"Ate! Where are you? I don't want to play anymore," a little girl hollers with her hand cupped to her mouth.
[Translation; Ate means older sister said to someone in high regard in tagalog]
"Come on, we just started you can't give up so easily," a young lady groans behind a red leather sofa.
"Please Ate! I'm scared," the girl says and this convinces her as she gets up from her hiding place and as soon as she's done this the girl yells "I found you!"
"That's cheating!"she says and chases after her.
"How many times must I tell you to not play in my office?!" a man's voice yells at them as he bursts through the door.
"Sorry, Tito it was my fault," she places her palms together and bows.
[Translation; Tito means uncle or said to someone in high regard in tagalog]
"It's alright," he walks over and pats her head, "Take the child to the playground to play outside," he later adds. The two walk out the room though the little girl pauses and says, "Bye Papa," he mumbles that she better get a move on.
On their trip down to the playgrounds, the girl asks why she's never been patted on the head before.
"He is probably just busy and has a lot on his mind. Don't think too deeply about it," she informs and gives her a tight hug.
"Stop it! You crushing me," she feigns pain and giggles, the scene fades to black as Eliza rubs her damp eyelids with the back of her hand and groans.
"Why did I have to remember that?"
She scans her bare room and notices the clock on the wall.
"Past midnight huh," and tells herself to get a glass of water. She takes the stairs down to the kitchen's double doors and gives it a push.
"Oh," she says and pauses at the sight of Colchester standing at the kitchen aisle.
"Hey," he says and continues to sip on his water.
"Why you up so late?" and she answers that she woke up, in need of water.
"Same here," Colchester agrees and asks her if she had a nightmare.
"Not exactly but it was a dream that brought up unwanted emotions," she says.
"Maybe there's a reason that those feeling were brought up, it's something you have to muster up the courage to confront," there's silence and the two tell each other they are off to bed.
The next Monday morning the sky lit up in pink and orange hues, the residents got up for breakfast and spoke about the weird happens so far.
"I sure hope none of that creepy stuff happens again," Jiro says and sips on his bowl of miso soup.
"One can only hope," Fitz agrees with a sigh.
"What happened to that guy that's around you, Mandisa?" Akira queried.
"Oh, Gherro, I told him not to manifest himself around you guys anymore," she says and he answers that he didn't actually mind him being around.
"Why thank you," Gherro appears behind Mandisa resting his chin on the chair.
"Why didn't you help us? We could've prevented Allegra from dying- disappearing" Colchester questions him with a palm resting against his face.
"Oh pipe down wolf boy, at least now you have less mouths to feed," Gherro says with a sly grin.
"Wolf boy?" he retorts in confusion.
"But we have cupboards and cupboards full of food," Jiro enthusiastically says and Gherro disappears from sight.
As the night drew in the soft pitter-patter of rain could be heard outside Eliza's room windows. She had just taken a bath and settled into her pajamas with a towel still on her head. She gave her head a rough scrub before taking out a hairdryer in the cupboard, in the dresser in front of her. Behind her, a blurred figure of a woman could be seen though disappeared before she noticed. After she finished up, she got into bed and dozed off to sleep.
"Chesa you need to stop it!" a voice wailing ringed in her ears which startled her awake.
"Hurry!" the voice calls, it fades and leaves her all the more confused.
The next morning Eliza felt heavy like a cinderblock lay on her legs, she turns to stop the feeling to no avail. She scrunches up her eyes from the sun peeking from the curtains behind her bed and she twists though her legs do not move with her.
"What the-"she questions before letting out a scream. She shifts her head from under her bed and shakes it as she does so her hair disappeared and replaced by scales. Her teeth felt heavy and shaper than usual. Her arms and legs felt like a distance apart.
"No!" she yells and looks at the scene before her. Her body transformed into the shape of a large deep blue coloured lizard- like creature that engulfed the whole room. She attempts to shift her weight again this time pushing of objects on the dressing room table with her with her feet turned talons.
"Are you okay Eliza?" a soft knock comes from her bedroom door and Fitz asks her once more whether or not she was okay.
"Yeah, sorry I just dropped a mirror," she tells her and Fitz asks if she can come inside. This makes Eliza's slanted green eyes bulge.
"Uh- no- wait it's okay," she attempts to say though her usual voice takes on a deep low growl.
"Calm down," a soft voice whispers in her ear and continues to say "It's okay just close your eyes and breathe," she does so and just as Fitz enters the room she is turned back into a human naked in her bed sheets.
"Breakfast is downstairs if you like some," she tells her.
"Okay thanks I'll be down in a minute," Eliza says with an awkward smile and Fitz retreats.
"What just happened?" she whispers to herself.
"It's okay, just stay calm" a disembodied voice of a woman tells her.
"Who are you?" she queried.
"It's me" it replied and Eliza slaps the sides of her face to wake herself up.
"I'm losing it aren't I," she mutters to herself and gets out of bed, puts on her clothes of a black jeans and red top.
"So after that day has anyone seen anything weird you know the Agma Devva?" Eliza asks her fellow residents and they shake their heads.
"Nah not really," Akira says and adds "Have you?"
"Uh- no- not at all" she says and sips on her orange juice.
"Okay guys, I think it's a good day to pick some fruit and veggies out in the garden," Colchester suggests and they agree.
The residents gear up once more though this time in rubber boots and kitchen gloves. As they near the end of their picking and plucking, a cloud burst above them.
"Oh man! Let's get inside," Akira yells as they shield themselves from the rain.
"Eliza what's wrong?" Colchester asks her while she rubbed her arm.
"Oh it's nothing just a little soaked," she hides her arm away.
"Blue! My arm just turned blue," she thought while walking up the stairs headed to her room.
She decides on taking a bath and opens the tap above the bath tub; she strips and gets in though before she knows it she turns into the serpent creature once more. Eliza groans with only a small portion of her elongated body in the bath tub.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"I told you calm down," a voice of the same woman whispers past her pointed ears.
"Okay," she agrees and slowly breathes in and out while she does so she transforms into her normal body.
"I'm starting to think I've got the hang of this," she tells herself and gets ready for bed. She slept soundly though the full moon could be seen behind her bedroom window's curtains.
Eliza twists and turned in her sleep.
"Ate where are you?" she mumbled in her sleep.
"I'm right here, Chesa!" she replied and this time the voice sounded clearer.
She felt her body prop right up in her bed and eyed the person in front of her.
"Ate is that really you?"
"Yes Chesa, it is me,"
"Where have you been I've been looking all over for you?"
"Never mind that, I need you to be calm when I show you what happened to me, okay" a gentle coercing.
"What do you mean by that? I don't understand,"
"Let me show you," a gentle hand touched the side of her forehead and her head fell back as a scene played before her.
A young lady walked down a solemn road before her, it was nighttime and not a single person insight or so she thought. As she walked a group of four men followed behind her in the shadows. One grabbed her arm and pulled her towards his chest. The other hand went to her blouse and ripped the buttons off; she attempted to scream though she felt the cold metal rod strike the back of her head. She felt sick to her stomach not only because of the pain of what they were doing to her, but also that this would be her last memory.
Eliza is brought back to her room with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"How could something like that happen to you?" she screamed, wiping away the tears pouring down her face.
"Why?!" she yelled in anguish though this time her voice took on a low growl, her arms turned to talons and face to blue scales.
"Calm down Chesa," she coerces.
"No!" she roars.
"I'm sorry Chesa," the lady sobbed this time.
"Not as sorry as they going to be!" vengeance is set in her tone.
The door swings open and her fellow resident's barge in, wide eyed at the scene before them.
"What's going on?" Akira asks and adds, "Where's Eliza?"
"You're looking at her," she growls.
"What happened to you?" Fitz asks her, shocked.
"Cool! You're a dragon, but where are your wings!" Jiro yells and hugs onto her tail in front of them.
"That's what this is?" she eyes her talons all the way on the other side of the room.
"Bakunawa, the Moon Eater is a sea dragon," Kacey says and Eliza stares at her wide eyed.
"What did you just say?" she asks.
"I saw it in the old man's journal, a drawing actually,"
"But why am I the Moon Eater?"
"It is your destiny, Chesa"
"Who said that?" Kacey questioned.
"She can hear me?" the voice queried and Eliza said apparently so.
"Who are you talking to?" Fitz queried and Eliza explained that she is speaking to the 'real' Eliza Fanning.
"She's right, it's your destiny. I read in the journal that every one hundredth year a new heir to the Bakunawa name is bestowed," Kacey goes on to say.
"But why me?" she groans.
"Because your mother is one of the heirs though this right has been passed down to you, Chesa" Eliza Fanning tells her while petting down on her scales.
"So not only did I have to be a daughter to that retched man but now I'm stuck in this body?!" she growls and her then dark chestnut coloured eyes take on a deep ocean blue.
"Hatred and water that's the trigger for taking on this form," Kacey informs while pointing to a page in the journal.
"Why's hatred the trigger?" Mandisa asks her and she responds that the original Bakunawa was angry at the Pilipino God for lying to people about there being seven moons when there was only one and when she revealed there to only be one the God banished her.
"You have so much hatred in your heart Chesa," Eliza Fanning tells her though this time she held her in an embrace and this made her turn back into a human.
"But Ate, nothing has gone my way in life. It's all a one way trek down a path that's not mine," she begins to sob.
"It's only because you choose to see it that way," Akira says while scratching the back of his head with one hand.
"Not to toot my own horn or anything but you have me- well- us," Fitz tells her and motions with an arm to the rest of the residents.
"You don't even know me," she rolls her eyes.
"Then let us get to know you," Colchester asserts.
"I would really love to hug you but you kind of have nothing on right now," Fitz says and giggles as she scrambles for her bed covers.
"I don't mind," Akira says and Fitz gives him a deadly stare, he retreats.
"Okay so put something on and join us for breakfast," Kacey says.
"Anki is making soufflé pancakes," Jiro yells and Eliza smiles at his enthusiasm.
The day was spent lounging around since it was another rainy day outside the mansion walls, while the residents thought up ways for Eliza to control her Bakunawa form; from hurling insults at her to throwing flour and eggs at from up the banister all of which worked. Laughter filled the atmosphere at Newman Heights mansion and a time of peace was gifted to them for the remaining months.