𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏- 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇

CHAPTER 11

Allie warmly embraced the two housekeepers.

"It's like you're saying goodbye to us," Yaya Margie remarked.

The young woman smiled. "Not at all. I just felt like being affectionate," she replied.

"Allie, ready to go?" the driver, Tatay Leo, called as he entered the living room.

Instead of answering, she approached him and gave him a hug too, catching him off guard.

"You don't need to take me to school," she told him.

"Who's going to take you, then?"

"I'll go by myself. Please, just take Maricar instead, Tatay."

Without waiting for a reply, she quickly went upstairs, hiding her tears from them. After calming herself down, she knocked on her parents' bedroom door.

"Mom, Dad..."

"Come in, honey," her mother replied.

Allie entered the room, feeling her heart constrict. She didn’t want to tell them her plan.

"I'm heading to school now," she said.

Her mother approached her. "Are you sure? Maybe you should stay home for now."

She shook her head. "No, Mom. Don’t worry, Maia will be there." She hugged her mother.

"Allie, what's wrong?" her mother asked, concerned.

She held back her tears. "Thank you for loving me, Mom."

Her father joined them. "Is something wrong, sweetheart?" he asked.

She pulled away from her mother and hugged her father instead. "I'm just being affectionate, Dad," she said.

Her mother smiled. "I thought something was up. You're going to be late for school. Come on, off you go."

With a heavy heart, Allie left them. She went to her room and packed her bag with a few essentials. Maia had told her she didn’t need to bring anything, but she packed some things just in case.

She had made up her mind. Today, she would go with Maia back to the world she came from. Allie didn’t want to tell her parents she was leaving today, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to handle their reactions. If she saw her mother in pain from her departure, she might change her mind.

She left a letter in Maricar's drawer, saying goodbye to her sister.

What awaited her in the unknown world she was heading to? Maia was the only person she could trust.

---

"Have you seen my sister?"

Maricar had already asked several students when she arrived at school. Allie was supposed to be here if she had used her magic, but no one had seen her. A nagging feeling told her something was wrong.

"Maricar, what's going on?"

She turned to see Rainier with his friends.

"I'm looking for Allie," she replied.

"Didn't you come together?" Rainier asked, confused.

Maricar shook her head.

"Maybe she's just late," said Kim, one of Rainier’s friends.

She wasn’t sure why Rainier was close to both Kim and Tam. Kim was a lesbian, and Tam was gay.

"I don't think so," Tam interjected.

They all looked at him.

"Did you see her?" Maricar asked.

"Yeah, I saw her with that new transfer student, the pretty one. But they were outside the school."

"When?"

"A few minutes ago. It seemed like they were waiting for someone."

Maricar didn’t bother saying goodbye to them. She hurriedly ran out of the school building. There were only a few students left outside. Her eyes landed on a car pulling out of the school parking lot.

“Allie!” Maricar called out when she spotted her sister in the front seat of the car, but Allie couldn’t hear her.

“Is that Alessandra?” Rainier asked, suddenly appearing behind her.

“I need to follow them,” she said.

“How?” Rainier asked.

She didn’t know. Just then, a car pulled up in front of them.

“Get in,” said Tatay Leo as he rolled down the window.

Maricar wasted no time. She quickly got into the car, surprised when Rainier followed her.

“We're not staying behind,” said Tam, who took the front seat beside Tatay Leo.

“Me, too,” added Kim as she squeezed in next to them in the back.

Maricar didn’t have time to argue with them.

“Let's go, Tatay. I don't know why, but we need to follow Allie,” she urged the driver.

“I feel the same way,” Tatay Leo replied, stepping on the gas and speeding after Allie’s car.

---

Allie stepped out of the car.

“This was where I lived before,” she said as she looked at the empty lot where her house once stood. The only thing left was an old tree that still stood in the garden.

“I think this is the perfect gate to cross into the other world,” Maia said as she took Allie’s bag from her.

“Are you sure?” Allie asked.

“I’m not that strong, but yes, I’m sure.”

They stepped onto the property, followed by Zenda, and stopped in front of the large acacia tree.

“Are we going inside the tree?” Allie asked, remembering fairy tales about enchanted beings living inside trees. Maybe Maia was like them.

“No, Allie,” Maia replied.

She watched as Maia closed her eyes and placed her palm on the tree. Moments later, a crystal ball began to form in front of them, as large as the tree itself.

“Once you step inside the ball, we’ll be on the other side, Allie,” Maia said.

“Will the ball disappear right after we enter?” she asked.

“No, it will last for a few more minutes,” Maia assured her.

Allie nodded.

Maia extended her hand. “Hold my hand if you’re scared.”

She was indeed scared. Allie took Maia’s offered hand, and Maia gently guided her to step into the crystal ball before following her in.

“I can’t wait to see my family again,” Zenda said as she entered behind them.

This is it, Allie thought. There was no turning back. I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. I’m sorry, Maricar, she whispered in her mind, thinking of her parents and her sister.

She couldn’t imagine the pain her parents would feel once they realized she was gone. And Maricar—she hadn’t even hugged her sister. But Allie knew that if she saw them hurting, she would change her mind.

And she couldn’t let that happen. She needed to do this.

“Allie!”

That was the last thing she heard before a powerful force seemed to push her forward. She gripped Maia’s hand tighter.