Barney had no choice but to cook soup after Lumi came down with the flu late in the afternoon. She suddenly started coughing, and her temperature went up to 40 degrees.
The news that they received wasn't well either. Before Lumi started having chills, Matthos received a call from Roo. City A and B weren't doing well, even with the imposed quarantine restrictions. Different nuclear companies are even blamed for traces of biohazardous materials. However, none of those can actually cause such toxic infestation to the point of having people becoming sick. What's happening is becoming similar to that of the toxic poisoning of Gloria Ramirez.
The people aren't just falling into a state of hysteria in groups. Their states have evolved, and Barney tried to analyze things as he heated the sunflower oil in the wok. He sauteed the onions and garlic before adding the julienned carrots and beans. Halfway through the vegetables softening, he added the leftover chicken.
Once it was browned, Barney added 7 cups of water and let it boil. That was enough time for him to think about City A and B.
His thoughts were interrupted by Matthos and a groggy-looking Lumi who was wrapped in a blanket. She had a kool-fever patch on her head.
"You always make my day," he howled in laughter before sobering up. He then remembered, yeah—City A and City B.
"What's that?" Lumi asked as she sniffed the air.
"Lomi," before Lumi can hit him, Barney raised his hands, "Whoa there! It's a Filipino dish, I swear! Its real name is Lomi."
"He's not joking," Matthos saved him, "Anyways, Roo called. He wants to know more about City A and City B's problems with mirroring each other's state."
"What do you mean? Before you continue, let me put some soy sauce and fish sauce on the soup," Barney then proceeded to mix and added the thick egg noodles. When he was satisfied, he beat two eggs and stirred the soup gently.
Preparing some slurry, he added it to the mix and let it simmer for a few minutes. That was enough time for Matthos to read the file Roo sent on City A and City B's current state.
Barney turned the stove off and went back to Matthos and a sniffing Lumi, who enjoyed the texture of tissue.
"They found something," Matthos started, "There is a sort of spell in City A that keeps what's going on inside. However, for City B, your parents didn't find much. However, they found something that can explain why the two cities are showing the same state."
"Mirror," Barney and Matthos spoke in sync that it baffled Lumi. It was anticlimactic. What was it with mirrors?
"What do you mean 'Mirror'?"
"Lumi, when mirrors are used in spells, what happens in one cursed thing also happens to another. In this case, City A's state is mirrored by City B. Did they find any golem?" Barney frowned.
"That's the thing. There's no golem within the boundaries of two cities to suggest that this curse was done recently. It doesn't even suggest that it is within this century. I don't even think it's a boundary spell that's making this curse mirror the two cities' case."
"With the hysteria happening in groups, how can they even say it's a mirror? Do you think it's a diversion?"
"Barney, it could be a part of the plan. It can be one step forward," Lumi suggested. That got the two boys' attention. "When you look at it, if there's a mirror, something needs to be reflected."
"She's right," Barney agreed, "So what do we do now? If this is a case of hysteria, curses, mirroring and golems, what should we focus on?"
"There's too much happening," Matthos muttered, "I think we should have people recalled to DPSIS."
"Maybe the talisman? Protect your people first before looking further," Lumi pondered for a while, "If it's a diversion to keep you apart, your people are vulnerable," she reasoned.
"Damn, Lumi," Barney hit the table in glee and grabbed her head like a precious crystal ball, "Hulog ka ng langit!"
"I understood that," she hissed, uncomfortable with her ears being squished, "I don't think I fell from heaven."
"What, you crawled up from hell?" Barney retorted.
"Obviously not," she responded, "I'm from Se De. Wherever Se De is because for some reason, it does not exist now."
"It could've existed before, but for some reason, it was changed," Matthos reasoned, "Colonizers really messed up a lot of places when they ransacked the area. They changed the names of islands, destroyed the areas to make it grow crops and spices, too many things to count."
"Yes, so we should curse them for everything," Barney smiled and offered, "Lomi?"
*Lomi - a pancit/egg noodle soup Filipino dish mixed with vegetables and meat in a rich, flavorful broth.
*Hulog ng langit - Filipino of "Fell from Heaven" / "Heaven sent"