Darkness - Birth

ii. Rousing

It was only nearly 5 in the morning when Cristy woke up. Even though she barely had 3 hours of sleep, she felt surprisigly energized.  She put on a white tank top & sweatpants and went down to the kitchen where she was greeted by the gentle humming of her fridge.  Electricity was back.

She whisked three eggs, added a pinch or 2 of salt, pepper & a handful of chopped up bacon.  She heated the Teflon, dashed a little oil & waited for a few seconds before sauteeing minced garlic & julienned onions.  When the herbs were golden in color, she poured in the scrambled ggs.  She added more salt until the omelette looked sufficiently cooked & edible.   She tossed it on a plate, stuffed the toaster with 2 loaves of bread & waited for 2 oven minutes.

She took her phone from her pocket -- 05:25. It was way earlier than her typical Saturday morning starting at 7am. There was a notification on Twitter -- it must be Carl. If she could, she would join him in Clark to go running at the park. It was how he started his weekend. So when the toasts were done, she sandwiched the scrambled eggs in them & packed it in a Ziplock. She went upstairs to change into a black spandex shorts & loose white shirt. She filled her jug with cool water, took her food & keys & off she went to Clark in her car.

It only took her 5 minutes to reach the park. It was almost deserted except for a handful of people doing calisthenics & old ones sitting on the concrete benches. She went out of the car & scanned the place one more time. Carl was not there. Did he go home last night? Did he not tell her otherwise? Surely he never stayed up all night to be late for his Saturday routine...right?

She checked her phone to see what the noticiations were about.

Ric: @dancastaneda @cristyvallegrande @venice @carllanzalucho Brownout king Angeles kano ngening bengi? (Is it brownout in Angeles tonight)

Dan: @ric09 Wa kano. Bakit? Mumuli ba ika? (Yes, why, are you coming home?)

Ric: @dancastaneda Ali pa, next week siguro. (Not yet, maybe next week.)

Carl hadn't tweeted anything after the one about their office trip.

She took her packed sandwich & settled somewhere to have a bite. She felt hungy realizing this was her first meal since snacking on J.Co donuts the afternoon before. She noticed that more & more people were arriving at the park but the one she was waiting for was still nowhere to be seen.

When the sky became brighter, she decided to send Carl a Tweet.

@carllanzalucho Here at Clark. Can’t find you anywhere.

Within 10 seconds there came a reply. This must be Carl, she told herself.

Dan: @cristyvallegrande Wow, ang aga! (How early!)

@dancastaneda Hi, Daniel! Nasa Pampanga ka ba today? (Are you in Pampanga?)

@cristyvallegrande Wala, dami pang inaayos na papers. I think the others are also in Manila pa. Not sure though about Carl. (Not yet, still doing a lot of paperwork. I think so are the others except Carl. I am not sure about him.)

@dancastaneda Speaking of @carllanzalucho, haven’t heard from him since yesterday.

@cristyvallegrande Don’t worry, must be drunk. Haha

Carl never got himself drunk. He always kept his Twitter updated. He also always went to Clark around this time every week. She sensed something must be out of order.

She scanned her surroundings once more but she was stunned to find something hanging in the sky. The sun was a black disk gently rising through thin, yellowish clouds. She rubbed her eyes & gave it a second look. It didn’t change. It was the same lightless sun even though everything & everywhere still seemed normal. She could even see the setting of the moon, the ordinary moon, to the west.

"Should I get glasses now?" She uttered to herself.