WHAT a perfect evening for staring into a pair of bright eyes. Nothing but blue sky above, since Diwatang Bulan (moon deity) is so handsome tonight, Diwatang Alunsina (goddess of the sky) must be getting tired of having to hide him. What, if anything, could this young woman's growing awareness of adulthood bring with such beauty and handsomeness as she slept? It looks like school has been a long day for her. A lot of pressure can be put on students in college, which can lead to exhaustion. That must have been the case with her. Aw, the poor babe. If one were to delve into her brain, what kind of wave space of thoughts would one find there? The shadows within this gentle woman are exposed. So many ideas, so much anguish and suffering.
"Wake up, Hecate. Wake up, pinili (a Visayan term means chosen)." In the middle of the night, she hears the voice of a ghostly pale lady deep in her sleep. She hears a voice that sounds almost melodic, and that's a reason she cannot refuse to open her eyes slightly.
"Mom, why are you bringing a flashlight here?" she griped as she shielded her eyes from the blinding radiance. "It's midnight. Why are you still awake, mom?" As she tried to clear her vision. "What's wrong, mom?" The young lady can't stop herself from asking question after question while rubbing her eyes.
In her mind, she's thinking what kind of flashlight is her mom's using? They don't have such a thing with a luminous yellow-green color. Her mom must have bought it while she was gone for a business trip. But her mom doesn't check her at night—not that she actually does—especially at this time of hours.
"Hecate, you must listen to my voice. Remember this… You must accept your fate or many lives will be lost."
Then, as she regained consciousness, the sun's rays shone directly on her face. "What the heck kind of a dream was that?" It was crystal clear in her mind what she had dreamt about the night before. She was getting ready for school in the morning when she remembered that her mother had been gone for the past week because of a business trip.
Her mind and body are still debating whether or not what happened last night was a dream, despite the fact that she remembers every detail vividly. It was definitely not a dream; she says to herself. So, who was that lady last night? It's a question she doesn't have time to answer at the moment.
The more she fought off the thought in favor of her bus ride to school, the clearer it became. And she eventually dozes off on her way, on a crowded bus with a bunch of other college students.
"Hecate…" She hears the same voice again, this time in her dream state, where her body is asleep but her mind is awake. She has found herself in the middle of nothingness. There are no lights, just total darkness.
"Who are you?" Hecate asked a reasonable question. "How did you get my name?" She asked the mysterious woman as she peered around for a source of light.
"You may not know me, but I know who you are down to your red, fluffy core, Young Pinili."
"Enough with the nonsense. I know this is just not an ordinary dream. I have dreamt of you since the night of our clean-up drive activity at front of Digos Memorial Park. I have dreamt of you since the night of our clean-up drive activity in front of Digos Memorial Park. It's been a week, and I'm still dreaming about you—hunting me in my sleep. Now tell me, what is it that you want from me?"
"It won't be long before you learn about it. And I hope you can accept your fate, no matter how it may be frightening or difficult it is for you."
"Hay naku, Hecate. Every time you get on the bus and put your butt in my seat, you immediately fall asleep. Didn't you sleep enough last night? It's been a week now—" Hecate's conversation with an unrevealed woman was once interrupted by the school bus driver. Suddenly, she gets to her feet and leaves the female driver. But before she could reach the door, the lady driver caught her shoulder just as she was about to exit the bus.
"As your loving lady driver, I'm concerned about you. You are like a daughter to me. Every student, I treat them like they're a member of my own family and send them off to school with the utmost care. And whatever you have it in you, I want you to know that I am here for you if you can muster up the strength to reach out to me. No matter what it is, I am willing to lend my ears and heart to you. Okay?"
No words came to Hecate's mind, and she didn't know what to say. After not saying a word, she bolted away. She nods and rushes to the campus, where she uses the girl's restroom in their school. When she finally gets to the bathroom, she walks straight to the mirror and washes water on her face to jolt herself awake. She thinks it all off as inevitable consequences of her intense workload and constant commitments to her studies. But how she could explain the visions that sprouted out of nowhere?
Suddenly, a brilliant yellow-green light burst onto the mirror's surface. "You'll soon understand why this is happening… On that day, the world will be counting on you. Your mother will…" Then it gradually disappears before Hecate's very eyes.
"Please let me know what's going on—" Simultaneously cutting off her attempt to finish her sentence, the door opened, and her vision went off. Surprised, the two women turned to find Hecate sobbing into the mirror.
The student lady with the blonde bangs asked, "Should we ask her if she's okay?"
"I don't think so, but we should probably ask her if she's okay," her long-haired friend said.
After slowly drawing near Hecate, the student with the blonde bangs finally asked. However, she remained silent. She instead stared them down without saying a word. She then walked out of the ladies' room without saying a word.
"It's fine; she obviously isn't ready to share about herself with those around her just yet. We are, of course, a nonentity… and we're not on the same level as her, so she must be hard to understand."
"I suppose you could say that."
"But you and I both know that we can have any kind of conversation at any time and in any place we choose. Okay?"
"I am well aware of this, of course. Forever and always, your BFF. "
Both of their eyes are closed as they give each other a bear hug.
"Ew, public restrooms always make me gag." A student lady with blonde bangs moaned.
"It's not even comforting. Let's just get over it so we can leave right away," her friend said in response.
*****
HIGH above the city of La Perdida sits the expansive grounds of Digos College, a prestigious educational institution known for producing the world's best and brightest young minds. These young adults have a lot of learning to do today considering that they have a lot to learn before they become adults.
While Hecate was walking to her classroom when she passed the teacher's lounge and heard the morning news anchor.
"There were roughly a thousand scientists from over twenty-five different countries who marched for stronger climate action. A number of people were taken into custody after they blocked roads and barricaded themselves inside of banks and the White House."
"Oh, my goodness gracious…"
"It is almost time for the second coming of our omnipotent Creator. We need to get ready for His coming." Furthermore, she overheard her instructor discussing the issue with another colleague.
"Should we not make every effort to prevent global warming? There's still time for us to act."
"If humanity is still alive, of course."
"According to the IPCC climate study, we have ten years to save the world."
"Oh, our beloved God, have mercy on us."
What a bunch of hypocrites. Humans are like robots, programmed and in that they can be triggered into action when it's most useful and convenient for them. However, robots weren't just sitting around doing nothing. Humans? Are nothing but empty assurances. Appears to be hollow despite the temptation. The world of magic wonders what this nonmagical folks can do towards this world phenomena.
Hecate's teacher had already begun the class when she entered their classroom, but she didn't get scolded for being late since her teacher didn't want to interrupt her lecturing. Before her teacher's mind would change, she sat on the back of the class, out of the way, in an effort to avoid the other students and teacher's attention. She would prefer not to be seated in the back, but she has to sit behind everyone else.
"I'm sure everybody has seen or heard the latest climate change news by now… and we have to do something that would help save mother earth." Their teacher emphasized the importance of doing something to aid in the preservation of our planet, Earth. "And I just got a memo from the office of the president, which gives us the permission to conduct an activity to show example to the youth. To prove them that it's not too late to save Earth. Let's show to this climate change that we're still capable of inspiring hope."
Her words could move mountains as it seems, but does it truly can? Just like what being said earlier, humans are full of empty promises, which sound good but ultimately don't accomplish anything. After the words left their filthy mouth, they all sounded solid, but they were hollow. It is very challenging to know for sure if someone is telling the truth.
In general, humans are skilled liars. They offer up an abundance of justifications. They can talk their way out of any crisis without ever running out of things to say. As long as they have an excuse, they will use it. Please tell me, human beings… In what ways can these fabrications rescue your home planet?
Timing… The instructor called for Miss Hecate to come in front of the class. Her expression is upbeat. Putting on a fake positive attitude in order to fool her students. A universal skill that could meet their needs. In essence, they're equivalent. What else would we anticipate from Kaptan's (supreme god) pathetic creation?
Hecate can't do anything but give in. In response to the teacher's request, she addressed the group.
"As president of the class, I look to you to brainstorm ways in which we can all do our part to protect Mother Nature. It was anticipated that an activity plan would be sitting on my desk by the following day." She reached over the table and snatched her purse. "That's all there is to it. Okay, class, I'll see you tomorrow."
Students bid Miss Paran farewell.