The alleys were dark and strangely quiet.
Ellaine found it hard to figure out her location as she was unfamiliar to the place. The old town looked like it just came from one of those fairytales she so often read about when she was still a child.
Yet the atmosphere was intriguing. Street lamps were out, no sign of stray cats and dogs, not a soul to be seen or heard everywhere, and every house on every block were closed as if there were.. deserted.
As if the whole town was deserted, if truth be told.
“Talking about being alone,” Ellaine said to herself. She had been strolling along the empty streets for quite some time now and eventually, she had completely concluded that she would see no ounce of life even if she turned the whole place up and down.
“So now what?” She snapped at herself instead because there’s no one to snap at. First, she didn’t know how she possibly got herself tangled up with those vines on the outskirts of town. And now, she couldn’t find her way out.
Suddenly, there was stillness in the air. The cold breeze that haunted Ellaine’s skin was instantly gone. The distant sound of creaking doors stopped, leaving her with a rather unpleasant feeling of solitude.
Where did all the people go?
“Hello? Anybody?” She tried to raise her voice but the dead silence engulfed her nerves.
However, her calls didn’t go unnoticed. Not far away behind her, she heard a rustling of leaves. She turned, hoping to finally meet a company but instead, an unseen force pulled her. She screamed at the top of her lungs and resisted. She tried to run away, yet her efforts were futile.
From the direction of the unseen force, a black hole materialized and the force only strengthened. Ellaine imagined resistance would tear her to pieces as the black hole sucked her completely. Even her head throbbed hard in her battle with nature.
Losing a great deal of energy, the young girl yielded and gave up. Inside her head she could only think of closing her eyes and waiting for the worst—death.
Numbness conquered her body, swam in her blood, and throbbed in her brain. She no longer felt the horrible force or the maddening loneliness. It was not a moment later when she acknowledged it safe to open her eyes once more. Although this time she was not in a haunted city, instead, she was under a magnificent tree.
It was more of a.. humongous tree, rather. Its roots were thick, spread and arrayed on the vast land. Its trunk stretched high across the sky and its branches extended far and wide. Its heart-shaped leaves were in rich green color which covered the half of the tree.
Ellaine felt something here. Different emotions were radiating everywhere and through her: happiness, excitement, sadness, loneliness, and grief. She was deeply moved and confused by these strongly contrasting emotions which seemed to come from the tree.
“But, could it really be coming from this tree?” Ellaine told herself. Did she somehow manage to bump her head and come up with this illusion?
She walked closer its trunk to touch it and felt it so warm and alive under her hand. In that instant, the tree glowed in response.
Ellaine was surprised. The tree might be alive after all! There was no mistaking of it glowing. She couldn’t have imagined that warmth she felt under her palm just now.
A glance on the pool of withered leaves at her feet made her witness a glinting material against the sunlight. She narrowed her eyes to have a good look at it. It looked more like a transparent moonstone dangling on a gold necklace.
She was about to come closer to get hold of the captivating jewelry when a voice called.
“Ellaine,” it said.
“Who’s there?” She glanced in every direction looking for the owner of the voice.
“Ellaine,” The voice called again.
“Where are you?” She felt something heavy on her and suddenly, the atmosphere seemed hot and cramped.
“Ellaine! Wake up!” Aunt Caroline was atop her niece, shaking her with all her might. “My goodness, you scared the life out of me!”
Aunt Caroline was a short and plump woman in her mid-forties. Her hair was always dyed blonde because she took after her idol Madonna. She kept her face hidden with all the cosmetics she covered it. The only time she was seen without her make-up was when she applied facial mask.
“Aunt Caroline? What’s got you all fired up?” Yet inside Ellaine’s head she was still thinking about the empty town and the huge tree.
“You were having a bad dream!”
“I am?” But it didn’t look as if it was a dream at all.
“Oh yes. If I hadn’t come up here to look for you who knows what might’ve happened!”
Poor Aunt Caroline, her words and worries were for nothing. Ellaine was much busy thinking about her dream than listening to her Aunt.
The older woman climbed down the bed and called out to her niece, “Go take a bath and eat your breakfast. You’re about to be late for school.” She went out of the room closing the door behind her with a bang.
Ellaine was left brooding in her messy bed in her completely messy room. “But it seemed real..” She pinched her cheeks just in case.
“Ellaine! Get moving or you’ll be late!” Aunt Caroline yelled.
Still half-asleep and half-awake, Ellaine got out of bed and marched to the window. Sliding the curtain sideways, she welcomed the warmth of the sun. Inhale and exhale she went; taking deep gentle breaths.
She did this daily as a rule and as a way of chasing her sleepiness away.
“Ellaine you don’t have all day!” Aunt Caroline called.
“I’m hurrying!” Yet even as she said that a flock of birds that flew overhead caught her attention. The little one from the group glided downward away from its kins. It wandered around the block until it finally settled on the bark of a tree.
“That’s strange,” Ellaine thought. She didn’t know birds can break away from its cluster. And that reminded her of her birthday tomorrow.
Tomorrow would be no ordinary birthday because it will be her debut. Excitement swam in her blood and a smile crept on her mouth. She had always wanted to have a life of her own especially one where she called the shots. Independence was her one and only wish since she figured that she could survive single-handedly.
An intrusion of Aunt Caroline’s image inside her head instantly burst Ellaine’s bubble. But of course, her aunt was constantly there which reminded her that her debut wouldn’t even provide her independence. Maybe it became more of a reason why Ellaine had wished to be free.
Although, Aunt Caroline wasn’t a bad guardian. In fact, she was a good one. She provided Ellaine her needs and, if possible, her wants. Her life under the Medina household, consisting of Aunt Caroline and herself, was not lavish yet not deprived.
The only hitch was Aunt Caroline’s inappropriate sense of ownership. She regarded Ellaine as something to be taken care of and disciplined as one would keep and clean a pearl. Ellaine was never allowed to go anywhere asides the house and school, to stay out late, to have boyfriend until 26, and a lot more of no-no’s.
“I wish I could be more like that bird.” She said to herself, “If only I can have the courage to leave Aunt Caroline.” But it was impossible.
“Ellaine my dear, do you know what day it is?” Aunt Caroline asked her niece as she flipped sunny-side-up eggs onto the white platter. “It’s Sunday.” Ellaine answered in an unconcerned manner as she helped set the utensils on the table for breakfast. The first let out a chuckle, “Well, naturally! But today’s your birthday, you know.” “I know. So?" The normakity of her everyday just bored Ellaine. She wanted something new. She just wished she could get away from Aunt Caroline and that hiuse that kept her inside. “So?” Aunt Caroline imitated her as she moved away from the stove and to the table, “What do you want to do? Eat out or d
Because Ellaine was running so fast, she didn’t know what went on between the people she left. She really regretted that she even had the idea of leaving the house. She was just so grateful that she could finally go home and rest in bed. Meanwhile just in front of the shop she left, Margarette unabashedly stared at the arrogant man standing proudly in front of her. “You really had the guts to wear that kind of thing here. Only a dumb person can’t see that you are fully armored!” She said in disgust. “That girl didn’t.” He even laid a hand and polished the glinting string of Jades surrounding the neck of his emerald armor. “Oh please, Finrod. Don’t give me that. And don’t bark at every single creature
“Good morning,” Margarette greeted Finrod who had just come out of the guest room. “Want some coffee?”“And what kind of human thing is that?” He said with disgust.“It’s a drink which is usually drunk by usual people on a usual day such as this. Here.” She handed him her personally brewed coffee. “And what happened to your face? You have dark circles below your eyes all of a sudden.”“You don’t have business with my face.” Finrod had spent the whole night tossing left and right on the bed. For several hours he stared at the window, waiting for something peculiar to happen. He fervently wanted to get the damn piece quickly before someone else did. On top of that, he badly wanted to get back to Lenriad.Only the Fates knew how much suffering he had to go through just to locate Margarette’s quarters. He had gone through different routes leading to different countries and yet the witch was just so elusive. Fortunately, he finally found her.“Ahem.” The sur
Ellaine stared at Margarette’s fading profile as she did to Finrod. Inside her head she had a battle to herself.A part of her wanted so badly to go after her box even if she had to go through that ‘portal’ she heard. But a part of her wanted to stay at home. She could get a new box anyway and she didn’t want to see that dreadful monster again.She knew it was clearly impossible but her eyes couldn’t have deceived her all the while. She’d go insane that way.“Enough adventures for one day.” She marched to the house feeling just a little bit regretful.Both the box and the necklace came from her real mother so it had same sentimental value. But now the box was gone, “Alright! I have to get that box so I can have my peace.”But what did the monster really wanted with her possessions? Is the box really too important for the monster to chase her all the way to Biñan? She ran as fast as
“Ouch! One more unnecessary movement and I’ll throw you out!” Finrod threatened, his eyes narrowed at Ellaine. “Huh! Can’t you just even thank me for helping you?” She could’ve hit him if not for the long, bloody wound across his chest. “Hey, both of you, can’t you stop bickering?” Margarette said. Fortunately, an empty stagecoach stopped by and carried them when they got out of the forest. The coachman, a bony gentleman (precisely, a skeleton) held the reins of four ghost horses.Margarette said they are called couriers. They always appear when someone is in the brink of death. Sometimes they help injured creatures reach the nearest infirmary but sometimes they deliver them to their end.&
Everything was pitched black when Feucher and Ellaine arrived at their destination. He pulled the reins and climbed down the horse. He helped her get down and let the horse graze at the nearest grasses. “Here we are lass.” He motioned for the dark, creepy forest in front of them. She could feel thousands of eyes all around her. Not far away, she could hear laughter and whispers. The cool breeze teased her skin and awoke fear in her. “Don’t you think I need something bright? Say, lamp, torch, or whatever you use in this world?” “Oh no, no. surely you ain’t thinking about bringing a torch with you there child, yes?” He moved closer to her ear. “They can hear you. It will surely anger them once you
As soon as Ellaine went back Eugoroa, Feucher started to boil the dusts. Finrod was still unconscious but Margarette told her he was better than he looked like. He can still last a day without the dusts, in fact. She told them how Yntreia ended up with her. She remembered the sympathy Feucher showed her. “Don’t mourn for a long time, Ellaine.” Feucher assured her. “Death is not a stranger to us. Some just wait longer to receive him. On the other hand, the pixies are a strong clan. This is only a phase of their history.” Now it was time for Margarette to say her piece. As Feucher busied himself in making the concoction, they went to the town square to get some fresh air. They sat on a bench beside
By nightfall, Margarette and Ellaine were faced by a nagging Finrod. He was back to normal alright. “Where were you two, huh? Have you forgotten you left me here in Feucher’s quarters? If you were here when I woke up early this afternoon we would have been away and after the Noimstre! But as it is, we cannot hit the road ‘till dawn tomorrow!” Ellaine’s smile didn’t falter a bit. She was just so happy that Finrod’s finally safe from the poison. He noticed her dopey smile, “And you—” his eyes gazed down the cloth she was holding and felt the psyche of the baby inside tugging at his mind. “Y-you,” Color was drained on his face, “How long have I been unconscious?” “Two and a half days.” Margarette an