Even though Yva was the last person on the route, she continues to struggle with something. Thus, she turned once again. Nothing. She told Gamaliel to hold off for a while and decided to wait it out. Carefully inspecting the foot route, they expanded their search along the bushes to see whether anyone got lost. They checked the foot trail cautiously and widened their search along the bushed in case someone had lost their way.
Since the grasses were still damp in the morning, they could quickly identify if someone had wandered off course. Nothing, the track they made was the only one that was visible.
Something in the bushes made a noise. When Gamaliel yelled, a confirmation came back. They had to persuade the officer who had been left behind that they needed to be the last ones on the trail. Given his continued insistence on sticking to his principles, it is possible to assume that he had been in the military for a considerable amount of time. Their mutual goal was to fulfill their respective roles of safeguarding an individual. Sincere in his goal, Gamaliel addressed the officer by his last name and informed him of the situation that they found themselves in. Though he couldn't dispute the existence of spiritual beings in their place as a Buguias resident, Mr. Baked gave them a strange look, which was natural.
Even still, he proceeded with caution because the individuals persuading him to do it were far younger than him and that wasn't the way it was supposed to go. However, he realized that whoever they might be dealing with at the moment could not be killed by bullets anyway.
He then began to leave, giving up on the situation, but Yva could still hear an unseen voice. The voice was more forceful that it would pursue them. Gamaliel and Yva could simply ward it off, since it could have been safe for them to be followed; however, it may be risky if it happened to other people.
The officer was not a mile away when Yva called him back again. He was annoyed, of course. Gamaliel brought out a water bottle. Gamaliel and Yva looked around and listened, listened carefully and its still there. The officer watching their bizarre actions made him realized that its beyond his capability so he just let it sink in. Gamaliel seeing the officer's realization ordered him to listen too, to actually listen to his surrounding if he can hear something.
And still nothing.
So Yva had to do it. Gamaliel handed out the water bottle to Yva, a little bit cautious. Making Yva roll her eyes and smirked at him.Because the water bottle is little, they both understood that there wouldn't be enough water for a thorough wash. Sprinkle is it then. Gamaliel asked the officer if he knew how to pray while Yva was doing a cleansing because they were in urgent need of some help.
Then nothing happened.
Now, all she could hear was her pulse pounding and the gushes of the tree leaves, a few crickets, and bird noises. Yva passed the bottled water again to Gamaliel and prayed while sensing their surroundings. The fresh air from the surrounding trees are still normal, no heavy and strange wind wafting around them.
Officer Bakëd was startled when he felt a tap on his shoulder, Gamaliel was handing him the bottled water.
Upon reaching the base of the mountain, they seamlessly integrated with the others, disregarding the recent events. The cars remained in their parking spots, snacks had been consumed, and selfies were being taken endlessly. However, Officer Bakëd's colleagues were visibly anxious about his delayed arrival, and whatever explanation he provided would never suffice. To reassure their superiors, Gamaliel and Yva had to convince them that he had arrived in time to ensure their safety. Sensing the tension, Sir Marcelo approached the troops and assisted with the explanation. His presence alleviated the unease, and in order to prevent further escalation, the troop supervisor accepted the explanation and dismissed the troops.
During their dinner party, longer discussions were avoided to prevent any perception of mistakes or problems, so everyone joined quietly. Sir Marcelo, Gamaliel, and Yva approached each other, and Sir Marcelo became worried when they learned about the earlier situation. To distract the party, Sir Marcelo provided snacks and showed pictures, allowing them to reach their intended goal. Yva's warning about a mountain spirit playing with someone in their group heightened Sir Marcelo's concern.
On Wednesday morning, Yva visited the police station and noticed the absence of patrol cars and officers outside. The open blue gate and door, along with the quietness of the place, led her to believe that the rainy weather might have caused an increase in accidents, requiring the officers to patrol. A student intern was the only person there to greet her, and she quickly stood up and greeted Yva before inquiring about her purpose at the station. Yva appreciated the intern's effort to remember all the necessary questions. After searching through notes and flipping pages, the intern handed Yva the attendance sheet she had requested over the phone. Yva smiled at the intern once more before leaving.
When Yva arrived at their office, Yohan greeted her with a cup of coffee. Sir Marcelo had left for a meeting earlier and was expected to return shortly. Yva glanced around the office and noticed that everything was the same, but her eyes were drawn to the makeshift kitchen, where fresh fruits had been added to the usual line of thermos. Perhaps the fresh fruits were a souvenir from Sir Marcelo's recent speaking engagement. Yva selected a new book that caught her eye, which turned out to be a softbound research report conducted in their municipality. As time passed with just the two of them in the office, Yohan started to feel uneasy, but it seemed like Yva was unfazed as she immersed herself in reading the book.
Yohan attempted to concentrate on his work, but he found it difficult to do so.
"Are you uncomfortable?" Yva inquired, still engrossed in the book.
"No, not really. Why would I be?" Yohan responded, feigning busyness by randomly tapping keys on his keyboard.
"Are you sure? I can come back later when Sir Marcelo is here," she suggested, now gazing intently at Yohan.
Feeling guilty about potentially making her leave because of his discomfort, Yohan pretended once more to be engrossed in work, clicking on random folders on his desktop. After a few minutes, Yva stood up and announced that she would return later, leaving Yohan feeling even more remorseful.
It had been almost two months, approaching three months in October, and he still felt uneasy. They were still strangers to him, and he still felt like a stranger to them.
Sir Marcelo returned to the office with Yva and the other staff, which helped ease Yohan's uneasiness from earlier, thanks to Yva's composed demeanor. However, the topics discussed in the meeting made him lose his composure as they were outside his comfort zone. He initially thought it was a joke, but as no one was laughing, he realized it was normal for everyone else. Throughout the meeting, he wondered if everything he was hearing was possible until the focus shifted to him.
"How about you, Yohan? Did you not feel anything at all?" Sir Marcelo inquired.
"No, nothing sir. I feel okay," Yohan replied, feeling bewildered.
"Tell us immediately if you feel sick, itchy, or if there's anything you need to inform us about," Sir Marcelo added.
Marcelo and Yva contacted several people who participated in the tree planting last Monday, and no one had reported being sick so far. Yohan felt a sense of disbelief as he listened to his office mate making calls. He was now uncertain about everything he knew but still curious about what he didn't know. The calls stopped only when everyone realized the time and prepared to leave the office, leaving Yohan feeling even more confused without any explanation. Yva quickly left the office, seemingly avoiding having to provide an explanation.
Yva left the office before anyone else to check something at the police station once again. She was relieved to exit the parking lot without causing a traffic jam due to her difficulty in reversing her vehicle. She parked near the police station and remembered to buy something for the intern she had met earlier that morning. She was surprised to be met with loud noises as the station became more lively with officers returning from patrol, bringing along many motorcyclists who either refused to wear helmets or had forgotten to wear them. Yva spotted the intern in the kitchen preparing coffee for everyone in the station. She tucked the box of donuts in a corner, then helped pour coffee into their empty mugs. She was glad to assist the intern, as she had been making quite a mess in the kitchen.
The intern explained that she just felt sleepy, despite Yva's repeated inquiries about her well-being.
The officers took turns getting their mugs, and Yva talked with the supervisor about the issue they were facing. The supervisor checked the attendance sheet and confirmed that no one had been absent, meaning no one had fallen ill after the tree planting. Yva started to doubt herself, wondering if she had been mistaken.
Yohan arrived and confirmed that the car he had seen earlier indeed belonged to Yva since her assigned parking space was empty. Everything he had heard earlier seemed bizarre and ancient-like to him, but there was still a part of him that wanted to believe it was true, given some of his father's stories about their province.