Vens of different families have been waiting for Mahalla Sikatunna's reincarnation for years. When a Ven soul possesses a new body, its new identity remains unknown until a previous death has been recalled. A seventeen-year-old girl named Betinna Bulcan goes to Bohol Island and experiences a past death. Mahalla's new body becomes known to Vens. Now Ven families rush to recruit Betinna to join their families. Which family will she choose? Who will convince one of the most powerful Vens in history to join their family?

Videos of a real mermaid spotted in South Korea have gone viral. The same mermaid appeared in Scotland speaking of the exact same message. Find out what she said in the videos. Here is my second entry to the National Geographic's #PlanetOrPlastic Writing Contest. There is a statue of a mermaid on the rocky beach of Dongbaek Island in Busan, South Korea. I have seen the statue four times and every time I see it, I feel sadness. When I stare at the mermaid's statue, I imagine the her coming to life and talking to me. I imagine it telling me why she is sad. My story is inspired by that mermaid's sadness.

I thought that Mama's death was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I was wrong. Mama had secrets. It angers me that she kept secrets from me while she knew everything about me.

May secret si Lea at kailangan nya ng friend na mahihingahan nya ng loob. She has been wishing to meet a friend she can trust with this secret. One day at Starbucks, she met Emma. Her mom was also a Filipina and she can understand Tagalog. Now that she has found a friend, she is having second thoughts. Can she really trust Emma?

I love you. I love you. I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. I will repeat these words a million times till time rewinds and changes what just happened. 88888888

I saw a video of Lea Salonga and Il Divo singing A Whole New World on Youtube. I loved it so much I watched it again and again till I memorized all the words. It became a daily ritual for me to watch the video and singing along. Then I got sick. I had pneumonia. I coughed and coughed. I thought I was going to die. I was watching Lea Salonga's videos on my Iphone, when I had a vision. I saw myself and Feb, the guy I am secretly in love with. I saw us kissing. We were in love. We were Italians in the 17th century. How can that be? How is it possible that I lived before? How is it possible that the boy I am secretly in love was in love with me in the past? How could we be in love again in this lifetime?

I believe in magic. I feel it. I can prove it. If only I'm allowed to.

Meet Mahalla, the daughter of Datu Sikatunna of Bohol Island. Her mother was from Cebu who raised her speaking Cebuano. One of the servants who took care of Mahalla was from Lanao and spoke the Maranao language. Her father was Datu Sikatunna who spoke Bolanon. Mahalla grew up speaking three languages. At the age of three, she had been exposed by her mother to different events involving royal visitors from other islands. Mahalla would listen to her mother's visitors and would easily absorb languages. She could acquire fluency in just a few minutes. Mahalla's linguistic skills made her famous all around Visayas, Mindanao and neighboring islands in Indonesia, Borneo and as far as the islands of Guam and Vanuatu. Datu Sikatunna's political ties was strengthened by Mahalla's translation skills. International Sanduaguan pacts mostly require Mahalla's participation. These blood compacts sealed important treaties and major business deals between datus and diplomats. Mahalla's services were costly. Even Datu Sikatunna had to shower Mahalla with gifts especially pearls. She loved pearls. She wanted to have all the pearls in the world. She used her linguistic skills to expand her collection. She collected pearls and made them into jewelry, clothing, hair ornaments and even her shoes were decorated with pearls. Her interpretation skills come at a price. When wealthy businessmen visited Bohol, she would ask for rare pearls in exchange of her interpretation skills. Mahalla was very valuable to the kingdom of Bohol. Words. Sentences. Languages. Languages were music to Mahalla. Once she learned the words, the melodies come innately. But languages are not the only skills Mahalla possessed. When foreign men landed on the shores of Bohol, Mahalla had to use powers that she had been kept hidden for years. Trouble was demonstrating her powers meant trouble for her father and her people.

Betinna now faces the Ven Reactivation Challenge. Will she be able to reactivate Mahalla's powers? Does she have what it takes? This is a sequel to my book The Vens. P.S. Vens have a guaranteed lifespan of forty years on planet Earth. Once a Ven celebrates its fortieth year, it can decide the age of departure from planet Earth. The age of departure is submitted on the body's fortieth birthday. If you were a Ven, how old will you want to leave planet Earth?

Bakit kaya mahirap mag move on? Bakit kaya kahit anong gawin ni Betinna, di sya makawala sa mundo ni Hansel?