1945

"—Alisha…."

Alisha was startled a little after staring in a dazed at the tiny waves that lapped the sandy shores. She was pulled out of her reverie by a soft voice near her.

While sitting cross-legged on a boulder, she turned to look at the person beside her, of whom she had known since the time she started a fight with some villager's children. The person sitting next to her, a boy her age with a gentle face, is her best friend, Daniel. 

"Yes?" Alisha asked as she sat up straight. She's been waiting for him to speak since earlier, yet he just stayed quiet and stared at the sea. So she followed his gaze and after some time, felt the spell of the waves and became entranced with it. And now, she thought, Daniel's finally going to break his silence. Maybe he's going to spill whatever was eating him up.

Lately, Alisha became aware that something was amiss. For the past few days, Daniel seemed to be in low spirits, and Alisha didn't know why. She would have confronted him already if it were not for his constant dodging and disappearing. 

At some point, they ended up in a cat-and-mouse-chasing game. It didn't take long for Alisha to corner him, though. She immediately got to the point and asked him if something's wrong, but instead of giving her an explanation, he subtly ignores her question and changes the subject in the form of a joke. 

Yet his eyes were not laughing at all. Alisha sensed there was more than a hint of sadness, not only in his eyes but also in his tone.

Daniel seemed hesitant to tell and always evaded her, but despite all that, Alisha became all the more curious, so she went on pressuring him relentlessly into talking. He knew that she's so stubborn, so he yielded to her pressure. He said, with an intense look, that he has something important to say before he begins his last school year in high school.

And that leads to today. However, Alisha and Daniel's other best friend, Thom, was not in sight. Usually, Thom would go along with Daniel. They would always stick together like two peas in a pod, or should it be three peas in a pod, including her.

After a while, Daniel exhaled a long sigh as he nodded to himself. He turned towards her and unexpectedly put his hand lightly on top of hers, which made her purely surprised. 

He is not assertive in any way, and he usually wouldn't make such a bold move being as how he shrinks from her holds and clings ever so often. What happened to him that made him act oddly? Did he eat something wrong? 

"What is it?" She asked worriedly.

Alisha didn't know why she was getting nervous seeing his face moving closer after she asked. She could clearly see the depths of his brown eyes, the determination in them, staring at her. Alisha was considering whether or not to push his face playfully due to the sudden butterflies in her stomach.

Except her little internal struggle was unneeded, she hadn't given a chance to react because of what happens next. 

All of a sudden, Daniel had this shocked and pained expression as he was clutching his chest. Alisha immediately glanced down at where he was grabbing. If she's not sitting right now, she will collapse due to the mere sight of his chest. Her blood runs cold seeing the vile red liquid seeping through his shirt and spreading even further. 

All at once, Alisha was hit with so many overwhelming emotions: shock, perplex, panic, agony, angst, fear, terror, and almost all painful emotions that rendered her useless.

Seeing Daniel in such a state, she wants to rush towards him and help stop the bleeding. Yet the only feeling that predominantly stayed within her amongst others and the one that she didn't need is petrified. 

She wants to move, but she can't. She wants to call for help, but she can't. She wants to scream but she can't. It all seems so surreal that Alisha was beginning to think that this was all just a—

"This. is. all. your. fault ...ALISHA!"

"—Alisha!" 

Alisha suddenly jerked awake, went wide-eyed, and trembled in horror. Through her disoriented vision, she could see the foliage and a bit of the sky turning red like she was in hell. No, she must be in hell. 

Alisha found herself lying on the dirt. She felt numb all over her body, and her hands were weak, but she was able to prop up and tried to cough out whatever lodged in her throat or her heart—a sob or anguish, she hardly knows.

'No way, he's dead. There's no way!' Alisha horridly thought. Alisha refused to believe, so she dispelled that appalling notion. But even so, her head is still in turmoil from the possibility, and she felt nauseous.

She was so distraught thinking about the last part of the dream she barely noticed the person crouched down next to her trying to calm her down. Tina, one of Alisha's close friends, was fussing and rubbing her back as she was gasping for air. After some time, Alisha was able to pull herself together a bit due to Tina's consoling. Alisha would have been grateful, if not for the fact that the reason why she lost consciousness was Tina's the one who smothered her.

"Alisha?! Oh, thank God, you're awake!... I…" Tina was starting to whimper and trying to suppress her sob. 

"I'm so sorry I did that to you, but you would have been taken too if I didn't stop you…...I'm so sorry about Daniel, but we need to go right now. Please, Alishaaa..." Tina was frightened to the core as she was grabbing and pulling Alisha's arm. Thick tears were streaming down her small face, and her messed-up hair has some dried leaves stuck on it. Tina was urging Alisha to escape to somewhere far from their dangerous hiding place.

There were kids and some women behind Tina, looking all disheveled and crying silently. They're scrooched down so much, maybe trying to blend in with the ground, which doesn't make them any less visible. 

They have hidden under some thick bushes 50 meters away from the village square where the invading soldiers with foreign tongues took camp. If they were to make a loud sound, the invaders might hear them, and they'll all be found out then taken against their will.

'This island is so far away. How did these Japanese find this place? I thought they only captured the main islands. Oh, please, God! Don't let them kill him!' Alisha horrifyingly thought.

"....YOU. Why did you stop me? They might kill him! I need to save him!" After Alisha got to ponder over what happened, she immediately hissed with a whispered animosity towards Tina as she forcefully took back her arm. She wanted to scream at her, at anyone, just so she could release her pent-up rage, but she needed to hold back because they're still within an unsafe range.

Tina wrongfully earned her misguided anger, but she can't help it. Alisha was so furious and desperate. They have already captured Thom and some of her friends. And now, they have taken Daniel too.

It was all her damn fault. Because of her stubbornness to save Thom and the others, she neglected to calm down and compromised their concealment. A lone foreign soldier took noticed of the rustling of the bushes they were hiding at and was about to check their hiding place. 

Daniel might have known that she would do something reckless, as she always will, so he intercepted her and told the others to hold her down before coming out of the bushes. 

But before he could expose himself, he whispered to her three words she doesn't want to hear. Those words were like thorns in her heart, tightening like a vice. It's like he's saying goodbye, and she would never see him again. 

Then and there, it was like the whole world came crashing down on her. The mere thought of Daniel gone made Alisha mad with rage. She was lashing and struggling to break free to prevent him from sacrificing himself, to prevent him from leaving her.

She was ready to shout out to him, but Tina shut her up. Until, eventually, she fainted due to accidentally being smothered by Tina's hand that was covering her mouth and nose. It was all for the better since all of them would have been found out if she didn't lay unconscious.

"Alisha! Please think for a second! What would they do to you if they capture you, huh? Should they see your face, they will ravage you on the spot! They already captured Maria and Ina! I don't want you captu—ooph!" Quickly, Alisha shushed her friend by covering her mouth because her voice was gradually becoming louder. Tina nearly broke into hysterics. She was profoundly heartbroken and lamented over the fate of their friends. 

“Shhhh...I know, I know. I’m sorry. I will try to bring the—Ugh. Huuuuu!” Suddenly, Alisha found herself breaking down, her body heaving into sobs as she held her belly. She didn't know what to do to bring them back. Alisha only realized just now that without Daniel, she would be a nervous wreck and a useless person. If Alisha wants him back, she needed to snap out of it and do something, anything to save him, to save them.

"You need to go to the caves and hide yourselves there, take the women and children with you," Alisha commanded Tina as Alisha wipes her own tears with her palms. She was preparing to calm herself so she could formulate some plans on what to do for time is of the essence.

"Wha..what do you mean, Alisha? You're coming with us!" Tina was grabbing both Alisha's arms again and was beginning to hyperventilate. Alisha held on to Tina's shoulders. 

Seeing her friend like this, suffering, tormented, Alisha starting to comprehend the grave predicament they were in. She needs to be careful, have to be deliberate, to be precise in her decisions, so most of her plans, if not all, will end well. No matter how dangerous, she has to try.

"Tina, I need to do this. You don't have to worry about me because I will be cautious. I will bring them back. I promise." Alisha was reassuring her as she pulled Tina for a tight hug. Then she pushed Tina towards the direction of the shore. They would have to walk along the side of the beach before they could reach the hidden caves of the island. 

"Daniel might kill me for this because I couldn’t stop you...I'm so sorry for being unhelpful," Tina said as she turned to look back at Alisha. With snotty nose and tear smeared face, Alisha can't distinguish the pretty face of her friend anymore, so she tried to wipe the fluids with her hands.

".... Uhm. No, you're not unhelpful at all. You will guide the women and children to safety, which is quite a feat. Be sure to keep safe. Okay?" Alisha didn't respond and left out the issue about Daniel because she doesn't like the sound of his name and the word kill altogether. She needs to focus on other matters; if not, she will become unhinged entirely with madness.

After Alisha bade goodbye to the departing Tina and fellow villagers, she ran towards the other direction and decided to grab her bolo knife at her house. Alisha needs it for self-defense. 

'And while I'm at it, I might as well bring my bow and arr—oomph?!' 

Alisha didn't get to finish her thoughts as someone grabbed her from behind, one arm setting around her waist, and the other covered her mouth.