Malakas, the first man, and Maganda, the first woman, did not live happily ever after.
Maganda's descendant, Lupe, has a humongous crush on Aiken, a hunky new transferee in school. It all sounds like an ordinary girl-meets-boy romance until mysterio...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Prologue
The gray cat named Tiyo Keno sat lazily by the porch of a grand white neoclassical mansion located smack in the middle of the busy thoroughfare called J.P. Rizal Avenue. One could be forgiven in assuming that the feline was bored or just thinking about its next meal since it's generally accepted that cats were incapable of complex and abstract thoughts. But in reality, this particular cat has been in deep contemplation for hours, eyes transfixed at the busy street and the commotion of the passersby, vendors, and zipping jitneys. It's six o'clock in the evening, rush hour and most people were just hurrying to get home so that they could share a quiet meal with their families in front of the TV.
"People sure love their rice meals and primetime soaps." Tiyo Keno surmised.
One fellow who seemed hell-bent on delaying the universal wish of the commuters to arrive home on time for a relaxing night just jaywalked the busy avenue nearly causing a pile up. What ensued was a fistfight between the driver and the jaywalker and the abrupt halt in traffic wasn't appreciated by everyone at all, hence the cascade of honking horns and verbal abuses. But the cat was used to scenes like these. He is, after all, in Manila and the city is chock-full of crazy jeepney drivers and ill-disciplined pedestrians.
"They never fail to amuse me, nakakatuwa sila." Tiyo Keno thought fondly while he watch the ruckus unfolding in front of his property.
The cat, his tail swaying slowly in contemplation, was particularly curious about people's obsession with the mundane like street traffic or making money; oblivious to the fact that The Great Celestial War was fought by the gods because of them. Tiyo Keno was afforded the peaceful reflection since his mansion was sheltered by a tall iron-wrought fence and gate, big pandan, bougainvillea and gumamela shrubs, towering mangga, buko,bayabas, kamias, and macopa trees, a huge front lawn, and a protective spell in which the noise of the city, as well as trespassers, could never seem to completely penetrate.
Actually, Tiyo Keno was at his wits' end for several days now, restlessly awaiting for his special guest—all the worrying and waiting just zapped most of his energy. Part of his worry was that he doesn't know when Amanikable, The God of the Turbulent Seas, would cross over. A god's journey from the heavenly bodies to Earth weren't that easy and rarely attempted since The Split—the time when the force that holds together the supernatural and natural realms severed.
What mostly caused Tiyo Keno's apprehension for the past few days was the nature of his soon-to-be charge; Amanikable was not known for calmness and peaceful and meditative reflection. His title as God of the Turbulent Seas should probably be a dead giveaway for the deity's tempestuous, unpredictable, and often impulsive nature. Amanikable was rumoured to have single-handedly defeated The Rice Trinity deities Kalasokus, Kalasakas, and Damulag during The War so Tiyo Keno has no doubt regarding Amanikable's power and bravery. Power and inflated ego, the worst combination, Tiyo Keno thought uneasily.
