After the Twilight returned from her voyage, Cecilia went back to the playground where Jun frequents. There in the sandbox, she saw Melinda crying, upon learning of the news that her friend was already dead. She sat beside the little girl and patted her on the back. "Jun is in a better place now, free from all the sadness and bad things in this world."
"I miss him," Melinda sobbed, mourning for Jun. "Who will be my friend now?"
"You know, Jun left another friend behind, and he wanted you to meet her, so the two of you will not be lonely." She wrapped an arm around the little girl. "Would you like to meet her?"
Melinda nods as she smiles at the prospect of meeting a new friend. Cecilia stood up, dusted herself, and extended her hand to the child. The girl accepts the gesture and the two leave the playground, heading to the veterinary clinic, where Jun brought his beloved pet that fateful night.
Upon arriving at the clinic, they were ushered to the holding pen where Jenny was recovering. The cute puppy wagged its tail in excitement when it saw Cecilia. "This is Jenny," she pointed at the puppy, "Jun wanted you to have her."
Melinda reached out to the puppy, who immediately took a liking to her. "She's pretty," the girl exclaimed
"She will be your best friend, so love and take care of her, and she will do the same for you." Cecilia watched the two get acquainted. After paying for Jenny's bill, they bade goodbye to the puppy. "It will take a few more days before you can take Jenny home," she explained. "Take care of each other, okay?"
"I will, don't worry," Satisfied that everything was as Jun wished, she guided the girl out of the clinic. "Let's go, I'll walk you home," she offered the child, who took her hand, and they traipsed hand in hand.
Going back, after she dropped Melinda home, Cecilia scratched her head. "Where am I?" She glanced left and right; she realized she was no longer in the urban area, but in a rural one. The only sign of civilization was an unpaved road. "I knew I should have taken a right after the village hall!"
She continued to walk the lonely road until she saw an old man closing up a stall. "Gramps! Good afternoon," she greeted the old man
"Good afternoon, child, may I interest you in some talismans or amulets? They ward off evil spirits," the old man greeted her back, trying to sell his wares at the same time.
"Can you tell me how to get back to Talanay? I was going to the bus station, but I think I took a wrong turn," she explained her predicament to the old man
"You should have made a right turn after the village hall," Cecilia frowned after the old man confirmed her mistake.
The old man walked to the middle of the road and faced the direction from which Cecilia came from "What you need to do is go back and make a left at the third coconut tree, and you will find the village hall."
"It's that easy, Gramps?" she skeptically asked, to which the old man smiled. "Okay...uhm, you said you sold amulets and talismans? By any chance, do you have anything that can close a third eye?"
The old man grinned, "So you have the gift, but you are afraid of it." The old man extended his hand. "Give me your hand, child."
The old man examined Cecilia's palm. "This gift of yours is extraordinary, it's beyond anything I have seen before. Not only can you see and hear the souls of the dead, you can touch them!" Cecilia shrugged her shoulders. "You can traverse from this world to their world as well. Are you sure you want to cut yourself off from this ability?"
She gently slipped her hands from the old man. "I suffered greatly because of this, so yes! I want to get rid of it."
The old man sighed and shook his head. "To those pitiful souls, you are a guiding light, but if you don't want it, then there is nothing we can do." he held her hands again. "I will call you and let's meet, and I will give you what you want."
Cecilia smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Really? Here is my number," The old man handed her an old notebook, and she wrote down her number in it. "Oh wait, gramps…what is your...number?" But the old man disappeared. She looked left and right, but there was no trace of him; only the empty stall remained
Afraid that she might be trapped in a bad enchantment of sorts, she ran in the direction pointed at her, "Third coconut, left at the third coconut!"
She immediately made a left after passing the marker, and she was dumbfounded when she was instantly returned to the Talanay village hall. Looking behind her, she was startled to see a bustling barangay. Afraid that she might get trapped again, she forced her legs to run to the bus station.
That afternoon in the galley, while they were having their meal, a news update flashed on the screen: "Early this morning, the city of Tagaytay was shaken by tragic news. Eduardo Macalintal, 37, was discovered dead in a remote area of the pine tree forest, found inside his vehicle by hikers just before dawn. Disturbingly, authorities also located the body of ten-year-old Junmar Aurelio in the trunk of the car. Junmar was Macalintal's stepson, whom he was caring for while the boy's mother worked as a nanny in Canada. Investigators suspect that Macalintal may have taken his own life, overwhelmed by guilt over killing the boy."
Chris's forehead furrowed at the news, though not entirely confused. "Captain, we left him alive, didn't we?" Cecilia clarified
The captain, with his usual apathetic expression, dismissively waved off Cecilia's worries. "Whether he took his own life or was killed, it is not our job to meddle in the affairs of humans."
Cecilia frowned, finished her meal, and marched out of the galley. He then gestured to his first officer, who quickly approached him. "See if that guy is in our manifest. I want to talk to him if he is here." Bustamante nodded and made his way out of the bridge and headed towards Chief Murillo's station.
It was almost dawn, the lively parties on the gold deck had all ceased, and the passengers retreated to their suites to rest. Three figures walked the empty deck. "Are you sure he is not in the manifest?" Chris asked his officers
"Yes, sir," Murillo replied, "His name is in the book, but he did not board the ship. He might have decided to be a wandering spirit."
"I'll dispatch the reapers to search for him," Bustamante informed the captain. "Will catch him soon enough."
Chris nodded, and the trio continued on their stroll of the gold deck. Then, from out of nowhere, a figure jumped from the shadows right in front of Chris. "What book are we talking about?" asked the figure
Chris startled, screamed "Eeeeeeeh!" Chiefs Bustamante and Murillo exchanged glances at the captain's reaction. They both stifled a laugh since this was the first time they had seen Chris react like that. Probably because no one even dared try to startle their captain.
Cecilia, after seeing Chris's reaction, couldn't help but laugh. The captain quickly regained his composure. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" speaking like he wasn't in an awkward situation.
"I can't sleep, so I thought I'd have a moonlit stroll along the gold deck." Cecilia reasoned, "I mean, the constellations are different from those back at home."
"This is no longer the mortal plane, but the world of the dead. This world has a different cosmos than what is known by mortals." Bustamante explained
Cecilia turned to Chris, who was walking away. "Captain? Have you stopped to look at the stars?"