Dawn Dusk Leia

Part 3

We won three sets in a row - 25-6, 25-16, 25-20. We nailed four offensive plays and two defensive plays. There's no stopping Mai from being the libero, Korin is our setter, while Camille, Olga, and Jackie have perfect spike serves and are reliable on the second line of defense. Jamaica and I are the finishers. One tall girl from the other team joined us in place of Bea - Kaye. So, our team is composed of Mai, Olga, Camille, Jackie, Korin, Jamaica, Kaye, and me. This coming Saturday, we’ll have a match against the 2nd-year team A. It’s still a best-of-five, 25-point rally.

After changing out of my school uniform in the locker room, Madeline and Gwen were already waiting outside. Of course, they said, "Congrats!" and praised me for my skills. The "bitter melon girls" (our haters) couldn’t hide their sour faces, and the boys who used to bully me seemed to have bitten their tongues. They said I looked cool in my volleyball uniform. They suggested I get my school uniform adjusted because it doesn't fit my body proportionally. I’ve been thinking about having my aunt adjust it, but I’m too shy to ask. My aunt is as reserved as my dad.

There’s something unusual about my family, and I noticed it when I was about 9 years old. My dad looks older than my mom. When I asked them about it, they didn’t hesitate to tell me everything. Dad said mom ended up in the depths of the forest near his land. It was raining hard, and he was planning to move his animals to a sheltered spot. He found mom unconscious and lying on the ground. He decided to carry her into the house first. He was alone at that time; his wife had passed away and his children lived abroad. His children never forgot to send money, and he had no hard feelings toward them for living abroad—it was their destiny.

Mom was still breathing but unconscious, and dad noticed she had many wounds, bruises, and a bullet wound in her thigh. For a week, he took care of mom, cleaning her wounds and body, bathing her, and giving her broth to drink whenever she regained a bit of strength. That’s when I learned dad was also a traditional healer. Gradually, he restored mom’s strength, but initially, she seemed out of her mind. She couldn’t speak, and her eyes looked vacant as if she couldn’t see dad. She was like a wild animal, taking advantage of dad’s kindness, he added.

Dad already knew what kind of monster Mom was. He had a treasure trove of secret knowledge about healing, prayers, incantations, and the mysteries of this world involving earth spirits, shape-shifters, dwarves, evil spirits, angels, sigbins, and flying ghouls, among other things. So, using some incantations, he set things in motion to lock away Mom's mystical powers. While Mom was weak and unconscious, Dad thoroughly cleaned her body, seeing her in all her glory. Then he lit a white candle for the light of purity, symbolizing a clear mind and a connection to God the Father. He also lit incense for the peace of the surroundings. He then placed Mom in front of a mirror, making sure she was seated upright, facing the reflection. He took a moment to meditate and think about the wonderful things and dreams he had for Mom. Then, he chanted an incantation.

Dad prepared an ink made from a mix of coconut husk ash and guava branch. He was going to tattoo this on Mom's chest. He muttered a spell, calling upon a powerful Angel to keep the bad blood coursing through Mom's veins sealed. For two months, he cared for her, even though she still hadn't regained her sanity. He couldn't figure out her life story. He didn't even know Mom's name, where she came from, or why she ended up in that place. Despite the lack of communication, Mom became Dad's partner. When Mom finally regained her strength and fully recovered, she started helping Dad with the many tasks on the farm. By the way Mom moved, Dad assumed she was also a child of the forest, just like him. In their world, you had to work hard for everything you needed.

After two months and two weeks, Mom started showing signs of pregnancy. She was nauseous and dizzy. Dad didn’t notice it right away while he was treating her. Since there was no intimacy between them, he was sure Mom was already pregnant when she arrived in his life, and he accepted that. Dad worked even harder on the plants and the farm animals. He consulted a midwife and started saving up for the delivery, baby supplies, and registering my birth at the municipality. He also asked the midwife to help create a fake identity for Mom. He named her Ellena, and the name of my recognized father was Sabrino Macalalad. Mom's last name was also fake; she was named Ellena Advincula. When I was born, our family became the talk of the far-flung neighbors and Dad's relatives. "The old man snagged a young one!" they'd gossip about my much older dad. Despite this, Dad was well-liked, often helping others with healing without asking for anything in return. Apparently, some people are just wired to see your flaws before your good deeds.

When Mom gave birth to me, she was already 20 years old. She was 19 when Dad found her, and she was already pregnant. At 25, her mind gradually returned to normal, and she began to speak again. It was as if she couldn't bear to see me grow up without being able to utter a single word. That's when Mom started telling her story to Dad.

Mom tried to escape from a powerful businessman in their area. Her parents had sold her; that seemed to be the family business of those who took her in. She was probably just a baby when that wicked family cared for her. They treated her well enough, providing food and necessities, but it was all a ploy to fatten her up like a pig for sale. Even her foster mother's own children were sold off. At twelve, Mom was sold to the businessman to satisfy his carnal desires. However, they couldn’t carry out their plans because she possessed the dark powers from her ancestral bloodline. Mom wasn’t sure about her real parents, knowing nothing about them. At twelve, she demonstrated incredible strength, agility, courage, and ferocity, like a wild animal in combat!

She would escape from that place over and over again, only to be caught repeatedly by those who had bought her soul. The longest she managed to stay free was a year and a half without being tracked by those persistent pursuers. So, she learned to survive in the dense forests and mountains. She foraged for food, fruits, root crops, and hunted small, large, and fierce animals. She ate raw meat until she learned to dry or smoke it. She even learned how to make a fire and cook her meals. Literally, she became a jungle maiden at the age of fourteen. She even claimed her life was more peaceful among the wilderness, forests, and mountains she called home. The wild animals avoided her presence. Only the reptiles dared to threaten her life, so as she grew up, reptiles became her main diet. She learned to get along with mammals that had wombs and produced milk.

Until she was finally caught for the last time when she turned eighteen.