Episode 1: Under the Bayfront Moon
1912 Words
Chapter 1: The Man in the Black Coat
The sea had always been Steven Reyes’s quiet refuge. Bayfront Mangagoy, with its wide concrete pathway flanked by gentle waves and rusting lampposts, was where he and his late grandmother used to walk when he was a boy. On those nights, they’d watch the moon reflect across the surface of the sea like a glass eye watching the world.
But tonight, the place felt different.
The air was colder. The waves hit the rocks with more urgency. And he—he wasn’t alone.
Steven, 19, IT student and creature of habit, had come to the baywalk after a particularly long week. Grief had become his new companion since Lola Remedios died two weeks ago. It wrapped around his chest tighter each day, like vines he couldn’t pull away. She was his only family—his compass. And now that she was gone, the world felt disjointed.
He sat on a bench under a broken lamp, earbuds in, listening to lo-fi music and staring blankly at the sea. But as the music faded, something made him press pause. He couldn’t explain why, but his heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Footsteps.
Soft, slow, deliberate. Coming closer.
Steven froze.
No one else should be out here. Especially not this late.
Then, a voice.
“Beautiful night, isn’t it?”
It was calm and deep, but there was a heaviness to it—as though it carried centuries of weariness.
Steven turned his head.
A man stood a few feet away, dressed in a long black coat that didn’t fit the humid night. Pale skin, tousled dark hair, and eyes… those eyes. They glowed, not with brightness, but depth—as though they had seen more than they should.
“Sorry,” Steven said, standing. “Do I… know you?”
The man smiled faintly. “Not yet. But I’ve known you.”
Steven’s brows furrowed. “Are you… following me?”
“No,” he replied softly. “I was drawn to you.”
Steven didn’t know whether to laugh or run.
Then the man took a step closer. “Your name is Steven, isn’t it?”
His heart thundered. “How—how do you know that?”
But the man only smiled again, this time with something that almost looked like pain.
“I remember you,” he said.
The words stuck in Steven’s mind like broken glass. He took a step back, unsure if he was dreaming—or stuck in someone else’s.
“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Steven said carefully.
“I haven’t,” the man replied, gaze soft but firm.
Steven glanced down the path. No one in sight. Just them.
“Look,” Steven began, voice tight, “I don’t know who you are, but this whole ‘I know you’ thing is really freaking me out.”
Michael’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “It’s not meant to. But I understand. I’ll go… for now.”
He turned without another word, walking away into the darkness like mist fading into night.
Steven stood there, heart pounding, ears ringing. He felt like the moment wasn’t real—but the cold air clinging to his skin told him otherwise.
He didn’t sleep that night.
And in the morning, despite telling himself he was just tired, confused, or hallucinating—he still found his eyes drifting to the shadows.
Looking for the man in the black coat.
Chapter 2: Coffee and Crimson
The next morning, Steven tried to convince himself that last night didn’t happen.
He went to Café Silangan, the cozy coffee shop near campus where he always studied. It smelled like cinnamon and espresso, a comforting contrast to his confusion.
He ordered his usual—iced caramel macchiato—and sat in the far corner by the window.
He opened his laptop, hoping to bury himself in code. But he couldn’t focus.
That man. That voice.
“I remember you.”
Steven scoffed to himself. Maybe it was just someone playing a prank. Maybe grief was making him hallucinate.
But then—
“Good morning.”
He looked up. And there he was.
The man in the black coat, now wearing a grey sweater and jeans, as if he belonged in the room all along.
Steven stood so fast he almost knocked over his drink.
“You again?!”
The stranger raised his hands peacefully. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“What do you want?” Steven asked, panic rising in his chest.
The man hesitated. “To talk. Just… five minutes. Please.”
Steven stared. Against better judgment, he sat.
“I’m Michael Ruiz,” the man said. “I’m… new here. Transferred this semester.”
“Okay, Michael. Why are you following me?”
Michael looked down. “I’m not trying to. It’s just—when I saw you last night, something awoke in me. I can’t explain it, but… I think we’ve met. A long time ago.”
Steven laughed nervously. “You mean, like reincarnation or something?”
Michael’s expression turned serious. “Yes.”
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Chapter 3: A Stranger’s Truth
Steven stared at him. “You’re kidding.”
Michael shook his head. “I know how it sounds.”
“You think we were lovers in a past life?” Steven asked, half-sarcastic, half-curious.
“Yes,” Michael said without flinching.
A beat of silence passed between them.
Steven leaned back. “Okay, this is insane.”
“I don’t expect you to believe me,” Michael replied gently. “But I need to tell you the truth.”
Steven crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”
“I’m not like other people,” Michael began. “I’m older. Much older. I was born a century ago.”
Steven blinked. “You’re telling me you’re… a hundred?”
“I don’t age. I don’t… die. And I haven’t forgotten.”
“Forgotten what?”
Michael’s eyes turned sad. “You. The way you died.”
Steven’s mouth went dry. “What… what are you?”
Michael paused, then looked him in the eye. “I’m a vampire.”
Steven stood again, ready to leave. “Okay, this was a mistake.”
“Wait!” Michael said, grabbing his wrist gently.
Steven felt a chill run down his spine.
Michael quickly let go. “I’m sorry.”
Steven rubbed his wrist. The spot where Michael touched him… it tingled.
“I know this sounds crazy,” Michael said. “But I would never hurt you.”
Chapter 4: The Pulse Between Us
Steven turned back, face guarded. “Why me?”
Michael hesitated. “Because you’re him. Or… you were. The one I loved. You died in my arms, promising you’d find me again.”
“Stop,” Steven whispered, shaken. “You don’t know me.”
“I do,” Michael said, eyes fierce now. “And you’ll remember. Eventually.”
Steven turned and walked out of the café, heart pounding.
But even as he left, part of him ached to turn back.
Because a piece of him—buried deep beneath years of logic and grief—did believe him.
And that terrified him more than anything.
That night, Steven dreamt of fire.
He saw a version of himself in another time—wearing old clothes, running through a forest, clutching someone’s hand. Behind them, torches and shouting. Fear.
Then a clearing.
The man in his dream had Michael’s eyes. They kissed, just once, before an arrow pierced Steven’s back.
He woke up gasping, drenched in sweat.
The next day, he avoided Café Silangan. He went straight home, locked his doors, and tried to forget.
But at midnight, his phone buzzed.
Unknown number:
“I’m sorry. I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
Signed: —Michael.
Steven stared at the message.
And for reasons he couldn’t explain, he saved the number.
Chapter 5: Beneath the Moonlight
Steven couldn’t shake the dream.
The phantom pain of the arrow, the heat of the fire, the echo of a name whispered in panic—it haunted him all day. He tried to lose himself in schoolwork at Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, but every hallway reminded him of something he couldn’t place. Faces seemed familiar. Places too. Even the shadows seemed to move with intent.
He caught himself sketching in his notebook during his logic class—a forest clearing, a moon, and two silhouettes facing each other. One of them had Michael’s eyes.
By the time his last class ended, Steven was drained. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually. He didn’t go to the coffee shop. He didn’t go home either.
Instead, he found his feet taking him to the school canteen, where Czarah Limpuasan—his talkative best friend—was already waiting at their usual corner table.
“You look like crap,” she greeted, sipping her banana shake.
“Thanks,” Steven muttered.
“You okay?” she asked, raising a brow.
He hesitated. “Czarah… if someone told you they remembered you from another life—what would you do?”
She paused mid-sip. “Uh… ask how hot they were. Why?”
Steven didn’t answer. But his silence said enough.
Czarah leaned forward. “Wait—don’t tell me this is about that mysterious guy in the coat you mentioned the other night?”
He nodded.
“Did he tell you he was your vampire soulmate or something?”
Steven blinked. “Actually… yes.”
Czarah nearly choked. “Oh. My. God. What in the Twilight-Philippines crossover is this?!”
He chuckled softly. But there was no humor in it.
“I don’t know what’s real anymore, Czarah. But part of me… believes him.”
And that’s what scared him the most.
The next morning dawned with grey skies, matching the heaviness in Steven’s chest. He hadn’t gone back to Bayfront Mangagoy since the encounter. But something inside him itched—like unfinished words in a conversation he didn’t remember starting.
He stood by his bedroom window, staring at the rain drizzling down the glass. His phone buzzed.
Michael:
“Will you meet me at Bayfront tonight? One last time. If you don’t come, I’ll leave you alone forever.”
Steven hesitated.
His fingers hovered over the screen. Then slowly, he typed:
“Just talk. Nothing more.”
He stared at the message. Sent.
That evening, under another pale moon, Steven found himself once again at the baywalk—alone.
Or so he thought.
A shadow stepped from the trees. Michael.
This time, Steven didn’t run.
Michael approached slowly, the moonlight softening the sharpness of his features. He wasn’t wearing black tonight. Just a plain white shirt, jeans, and a vulnerability that made him seem almost human.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” Michael said.
“I almost didn’t,” Steven replied. “But… I need answers.”
Michael nodded. “Ask.”
“Why do I feel like I already know you?” Steven asked, his voice nearly lost to the waves.
Michael’s gaze deepened. “Because part of you remembers. And maybe… part of you still loves me.”
Steven’s heart ached.
Somewhere deep inside, something cracked open—a memory, a feeling, a dream. He didn’t understand it yet. But he wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
Not to this.
Not to him.
Maybe it wasn’t the end.
Maybe it was only the beginning.
- Writer
