Chapter 3: Chapter 3- Two Strangers In The Apartment

GABRIELLE

 

We arrive at the scene just as the storm takes its worst turn. The apartment, located in the second floor of the complex, was hard to miss.

"Room 201, this is it," Alren says as he points at the door. 

"Oui, un morceau de dagmay accroché à la porte, et une poignée de couleur bleue. This must be it," I reply.

Alren sighs heavily, crossing his hands and looking at me with a hint of exasperation.

"Lady, how many times have I told you, when you're not on the juice, stick to a tongue I can understand," he says.

"Oh s'il vous plait. I'm sure you understood the context of what I said. Don't get so grumpy over it," I say, waving my hand at his nonsense complain.

"Today I do. What if next time you say some gibberish against me. How would I be able to defend myself if I can't understand what you're talking about?"

"Well, not to worry. If I ever decide to talk against you, I will make sure I say it in perfect English so you can understand every word and thus formulate the perfect response. Now, we should get going and get this pinili all sorted, s'il vous plait. I do not want to be caught in this horrible storm."

He motions as if to protest, but I raise my finger to his lip.

"Tut tut tut. No more complaining. Let's get this sorted, shall we?" I cut off.

Without waiting for a reply, I mutter a spell under my breath. Knowing that the residents of this room is an anito, I assume it's magically sealed off against forced supernatural entrance. Sure enough, I feel the faint sensation of a warding dissipating as soon as the door opens.

It doesn't take us too long to find the pinili. There she is, sprawled unconscious on the floor, naked, shreds of her clothing strewn all around her. A white, luminous cloud of dust is surrounding her, floating above her.

"Bravo, la conversion a déjà commencé! Now we just wait for her to wake up," I announce as I make my way inside. 

"Hey, close your eyes. I'm sure she wont appreciate you seeing her in her …..uh….current state," I warn Alren as he too makes his way inside.

He dutifully abides. Eyes shut, he waves his wands in front oh him, feeling his way as he enters the room.

"I suggest you stay there. I'll go get something to cover her up first. Juste une seconde."

I open one of the rooms I find, which appears to be the pinili's room (the standard teenager's room), and grab a blanket. I approach the young girl and cover her with the blanket, leaving her face exposed so we can be alerted once she wakes up. 

"Alright, you can open your eyes now," I tell Alren.

"Hmm, blue. Nice," he says with a knowing nod, looking at the pinili.

I realize he's referring to the pinili's hair color, or her spirit color. And he's pleased because he has the same color, underneath that black wig of his. 

"Well, we better get comfortable. J'ai besoin de reposer mes genoux. Who knows how long it will take for her to wake up."

I take a seat on the floor near the pinili, looking at her face. Alren sits beside me.

"She looks Asian. I thought she would be Canadian, seeing as her anito settled her here," I note, noticing the young lady's features. 

Now, I know many Asians from back as school, she definitely fits the bill. Maybe they migrated here?

"Well, from now on it won't matter if she's Asian or Canadian or Marsian, will it? As soon as she wakes up, she's a pinili. Whatever identity she had before will be unimportant, and she'll train her ass off to kill monsters and whatnot," Alren replies nonchalantly.

"Nana says say bottom instead of ass," a weak voice replies.

"Yeah, bottom sounds more appropriate, mon ami," I reply.

".….wait what?" I add, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Nana says…." the voice starts again.

"Oh good, you're awake," Alren says, looking at the pinili.

I look as well. Her eyes are barely open, and she's weakly trying to remove the blanket from her bare body.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You don't have any clothes underneath that blanket," I warn.

"What do you mean I don't…" she weakly adds.

Then her eyes abruptly open wide, as if she's been hit by a sudden surge of energy. She looks at us, then at herself, peeking under the blanket, then back at us.

Cue the hysterical screaming.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

"Not really the kind of reaction I was expecting. People usually see me and say 'bonjour magnifique'," I quip.

"Who are you?! what are you doing in our apartment?! why am I na….Oh my god! I'm naked! I'm naked! Oh my god!" she starts rambling.

"Actually, it's 'oh my gods and goddesses'. You have to be respectful to all of them, they can get quite touchy about not getting recognized properly," Alren replies.

"What? What are you talking about? Who are you? Why are you here? And WHY on earth an I naked?" she shouts. 

"Easy there, you'll make the whole complex think you were raped or something else happened. Chill, you're all good," says Alren.

"Yeah, calm down, chérie. Would you like a glass of water?" I ask.

"No, I do NOT need a glass of water. I need to know what happened here. And who are you guys?" she asks again, more forcefully this time.

Alren and I look at each other, not quite sure where to start. 

I decide I better take the lead here.

"Don't you remember anything, chérie? A dust of pearl razing you? Maybe a little talk with your anito? Drinking something from a jug?" I start, trying to sound as helpful as possible.

A puzzled look appears on her face.

"I…" she starts.

Then the look of realization dawns on her.

"There was this tornado. It spun around me and slashed me," she says, slowly, as if wondering if her words are even true.

"Yeah, that part hurt like the mother," Alren comments.

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I elbow him, mentally warning him not to interfere.

"Go on," I say encouragingly.

"Then I had a dream about my nana. She said something about my parents dying and a goddess sending her to save me. And then she went on about being a bagani. Then she gave me this drink. And then…."

"And then you wake up here, naked, with two strangers in your house," I finish for her.

She nods absent-mindedly.

"I'm sure if you rack your brain hard enough, you will remember that your nana told you that you are chosen by a god or goddess to be a bagani, a warrior who will fight against the forces of evil. I'm sure you're still wondering if that was all a dream. Well, it's not. Your nana who raised you, who you said was sent by a goddess, was an anito, and she was assigned to raise you until you reach the age of sixteen, by which time you are ready to become a pinili, a bagani in training. Yes, gods and goddesses are true, monsters are true, spirits are true, your hair changing color is also true. We… I mean that guy and I, are bagani. And we're here to take you to Pinag-adlawan for your training," I explaim.

She looks at me, blinking a few times, as if wondering if she should believe me or not.

Finally she sighs. 

"I knew it was too weird to see my grandma topless in my dreams," she says in a defeated voice.

Alren and I manage a laugh at that.

"Yeah, anito don't wear any top gear. They let their….you know…bounce freely," Alren comments.

"You're taking this on quite well. Others usually deny it for a long time. I remember slapping the bagani who fetched me, just to see if I was still dreaming," I say with a smile.

"My grandma says the same. But I don't have the imagination to dream this up. Besides, that torture tornado's pain delivery was too real to be a dream," she replies.

I smile again. She's a sensible kid. A fine addition to our ranks, I'm sure.

"What's your name?" Alren asks.

"Amilyn," she responds, pulling the blanket tighter against her bare body. 

"You don't look like an Amilyn," I say.

"I know. I think I'm Korean, but I don't know my Korean name."

"Ah," I reply, deciding not to further ask why she does not know of her own nationality and name. 

To each her own, I guess. 

"Well, now that we're all good and oriented, we better get going. Plane leaves in an hour, and traffic must be crazy right now due to the rain," announces Alren.

"You better get dressed first, Amilyn," I tell the pinili.

"Yeah. And I need to talk to nana. Not topless this time," she replies.

Alren and I look at each other, communicating our mutual discomfort at the topic raised. Amilyn notices the gesture.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

I don't know what to say. The anito who raise us become close to us, they become our family. But after we become pinili, they leave, never to be seen again. I couldn't quite accept this at first, and it still hurts to remember I won't see my old nanny, but that is what it is. 

"What's wrong? Something's definitely wrong," Amilyn announces.

"Well…about your nana," Alren starts. "You…won't see her again, ever. She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone? She can't be gone," says Amilyn, her voice laced with panic.

"Her duty is over. She's returned to nature. It's just how things are," I say softly, placing a hand over her shoulder, doing my best to comfort her.

"But that's…."

"It's unfair, I know. But they're not meant to stay in this world for too long. Their species of anito do not belong here," explains Alren. He too is speaking in a soft voice.

Silence. Amilyn looks up at a large portrait on the nearby wall. It's an image of a young girl missing her two front teeth. She's smiling so happily. But there's a peculiar space behind her, a space I assume someone used to occupy.

"Even her pictures are gone," Amilyn says under her breath.

"They can't leave a trace here on earth," I explain.

"Then what do I have to remember her by? What proof do I have that she even existed?"

She's now on the verge of tears.

"She was the only family I ever had. She raised me. And now you're saying I'll never see her again. Just like that, she's gone. I…"

"Of course she existed. You have all those memories with her, good ones, I'm sure. And you have you. What you are, who you turned out to be, is proof that she existed," I say.

Tears continue to flow down Amilyn's eyes. 

Alren and I look at each other, not daring to say a word. We leave her in silence.

---

It took a whole of five minutes for Amilyn to stop crying, get up, and head to her room. Minutes later, she emerged fully dressed, though her face is still laced with sorrow.

"Should I pack?" she asks, her voice hollow.

"No need, they'll provide you with everything you need there," I reply.

She nods.

"Trouble," Alren announces.

"What?" I ask.

"Our flight's canceled. The storm got worse and all no planes are taking off."

"Merde!" I exclaim. "What now? We have to get back to Pinag-adlawan today or else we'll miss the harvest festival."

"We do have another option. But you're not gonna like it," says Alren.

"Any option is good to me right now. Fess up, I'm all ears."

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