It was around six o'clock when I saw the headline, blinking across the television screen in my room. Nakatulog kasi ako matapos kong maramdaman ulit ang sakit sa dibdib ko.
"Tonight, a rare supermoon will rise—one that won't appear again for another five hundred years. Experts are still wondering: will it bring chaos, as it did in ancient times?" the news anchor announced, her voice tinged with both curiosity and caution.
I rolled my eyes, pulling myself up from the bed, and turning it off because of how ridiculous the news sounded. News outlets loved to sensationalize the full moon. The way they talked about it, you would think the moon itself had the power to rewrite the laws of nature.
Nakikita ko na ang mga ganitong balita tuwing taon, pero wala namang nangyayari. Pinag-uusapan ng mga tao ang mga kabaliwan, ang mga kakaibang asal, ang mga hindi inaasahang pagtaas ng aksidente—pero iyon lang.
Pabagsak akong naupo sa couch sa living room habang may kagat na tinapay sa bibig. I grabbed my phone on top of the table and saw Ger's messages. It was sent six hours ago.
Geremy:
Are you sure you're okay, Beau?
Geremy:
I should talk to Tita.
Geremy:
I'll come over.
Gago? Six hours akong tulog? And my Mom didn't even wake me? Paano kung talagang nagpunta rito si Ger? Biglang pumasok sa isip ko na hindi nga pala naging maganda ang huling pag-uusap namin ni Mom. Gusto ko siyang kausapin, kaso lang ay hindi ko alam kung nasaan siya dahil hindi ko siya nakikita sa bahay simula noong bumaba ako.
Ngumuya ako at pumindot sa screen ng cellphone ko, hinahanap ang facetime na app. Nang makita ko, I scrolled through my contacts until I saw Ger's name. I clicked the call button before putting it on my left ear.
"Ger," I called as soon as he answered the phone.
"You okay now?" tanong niya sa kabilang linya.
"Yeah. You came here?" I asked.
I heard him sigh. "Actually, I am on my way there again."
Nagtungo ako sa kitchen para kumuha ng tubig nang may mapansin ako sa labas ng bintana. Our house, designed in sleek modern style, felt like a glass box, where the outside world was always within reach. The floor-to-ceiling windows cleared the boundary between inside and out, making everything feel both distant and impossibly close.
The sky was already dark, but there was a weird, unnatural glow to it. Nagkibit ako ng balikat at sumimangot. It wasn't the kind of light you would see from a streetlight or a passing car. It was... something else.
I slowly walked toward the massive glass window, a shiver running down my spine.
And there it was. The moon, hanging low in the sky, unseemly bright and unnaturally large. My brows furrowed. It wasn't the sort of thing you could easily brush off—it seemed wrong, like it didn't belong here.
Tumitig ako roon, may kung ano akong naramdaman sa dibdib ko, hindi sakit at hindi rin maganda. Something that I couldn't explain. Something about it felt... off. But I didn't have time to dwell on it because Geremy's voice cut me off from my thoughts.
"Beau?" si Ger.
Nabalik ang atensyon ko kay Ger na nasa kabilang linya pa pala. I wandered my eyes around the house, and it's too... quiet. Nasaan na ba si Mom?
"What was that again?" I asked, yanking the curtains closed.
"I said, I'm on my way there. By the way, have you talked to Rebeka? I can't contact her," ani ni Geremy.
"Hold on," I said, quickly running upstairs to my room. I grabbed my iPad and checked if Rebeka had messaged me. "She's actually online now, Ger. What should I say to her?"
"Good. And why are you asking? As if you're new to this. Dating gawi, Beau. Papuntahin mo rito dahil napaaway na naman tayo, which is her concern since his brother is involved. I'll see you there," si Geremy na mukhang iritado bago binaba ang tawag.
I shook my head, letting out a sigh, before sitting down on my bed. Bullies were just too exhausting to deal with. Pati si Geremy, napapagod na.
One of the reasons we don't fight back, aside from it not being worth the energy, is that Rebeka's brother is involved. And since Rebeka is Ger's friend, it only makes things more complicated.
Nagtipa ako ng message para kay Rebeka.
Ako:
We need to talk.
I saw that she already seen it, but she didn't reply. Umangat ang kilay ko at nagtipa ulit ng message.
Ako:
Where are you?
That's when I received a reply from her.
Rebeka:
Something's not right, Beau.
My brows furrowed in confusion as I typed a reply.
Ako:
What do you mean?
Rebeka:
I came to school to pick up my brother, but... look at this.
I stared at the message, my phone vibrating slightly in my hands. I opened the photo and raised an eyebrow when I saw it. At first, I thought it was just some blurry image of trees. But no—it was a forest. A dense, dark stretch of trees, the kind you would expect to find in the middle of nowhere, not right outside the city.
Why would Rebeka be sending me this? I thought she was supposed to pick up his brother?
Ako:
It's late. What are you doing in a forest?
I pinched the bridge of my nose, confusion creeping in. Wasn't she supposed to be at the school? Why was she out there? The school was a good ten-minute walk from any wooded area.
Rebeka:
I don't know. I came to pick up Aaron, but the gates... they are gone. The school's gone, too. All that's left is this. It's like the place disappeared. And no one's around.
Kahit kinakabahan na ako ay nagawa ko pa ring matawa. Pero natigil din naman agad nang makita ko ang susunod na message ni Rebeka.
Rebeka:
Don't think I'm joking, Beau. You know me, I don't joke around. And I think this has something to do with the red and velvet sunset earlier.
Ako:
Sunset? What sunset?
I was probably sleeping when that happened. May mga ganitong pangyayari pala? I didn't expect this.
Rebeka:
Gosh. You didn't see that? The whole world turned into some strawberry filter. Although I kind of like the aesthetic features it brought, the vibe was just... off. It felt something. Not good.
I felt the chills in my body, spreading like wildfire. That didn't make sense at all. The school was never empty, even and odd hours. And red, velvet sunset? I knew it in that moment. Whatever this was, it wasn't just an odd occurrence. It was a beginning. The beginning after the end.
