I held my bag close to my chest, very aware of my vulnerability. Jason’s house was almost palatial. The metal gates were so tall and meters away from the front door, protecting the family’s privacy. The front lawn stretched with lush green grass, tall trees lined up against the gate, adding extra protection from prying eyes outside. I felt Jason’s arm around my shoulder. He took my bag and guided me toward the house.
“I am so sorry for calling so late and for putting you on the spot. I just didn’t know who to call. I hope your parents are not mad,” I said to him, embarrassed at my situation. What am I going to tell him about why I ran away?
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. My stepfather is traveling so it’s just us and mother. My parents are very hospitable people and they know I care about you a lot. They understand.”
I felt his whole body contract as we neared his house, like he was anxious about something. I didn’t want to push him about it but it seemed like he was just as scared as I was. Knots were forming in my stomach again, getting worse with each step.
He opened one of the enormous double doors, leading into the living room. There was a very expensive-looking leather couch suite across a giant TV, complemented by other artsy furniture and high-end hi-fi system. The room was littered with souvenirs from all over the world. The windows were covered with heavy curtains. I knew they were rich but I didn’t know they were mafia rich.
I didn’t get enough time to admire the rest of the house as Jason pulled me toward the staircase where a stunning woman was descending. I could see the resemblance and somehow I knew that she was Jason’s mother, even though she seemed far too young to be his mom. To say she was a sight to behold was an understatement. Her long black hair was made even darker by the contrast of her flawless skin. Her lips were full and red and her eyes glittered with different shades of blue and brown. The resemblance was uncanny. I knew then that Jason would still look marvelous even as a woman. Not that I wanted him to turn into one.
“Hello Karina, welcome to our home. I am so delighted to finally meet you,” she said, extending a well-manicured hand. I accepted her hand and held down a shudder as I felt her firm ice-cold handshake.
“I’m so sorry to be disturbing you like this. I really appreciate your help, Ma’am,” I said. Another chill traveled up my spine.
“Nonsense, you are not disturbing us at all. And please call me Mirasol. Any friend of Jason’s is a friend of the family. I hope you find your stay comfortable. And please, feel at home. Don’t hesitate to ask us for anything,” she said, touching my hair before going back up the stairs.
“Jason will show you to your room. Good night,” she said without looking back.
“This way.” Jason took my arm and led me to the other side of the house. We went through the kitchen and out the back door. I began to think they were putting me in the garage when I saw the cabin on the other side of the garden. Jason opened the door, revealing what looked like a room from a five-star hotel. The king-sized bed with a very plush duvet was the center of the room. Across it was a huge LCD TV on the wall, a Blu-ray player, and a small refrigerator under it. There was a round breakfast table with two chairs close to the bed, while on the other side was a huge closet with a floor-to-ceiling sliding door mirror. He showed me the bathroom and I had to suppress a gasp after seeing the spa bath and huge vanity mirror. Towels, bathrobes, and various toiletries were already laid out for me. Jason said the refrigerator was also fully stocked with food I might like.
“This place is amazing. I don’t know what to say,” I said, in awe of everything.
“It’s nothing. Mother always makes sure we have a good guest room wherever we are. The phone connects to the house, and I’ve left my extension on your bedside table in case you want to, um, call me or something.”
“Thank you. Thank you for everything,” I said, taking his hand.
“When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be really close. Just let me know and I’ll be here in a flash,” he said, before kissing me. “Good night Karina, rest well.”
I locked the door after he left and sat on the bed. I didn’t really know why I ran away. It was impulsive and irresponsible. All I knew was that I needed to get out. I sent Dad a text message telling him I was okay and that I would be home soon. I crashed on the soft expensive bed in my clothes, tired from the day’s drama, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Sunlight filled my room and dragged me out of a very restful sleep. I must’ve forgotten to close the curtains after collapsing from exhaustion. I was still in the same clothes I wore last night so I started stripping to get in the shower. I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to find Jason standing outside.
“Is everything okay?” I said, wiping my eyes, all too aware of my state.
“I’m so sorry to disturb you. Yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did. Very well, thank you.”
“Breakfast is in the kitchen if you want to join me. Mother is still sleeping so it’s just us.”
“Sure, that would be great. I’ll just change and meet you in the kitchen.”
I closed the door and showered quickly before leaving the guesthouse. I walked to the kitchen to find Jason and his mother waiting for me. She looked amazing in her white flowing nightgown—perfection incarnate. She would have made millions as a model had she taken that path.
“Good morning, Karina. I gather you slept well?”
“Good morning, Mirasol. I slept very well. Thank you so much for your hospitality.”
“My pleasure. Enjoy your breakfast. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go rest. I had a long … work night last night.”
She nodded and turned to walk back to her room. I turned to Jason and smiled, looking fresh and beautiful in the early morning sun. We sat together in silence, smiling as our fingers touched. The table was filled with food. The croissant was warm next to the fruit platter. The scrambled eggs, mushrooms, and bacon were still hot. The bread was perfectly toasted and came in several flavors—raisins, date, caramel, and plain. There was a variety of cereal, fruit juice, and beverage—tea, coffee, hot chocolate.
“This is unbelievable,” I gasped at the sight.
“Mother always does this when we have guests. If you stay with us longer, this will be waiting for you every single morning.”
“I better not stay long then or I’ll never leave.”
“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you like, you know that, right?”
I nodded.
“I know it’s probably none of my business, but would you like to tell me why you ran away?”
I fell quiet for a while, unsure of what to say. I knew he was going to ask me but I hadn’t decided what to tell him.
“It’s quite complicated. I can’t really explain it to you. Some … relatives arrived at our place last night, and they all just sort of started planning my future. Or pressuring me about a decision I need to make about my future and it just became too much for me.”
I paused again, taking a small bite of the croissant. “It’s been building up the last couple of weeks, but last night … it all became too real. I just needed to go somewhere safe, somewhere neutral, you know?”
I saw him wince, a fleeting moment, but it was there. Then just as quickly it disappeared.
He took my hand. “I’m here if you need anything. I’m always here.”
“Thank you. I owe your family so much for this.”
He let go of my hand and poured juice in my glass. “Now eat up. We have heaps of stuff to do today. Anything you want. Anything at all. We’ll have a great day.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather just stay in. I don’t want to bump into anyone I know. Besides, you still haven’t given me the full tour. This place is absolutely huge.”
“Okay, if that’s what you wish. We do have a great home theater system here. We can just do as much movie marathons as you want. The pool is also at the back
of the house. I’m sure my mother can get some spare swimsuit for you. My father set up a game room in the pool room so that’s another option. I don’t use much of it all. Not too fun when you’re on your own.”
“Your house is like a teenager’s paradise,” I said with a big smile. I felt my heart warming, almost forgetting the decision I had to make.
“Eat up then. We have a great day ahead of us.”
After breakfast, he took me to see the entire house, pointing to happy family snapshots from all over the world. We spent most of the morning in the game room, playing football and air hockey, or just sitting around talking.
Mirasol left us alone all day, giving us the space to do whatever we wanted in their house. She must trust Jason that much if she was okay to leave us unsupervised.
I found it very easy to be with him, like I could tell him everything, except that I shouldn’t. Unlike other guys at school, Jason was so much more mature. Maybe it was because he had traveled all over the world. He didn’t worry much about anything, like the world is a worry-free zone. But then again, a life of riches and leisure would make anyone carefree. I saw glimpses of his serious side, when his brows would meet, like he was thinking deeply about something. But it was always fleeting.
The sound of guns blazing jolted me back to the present. I smiled at him, sitting beside me in the entertainment room with a huge bucket of bacon and cheese popcorn. We decided to watch a movie before lunch.
“Jumpy, aren’t we?” he teased.
“It caught me off guard. I’m only human,” I said, reaching for the popcorn.
He organized lunch so we could have a little picnic out the back, under the tree. It was quiet and peaceful, with only the sound of the birds chirping every now and then. The sun was perfectly warm high up in the sky, trickling in between the leaves.
The afternoon was spent swimming in the indoor pool. Jason gave me a pair of new bikinis, which puzzled me.
“Mother is a distributor of various clothing lines around the world,” he explained.
“I could get used to this.”
“Me, too. I want this day to last forever,” He leaned over to kiss me. “You can stay here forever, you know. My parents would definitely not mind.”
“I wish I could, I really do. You have no idea how much I just want to be doing this. To not have responsibilities.”
“What’s bothering you, Karina? You can tell me. Maybe I can help you. You sound so troubled, it pains me to see you like this,” he said, gently touching my cheek.
“It’s hard to explain. I just have to make a decision, and one of the decisions requires me losing the life I want to have.”
“You’ll figure it out. I know it. In one of your choices, will you be moving away from me?”
I nodded, fighting the tears in my eyes. I didn’t even know why I wanted to cry. He should be the least of my worries. Leaving my world should be what pains me more, but I couldn’t help it. Losing him was just another one of the setbacks of what I needed to do.
“I know it is selfish but I hope you won’t choose that path. I’m starting to get addicted to your presence. I’m not really sure how I’ll cope without you.” He kissed me hard, caressing the back of my neck with his fingertips. I lost myself in the moment, enjoying the bubble we were in, hoping that it wouldn’t burst too soon.
As the sun went down, we changed to dry clothes and headed for the entertainment room. Everything was custom-designed, right down to the details of the chairs. The room could fit fifteen people and was equipped with plush reclining seats. I picked out our line-up for the night, a hefty dose of horror and sci-fi movies. Dinner was laid out on a table near the door, our pick of movie food—from burgers, to fries, fish fingers, and chips. They really went all out for their visitors. Or maybe it was because Jason wanted to impress me. My cheeks warmed at the thought.
We watched two movies and consumed most of the food. Jason seemed to be having a great time, and I relaxed next to him. I turned off my phone since last night, turning it on only to send a text message to Mark and Alyssa so my family didn’t send the police out to look for me. I started to wonder if Lolo was leading a search party himself. I knew he could sense my powers so if I used them, he would definitely be able to find me.
Jason excused himself to say good night to his mother, leaving me to my thoughts. If all runaways ended up in a place like this, they would never go back home. When I ran away, I was expecting to crash on his couch or spare room, not a plush guesthouse.
I never had to lift a finger since I arrived. Everything was prepared for me. In my entire life I had never felt this luxurious, like some sort of celebrity. Mirasol’s hospitality was unbelievable, and quite a bit daunting, too. I wondered if she treated all of Jason’s girlfriends like that. She was quite a woman, very elegant and sophisticated. Watching her move so fluidly was mesmerizing, like each step was carefully calculated. I would never have thought she was Filipino. Maybe she was one of the aristocrats from the rich Filipino-Spanish families in the Philippines.
But as warm as she seemed to be, I still couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable tingling in my spine. I wasn’t really sure why but I tried hard to ignore it. Maybe the paranoia was getting to me. I felt everyone was out to get me. They’d been nothing but generous and I had to make sure I didn’t seem ungrateful. Jason came back carrying a bucket of warm popcorn and sat next to me.
“I thought you might need a refill. This is bacon and cheese flavored.”
I smiled and reached for the bucket. “You spoil me so much. I might never leave this house.”
“Fingers crossed,” he said, kissing my hand.
We spent the rest of the night watching four movies and polishing several more buckets of popcorn. I wasn’t sure if they paid overtime for their house help since the food and drinks seemed to be pouring in endlessly even in the wee hours of the night. I felt very content watching the movie while leaning my head against his shoulder, his arm wrapped around me. Every once in a while he’d lift my head with his hand and kiss my lips, the tip of my nose, my forehead and go back to watching the movie without saying a word.
It was already two in the morning when we finished the last of the movies. I knew it was a Sunday night but I didn’t even care that I’d be missing school the next day. I was exhausted with the day’s activities and although I didn’t want to go to sleep, my body was ready to hit the sack. I tidied up the mess but Jason stopped me.
“Leave it. They’ll take care of it tomorrow. I’ll walk you to your room.”
We took our time walking the short distance from his house to the guesthouse. I was happy to know I wasn’t the only one who wanted to prolong the experience. He took my hand when we reached the door.
“No matter what happens in the next couple of days, no matter what you decide to do, I just wanted you to know I would never trade this day for anything in the world. I am so happy you are here with me and I hope you feel the same way, too.”
“I do. I feel the same way,” I said, tilting my head to kiss him. I opened the door and waved goodbye, wishing it could be like this every night. I sat on the bed wondering what to do. I knew I had to go home sometime and I knew I couldn’t skip school for long. This running away business could only last over the weekend. I had to go home tomorrow and make a decision. I took out my phone and turned it on, sighing from the seemingly endless beeps of unread text messages and voicemails.
“Whr r u? Everyone is going crazy,” from Mark.
“Please come home. I’m about to call the police. We are very worried about you. We can talk about this, just come home,” said a really worried voicemail from Dad.
“Karina, I can’t believe you won’t tell me where you are! I’m your best friend! Call me!” a frantic message from Alyssa.
All the messages were in the same line except for the last one from Mark. “Karina, your grandfather told me to tell you this. He doesn’t want to alarm anyone but he says you are very close to danger. He ca
n’t seem to sense where you are exactly but he knows there is danger nearby. Please be careful. And come home.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up and goosebumps spread all over. The fear I tried to suppress after coming to Jason’s house resurfaced with a vengeance, setting my heartbeat to panic mode. There was something off about the place and Lolo could sense it, too. I touched the necklace around my neck. What would I do? It was two in the morning. I couldn’t just leave. But what if Lolo was right? What if I was in danger? No one could come to help me. They didn’t know where I was.
I took my bag out from the closet and started to pack my stuff. It wasn’t wise to be traveling at dawn but I had to be prepared just in case I had to leave fast.
I didn’t really know what I was running away from or if I was even being rational. But instinct took over and I knew I had to get out of the place as fast as possible. I would find an excuse for Jason once I was out. I closed the closet and looked in the mirror. I gasped when I saw Mama behind me, wearing a torn and bloody nightgown. She was saying something I couldn’t hear. I tried to read her lips and realized what she was trying to say.
Run.
I turned around but she was gone. Oh God, what have I done?
I grabbed my bag. I stepped outside the door. Then I heard it—the unmistakable flap of huge wings swirling close by. The same sound I heard outside Alyssa’s house that night. I dropped my bag in shock. Lolo was right, I was very close to danger. I took a step back, trying to find the doorknob to go back in the room, listening to where the sound was coming from. I felt a gust of wind coming from above and a trickle of hot liquid on my skin. The manananggal had found me even if I didn’t use any of my powers. It knew where I was and it was going to eat me. I shouldn’t have run away. I should’ve stuck with the leaders where it was safe. I struggled to remember my training but my mind went blank. I couldn’t figure out what I could do to protect myself.
I ran back inside, locked the door and moved away from the windows. I tried to follow the sound of the wings. I heard it going past the guesthouse, moving toward the house. It was heading to Jason’s place. I peeked outside to the direction of the house. Although it was dark, I could make out a form in the moonlight. A huge creature with wings moving fast toward the top floor. It slowed down and circled the house before landing in the balcony of one of the rooms. I knew from the house tour that it wasn’t where Jason’s room was located but I wasn’t certain whose it was. He never showed me the rest of the second level of the house.
The Girl Between Two Worlds Page 12
