Golden Heart Under Cerulean Sky

Chapter 2

The smell of freshly baked pandesal assaulted Anina's nose as she neared the local bakery. It was a habit of hers, waking up early and buying breads for herself and for her Lola. School starts at exactly seven thirty in the morning, so she probably had no choice but to wake up at dawn. Besides, Anina loved walking around the town in the morning. She loved to watched the sunrise in the horizon. She loved to watched the people in her town greet each other Magandang umaga with smiles on their faces. It was the kind of morning everyone would want to wake up to.

The bakery was not that far, only a short distanced walk from her house. Going back, Anina passed by the Lady Of Asuncion Church and noticed the several burning candles on the massive votive holders on the other side of the church. Anina couldn't help but stop on her track, watching as the roaring orange-flames danced in the early morning breeze. There were few church goers walking around the area, most of them were the same age as her grandma, each respectively clutching their own copies of the Bible and their praying rosaries.

Out of habit, and with her eyes closed, Anina clasped her hands together under her chin and uttered a short prayer, thanking the Lord for the beautiful day ahead. 

Their house was not that big, but it was big enough to accommodate four people. Walking in on the rusted iron gates and an old cobblestone pathway had been a routine ever since Anina was a child. Their family's house was an old one, dating back from the 1950's with its huge garden. Tall acacia trees adorned their backyard, and even though their house was old, her grandma never forget to clear the grounds from growing weeds.

" Good morning, Lola," she said, as she set down the bag of pandesal on their table. Her grandmother smiled at her, the creased on the both sides of her eyes deepening as she smiled, " You're up earlier than usual,"

" Ah, I cant sleep, Lola. And I need to wake up early because we have a test today, eh." Anina responded with a pout.

" Don't stress yourself too much, hija,"

" I'm not. It's just that I can't afford to get low grades this semester. You know how much I want to attend college in Ateneo. How can I go there if I get below 95?" Anina said.

Her grandmother eyed her incredulously, " Why do you want to go there so bad? I thought you got an invitation from UST?"

" Ateneo is where mama and papa met." She said, hoping that her grandmother would understand.

" Why do you want to be like them?"

Her grandmother shook her head, a look of sadness in her eyes as she stared at her granddaughter, " All I ever want is for you to live a normal life. My time in this world is running out, Anina. I cannot protect you from what is coming, I'm afraid that I will lose you too,"

" You're not going to lose me, Lola. I promise you that," Anina said hastily, walking over to where her grandmother was sitting and taking her hands in hers.

" How can we know what will happen in the future? Human greed is infinite like our universe. And I worry that with your abilities, many people with ill intentions would want to have it for themselves." Her grandmother lamented.

" Don't worry, Lola. I can protect myself, you taught me how to use this power of mine for self defense, remember?" Anina said with a bright smile.

" You can't be too confident about that. Remember what happened the other night? They almost got you!"

Anina's smiled faltered. Yes, that night, how could she ever forget that? It happened so quickly Anina wasn't even sure if it was real. An unknown creature almost got her, she remembered how badly her head hurt after she hit it on the wet, dirty asphalt. She didn't know how she got away, though. The details were all lost to her, but she thought she saw a blur of blond hair before she lose her consciousness. Or it could only be a flash of lightning? After all, she remembered feeling delirious because of how pungent the energy was.

After that, Anina woke up to her crying grandmother. An unknown man brought her to the hospital, her grandmother said. The nurses were able to identify her by her school ID. Anina always hated hospitals; she hates how their uncomely and unaesthetic architectures seem to affect its patients morosely. The never ending whiteness of the walls could make anyone fall into insanity the more you stare at them. But above all, Anina hated hospitals because of the unpleasant and searing memories it bought her.

She wanted to live a normal life, like her classmates. But how can she live a normal life when she can see things others can't see? No one in her family had this ability. Not even her mother, who was called a 'window' by her grandmother.

Her mom can see curses; that was her grandmother called them, but she was never able to manipulate a glowing ball of energy in her hands.

Anina looked down at her open palm and not a moment later, a luminous ball of red and gold started to appear. Growing brighter and more solid as it pulse with unknown energy. It was like looking directly into the sun.

Even her grandmother could not explain where it came from, and they never bother coming to the jujutsu sorcerers in Japan. Anina knew that her Lola was Japanese by birth but her grandmother never bothered telling her of her own heritage, saying that whatever japanese blood running in her granddaughter's veins had been diluted by her mama and papa's foreign lineage. And Anina guessed it was no longer important, Her Lola never wanted to talk about it anyway. She even ran away from her own country when she was old enough to board a ship.

When Anina asked her Lola what jujutsu sorcerers were, she only said; " A bunch of narcissistic imbeciles who thought they are gods." 

She never heard her grandmother speak so acidly about anything or anyone. That's when she realized that her Lola must not like or trust them, so Anina never asked anything about jujutsu sorcerers again.

Anina was preparing for school when a knock interrupted her, She walked over to the door and was greeted by her grandmother's grim and unsmiling face. It was a look Anina seldom seen from her typically bouyant grandmother.

" Is everything alright, Lola?" Anina asked while holding the door of her small bedroom.

Her grandmother's small, beady eyes stared at her. Taking in every details. Chiyo Tōsan did everything to hide her past. Left her mother land, changed her birthdate and married someone with no affiliation or wisdom about the world she just left behind. She thought that maybe, if she were to marry an ordinary man with foreign blood, she could have the normal life she'd been wanting since she was a child and far from the culture that chained her to a life filled with misery. 

But Chiyo was wrong. The regret started when her then five year old daughter Karina, Anina's mother complained about being followed by an unknown 'monster'. For the earlier years of her daughter's childhood, Chiyo thought nothing of them, after all, weren't children imaginative? They conjured up silly imaginary friends in their wakes, especially if the child was lonely. But her daughter's complains grew more and more disconcerting as she grew older. Monsters with serrated teeth and talons ready to pounce and spill bloods of the innocent. Karina used to say in one of her reveries.

She thought about going back to Japan many times, but could she really leave the life she fought so hard to protect? She lost count of how many times she cursed her ancestors blood.

Anina didn't deserved such cruel a fate. Her sweet, pure Anina deserved to live her days free of this cursed-burdened life. Chiyo was more than content to keep her granddaughter's powers as a secret. But that was no longer possible when there were two white haired jikochuu waiting for them at the doorway.