In Tagaytay City, a boy is building a sand castle with a friend inside a sandbox. "Add a little water so that the sand will stick," the boy told his friend.
"I just can't add too much water; the sandbox will become muddy," the little girl he is playing with replied. "Have you done our homework for tomorrow?" she asked while trying to make a sand tower.
"For math? Of course, I did." The boy looked at the girl with suspicious eyes, "Why do you ask? Are you going to copy from me again?"
The girl beamed at the boy and batted her eyelashes at him. "Pretty please?" she asked with a cute voice and a cute look on her face.
"Hey Jun, I was looking all over for you. Let's go home now!" A man shouted angrily
"It's my stepdad," he quickly stood up and dusted himself. "I'd better go home now, before he gets angry. I'll come to school early tomorrow so you can copy," he then ran towards the man who called him.
That night, a fierce thunderstorm hits the city. In the yard of a house on the outskirts, a brown puppy lies on the ground beside a newly planted Pine tree, crying and whining. Despite the harsh weather, it did not budge from its spot.
The next day, Cecilia, as per her routine, woke up at three in the morning, fixed herself up, and marched to the market to get the fish she was going to sell. She was lucky she got to the fish port first, and as a result, she got six big tubs filled with various commercial fish.
Cecilia fixed the tubs right beside her usual spot and prepared her chopping board, pliers, and knife as well as a pail for the fish innards and water. After which, she sat and began to call marketgoers "Tilapia, GG, and Milkfish, fresh off the boat. I'll even clean them up for you while you wait!"
Like the previous day, she sold all of the fish in a record time of five hours. Before lunchtime, Cecilia was on her way home, and for some unknown reason, she passed by the abandoned port, where the Twilight was docked. She passed the gigantic mooring lines and went straight to the gangway; the ship was taking in some passengers at the time.
She boarded the ship and met Chief Murillo and helmsman Martinez. "Miss Bermudez! What are…" She wasn't able to finish her sentence as the stench of fish wafted through the air. She quickly pinched her nose, as did Martinez, as the stench assaulted his senses. "Miss Bermudez," her voice sounded like a cartoon mouse... "Why are you here?"
"The water in your room is fixed; you can take a shower if you like." Martinez's voice sounded like a robotic mosquito, giving Cecilia a hard time stifling her laughter.
"Really? Thanks," She extended her hand to show her gratitude, but the two decided to stay away from the smell of fish, making Cecilia pout. "For ghosts, you two sure have sensitive noses."
"You're a bit early, we won't set sail till six," Chief Murillo said, still pinching her nose.
Before she could answer, they heard a commotion at the boarding ramparts. They looked over the rails and saw a boy crying as he was being guided by his guardian angel... "No, I can't go. Jenny, my friend, she's all alone. I can't leave yet," she pleaded.
Cecilia couldn't help but go down and see if she could convince the boy to calm down. "Excuse me," she caught the attention of the guardian angel. "May I?" the angel way, and she knelt in front of the boy who was wearing pajamas. "What's your name?"
"Jun," the boy replied in between sobs
"Is there a problem? Do you miss your friends? You'll make new friends here," she gently told Jun.
"You don't understand. My friend Jenny is all alone and scared. I have to make sure she is fine before I can go!" Jun cried desperately, wanting the adults to understand and help him
"What is this commotion?" A voice thundered from behind. Everyone looked in that direction and saw Captain Chris, observing them with a stern expression. "You let the other passengers in, don't make them wait just because of some runt!"
When Cecilia heard how the captain referred to the crying boy, something inside her snapped "What is the matter with you?!" she hits the captain on the shoulder, making him flinch "Can't you see the boy is in distress over his friend? Can't you be a little more sensitive to your passengers?" she blurted out with a raised voice "What? Can't speak? Cat got your tongue?"
"No! You stink!" Chris even started to gag
In a move that can only be seen in Romcoms, Cecilia launched herself at the captain, hugging him tightly, making sure that her scent stuck to his clothes. "What the, get off of me! You stink, Pink!" Chief Murillo and Martinez were both stunned, yet they kept their distance after finally being free of the fishy aroma
"Never! I won't let go of you until we both smell the same, and if you don't listen to this boy, I will keep coming here smelling like fish every single day, and I will cling on to you till you smell like fish again!" Cecilia declared with a resolute voice
Chris couldn't stomach the threat, so he caved. "Okay, Fine! Just let go of me. I said Let go, pink!" but Cecilia only clung to him tightly. "Okay, fine, I'll talk to the boy!"
"Promise?" she asked skeptically. Chris only nodded. "Say it!" she pushed on
"I promise I'll talk to the boy," Chris sighed, leaning away from Cecilia and the fishy odor
"And?" Chris looked confused when he glanced down at the human who was trying to scatter her fishy aroma on his clothes. "Promise you'll help him too!"