corner of the wide ground. She was hugging the book she had borrowed at the library. She was scanning around as she moves. She admires how the pathway she was at. It's tiled and roofed. Golden bushes at its both sides. Behind the bushes on each side has a line of shed area filled in with concrete tables that has pine tree barks design on their rims, each of them has two concrete benches across.

Suddenly, among the shades she was viewing...she suddenly widened her eyes in terror. In the near shed shade away in front of her, she saw Sherdel sitting down on a bench. He was alone and his face didn't show any emotions at all. He was just staring at the ground. And so, she halted.

"Darn it!" She panicked. "What should I do. He's gonna taunt me," she told to herself. Then, her mind suddenly brought out the moment when they met at Burnham Park.

"No. I was just trying to comfort him but failed. Oh my God, what should I do? Did he told his grandfather that I harassed him?"

While muttering, anyone who passes her by was looking at her, wondering why she's acting hysterical.

"No," she then contradicted what she had told to herself. That path is the only way to go to the small building where her class was.

"Relax Grace. That was nothing so, man up, " she said while making herself calm down. " It just happened that it became awkward," she added. "Breathe in... breath out."

She resumed to move forward. Her heart was beating faster and faster as she moved closer and closer to the shade where he was in.

Finally, when she reached where he was at, Sherdel's eyes saw her passing by. But he seemed not to care at all. Grace Joy sighed just after she had passed by, her heartbeats normal again.

And suddenly...

"Psssst," someone behind her called her attention.

Because of that, she widened her eyes in shock as she gasped. She slowly turned around to face the stranger who called her. It was him.

"H-hi?" she nervously waved her hands. She was wondering if she was the one he was calling or someone. She looked around but she was the only one there in the direction Sherdel was looking. She watched him approaching. Her heart raced faster as he got closer and closer to her. She felt that he might going to tease him again just like what he did at her first day.

"Why?" She asked.

"Do you have load?"

"Load?" She wondered.

"N--no. I don't have--load," she stuttered.

"Ahh...Okay," he said. After that, he walked away. He headed back again to the shed.

While watching him walking away, Grace Joy suddenly got confused.

"He's got money but has no load?" She muttered. "That's weird."

She turned around and she continued walking. Just a few steps later, she got surprised when she heard another disturbance coming from behind.

"HEY PRADO!" someone shouted. Grace Joy got startled. And so, she immediately turn around. She got surprised to see a boy punched Sherdel on the belly. Just when he did that, Grace Joy gasped as she immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

"You sicko. You are always making my life miserable wherever you go, aren't you?" Sherdel's big brother said. Sherdel coughed and coughed because of the pain he felt after his brother punched him on the belly.

"What did I do?" he asked.

"Do not act like you don't know!" he yelled. "You are the one who told Lolo that I didn't got home for a week."

"What are you talking about?" he was puzzled.

"Don't pretend that you don't know anything! Thanks to you, I was scolded by him. Are you really desperate to win our grandfather's attention?" he said.

"I don't have any idea," Sherdel talked back.

"Oh really? I wonder who told Lolo that I didn't get home because I got wasted in my friend's house. You are the only one I know who is capable of hating me!"

Sherdel grabbed his brother's collar and he brought his face close to his brother. He scowled at him just like his brother was doing. They looked at each other eye to eye while letting their hatred for each other out.

"I am not the only one who has the grudge against you, Severine. Look around," he told him with his faint voice. Then he pushed him away as he let go. After that, his big brother turned his head from left to right. He saw a few students passing by while looking at them. Some murmured while others just pretended that they saw nothing and stay silent as they passed. Until, he saw Grace Joy who widened her eyes in shock.

Grace Joy was shaking in fear. She was spotted by Sherdel's big brother. His eyes were staring at her like she was prey. Because of that, she felt tensed and she doesn't know what she'll do. 

Her mind was in a panic.

"What are you staring at?" he spoke angrily.

Grace Joy's heart raced faster. She immediately turned around as she held her head down in embarrassment and at the same time she's got fear. And so, she walked away.

Severin faced Sherdel once again. He grabbed Sherdel's collar.

Grace Joy turned around again to see if the angry person was still glaring at her. Then, Grace Joy saw a girl approaching them. She immediately tried to remove Severine's hand from Sherdel's clothes.

"Kuya Severine. Stop! Please, enough," she begged.

Grace Joy realized that the girl was Alexa, Sherdelino's girlfriend.

"Stay out of this, you b***h!" then he pushed Alexa away. Because of that, Alexa stumbled back down.

Grace gasped.

"Okay. I'll end this now."

And so, she went to a shed near where the ruckus was and hid behind the tree near it.

"You animal!" Sherdel punched Severin on the face just after he saw Alexa stumbled. "I don't care about your life, you bullshit!"

"Ah... is that so?" Severin prepared his fist. Then, he approached Sherdel.

But before a blow should be taken by Sherdel's face, a pebble of hardened water suddenly came flying at a high speed and it's heading to Severine's head. Neither Sherdel nor Alexa saw it was coming. They got surprised when Severine suddenly fell off the ground. The impact of a very small solid water the size of a pea that crashed on his head made him lost his consciousness. Alexa yelled. While Sherdel watched him lying on the ground with a shocked expression on his face.

***

The crow finally had reached Baguio City. It felt that the person Benjie's group was searching was near. And so, it headed to the western suburbs of the city. A few flights later, it finally arrived at Green Valley.

On the other hand, old Aurora suddenly opened her eyes. But instead of seeing grasses and trees, she was seeing what the crow was seeing. The crow alighted on a gate and it was facing a small pink-colored concrete house. The house seemed empty and it could barely hear noises coming from it. The crow stayed there for how many minutes hoping someone in that house come out. Later, someone opened the door from the inside, a man, who seems to be the same age as Danny or Benjie, came out.

But the old lady grinned and she said "Finally... I got you." She blinked her eyes. Then, her sight came back to normal.

"Undoy! Come over here, now!" she called.

****

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Kuya, please wake up!" Alexa panicked. She knelt down beside his body. She was shaking Severin's body hoping that he might wake up. She began to call for help. Sherdel was just staring at his body on the ground. He couldn't think straight. He felt scared and confused. He doesn't know if he will help him or not. He was wondering what happened to him.

"Sherdel! Please help me get your brother to the clinic!" Alexa begged. "Sherdel!" she yelled once more. Her tears suddenly fell down from her eyes.

He suddenly came back to himself. He immediately lifts Severin's upper body from the ground. Fortunately, three students came and they immediately helped Sherdel to carry Severin. They rushed him out from the shed.

"I'm sorry."

Grace Joy quickly went away from the tree. She ran away as quietly as she can while carrying her guilt. She made sure no single person was nearby nor passing by before she left.

****

In the mountain where lies the barrio of Ba-as Tribe at its foot. On its grassland peak...Dionysus, Daya's father was sitting on a huge rock. He was looking up to the moon above him. It's full and bright. He raised his arms forward. He looked at them, their hairs were growing thicker and longer. His nails slowly turning sharper. He grinned. He put them down and then he looked at the moon.

But he got alarmed when he suddenly heard the sound of the grasses being stamped by someone. And the sound grows louder as it approaches him from behind. He immediately grabbed his machete that he put beside him. Then, he immediately turned around and he pointed his weapon in front of the stranger. The endpoint of the machete was almost an inch away from the stranger's neck. Then, Dionysus realized she was someone he knew.

It's a woman wearing a long black robe. She also was wearing a hood to hide her face but her lips. She wasn't surprised to see a blade almost sliced her neck. She just smiled after he did that instead.

"What are you doing here, you witch?" he asked.

The woman smiled. She moved closer as he put down his weapon.

"Let's get this straight, Diony. What are your plans?" she said.

"It is none of your business," the old man insisted to answer.

"I'm just curious," said the woman. "You are living in peace with the tribesmen of Baas then... I heard you destroyed them. You even had their leader killed--"

"I told you. It's none of your business," he said before she finished her sentence.

"Tell me, do you plan to open the gate to the land of gold?" she asked.

The old man didn't respond.

"I thought so." The woman chuckled.

"Get out of my sight."

"You want to retrieve the treasure in there, right?"

"The land was actually ours, to begin with!" he yelled.

"Nope. Not the treasures," she then insisted. "There's a more probable reason. I just don't understand why even Gaddo can't tell it to me."

"Get out," he told her.

"Yes, yes. I'll go now," she said with a smile.

"But before I go, Gaddo has a message for you."

Dionisius scuffed after he heard the name Gaddo.

"He told me that if you need anything, you know where to find us."

"Then, tell Gaddo that I don't need his or your help. I have my men to help me achieve what I want. " he remained stubborn. "If you don't want to leave. I'll leave for you." And then he walked passing her as he followed the path leading down back to the barrio.