Whispers of Deja Vu

Episode 1

In a small province of San Rafael, a group of five friends planned to visit the neighboring barangay for a fiesta. They were currently hanging out at Aling Hena's store, the only one on the quiet and wide road from their barangay.

"Oh you kids, don't stay out too late. Have you all asked permission from your parents? Especially you, Keiffer, your mom will come looking for you again," Aling Hena cautioned.

"Of course, Mrs. Hena. She knows about this, she even gave me money." Keiffer replied with a laugh, seated with Neil in front of the store.

"I did too, Mrs. Hena. I told mommy," Nicole chimed in from inside the tricycle parked beside the store, holding her cellphone.

"What time will Alex and Sam arrive? It's getting hot, and it'll be tough walking to Sta. Cruz," Neil asked.

"Sam said she's almost here," Keiffer answered, approaching the tricycle to fix his hair and check himself in the mirror.

"Here comes Alex!" Mrs. Hena exclaimed, spotting Alex biking in the distance.

Nicole got out of the tricycle upon seeing Alex and stood hands on hips. "What took you so long?! Didn't I tell you 11:30? It's 11:45 already! You're late!" she shouted loudly.

Alex stopped halfway, put his palms beside his mouth, and shouted back, "I was doing my laundry! My mom won't let me out until I've washed my briefs!" He chuckled and continued pedaling. Neil and Keiffer burst into laughter.

"Che!" Nicole grumbled, rolling her eyes, and went back inside the tricycle.

Another tricycle pulled up on the opposite side of the road, and Samantha got off.

"Sorry, I couldn't find a tricycle!" she apologized, handing some change to the driver.

"No worries!" Nicole replied with a grin.

"Alright, now we're complete!" Neil exclaimed cheerfully.

Keiffer paused from fixing his hair and looked at Samantha. She was in a simple white t-shirt and pants, yet he couldn't help but admire her beauty. He smiled when she noticed him and she returned the smile.

As the tricycle was about to leave, Samantha attempted to cross the street, but the approach of a motorcycle made her friends stop her.

"Wait! Stay there," Keiffer anxiously responded.

Samantha nodded and momentarily rummaged through her small pink shoulder bag for her lip tint when suddenly, it was snatched by a man riding the motorcycle.

Her eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively covered her mouth. Everyone witnessed the incident, stunned and unable to believe what they saw.

"Hey mister! Give that back!" Alex yelled, chasing after the motorcycle using his bike. If Alex hadn't shouted as the motorcycle sped past them, they might not have snapped out of it.

"Oh my god!" Mrs. Hena exclaimed.

Keiffer immediately raced after them.

"Oh my gosh! What are we going to do?" Nicole panicked, looking around frantically.

"My phone... it was in my bag," Samantha murmured, still shaken by what had happened.

"Can we borrow your tricycle, Mrs. Hena? We need to chase the thief!" Neil pleaded urgently.

"Okay! Wait a moment, let me find the key!" Mrs. Hena hurriedly responded, stumbling through her apron pocket.

Neil quickly approached the tricycle and climbed in, ready to take off. Mrs. Hena finally found the key and handed it to Neil.

"Be careful, and good luck!" she said, her voice trembling.

Neil started the tricycle and sped off, with Nicole already inside. They stopped just in front of Samantha, who quickly hopped in, but still in a state of shock. Neil, having learned to drive on his father's motorcycle, handled the tricycle with surprising ease and skill. They chased after the motorcycle, hoping to catch the thief before he got too far.

As they rounded a corner, Neil drove seriously, eager to catch up with the thief but cautious because of his passengers. They managed to catch up quickly with Keiffer, who still running as fast as he could.

"Come on." Keiffer Panted as he climbed onto the back of Neil's tricycle, out of breath from running.

"Damn, they're getting away!" Keiffer couldn't stop himself from saying. Neil scanned for the motorcycle but couldn't spot it, so he sped up even more. Keiffer held on tightly behind him while the two girls inside shouted.

"What the....Neil!" Nicole couldn't help but yell.

"I don't want to get scolded, but I also don't want to die early!" Samantha said fearfully.

"Same here, bro! We need to be careful! I'm not ready to die; I haven't had a girlfriend," Keiffer joked, patting Neil on the back, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh really? You're flirting in this situation?! Her bag just got stolen, you dummy!" Nicole exclaimed, incredulously peering out at them from inside the tricycle, which only made them laugh harder.

"Why haven't you dated Alex yet? You might end up in heaven single!" Neil teased. Then the two burst into laughter, trying to mask their fear with humor.

"Hmph! Che!"

"Che!" the two mimicked Nicole and laughed. But Neil stopped laughing when he spotted Alex. He could see him pedaling fast not too far ahead, with the motorcycle also quite a distance from him. Their hopes rose as they finally saw him.

"Here we go, hold on tight!" Neil reminded them before he sped up even more.

He kept going straight, completely focused on their path. They felt the chill because of the strong wind surrounding them, but Neil kept going. They were almost catching up to Alex. He was almost standing while pedaling his bike. When they caught up with Alex, they immediately focused on chasing the motorcycle directly.

They were about to catch up to the thieves. One of them, holding Samantha's bag, had a startled expression, prompting them to drive even faster when they realized they were about to be caught.

"Stop! You can't catch us!" yelled one of the thieves.

But Neil accelerated even more upon seeing they were almost within reach.

"HEY, GIVE BACK THAT BAG!" Nicole shouted as they approached the motorcycle.

"Hey dude, give back my friend's bag!" Keiffer shouted.

"Please, please!" Samantha pleaded with the snatchers.

"You stubborn kids! You're not getting this! You'll just get into trouble!" said the man tightly gripping the bag.

"We won't stop until you return my girlfriend's bag!" Keiffer shouted.

Upon hearing this, Nicole furrowed her brow, Neil stifled a smirk, and Samantha's cheeks turned red. Despite the dangerous scenario, they couldn't help but pull some humor

"You're just kids, no phones for now, this is ours!" the man shouted, speeding up his motorcycle, pulling ahead of them.

"What the?!"

"HEY!" Alex shouted from behind them, pedaling fast without tiring. Keiffer glanced back at him.

"Did they return it?" Alex asked.

"No yet, bro!" Keiffer replied.

"Is Nics with you?!"

"She's here, man!" Neil answered.

Nicole couldn't sit still, wanting to see Alex, so she asked Samantha, "Can we switch? Can I sit there?"

"Sure," Samantha agreed. Nicole gripped the metal tightly as Samantha supported her, and they quickly switched places. Nicole popped her head out and looked at Alex.

Alex was sweating profusely, pedaling hard to catch up.

"Are you okay?" Nicole signaled, but Alex didn't understand.

"What?"

"I said, are you okay?" She gestured again, and when he got it, he nodded and pedaled faster.

Nicole settled into her seat on the bike, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

The wind rushed past her face, but when she opened her eyes, but when she opened her eyes, she didn't expect what happened next. The motorcycle they were chasing collided with a car, the screech of metal against metal sending a shiver down her spine. Time seemed to slow as the motorcycle flew toward them, and for a split second, Nicole's heart skipped a beat. Her heart raced with fear and worry, knowing they were about to face something much more dangerous than they ever expected.

Unable to contain themselves, she and Samantha screamed and hugged tightly as it approached.

But they were surprised that they weren't hit.

Because Neil swiftly turned the handlebars and dodged the flying motorcycle. He stopped the tricycle on the side of the road.

Samantha finally breathed a sigh of relief, and grateful they were safe. But Nicole still couldn't believe what happened; she was still catching her breath, slowly calming down.

However, her heart raced again when she heard Neil's shout.

"ALEX!"

Her eyes widened in shock as she sat frozen, unable to believe what was happening. Despite feeling weak and scared, she summoned the courage to step outside. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to look around for him, and slowly began walking toward where Alex was. As she got closer, her heart sank.

Alex was lying still on the road, his bike twisted and abandoned next to a tree, showing how bad the accident was.

She gasped, trying to understand what had happened. Everything around her seemed blurry, and she felt like she might collapse from the shock. Her legs shook uncontrollably, and as she reached out for support, her body gave way. She collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by the sight before her.

Alex's body lay motionless in front of her, the once-familiar warmth now a chilling emptiness. Her mind raced, but the thoughts felt fragmented, slipping through her fingers like water. The pulse of panic that surged through her veins made her vision double, and she had to blink rapidly to focus. She could see the pale, bloodless skin, the labored rise and fall of his chest—barely noticeable—and the harsh, shallow breaths that seemed to rattle his entire body. Her heart pounded in her ears as she crawled toward him, the world closing in around her, and with a broken cry, she shouted, "Alex!"