Then, Now, and Ever After

You're Amazing

The 19th of April, the day of their condo complex's annual Easter Egg Hunt, finally rolled in. Aina sat in the bleachers of the complex's basketball court, along with Maki and the other residents.

"Thank you all for participating in this year's Easter Egg Hunt," Ji An, the daughter of the owner of Ahjummart and host of this year's Hunt, said. "We would like to thank everyone who registered for this event, as well as our generous sponsors. This year's proceeds from the event registration will go to our chosen beneficiary, the EBS-JMA Foundation. You all know this network, of course. Aside from giving people all over the country great content that is both educational and informative, their Foundation also helps various marginalized communities." She nodded at their direction. "A special shout-out to Mr. Maki Angeles of EBS-JMA, who is joining us for the event." Maki gave everyone a little wave.

"Okay, everyone," Ji An said. "Are all the teams ready? All your clues are now on the stage." There was a row of tables on the stage. "Three, two, one, go!"

Aina ran to the stage, Maki following closely at her heels. They reached the table that had "Science Trooperz" written on it. On it was a piece of paper, with a series of letters and numbers:

I T H B D J N O N

7 1 9 12

Aina brought out her notebook. "Hmm, the letters when converted to numbers don't form a distinct pattern," she said, scribbling the letters. "But if you convert the letters to numbers, they form a name: GAIL."

"Ate Gail," Maki said. "I think she's on duty today."

Around them, other participants were beginning to leave the stage. "The other participants might get there first," Aina said. "Let's go. Maybe we're supposed to get a clue from her."

"But what about the other clue?" Maki said. "The numbers?"

"Let's solve it along the way." Aina pored over the numbers, while Maki led the way to the front lobby. "There are two repeating letters there, so that should be a clue."

Maki stopped, his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, there's this cipher I think I've heard of before. A Caesar cipher? What are the letters before and after them?"

"Oh, that's clever." She hastily filled in the letters, and formed the following:

H S G A C I M N M

J U I C E K O P O

"The juice bar!" Aina hissed. "I think we should go there first."

They went inside the building, past Ate Gail, who was talking to the other participants. "No, I'm not going to give you the clue until you give me the password!" she was saying. Aina and Maki glanced at each other, and nodded.

They rode the elevator up to the sixth floor, to the juice bar. There were already a couple of participants there, who were all looking at the menu. Risa was the friendlier one toward their neighbors, so Aina only knew them by name and face. Sam and Dr. Nina. Dr. Johan and a girl she didn't know. Kiko and Jane.

"What would you like to order?" the girl at the counter said. "We're having a promo today. Any juice you order is free, but we're going to give you an Extra Large order, and you have to finish it all before you leave."

"I see," Maki said thoughtfully. "We have to get the order right, then, unless you want to drown in juice before we get to the finish line."

"Um, do you have clues for us?" Aina asked the girl at the counter.

The girl shrugged. "I will make whatever you ask of me."

Aina looked around the juice bar. There was no one else there but the girl at the counter and the other participants. The girl's uniform was the same as what employees of the juice bar usually wore, which was a bright orange with the words "JUICE KO PO!" written on the front.

"Maybe we're supposed to order an orange shake," Maki whispered to her. "Since she's wearing orange." Beside them, Kiko and Jane seemed to have the same idea, because the girl at the counter handed them a liter of the Immune Booster – a drink made of lemon and orange.

"It feels a bit simple," Aina mused. She looked around for anything out of the ordinary, but everything was as it was when they were here after their gym session yesterday. "Wait. What's playing?"

"It's been playing the same song, I think," Maki said. "Over and over, ever since we came in. An instrumental version of..." His voice trailed off.

"Bahay Kubo!" they exclaimed together. Aina clamped her hand over his mouth. Dr. Nina and Sam glanced at her, and she wondered if they had heard.

"There's a part where the music suddenly goes silent," Aina whispered. Their foreheads were almost touching, as they leaned nearer to each other so no one else would hear them. "What part is that?"

Maki began to recite the words under his breath.

Sigarilyas at mani

Sitaw, bataw, patani*

"Then silence," Maki said. "Then patola..."

"Kundol!" Aina said. "I know what we have to order." She rushed to the counter. A few minutes later, the girl handed Aina her order: an extra large glass of winter melon juice, which the bar had been advertising for the past few days as their new product. She downed the drink quickly, finishing the entire drink in record time.

"What?" Aina said, when she noticed that Maki was looking at her, smiling from ear to ear.

"You're amazing," he said. Before Aina could react, he turned the cup towards him so he could look at it better. "There are some numbers scribbled at the bottom of the cup. I think that's the password Ate Gail was asking for? Let's go." He started to run, when he noticed that she was still in her seat. "Aina?"

"Uh, yeah," Aina said, mentally slapping herself and standing up. "Let's go."

*From "Bahay Kubo", traditional Tagalog folk song.