The Woman, The Dreams and The Moon

Chapter 11

John and I walked towards home. Walang nagsasalita, tanging tunog lamang ng mga kuliglig at bawat hampas ng hangin sa mga puno ang maririnig mo. Payapa ang gabing ito ngunit ang aking puso ay puno ng magkakahalong emosyon. My heart was raided by thoughts of vengeance and desire to finally reclaim whatever they had stolen from me and my family. My blood is flowing in my veins like fire that cannot be contained. "Vera, would you like to drink some coffee with me?" John asked shyly. Hindi ko alam kung nagpapacute siya or what. Gusto niya pa ako makasama? I bet hindi, I would rather think that he would only want to see me and my new found powers. I agreed to him since wala naman akong gagawin for the rest of the night.

We reached their house. Pagkapasok ko pa lang sa bahay nila, my memories with his grandparents played like a movie in my mind. I am totally in awe sa lahat ng naitulong nila. But in the middle of my reminiscing, one question bombarded me, bakit hindi nila sinabi ang roots ko? I mean, why they have never told me everything about me and my family? Hindi ba nila alam? No, they probably knew kasi alam ni John. "Vera, here is your coffee." John gave me a cup of hot coffee. "By the way John, where is your grandparents? They are vampires right? I thought your kind doesn't age according to myths." I asked. Vampires are immortal right? Hindi sila tumatanda. Therefore, where on earth does his grandparents live? "They both died few years ago due to an ambush." John replied in a sad tone. Ambush?

"La Unidad received a call from your tribe that they wanted to stop their long enduring opposition against the league and hoped to join but when the members of La Unidad came to your tribe, they killed all of them buti na lang nakatakas si mom." John said. What a tribe? I can't imagine that the blood running in my veins is from a radical and merciless tribe. They are killers. "My grandparents left a note to my mom before they died. Hinabilin ka nila sa amin. They told us your situation and your curse." John added. He knows my curse. Hanggang saan kaya ang nalalaman niya? "My grandparents told us not to mention your roots and powers until they are all awakened and ready to resist the curse that your tribe had casted upon you. They both believed that you are the strongest wolf ever born in your tribe and your powers will soon fight against the curse." John narrated. Now, I feel so much indebt to John's grandparents and I hope they are both at peace. Until their last breath, they protected me. Pero di ko gets kung bakit ang taas ng confidence nilang malakas ako or I am the strongest among my tribe when in fact, I never felt that confidence. 

In the middle of our conversation, napaisip ako ulit, does curse casting belongs to our powers? "John, my kakayahan ba kami magcurse? Or magmagic perhaps?" I asked. John smiled and shook his head. "Of course not! There are another beings that can cast curses, they are called the dream walkers. They wipe out memories." saad ng lalake. Dream walkers? Lucy is a dream walker. Probably, she is the one I should ask kapag nagkita kami. For sure, we will meet along the way. "A blood moon is coming Vera, your tribe will choose the next leader. I guess your powers are awakened due to this event that is coming. Maybe you should go back to your tribe." John said. Matalino ang lalakeng kausap ko. He is knowledgeable to everything. I admire his mind. I nodded as a reply to him. Bakas ang pagkagulat ng lalaki sa naging tugon ko. Siguro, he is know thinking how I replied so easy. "I knew everything you said about the blood moon." I said para maclear ang mga tanong sa utak niya.

"By the way, according to myths our both races had a distinct smell, how come na hindi ka naamoy ni Rebecca? Wait, is she one of us?" I asked. Napasip ako bigla, wolf din ba si Rebecca? My dreams say that she is one of us, malay ko ba kung siya ang Rebecca na nakikita ko sa panaginip ko. "She is a wolf, a strong wolf. But she cannot smell my scent due to some fragrance I sprayed to cover my original scent." John answered confidently na tila ba super proud sa mga nagawa niya. "Alam mo Vera, we should prepare before we go to your tribe next week. Rebecca must have detected you kasi iba ang mga tingin niya sayo nung kausap natin siya." he added. I couldn't agree more. May odd kay Rebecca that time. Probably, it is because she detected me. "How?" I asked. "Leave that to me." the man declared.

Makaraan pa ang ilang oras, umuwi na ako sa bahay namin to get some sleep. Then, my phone rang wildly na akala mo wala ng bukas. I answered the phone. "Ms. Vera, how are you? I dreamed yesterday." Angelo exclaimed in the phone. Lately, I totally forgot my duties to him dahil sa lahat ng naganap sa akin, buti na lang tumawag siya. His call reminded me that I am living. Wait, he had a dream? "Anong dream?" I asked. "My main character finally had awakened her powers but still, I can't picture everything." Angelo answered with an upset tone. Awakened powers? Ako ba ang napapanaginipan niya? How is this happening? "Don't worry Angelo, we will go to the tribe I had researched, next week. Be prepared okay?" saad ko. Hindi ko alam kung paano ko itatago si Angelo once na nagkagulo sa araw ng pagpunta namin sa tribe ko pero bahala na. In a minute of chatting to him, we ended our conversation. Hindi ko pa rin gets kung bakit may pakiramdam ako na somehow, Angelo's story is related to mine. At mas lalong hindi ko alam kung bakit nangyayari ito.

I sleep already despite of all my thoughts that are so noisy. In my dream, I saw again the chair, the lamp post and the mirror in the dimension where I met Lucy. Bakit ako nandito? "Ms. Vera!" matinis na sigaw ng babae na lumabas mula sa salamin. "Sabi ko na nga ba magkikita tayo dito eh." she added while approaching me. Teka, nagtransform ulit ako? Alam ko natulog ako. "No, Ms. Vera, you did not transformed. You are just sleeping. By the way, I came here to tell you about my cellphone number para makapagkita na tayo in the real world. Wait, can you travel with me tonight? Para mashare ko sayo yung memories mo na nakalock sa mind ko." Lucy said while handing to me a piece of paper kung saan nakasulat ang phone number niya. It is a bright idea. I guess, I need to remember all my memories hanggang sa namatay si dad. "Okay. What should I do?" I replied to Lucy. The girl held my hand at hinila ako patungo sa salamin na pinasukan niya. When we are about to cross, a strong force pushed me away. Tumalsik kami pareho. "Anong nangyari?" Lucy asked. Maybe it is because of the curse. Hindi pa totally na lilift yung sumpa sa akin. "Probably it is because of the curse Lucy. I cannot enter my memories." I said. Lucy's face become upset. "Sayang naman. But Ms. Vera, I will definitely help you. See you in the real world." Then, the girl went back to the mirror and disappeared.

Nagising ako dahil sa malakas na tunog ng aking telepono. Tumatawag si John. The rays of the sun is now heating up my room, umaga na pala but I felt like I just slept for a minute. Before I reached my phone, I noticed that I am holding a piece of paper with number on it. Wow. Paanong nagmanifest in reality ang binigay ni Lucy sa akin kagabi? I answered the phone swiftly. "Hello?" I said. "It is the start of our preparation. We only have three days before our arrival to your tribe. Meet me in the woods, okay?" John said. Three days? Is it enough? I agreed to John, ano pa nga bang magagawa ko, and started to prepare for our training but during my preparation, napako ang mata ko sa calendar na nakasabit malapit sa pinto ng banyo. The blood moon will come in three days.