Anne and I leave the car. She has a silk black umbrella decorated with feathers to protect us from the heat. We walk a little before arriving at the Palace itself.

"Are you, alright?" she asks.

"I'm just nervous," I say.

The Palace itself is already mesmerizing when seen from afar, but it feels surreal up close. The neoclassical features from the design of the pillars and the facade are obvious. Some details like the connecting point of the stories show the influence of Spanish colonization. On the other hand, the contrast between the black metal canopy and the white paint of the exterior is striking.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Remember to be respectful to anyone who is here, but tell the president when you're uncomfortable with their questions."

I nod.

She walks ahead and I follow her. The bright light shines in the lobby, and it makes the intricate carvings on the marble wall appear vivid. On the other end of the hall stands a man in a white barong. 

"Good morning, ma'am and sir. Are you Mr. Cruz and his guardian?"

"Yes," Anne flashes a soft smile, "I'm his guardian."

"Good day sir," I say.

"It's really fortunate that you've granted the invitation of our beloved President. He's really eager to meet Mr. Cruz."

"Of course. It's an honor to meet the president," Anne says.

"So, shall we go?"

"With pleasure."

"He is already waiting for you."

He leads us to the door behind him. It's noticeable that the door is decorated with carvings that depict the story of Malakas at Maganda through a six-framed storyboard.

We walk on the stairs, and every time I take a step, my foot sinks. I can't quite put it, but this feels familiar.

Entering another door reveals a spacious hall. 3 large chandeliers illuminate the entire room and the dark brown table beneath.

"This is the Reception Hall," the man says. "This is where official guests usually pass their time before meeting the First Lady or the President."

Anne roams her head. "It's beautiful. Grandiose yet simple, but still elegant."

"I'm glad that you can see through it. As you may have noticed, this room has the official portraits of the Presidents from the Malolos Republic to the current presiding president."

There are portraits on the other end. They showcase different styles but still show the formality of the leaders of our country. It seems all of them are chronologically arranged.

He walks to the right, and we enter a smaller room compared to the others we've seen. In the head chair, wearing a black baro cerrada, is the president who sits with his hands on the armrest. The chairs on the left are occupied. The ones on the right side are vacant.

The president gestures to the right.

"Good morning. Please join us," he says.

Anne smiles, and I follow her because I have no other choice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President."

"I'm glad that you accepted the invitation."

She glances at me.

I take the president's hand. He grips it tight.

"Thank you for inviting us, Mr. President," I say.

"No. I'm the one who should be thankful." he reaches for my head but ends up touching my shoulder instead. "You're really tall, aren't you?"

"Ah. I'm sorry." I bow down.

He chuckles lightly, he pats my head. After that, Anne and I take the vacant seats.

"Good afternoon Ms. Perez and Matt. This," he has directed his hand to the male sitting across, "is Secretary Alvarez of the Department of Science and Technology and this is Chairperson Gonzales of Agency of Human Innovation." he has gestured to the female. "They will be joining our meeting for today."

"Hello. Nice to meet you," Chairperson Gonzales says.

"First of all, thank you for accepting my invitation. Really, it's a pleasure to have you here. We sent the letter after you were discharged from the hospital, so we did not expect you to agree right away. By the way, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"Just tell us if anything isn't right."

"I will."

"Now, I invited you here because there's something I want to talk about. It's related to the accident, Ms. Perez."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. The investigation is continuous thus it bears fruit. Worry not, the task force has their primary suspects already."

"That's good to hear."

"But the reason we invited you here is entirely different."

"Good morning, Ms. Perez and Mr. Cruz." Secretary Alvarez says. "As Mr. President has already mentioned, the reason for your invite is different."

She nods, leaning forward from the chair.

"That's because we discovered something different on the site of the incident. The bombs that are used are not the common kind. The forensics found a chemical inside called Skenex."

"Skenex?"

Secretary Alvarez changes the direction of his gaze. "Yes. Skenex. Are you aware of Vex City?"

"I know the basics about it."

"Just like we thought," the President says.

"Vex City is a private city that was built, with the coordination of United Nations and Commission of Human Rights, to contain certain types of people. The inhabitants of Vex City are called Skens."

"Skens... Skens are different from us." Secretary Alvarez speaks further.

"How are they different?"

Chairperson Gonzales lifts her head.

"Skens are mixtures of human and superhuman. Their body functions like ours, however, the difference is that they possess supernatural abilities," she says.

Anne furrows her brows. "I apologize, but I don't understand."

"Skens is the justification of the superheroes portrayed in fiction. That's what I exactly mean, Ms. Perez."

"People in Vex City have supernatural abilities?"

"Yes."

Chairperson Gonzales looks at the President. The President nods.

"Ms. Perez, I know that this is very shocking, but Mr. Cruz is a Sken," he says.

Huh?

"What?!"

I'm a Sken?

"Mr. Cruz acquired a supernatural ability due to the bombing incident." Secretary Alvarez says with a smile.

Meanwhile, Anne's brows become sharper.

"I didn't mean disrespect, but are you deceiving us?"

"Of course not. We're telling the truth."

The president takes something on the table beside him. It's a folder. He hands it to Anne. "This is the result of the tests conducted by the hospital he was admitted." 

A slight frown appears on her face, but she reads the contents.

Only the rustling of the papers fills the room.

"This... this data matches the information here. Everything about this is related to Skens."

"As it can be inferred from that, the blood composition, stimuli, and some body parts of Mr. Cruz have been modified and matched the one of a Sken." the president extends his hand ahead as if he's proclaiming an announcement. "What do you think, Ms. Perez? Do you believe with us?"

"Yes... I'm sorry for being rude earlier."

"Don't apologize for something so trivial. It is really unbelievable, almost impossible. If I am in your situation, I would be confused... or angered too."

"This is good news!" Secretary Alvarez interrupts. "Our country has been developing ways to produce our own Sken for a long time. But now, it's great that Mr. Cruz is a certified Sken who's native here. As of now, we're hiring Skens from abroad in order for us to survive." his eyes are shining, but his words are too fast to understand. "Having a Sken endemic to us means Prosperity."

The president casts his eyes to glare at Secretary Alvarez.

"That's the reason why we invited you here. As said earlier, Skens are inhabiting Vex City so we like to tell you that we want to send Mr. Cruz to Vex City." the president says.

"There, he's given the permission to study in a school of his choice. The government will gladly support his studies." Chairperson Gonzales claims. "After studying in College, he will be sent back here."

"Please wait for a moment. I can't make decisions on my own. His father must know everything about this first."

"Don't worry Ms. Perez, Mr. Cruz already knew about this. I believe that the two-page invitation we sent states what we've said." the President says.

Two pages? I only read one. There's only one yesterday.

"I understand. But the decision is not mine to make."

Anne glances at me. Suddenly, all of their stares fall in my direction. A strong shiver crawls in my skin.

"Excuse me, but I would like to raise a question," I say.

"Go ahead," the president says.

"Why do Skens exist in our country?"

"Skens are indicators of a prosperous country." Secretary Alvarez spouts. "Countries with native Skens are aided by UN to he—"

"Sken exists to protect our country." the president says. His expression is rigid.

"From what?"

"From threats. Skens are peacemakers since the mortality rate due to crimes are rising, and to prevent that, UN requires countries to hire them."

"And so you're hiring now?"

"Yes, although it's quite expensive. That is why having our own Sken will really help our country."

So the country will remain stagnant.

But if I accept this, I'll never get the chance to remember my past, and doing art will be harder.

"I..." I know.

"I'm sorry. I can't accept your offer. I need to improve my current state first before wandering to an unknown territory." I say.

The smile on the President's face disappears. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Cruz? You won't have another opportunity like this that can change your life." Chairperson Gonzales says.

I can feel Anne's eyes on me, but I pretend not to notice. "I'm sure. I need to remember my past before moving forward to the future. And besides, I want to concentrate on art."

The whole room becomes dead silent. A true example of the famous saying 'you can hear a pin drop.'

Chairperson Gonzales clears her throat. "If that's your decision, I'm happy." she smiles, but somehow, her eyes are averting to the side. "We're happy."

"Well, if that's your decision, then who I am to hinder. It is your right as a citizen of this country after all. I'm glad that I'm given a chance to meet such a fine young man like you. I'm sure you'll thrive." the President says.

"T-thank you."

"No problem."