Crossroads: Phantom of Verdanase

Crossroads
Phantom of Verdanase

Do you believe in dreams? How can you separate an imagination from truth?


I don’t know how it happened, and believe me, I really want know how. Just when I thought my life is plain and simple. When I was a bit younger, I wanted adventure, like being a detective. Solve a case of 4 people murdered in a secluded garden; with just a shirt button as my lead, and find clues to trace the fugitive. Or perhaps a pirate. A female pirate. That would be cool! I, the captain of the ship with my loyal servants will sail and sail until my men and I have gathered all the priceless treasures the world hid from us for a thousand years! Well, you could say that I dream too much. But it’s free to dream, right? Well, enough of that for now. By the way, I’m Faith, Faith Luna, seventeen. They say that my great-great grandfather is a Spanish general. A well respected man during his time, that’s what they kept reminding us. My dad was assigned at a power plant in Netherlands as an electrical engineer last year, I have two younger siblings, Julie who’s turning thirteen exactly two months from now, and Eric, the youngest (nosy but sweet eight year old). Uncle Jaime and Grandpa Julio also live with us. Grandpa never fails to crack up jokes…well, silly and corny jokes that is…but…I miss them…


So how did I end up here in the first place?



Episode 1: First sunset


It’s a cold night right now with the moon half hidden in the clouds, and here I am sitting on a bamboo chair staring at a palm tree while it dances softly with the wind and while the waves create an endless melody though I can feel the coolness and hardness of the bamboo when I heard the door open. A muscular middle-aged man just entered the house. A boy with a big smile greeted him. The man carried the boy in his right arm as the boy kissed him and said ‘father!’ The man placed a yellow empty folded sack on a small wooden table beside the door. The house is mostly made of wood, rattan, and bamboo. So you will feel that you are cradled by Mother Nature, which I think is so wonderful. It’s as if you’re transported to another dimension but an earthy one. He must be a fisherman because of his muscular and tanned body. He has a mark on his right hand just like the one the little boy has Lulu, a woman in her late twenties entered, holding a wooden ladle and stood a few feet away from us.

“Abarim, you’re back. What took you so long?” said Mrs. Lulu Maradone to
the man still cuddling the little boy is his arms.

“Sorry, but we had to wait until Mr. Sander came back. But I have good news! He said he’ll help us so it’s settled now.” He’s about 5 feet 8 inches in height. He put down his son and noticed 4 people standing at the corner of his eye. Surprised. He then looked at the woman with a question in his eyes.

“Oh, they are our guests. This is Baron Edilberge,” as Mrs. Maradone points with her wooden ladle at the white guy with blue eyes on the left wearing a navy green Rejong. She said that it’s what the men usually wear in this village. It’s a sort of loose shirt, knee length, matched with khaki pants but I’m not sure of what it’s made of because it looks like cotton but a bit thicker.

“And this is Yuuhi. He’s a Jalapis. I don’t know what that is.” still using her wooden ladle in pointing the guy wearing a light yellow Rejong and khaki pants next to Baron.

“Japanese,” corrected the shoulder length brunette Japanese which suited his face while some of his bangs covered his left eye. He’s about 5 feet and 7 inches tall. About a couple of inches taller than I, and an inch smaller than Baron.

“A what..?” asked the tanned man as if he misheard what the Japanese had just said.

“I am Japanese, f-rom Japan. It’sh…nice to meet you,” and gave a bow. I saw he had a little difficulty in pronouncing ‘it’s’ but it’s understandable.

I saw the confusion in Mr. Maradone’s eyes wondering what Yuuhi said.

“Do you know where that is?” inquired Lulu. Mr. Maradone just shrugged in reply. “Oh well, and this is Sammie Brown” the person standing next to Yuuhi. Sammie has rosy cheeks with purple-red lipstick, slender, and same height as I. You would mistake Sammie as a woman at first sight. Well, when we first met, I thought she’s really a woman. But actually, Sammie’s male. He has shoulder length curly black hair, with a few dark violet highlights. I was convinced that Sammie is a guy when he spoke and I saw his adam’s apple, besides his legs…well, they are much more of a …man’s legs to be exact. He’s wearing a pale blue with light orange leaf prints, pencil cut and long sleeves called Seroya, traditional clothes of females in the village. He just gave a big smile to the man now standing next to Lulu. “And this is Aoi” Lulu smiled at me as the wind blows some of my hair. I told them to call me Aoi. I like the color blue. There was even one time when my friend told me that I wore blue clothes the whole week on campus, and I didn’t notice that at all.

“Good evening Mr. Maradone. Sorry for the inconvenience.” I noticed a few bruises on his left arm.

“No no, don’t say that. It’s nice to have guests. Call me Abarim. Now, what can we do for you?” He looks tired but still trying to be accommodating.

“Well…ummm…you see…aa…” Sammie struggled for the words to come out.

“Could they stay here? Pleeeeease…” the little boy asked innocently.

“E…?” looking so surprised at his son’s plea.

“Yes dear, could they? They have no place to stay for the night. Besides, it’s been a while since we had female companions” as Lulu turned to her husband with excitement in her eyes.

The man of the house looked more confused and surprised and as he looks at his wife and child, all he could do was nod.

The boy shouted with joy as if he just got permission to play outside in the rain.

“Ok, so now, just stay here everyone, and dear, clean yourself up. Dinner will be ready in 5 minutes,” as she pushes her husband along away from the crowd.




“From where?!!” Abarim has his jaws dropped in total confusion. “Where are those towns located again?

“Actually, they are NOT towns but countries. I am from Switzerland, and they are from Australia, Japan, and Philippines” as Sammie explained and pointed at Baron, Yuuhi and I respectively.

Still, Abarim has no idea what Sammie is talking about. “So, how did you get here in Tumpelo village?”

“I found…them a whi’...ago by the sea...’ather.” Miko answered while chewing his food.

“Really? What were you doing by the sea? How did you get here? Don’t talk when your mouth is full, son,” said Abarim and gave the boy a look that says he can get in trouble if he disobeys. The boy just gave a grin.

“Aoi will explain everything to you in detail,” as Sammie examines all the food on the table.

“Well, all I could remember was, at that time, I could hear waves and I thought I was just dreaming.” I slowly opened my eyes and there was this bright light on my face. I felt like something was touching my skin. “I saw myself by the sea and a dog was licking my arm. I gradually stood up and I saw a person with long black hair a few feet away from me. So, I walked down to see if the body is still alive.”

“Hey! Hey! Wake up!! Can you hear me?” as I held the body.

“She was shocked to know that I am a man. Well, I am a woman…just trapped in a man’s body as I always say. This stuff is good! What is this?” Sammie grabbed another slice of fish on the serving plate.

“That is the specialty here in our village.”Lulu smiled and thanked him for the compliment,” unlike other people.” Her right eye strikes Abarim. He just gave a nervous laugh and focused his eyes on me. So I continued.

“Well, you look like a woman. If you didn’t talk and see your adam’s apple, I would have guessed that you are a woman.” Sammie put his two hands on his cheeks as if blushing.

“So I helped him get up when we saw Baron walking groggily, and so we helped him as well.”

“What’s that?” Sammie saw something floating on a log in the sea. “There’s someone there!”

“Sammie rushed towards the sea while I was carrying Baron by his shoulder. Sammie pulled the body off shore.” Unconscious and looking so pale. “We rushed to find out if that person is still alive.” I stared at the man. I felt a shiver and felt deaf. That time, I could not hear even the waves. The next thing I knew, I was kneeling beside the man trying to give him a pulse. I opened his mouth to feel if he’s breathing. I pressed my hands on his chest five times. I tried again. And again. I reached for his lips and offered him some air. Sammie has a shock reaction. No response. I gave him another push. One…two…three…four. He choked. Turned on the opposite side and spitted some seawater. I was relieved.

“Are you okay, man?” the blue-eyed lad asked while I help him move.

“Un...” was all the man could reply, holding his head. He has chinky eyes. An Asian, just like me. I can see he is shivering from coldness.

“Then we saw Hajji” I said as I look at Hajji beside me.

“Oooiiii!!!! Oooiii!!” a boy about seven years old came running towards us. He was catching his breath. Next to him is a dog. “What…are you…doing here? Who are you?”

“Hey kid, where are we? What am I doing here?” The lad asked. Finally, the man managed to stand up.

‘This is the sea.” The lad felt the kid was being sarcastic with the response. “That is where I live. Tumpelo village. You must be from Ortem City. What are you doing here? A! You must be the guest entertainers for the festival”

“City what? Entertainers? Festival? I don’t know what you’re talking about?” The lad was getting more confused and still trying to get his balance. Sammie was looking around trying to find anything familiar. The sun is slowly resting in the sea.

“What’s your name kid?”

“My name is Hajji. Hajji Maradone, and this is Dino, the village dog. And you?”

“I’m Baron. Baron Edilberge, from Australia.” the little boy turned his attention to the person next to Baron.

“Sammie. Sammie Brown. England.” their eyes are now on us.

“My name is F…Aoi. Just call me Aoi. I’m from the Philippines.”

“Aoi? That’s a pretty unusual name.” complimented Baron. I gave him a smile in reply. The shining orange light on my left caught my attention. The sunset. What a beautiful sight. I was amazed by its beauty that I didn’t hear the next conversation.

The dog was barking in front of me that caught my attention back. I petted him and it started to lick my fingers.

Hajji giggled. “I think she likes you.”

“That’s a female? I thought it’s a male. Dino is not a female’s name. Who named this dog, anyway?” asked Sammie.

“I did! Nobody knows her owner or how she got here, so I called her Dino, and people called him Dino too. Umm…what’s his name?” Hajji’s eyes now focused on the man beside me. Everyone looked in our direction. There was a long pause. Only the waves can be heard. He was staring at the sand as if in deep thought. Finally, he was looking into my eyes as if trying to look for something. Suddenly, some crazy thought came into my mind. I shrugged it off immediately. He opened his lips slowly.

“I…do not know. I cannot…rememba-.” You would know immediately that he’s Japanese because of his intonation. His eyes were focused again on the sand. Everyone gasped. I looked down…then to my left. There it is, almost touching the waves. Its beauty shines more and more. I can’t help but think of how all this happened.

“Yuuhi.” He whispered. I looked at him for a moment and turned to face the sunset once again.

“What?” Sammie looked at the direction we’re both looking at.

I sighed and turned to face the man beside me. “Yuuhi...” I uttered as I look at him. “For now, we will call you Yuuhi.” I smiled and gave him nod. He stared at me trying to understand what I just said. He nodded and gave a faint smile.

“So we shall call you Yuuhi then. Well, until you remember your name, that is. Do you know at least where you are from? Are you Chinese? Or Thai? Ah! Korean, right? ” Baron said.

“Shibuya…in Japan.” Everyone was surprised by his response. I saw that he was surprised as well. Nobody said a word for a few seconds which seemed like a minute or so.

“So, you’re Japanese. I thought so. Cool,” as Baron broke the weird silence and was laughing at himself. Sammie just gave him a ‘yeah, right’ look, and sneezed.

“You people are strange.” Hajji scratched his head in confusion. “Come! You are all wet. Mom said it’s not good to wear wet clothes because I might get sick. Follow me.” He walked for a couple of feet and started running. Everyone looked at each other and nodded in unison.



“So that’s what happened.” Abarim looked like he’s trying to absorb every word I said.

“Hmm…Well, I have not been reading newspapers lately. They must be new countries. Or probably they changed their names. Just like the country Palatino. It used to be Insetia. Hmm…Probably,” Abarim thinks and started talking to himself.

“But Abarim, that was 86 years ago,” Lulu placed his right hand on his head and shakes it in embarrassment. “Besides, if there were any news about countries like this, I should’ve heard about it. I always listen to radio news programs.

“I think we should have a monitor,” Hajji suggested with a big eyes and a smile.

“I guess you’re right. We should probably go to the city to get one and watch all the shows,” Abarim started laughing again to himself.

“A monitor?” asked Sammie.

“Yes, where you can watch shows,” Lulu replied.

“Oh, television.”

Lulu just gave a blank stare at him.

“Anyway, it’s late to go to the head of this village to ask for help, so we’ll do that tomorrow morning. For now, you can stay here with us. Well, our house is not that big but it is clean and comfortable,” he said as he offered with a smile.

“Thank you for the hospitality Mr. and Mrs. Maradone. And again, sorry for the inconvenience,” I bowed my head a little and I heard Lulu spoke.

“No, don’t think of it like that. We’re glad to have guests such as you all.” Lulu then offered the fish and gave a reassuring smile. I felt relieved when I saw it. I nodded. Abarim coughed a little to break the drama he is sensing and continued to talk about Turpelo village.




It’s late midnight now, everybody are in bed asleep while I sit on the sand by the sea staring at the fascinating full moon with a few visible stars hanging in the sky. It’s peaceful here, away from the crowd. Away from the busy streets and roaring vehicles where I’m from. I wonder if Grandpa Julio knows where I am. Is Uncle Jaime looking for me right now? How can he find me here? And Julie…and Eric. I hope they’re okay. My tears started to pile up when I heard something. Footsteps. I turned around and saw an image of a man walking towards me. I watch the image come into the light while wondering who it is and what he’s doing at this time of night.

“Good evening Ms. Aoi. Did I sca’e you?” said by a familiar voice as I recognize his face in to the moonlight.

“A! Good evening. I’m fine. What are you doing this time of night? How’s your cold?” I couldn’t think of anything better to reply.

“I feel better now.” I saw him smile which made me surprised in a weird way. The wind is getting colder but I didn’t mind. I can barely move a finger. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he sat beside me. I need not to look at my side to see if he did because I can feel his aura so close to me.

“Nothing. I…couldn’t get to sleep so I went here.” Still, I couldn’t look at his direction so I focused my eyes on the moon instead.

He stood up straight and faced my direction. “A! Gomen na Aoi san. Eto…What I mean is, I am sorry…for being rude. I did not introduce myse’f proper’y.” I looked up at him in surprise. “My name is… ano, you can call me Yuuhi…for now…until I rememba-… my name. I am…25 years old from Shibuya…in Japan. Sorry if my English is not so good. Ano… Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,” and bowed.

“No, no. it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. You are not being rude, and your English is great. Amm…you can call me Aoi. I’m 18 years old, a student. I’m from Quezon City, Philippines. It’s nice to meet you too Yuuhi.” I extended my right arm. He looked at it for a second and extended his as well. We both smiled and started laughing. I sat again and looked at the sky.

“S’ank you, Aoi san,” he said while still looking at the bright light in front of us. I turned to face him and looked at him. He looks much better now. I can see his eyes by the moonlight. They’re chestnut brown just like mine. He looks innocent as he gazes at the moon. Weird because I have not seen anyone look at the moon like that. I noticed that I’ve been staring at him for too long now. I felt stupid about it so I changed my view back to the sky.

“Just call me Aoi. I don’t really feel very comfortable with the Miss Aoi thingy. Is that okay Yuuhi san?” I suggested while both of us share the same scene.

“Sokka. I mean, e…okay. But please, call me Yuuhi…Yuuhi…”I heard him sigh. “I am not used to of people calling me by that name yet demo...” Somehow I felt tremors in my heart when I had a glimpse of him looking at me. He has that warm gentle but sad look in his face, or maybe I am just hallucinating. I don’t know, but whatever it is, it felt good. He put the cloak he brought along on my shoulder and I accepted it without hesitation. We stayed just sitting by the sea, listening to the melodies of the waves, saying nothing at all for about ten minutes or so.

“Umi…”he uttered. I looked at him but he was somehow pre-occupied.

“You remember?”

“It means…the sea.” Still his eyes focused on the view in front of us.

“Do you remember now? I mean, aside from where you are from. What else do you remember?” I saw myself hopeful for some reason. I waited for an answer but after a couple of seconds, he shook his head left to right. I saw the sadness in his face. Surprisingly, I saw myself having the same feeling. I thought of how painful it is not to remember your very own name and how it hurts to not remember some things, especially those important to you. I searched for comforting words but couldn’t find any. “It’s getting colder now. We better head back. Maybe we will be able to find something tomorrow,” was all I could say. I stood up and offered my hand. He looked at it and looked at me for a moment. He laid his hand and gave a faint smile. As we were walking back to the village, he stopped.

“Aoi…”I can feel his eyes fully focused on me. “Why did you say ‘it’s nice to meet you too?”

I stopped walking, with my hands clutched on the cloak. The wind is really getting colder and the waves louder. His eyes still focused on my back. I faced him. “I…used to watch a lot of animes…so that’s why I know.”

“Sokka. Jya, you can speak Japanese too?”

“No, not really. I just know a few words…that’s all. But it sure is interesting to learn Japanese. Maybe you could teach me some,” I said and smiled.

He nodded. “Maybe you could teach me eto…Firipin.” I laughed a little and gave him a big smile. I noticed that he can sometimes pronounce ‘l’ and ‘its’ without difficulty but sometimes he can’t. But it doesn’t matter at all to me. Never. “Tagalog? Sure!”

“Tagalog,” he repeated. I smiled and nodded, and we started walking again. We said good night to each other and went to bed.


“Where am I? Why is it so dark in here? Anyone? Is anybody there?” I heard something. “Who’s there?...I said who’s there?!”

…

“Who’s there? Answer me!!”

“Don’t tell…don’t…”

“What? Where are you? Show yourself! …Answer me!”

…

There was total darkness until I felt like I was falling. “Aaaaaaaahhhh........!!!!!”

I opened my eyes and I saw myself sweating and catching my breath. ‘It’s just a dream’ I thought to myself. That again. That’s weird. I just had that dream earlier when I was by the sea. I didn’t tell anyone about that dream during dinner. I thought it was nothing. But to dream of it again tonight…the same voice. The same words. What could it possibly mean? Does it have anything to do with this event?

Lulu, Hajji, and Sammie are peacefully sleeping. Good thing I did not wake them up. I pulled up my blanket and stared at the ceiling. I can still somehow hear the waves of the sea. I tried to get my thoughts but my eyes are getting all groggy until all I can remember is darkness swallowed the entire room.