Angevil's Portrait of Portals

Chapter 17. Predictions

Another day has come and luckily an update about the baby's family in town was received by Mang Destino's good old friend, Lexton. He then visited his friend's house only to find that the alleged family member was only a witness, who once saw the baby's mother walking past their neighborhood streets seemingly lost a week prior to the birth incident. Mang Destino was lost for words. The day has finally come for the burial but no family member was present to say one last goodbye. Later on in the afternoon, Diwa and her friends as well as Mang Destino's comrades attended the burial. During the ceremonial rites, an unknown pregnant woman in a black dress approached Diwa and pulled her away from the crowd. Diwa, who was wearing a white dress looked almost similar to the woman standing infront of her. They saw each other eye to eye and within the black lady's eyes, Diwa saw a vision of a different world. It showed her a bunch of students inside a modern-looking school and in one corner of an empty classroom was the black lady who was conversing with a man. A man Diwa had learned two days ago. He was certainly 'Liyab'. After their encounter, the black lady went out of the classroom in a panicked state and accidentally bumped into another female student who was actually looking for her. There the black lady confessed to her friend about being pregnant but sadly her friend didn't believe her. Her friend laughed about the idea and said, "Come on now. Who would believe that you might be delivering your baby anytime soon when you don't even have a baby bump or worse a boyfriend?" After her encounter with a friend, she decided to cut classes and started walking home alone looking lost. Her initial thought was that she might be going crazy due to the fact that she was the only one who could see her belly growing abnormally fast week by week. With that, she couldn't even tell anyone about her condition of being raped countless times. She then headed towards her boy bestfriend's place and crashed inside his house. Since her bestfriend's parents weren't living with him because they work oversees, the black lady stayed in his house the whole afternoon until he finally came home that night only to find her sleeping fully naked in his bed. He couldn't believe his eyes. "What is happening?" He said. He then quickly took a blanket and covered her up. He held her cold hand and checked her pulse. He was relieved to know that she had a normal pulse rate. With that she woke up and locked her eyes on him. His eyes widened when she grabbed his hand not wanting to let go of it. She then sat down unknowingly removing the blanket from her body and asked, "Do you see clearly that I am pregnant?" Her bestfriend was left stunned. With that vision, Diwa finally came back to her senses as she held onto her key necklace while her heart was throbbing fast. A hand reached to her shoulder and a familiar voice asked her if she was okay. It was Isla. Soon after, the burial ceremony ended. They were all about to go to their respected homes and as they were heading towards the exit of the sanctuary, a ghostly image appeared inside a huge pit hole as Diwa walked past it. When she stopped and looked at it, she was horrified to see that a bloody young girl was climbing up from the hole itself. With that, Diwa dropped down the ground and froze in fear unable to utter a word instead she was mumbling nonsense words due to her shaky lips and body. As the bloody girl reached the top soil, she struggled to stand up straight but her eyes were fixated to Diwa. The girl then gave Diwa a faint smile revealing her long sharp teeth and pointed claw-like fingers which held something gruesome in sight. A person's heart. Diwa then covered her face with both hands and screamed out loud. "Diwa, Are you okay?" Aunt Emi asked. It was all in her head but it seemed so real to her. Diwa who was still in a state of shock sat infront of the huge pit hole unable to respond. Isla on the other hand comforted Diwa by gently rubbing her back. Mang Destino was bidding his fellow comrades goodbye while the two boys only observed the girls from a distance with total concern in their eyes. Soon after, they reached Mang Destino's house. After washing up, they all gathered together for dinner. Aunt Emi prepared a huge pot of soup and loaves of bread for everyone to eat. After dinner, she had the urge to break her silence and say, "Please stay. I want to say something important. Specially to the girls Diwa and Isla, I greatly apologize for my behaviour. I shouldn't have said those awful things to you. It may have had a huge impact on you while you are currently staying here. Especially now that you are going through a lot but still you chose to continue to look after one other through thick and thin. I hope you would forgive me." Mang Destino was surprised to hear her wife spoke normally just like before so he held her hand with a smile, reassuring her that she did the right thing. Isla first replied to aunt Emi by saying, "We understand where you are coming from, Aunt Emi." Diwa who was still timid the whole afternoon finally spoke up and said, "I should be the one to say sorry to all of you for not being myself most of the time. Honestly, I am faced with some personal matters. Maybe when the time is right I will be able to fully open up my story to all of you. I am extremely sorry for all the damage I have caused you." Mang Destino looked at everybody with a smile and said, "Nobody is perfect. We all experience different problems in our lives but in the end what truly matters is how we rebuild ourselves and bring people together in unity." Everyone felt happy and much more comfortable with each other. The evening's cold breeze gave out a positive vibe. Aunt Emi suggested they all enjoy the cool air outside and build a camp fire. Soon after, they all gazed upon the dark sky showing a constellation of stars shining brightly around a cloudy full moon. Aunt Emi and the girls gave each other a warm embrace while Mang Destino pat the two boys' shoulders from both sides. The night ended in peace and tranquility. The very next day, Diwa and Isla decided that the two of them visit Baby Maya in Ginoong Marso's house. Mang Destino and the two boys went to work early that day. Upon arriving at the grand museum, Diwa felt delighted to see both the baby and her painting once again. Ginang Marso saw them by the gates and welcomed them by greeting one another with a 'beso-beso' or what we call a kiss on both cheeks as a sign of greeting while she carried the baby in both arms. "How are you, Maya?" Diwa asked playfully to the baby. Baby Maya giggled with joy. Isla played 'Pikit Bulaga' with Baby Maya which meant Peek-a-boo. Ginang Marso then asked them how the burial went on yesterday and the two girls answered back and said, "It went well however there weren't any family members present during the burial. Oddly, the family members couldn't be traced anywhere. We prayed for the baby's mother to be put to eternal rest knowing that her child will soon be adopted by great people who loves her dearly." Ginang Marso felt overwhelmed by the girls' heart-warming messages. Isla continued playing with the baby while Diwa remembered to visit her painting once more inside the museum. Upon entering the grand museum, Diwa slowly walked forward until she reached the center and then she stopped and examined the whole area in amusement. She silently prayed for an answer to her visions as she continued to walk straight to her painting and when she reached it, she gently touched her painting showing how emotionally connected she was to it. Diwa shed a few tears while pleading her concerns to Sinag wanting an answer in return. "I wanted an answer to my father's visions and as well as mine. Please tell me that I am not losing my mind and that this is all true. What is wrong with me? Answer me, I beg of you.' Her voice echoed throughout the room and after that there was complete silence so she decided to exit the museum. As she was walking straight to the exit door, she was greeted with a pleasant surprise. Infront of her at the openings of the museum stood Sinag. Diwa's eyes widened in shock. She then stopped walking a few inches away from Sinag. He gave her a welcoming smile as he asked for her hand. Diwa have always felt comfort and relief in Sinag's presence unlike when she was faced with Liyab. She willingly reached out her hand hoping to be reunited with him again after the dream she had a few days ago. She wanted to ask him some questions about her visions, specifically her purpose in all of this chaos. Their hands held each other tightly not wanting to let go in any way possible. Soon after, beams of white light could be seen below their feet which engulfed the whole area as they both closed their eyes. When they opened them, they were transported in a short deck by the lake. A woman could be seen in Diwa's figure while Sinag was a grown man which made them look like a mature couple. As they embraced each other passionately, huge white feathers were seen falling behind their backs. It was a mesmerizing scene. A thought which made Diwa in awe of what it truly meant. "Diwa!" Isla's voice could be heard from a distance. With a blink of an eye, everything went back to normal. Diwa was astounded by the harsh reality that she was again daydreaming and that she couldn't find any answers to her endless questions. She wasn't ready to give up on that dream. Or rather a vision she has already anticipated in the future.