Ile Magique

Chapter 18

CATALINA GONZALES' POV

I can't sleep. Lahat sila naghihilik na pero eto parin ako, dilat na dilat. Nakakailang gulong at ikot na ako sa hinihigaan ko pero wala parin. I can't stop thinking. We had a meeting. Hindi ako umiimik but I'm glad no one noticed. They were looking for the map, pero hindi nila alam na nasa kanila na yung mapa and the only thing that's missing is the key. Kahit ako ay naguguluhan kung saan bang lupalop naroon ang susi.

Nung nag-walkout ako, hindi yun dahil sa nag-iinarte ako o sa pag-aaway namin ni Reya. My mind was a mess! I don't know but I can see lines and pathways. As I wander through the forest, I saw a sycamore tree. Naisipan kong akyatin yun at dun na muna magpalipas ng oras habang iniisip ko kung ano bang nangyayari sakin.

I immediately read the book after I sat on the most comfortable spot on  the tree. This book isn't just a normal book. Habang binabasa ko yun ay unti-unting nabubuo sa utak ko lahat. The book is not a fictional or history book that my mom gave me because she wanted to. It was my ancestor's journal. Everything that is written on that book is related to us.

Mula sa biglaang paglitaw namin sa isla, kung bakit kami nandito, kung paano. I learned that the portal was through the painting that my ancestor made, it was named Ile Magique. It was written on the journal that it will soon be inherited by the Jimenez Family, which is Jb's family. His ancestor was my ancestor's companion through their journey on this island.

Nabanggit din doon na may tagapag-bantay itong isla. A guardian named Maiah. Lahat ng nakakapasok sa islang ito ay hindi niya hinahayaang makalabas. And one person came into my mind,  si May. Kaya pala may nase-sense akong kakaibang aura sa kanya. She may be the cause of all the chaos. During our meeting, May was quiet the whole time.

Nabasa ko rin  yung riddle na binagay ng rebulto, at yung riddle na binigay nung liwanag. That's why it sounded familiar to me. I also learned that the light was Maiah's opponent. Kung si May ang tagapag-bantay ng isla, ang liwanag naman ang tagapag-bantay ng portal. The light was named Lumière.

Nabanggit din sa libro na may pader na pwede naming pasukan para makapunta sa portal, my ancestor even drew it. I stopped reading then looked around and found nothing. But I looked infront of me, I realized i was sitting on the spot where my ancestor drew the brick wall. It was covered it leaves and vines. I jumped from the tree to see it but Yujin came. That's when he convinced me to go back.

Like I said, we found the map. The thing is, hindi pa nila alam yon. At hindi ko sasabihin yun hangga't mayroong traydor na nakapaligid. May isang bagay na nakapag-pagulo saakin. The key. I have no idea what the key is. It said that it was related to the map. Yes, nakasaad sa libro ang lahat but my ancestor's journey was quite different from ours. When they found the key, literal itong susi. That's why I'm wondering.

Kasi, kung hindi literal ang mapa. Maaring hindi rin literal na susi ang hinahanap. Pagkabasa na pagkabasa ko sa libro at alam ko na sa sarili kong naiintidihan ko na ito, bigla nalang iyong nawala na parang abo. Napabuntong hininga ako at napatakip ng mukha. Nakaka-stress mag-isip. Mas mabuting mag-pahinga nalang muna ako. I need energy for tomorrow. This is gonna be tough for me because I am the freaking map.