The Moonlight Daughters

The Association Knows

"Wah!" Gisway yelled in horror as he woke up. He was panting, thinking that he was dead. He got surprised when he realized that he was sitting on a chair while his hands tied together on the back of the backrest. He tried to move his feet, the same happened to his arms- tied to the front legs of the chair.

"You can't...!" someone suddenly spoke.

He turned his head towards the person.

"Who are you?" He asked as he felt tensed, trying to break free from the tight knot.

"Just relax, brad. Don't stress yourself."

Gisway halted moving and then he focused his eyes to the stranger. The stranger was just sitting on the floor right beside him. Then he noticed that his hands were tied together on his back and his feet were also tied together.

"Sus... wada ak samet sin impyerno ah (Am I in hell now)?"Gisway wondered.

"i***t. You are not dead yet," Wendel responded.

"Hay!" he sighed in relief. "Thank you, Lord."

"Tell me. Why did they put you in here?" Wendel asked.

"Um..." he tried to recall. He remembered that he got beaten up by a person whose name is...

"Adan!" he yelled. Scowling in anger.

The stranger gently nods.

"Can you introduce yourself?" Gisway asked.

"Wendel," he answered.

"I am Gisway."

"Gisway..." Wendel looked up to the ceiling as he ballooned his cheeks. A few seconds later, he let the air out of his mouth.

"Welcome to the club, Gisway."

A few moments later, the door suddenly opened.

"Speaking of hell, Satan is here," Wendel said.

"Ahh... I know," Gisway got curious while looking at the person standing at the doorway.

****

One fine sunny day, and a very good day for students to rest from school since it was a holiday.

Seline was at the Acosta Mansion. She decided to help her Aunt Nime since she's got no homework to do at home.

She and her Aunt were in the living room on the second floor of the mansion. They were busy cleaning around from the chandeliers to the floor. They've been cleaning for like thirty minutes.

When Seline already felt that she needs to rest, she immediately sat down on one of the couches circling around a glass table.

"Hayst..." she sighed then she wiped her sweat flowing down on her forehead with her hands.

"Thank God it's done."

Aunt Nime sat down beside her.

"Cleaning this house is so hard," Seline said.

"Now, you know," her aunt agreed. "This is the hardest room to clean in all the rooms here in the house."

Seline chuckled faintly.

Then, one maid suddenly came from downstairs.

"Ate," she called to Nime.

Seline and Nime looked.

"Why Indang?" Nime smiled.

"Can you help me with my laundry, please?" she asked. "I am in a hurry."

"Is there a problem? Why are you in a hurry?"

"I've got a date," she answered. "Please. Please. Help me. Please," she begged. "I'm asking you just this once."

"Just this once?" Nime insisted. "Have you already forgotten all the favors you've asked me to do because of your date? Recently, last week."

"But please, Manang. This date is really important for me," she begged, stumping her feet to the floor like a little child, who wants candy but the mother refuses to give her some.

Nime sighed. She rolled her eyes.

"I have no choice," she said.

The maid widened her eyes with joy. She squealed and jumped in happiness.

She thanked her. "You are heaven-sent," she complimented.

"Shut up."

"Don't worry. We will dine in at a restaurant once I got my latest salary."

"Are you sure because I am thinking you are just kidding me?"

"I promise!"

"Okay fine. But if you don't, you'll taste the wrath of my stiff broom," she threatened.

"Yeah, I promise."

Then she continued jumping with joy as she thanked her.

"Okay, don't expect that I will do all your laundry. You have to help me, too," Nime made herself clear to their agreement.

"Opo," Indang immediately answered.

"Let's go. You'll get late."

"I'll help you too then," Seline told the maid.

"Ay!" Indang realized.

"May I ask her to clean the young master's room?"

"Ha?" Nime was shocked. Nime looked at Seline. Seline also looked at her. "Oh my God, this girl." She was scratching her head.

"Please! I'll pay you five hundred," she told to Seline.

"Umm...One thousand," Seline suggested.

"Okay. Deal!"

"Are you sure, my child?" Nime asked.

Seline smiled optimistically as she nods her head.

"Okay fine," Nime said to Indang. "Remember, it's one thousand pesos not five hundred. Don't expect that her services are free."

"Of course," Indang responded.

"So, which room am I gonna clean again?" Seline asked.

****

Dionysus delivered another punch on Gisway's face.

"Tell me all you know, you spy?" he asked one more time.

"Why did you kidnap me here?"

Dionysus punched him.

"Don't play dumb with me, Gisway," he yelled. "Did you found out anything from us?"

"You tell me. Is there any reason for us to suspect?"

Dionysus wiped his face with his hand. Because he got so pissed, he kicked Gisway's's chest. As the foot hit the spot, the chair's backrest collapsed, crashed which made Gisway's fall off and hit himself against the floor. The poor boy curled up his feet as he felt the pain. He was spitting out the blood.

Wendel looked away. He cannot handle what he was watching anymore.

"No matter what you do, you can't make him speak, " Wendel told the old man.

After hearing what he'd said, Dionicio stepped his foot on the boy's spleen. He looked at Wendel.

"We'll see how hard this spy really is."

Then he took his foot away from Gisway's body.

"Go. Get a new seat for him," he ordered the men who were standing behind him.

Immediately they searched for a chair available in the room. While Dionysus headed towards the door to exit.

****

Daya was standing in a meadow next to Benjie's house. She was getting some fresh air, thinking deeply. She was staring at the sky, worrying how's Wendel. Inside her hand was the key given to her by Mang Teodoro.

"Daya!" someone called. She looked back. She saw Benjie approaching. She noticed that the shard she was handling was shining. She lifted her arm forward and opened her hand. Benjie got surprised to see it like that.

"Your pocket!" she noticed that something in one Benjie's jacket's left chest pocket that something was shining inside.

Benjie immediately brought it out. It was the key Benjie was hiding for a long time. It was also shining.

Daya walked closer to Benjie as she got puzzled. Benjie was looking at it while also trying to figure it out.

"Why is this happening?" Benjie asked.

"Wait...," Daya suddenly had an idea.

"Benjie. Get that stone farther away from me," she commanded.

And so, Benjie walked away. They noticed that as Benjie got farther and farther away, the stones got dimmer and dimmer.

When the stones did lose their light, Benjie stopped walking. Benjie turned around. He looked at Daya with his eyes widened in surprise. He took a deep breath. Daya looked at him, worriedly. Benjie looked at the shard once more, then he looked around and thought.

"Oh my God," Daya muttered.

****

Seline entered the room that she was ordered to clean. She was holding a laundry basket, a broom, a dustpan, and a can of air freshener. She put them down on the floor.

"Hay, I wish Ceres is here. It's hard to carry this many."

"Oh my gosh! It's so messy," she complained while scanning around. She saw the guy's clothes scattered on the floor. The bed had caught her attention. She got more disgusted when she saw underwear lying on it. The blankets weren't folded, crumpled into ball-like paper, and the pillows had fallen down to the floor.

"How does he sleep with all this mess?" she wondered.

She got the small laundry basket then she began to pick the scattered clothes one by one. Then she took the pillows and placed them on the bed. She picked the blankets and a towel on the bed inside the laundry basket. After that, she took the broom, knelt down beside the bed then lowered her upper body in order for his hands and the broom to reach far places underneath it (the bed). She was too focused on getting rid of the dust that she didn't sense that as she crawls forward, her head was advancing towards the nightstand.

Tug!

Her head hit the nightstand. Which also made it shook, making things on its fall.

"Aw...Ouch!" she tried her best not to yell. She was in pain. "Diyay ulok (My head)!"

She immediately picked the fallen objects one by one and placed them back on the stand. Then, something on one of those things caught her attention. She grabbed a picture frame containing an important picture- a woman carrying a child on her lap. She slowly raised up her body to stand up. Then she sat down on the soft bed.

She examined the picture. The woman was so happy, she seems to laugh while looking at the camera. And so as the child, it was staring at the camera showing his cute baby teeth. She began to recognize the young boy, it looks like Ramsel.

"He's so cute..." she smiled. "But now, he isn't," she took her words back. Then she looked at the woman.

"So, this is his mother?"

Suddenly, the bathroom - located inside Ramsel's room. Its door opened as it squeaked. Luna widened her eyes when she heard the sound coming from behind. Her heart began to race faster due to her shocking nervousness. She thought the owner of the room was not there, according to Indang. She froze herself then.

Ramsel came out of the bathroom in his birthday suit. He was humming a song as he approached the closet.

"Sisiwit ko...sisiwit ko!" he sang out loud.

"Sisiwit ko o sissiwit-" he turned his head when he sensed someone on the bed.

"Ow! s**t! s**t!" he got startled when he saw a back of a girl. He immediately pulled a shirt to cover his junk.

Seline turned around to look at him. She got frightened

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" both of them screamed.

Seline immediately looked away.

"Sorry!Sorry! AHY!" she said as she covered her eyes.

****

"Gisway..." Dionicious stood in front of him. "You know what a babaylan is, right?"

Gisway suddenly scowled. He began to tremble but not that obvious.

"Meet Apo Rohelia. A babaylan," he introduced.

"If I can't bring you to speak through torture, maybe a babaylan can squeeze the information out from you. So, don't you worry, you will not feel any pain at all. After that, you can die."

The old lady drew close to him, then she knelt down to level herself to Gisway who was sitting down. She gently put her hands on Gisway's head. Gisway kept on shaking his head from up to down, side to side in order to remove her hands from him. He really wanted to use his hands that time but they were tied.

"Get your hands off!" he said repeatedly.

"Go to sleep," she whispered. Immediately, Gisway felt drowsy. He stopped moving. His eyes were closing.

When he finally put to sleep, the old lady told the men to get him outside.

Outside...

They lay him down on a grassy place next to an old tree.

The old woman knelt down facing the tree and Gisway's unconscious body. She closed her eyes then took a deep breath. Then she put the tip of her fingers on his forehead. She looked up to the sky.

Finally, her consciousness was transferred to Gisway's mind. She was brought to the time when he was called to tell him his mission. She was watching him from a distance. He was approaching five men over the hill.

"Apo..." he greeted them just when he got close to them.

"Wada kanu di ipasapu 'yu en sak-en?(You called me for a mission?)"

"Gisway," one of them responded."We have a task for you."

"What is it?"

"These few days, we've got the news that a tribe, they call themselves Idarugans, have done some terrible things."

The young boy creased his forehead, trying to pick up his story.

"Sources say that one of them had spotted k********g an old man and the victim never returned since then. We recognized two of the tribe's men stole a shard of crystal in the museum. It resulted in five casualties. Most of them are security guards. We are also investigating a burnt village that we just discovered five days ago," a foreigner told him. "We suspect that it was them."

"We are afraid that this tribe is still out there, doing more terrible things that are not accounted for," Continued Seth.

"What's my mission then?" he asked.

"We need you to keep an eye on someone. We suspect that the tribe is coming for him."

"But why?"

"We believe he holds one of these items they stole in the museum."

Then...

The babaylan was teleported to another of his memory. That time she was brought to a vacant room where no one was around. Except for Gisway and someone she knows, Adan. The doors were closed neither the windows were open.

They were in combat. Gisway punched him in the face, then Adan gave him a blow on the belly. Adan grabbed Gisway's collar, then with all his strength, he lifts him up then he quickly threw him to the chairs. Gisway got up quickly like he didn't felt pain at all. He hopped towards him. As he landed on Adan, he grabbed Adan's body by wrapping his arms around it then he pinned him to the floor. He immediately stepped his right foot on Adan's chest so that he won't manage to stand up.

"You tell me..." Gisway began to speak.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Adan smiled. He didn't talk.

"What is your deal with Cainnick Rosales? Answer me! How do you sleep at night killing people?"

Yet, he didn't answer. He made one more smile on his face. Then he began to transform. Gisway was thrown away when Adan transformed into a cryptic dog.

Adan returned back into being a human. Then he transformed again into someone. Someone resembling Gilhameer. He quickly ran towards the door and escape. Gisway was trying to stand up when Adan totally went away.

Lastly, she was brought to an unknown place where she was standing on a grassland surrounded by mountains.

She saw in front of her were men from the Idarugan. They were hostages. They were kneeling, facing the five men who instructed Gisway.

One of them grabbed the chin of one of the hostages. Then he held it tight so that the hostage could feel the pain. The other four were watching him inflicting pain on the jaw of the hostage.

"How many people have you killed for this land?"

He remained quiet.

"You don't want to speak?"

He looked at the other hostage. He called his men.

"Get them for torture," he commanded.

Then, Gisway's memory immediately faded. It was blurring. Meanwhile, she was brought back to reality.

"What?" Dionysus asked.

"They know," she answered.

Dionysus took a deep breath then started to think. He suddenly got more stressed worrying that he has a competitor all along.

****

"Oh My God! My virgin eyes! My virgin eyes!" Seline muttered. She faced the wall while her back was facing at him.

"The heck are you doing here?" He raised his voice. He was putting on his clothes as fast as he can.

"Oh my God,I am so sorry! I thought...I thought no one's here that's why I came to clean."

"No one?" he creased his forehead. "You pervert."

"No, I am not."

"The hell is happening here?" Sir Ian suddenly appeared at the door.

"WUUUUAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" the two of them got frightened.

"Look what that girl did to me! This perv went into my room," Ramsel said. "

Seline gasped. She got offended by the word Ramsel called her.

"Let me explain, Sir."

"Why. What's happening here?" Nime and Indang came in.

Ian spoke to answer Nime.

"I think, your niece came in here and ...."

"And then?"

"She saw my son naked."

Indang gasped. She covered her mouth with her hands.

"I didn't know he's in the bathroom. All I know is that I was asked to come here and clean the room that's all."

Nime scowled at Indang.

"Looks like someone needs to explain here!" she told her.

"M...me?" she suddenly got nervous.

"Yeah. Because of you, this thing shouldn't have happened."

"O...okay."