To Devour

Luna and her grandfather typically spend their Sunday afternoon gun-shooting. Bagwis, Luna's grandfather, just recently paid off his late 18th birthday present for her. It was this simple indoor gun range he had been paying in monthly installment for a year. Luna and Bagwis stood in good postures and comfortable stance as they competitively shot their targets. Both of them had been attaining excellent scores and neither hesitates to ruin the record. Severo, Luna's father, who was regulating the game called for ceasefire and they halted in unison. They unloaded their guns and took off their earmuffs and protective glasses. "Nicely done, Luna. I'm impressed." Bagwis said amusedly. "Thanks, tay. I guess I was in such a good mood." Luna said with a big smile on her face.

A week went by without progress in Bagwis' case. There were no possible suspects since nobody from the neighbourhood saw the face of the culprit. They claim that they only heard growling, clashing of metal, and Bagwis yelling as if he was in a fight with someone. Security footage shows that Bagwis opened his door around ten in the evening to a police officer who delivered him mail. He drove away a moment later and never appeared again. That police officer was Euphert Benitez. They had summoned him to deliver a statement the next day. According to him, he was distributing the mail his late friend Fernan left from volunteer work. He used to volunteer for a nursing home by endorsing it to the families in the area. When he died, Benitez stated that he had the heart to continue the job his friend used to do as an act of commemorating his philanthropism and doing something edifying once in a while. He happened to pass by that night on his way home when he saw Bagwis parking his car. Benitez

The passage continued to the narration of a girl's ability to make love potions. She was Susan, and she lived in Samar, a province in the Visayas. Marina heard of Susan when her cousin invited her to come with her to Samar searching for the famous potion maker, unanimously endorsed by anyone who found love that her cousin was aware of. Marina thought it was a frivolous trip, but she agreed to come since she wasn't charged with any expenses throughout the whole trip. She left Celestina to Letty for a week while they left for Samar. Susan was beautiful and enticing. She had a voluptuous body and skin of faint brown, healthy and unblemished. She was the most beautiful she had ever met. Her conceited cousin, to her surprise, did not patronize her beauty nor goaded her to criticize Susan out of insecurity when she met her. They both agreed that she was simple yet ethereal. Susan did not just make philters. She could cast spells, too, since her

It just took her a couple of minutes to reach the place since it was past the rush hour. Luna unmounted her bike and checked her phone to make sure if she was at the right place. She parked her bike a few meters away from the bakery and securely locked it. She saw an old woman sweeping in front of the store and timidly approached her. "Good afternoon ma'am, hello. I'm Luna and I'm looking for Dorothy Martes, am I at the right place?" She asked in the most courteous way she could. The old lady stopped sweeping and quickly kept the broomstick away thinking she was a customer. "Yes, what can we do for you?" And she hurriedly walked towards the door. Luna was quick to stop her from acting upon her storekeeper's instinct by carefully tapping her shoulder. "I'm sorry for the sudden visit. I just came here for this." Luna replied, and retrieved the book in her bag. Confusion ran across the old lady's face and her un-filtered re

Luna walked forward and approached the nearest sari-sari store she saw. At first, most of the store owners did not know who the Toreses were or if there were anyone related to them who lived around the area before. Luna continued to search, entering different streets and passages, following different opinion-based directions given to her. Hours passed and she found herself lost in a confined and noisy neighborhood. There were people singing karaoke in the afternoon and men sitting on benches outside their homes, drinking beer under the hot sun. Luna acted like she wasn't lost and walked confidently along the slim passages, trying not to catch unnecessary attention from the bystanders. Luna wasn't easily rattled by situations like this, she was always mentally composed. She continued walking around and asking for directions. After a couple of turns, Luna happened to pass by a group of rowdy men drinking alcohol and singing out-of-tune karaoke, a few of them catcalling her. Luna felt sh