“Hng……”
“KRAAAAA~”
“I… Isha?……”
“KRAAAAA~”
“Where are we?”
“Oh! You’re finally awake.”
“Aaah! Who are you!? Are you going to kill me too!?”
“Woah. Easy there, kiddo. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Wait… You - You’re legs!?”
“Hehe. Surprising, right? I have a fish tail.”
“A - Are you?”
“Yup. I’m a Sirena.”
“Woah! I heard stories about half-man, half-fish creatures that eat kids…… Wait!? Are you going to eat me? Please don’t eat me!”
“Hey, I’m not going to do that! We’re not that kind of Sirenas.”
“KRAAAAA~”
“See? Your turtle friend likes me too.”
“Uhm… Well… If Isha trusts you, it means I can trust you too.”
“Hehe! Of course! I’m here to help you. In fact, I have some food here - seaweeds, cooked fish, and fruits.”
“Where!? Can I have some!?”
“Sure!! I brought them just for…. Hey!? Please slow down! You might end up choking yourself!”
“Vwow! Thiz ahre delichioush! Hihi!”
“My goodness…”
“Th - Thahnk you sho much!!! You’re very naysh, Ms. Sirena!”
“Don’t mind it, just help yourself.”
“... What is your name, Ms. Sirena?”
“You can call me Laad. How about you, kiddo? What is your name?”
“Uhm…… I can’t… I can’t remember it… I think it’s Calla.”
“Do you remember where you came from?”
“Hmm… No. I just remember that the people in my village don’t like me. I also remember Mae-Mae; she’s the one who gave me Isha……. Wait, let me think more…… AW!!!”
“Are you okay!?”
“My head hurts when I try to remember it!”
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t force yourself. It’s fine if you can’t remember everything.”
“Hmm…. By the way, what is this place, Ms. Laad? The beach is so beautiful.”
“You’re on Matukad Island, kiddo. The home of Panee’s Followers.”
“Panee’s Followers? Who is Panee? Is she the barangay captain of the Sirenas?”
“*giggle* No, you silly. Panee is the deity of Primordial Waters. We worship her as our god.”
“Panee?... Primordial Washers… god… I don’t understand them.”
“It’s okay, kiddo. Well, you’ll understand it bit by bit. Anyway, do you want to meet the other Sirenas?”
“Are they also kind like you?”
“Yup, I can assure you that.”
“Wow! Are they in your house?... Wait… Do Sirenas have houses?”
“*giggle* Nope, we live in Panee’s Domain, inside this Island…. Well, it used to be a paradise for us Sirenas. But now, I can’t even call it a shelter…. But anyways, now that you’re here, I have faith that everything will turn back to normal!”
“Uhm… You’re making me confused again…”
“Oh, I’m sorry. We’ll just explain it to you once you get there… Are you ready? Do you know how to swim?”
“Hmm… I don’t really know how to swim. But I know I can hold my breath underwater for a long time… I remember - when villagers tried to chase me, I used to hide in rivers.”
“Uhm. That’s great, I guess?……… It would be easier for you to use the entrance in the Lagoon, but you need to climb up those cliffs to get in there. So we’ll just use the Entrance underneath the Island instead.”
“Uhh… Okay po…”
“Don’t worry, there are underground caverns along the way. We can stop in those caverns so you can catch your breath now and then.”
“Can Isha come too?”
“Of course! The other Sirenas will be delighted to see her too!”
“Really!? Well, okay!”
“KRAAAAA~”
“Just hop on my back and we’ll now swim to the sea!”
“Okay po!”
…
…
…
“Woah! This cave is so huge!”
“Well, this place used to be much more spacious - you would see great architecture and a beautiful beach like that on the outside. Now, this place is nothing more than a flooded wasteland.”
“Ohh…”
“Sorry, if you have to stay here in this little raft. You see, there’s not much dry space here.”
“It’s okay po. Hehe.”
“Let’s just wait for Lola Bonging to come.”
“Wait… What happened to those Sirena? Are… Are they… dead?”
“Unfortunately….. The water had become so inhospitable for us. I don’t know if you can see it, but there’s a Relic under the water. It used to keep this place running. But one day, it just suddenly became polluted and became unstable, flooding this whole place and polluting the water with magic residue.”
“It… It sounds… sad…”
“But thankfully, you’re here now.”
…
“My, my…. Is this the child that Lola Bonging prophesied?”
“She’s the only human child with a turtle on the beach. So…”
“Ooh! Another beautiful Sirena!”
“My, my… What a sweet baby girl…. I’m Hamis. Remember my name, okay? I’ll be the one who’ll take care of you.”
“Okay po, hihi.”
“So? Can she really do it?”
“I don’t know, I still haven’t asked her. But if it’s Lola Bonging’s prophesy, it means it’s Panee’s will too.”
“Hmm, you’re right……. Baby girl, do you know how to use Blessed Words?”
“Blessed… Words?”
“You know - magic.”
“Oh! Oh! Yes! I know how to! … But wait… Should I say it to you? No, no, wait… I don’t know how to use it. Please don’t hurt me.”
“Awww, did someone hurt you because of it?”
“Y… Yes po…”
“Don’t worry. We, Sirenas, won’t harm you for using it. Instead, we will be happy if you use it to help us.”
“Re-Really!?”
“My, my… Now, you’re smiling again. Yes, why will we harm you? You’re a blessing to us.”
“Uhm… I want to help you because you’re so kind to me. But I don’t know how to.”
“It’s okay, baby girl. We’ll guide you.”
“That’s right, kiddo. You don’t need to worry, we’re also here to help you.”
“Just tell us what your magic can do, baby girl.”
“Uhm…… I can create water and move it in the air… Uhm, also, when I’m thirsty, I can use my magic to clean dirty water so I can drink it.”
“The water-cleaning one - can you show it to us? You can use it in this water.”
“Uhm… Okay. I can do it… But… But this water is too big.”
“It’s okay, baby. We’re just trying.”
“Uhm… okay po……… LU… LUTUM… REMOTIONEM!”
…
“Hamis!? Ca-can you feel it? The water!”
“My, my… I feel it. The magic residue has diminished.”
“Did… Did I do it right?”
“You’re doing fantastic, kiddo! Can you please do it again?”
“Uhm, sure!...... LUTUM REMOTIONEM!”
…
“Haha! Hamis!! Can you believe this!? It really is true! This child is our hope!”
“Yes. But hmm… The water only feels less stingy in this area. I guess she can only purify a small part of the water at a time.”
“Well, at least we now know that this kiddo will save us!”
“My, my… Don’t get too excited, Laad…… Look at her.”
“Oh! She’s asleep now.”
“I suppose this will still take some time…”
…
…
…
“Calla!”
“Calla, hey!”
“Yoohoo. Calllaaaaaa…”
“Ooh! Sorry! What is it, Triggs?”
“Are you okay? You’ve just been staring at the sea for how many minutes now.”
“I’m okay. I’m just reminiscing,” Calla replied. She smiled as the nostalgic feeling warmed her heart. “It’s been 15 years since I first got to this beach. Time flies so fast…”
Triggs nodded his head. “Mmm-hmm. Tita Hamis told me about your story.”
Calla blushed. “Wait… Wha - What did she tell you?”
“Mostly about you saving the Domain.”
“Oh… Honestly, I don’t want to call it ‘saving’. I simply helped restore the Domain to its previous condition.”
“Still, it’s a great feat, considering that you were just a child back then,” Triggs said. “And now, you’re helping them again for the second time.”
Calla was flattered by the compliments. “Well, Hehe. I’m just repaying their kindness. They adopted me even though I’m different from them...”
Their conversation continued, sitting on the sandy beach of Matukad Island.
The team was on the execution of their plan to capture the giant bird. Triggs and Calla were stationed on the beach, waiting for the creature to appear.
Beforehand, they had already set up bait for the bird; they placed a large bowl in the middle of the beach. Swimming in the bowl were 2 mid-sized Enchanted Bangus.
The bowl was covered with strong vines knitted like a net. The net was designed to protect the Bangus if the bird tried to fish them from the bowl.
“Geez, when will that bird appear? We’ve been waiting here since sunrise,” Triggs muttered.
“Well… Guess it’s time to patrol again. Whose turn is it now?”
“I think it’s your turn now, Calla.”
“Uhh… Really? All this waiting got me so sleepy - I forgot it’s my turn now,” Calla uttered. “Well then… ”
Calla stood up from her seat and began her patrol.
Just a few minutes after Calla left the place, Triggs heard a soft splash from the sea.
“Pssst!... Psst, hey!!”
“Who’s that!?”
“Hey! Over here!”
“Gamgam?” Triggs approached the Shokoy kid in the sea.
“Hey, you’re Ate Paglaom’s friend, right? What’s your name again?”
“Triggs.”
“Kuya Triggs, I just want to thank you for standing up for me last night.”
“Naaah, I just did what’s right. Those Shokoy kids had no right to bully you.”
“Yeah! They always make fun of me. That’s why I’m always doing my best to prove that I can be useful, even though I’m different from them.”
“That’s right! Don’t let those bullies bring you down!” Triggs replied. “Your Ate Paglaom is right about you. You may be different, but your heart is very strong.”
“Re-Really? She said that!?”
“Yup!”
“Actually, she’s my role model. That’s why I promise myself to be like Ate Paglaom; I will make every Sirena and Shokoy proud of me.”
“Well, if you keep believing it with all your heart, someday you'll speak it into existence. That’s what my mother always tells me.”
“Yeah! Someday, I’LL BECOME A LEGENDARY SHOKOY!”
“That’s the spirit!!!”
“Yeah!!!”
“By the way, what are you doing here?”
“Uhm… I saw the other kids going this way, I just followed them.”
“What!?”
Meanwhile, in another corner of the Island,
“WHY ARE YOU HERE!?”
“Ate Paglaom, we want to help you fight that giant bird,” Aki replied.
“But I already told you, it’s too dangerous! We don’t even know how strong that bird is!”
“But, but… We’re already big boys now, Ate Paglaom!” Urig insisted.
Aki agreed. Pilyo and Ugakon were also there.
Calla sighed deeply. “Geez! You kids are too hard-headed!”
BZZT!! BZZT!! BZZT!!
Calla quickly reached for her phone inside her pocket.
It was a Group Call Request from Lae.
Calla tapped her phone to accept the call.
“Guys! The bird! It’s already here!”
