Khel’s Visions: Book Three
Chapter One: Shimmer (Dan’s POV)
Note: This is the third book of Khel’s Visions Series.
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Okay, so here’s the thing — I wasn’t really planning to fall for anyone this school year. I mean, third year na ako, and dapat focus na sa academics, lalo na sa science congress and varsity. But you know how the universe likes to mess with people’s plans?
Exactly.
Her name? Celeste Rivera. Transfer student. Naka-tie palagi yung hair niya, parang ayaw niya mapansin, pero dude, impossible. Kahit yung mga teacher parang nangingiti every time she talks. May aura siyang mahirap i-describe — parang tahimik lang siyang babae, pero hindi mahiyain. Yung ganung babae, gets? Basta alam niyo na yun. Ang hirap i-describe nga diba?
First time ko siyang nakita sa hallway, I was carrying three folders and a coffee I wasn’t even supposed to drink — sa faculty pa dapat yun. Eh syempre clumsy si sir Ronald, ako na ang inutusan. Tapos boom. Pagkatalikod ko, halos mabangga ko siya. Hindi kami nagkadikit, pero close call.
"Sorry," she said, voice like a whisper pero rinig ko pa rin. “Di kita nakita.”
And I froze. Hindi dahil na-shock ako or something, pero parang... sheeettt? Nagsasalita pala siya? Nanlamig ako sa boses niya. Literal. Like kahit ang init ng corridor, biglang may dampi ng malamig sa hangin. Weird.
“S’okay,” I said, trying to act cool. “New student ka?”
“Mmhm,” sabay ngiti. Not full smile — half smile lang (pa-cute effect ba!), pero enough to mess up my brain for the next two days.
Sa bahay, nagluto si Mama ng sinigang. Hindi ko masyadong feel kumain pero she insisted. Lagi naman. Si Mama kasi, her name is Hannah, single mom. Strong independent woman vibes pero loving AF. Ever since iniwan kami ni Dad for some startup chick in Cebu, si Mama na talaga lahat. Breadwinner, mentor, at minsan, love life consultant ko na rin. Kahit weird.
“Kamusta school?” she asked habang sinusubuan ako ng extra rice. Di ko na pinigilan. Comfort food, eh.
“May bagong student,” sagot ko casually. “Girl.”
She smirked. “Cute?”
I shrugged. “Medyo.”
“Dan, I know that tone. You like her.”
I rolled my eyes, pero smile na rin. “It’s not like that. Bagong student lang. Interesting lang siya.”
“‘Interesting’ is the gateway to kilig,” she teased.
“Ma!”
She laughed. “Okay, okay. Pero anak, just be careful. Hindi lahat ng pretty face, mabait. And not everyone who seems mabait, is just that.”
I stared at her, half curious. “What does that even mean?”
She just smiled. Yung mysterious mom smile na parang may alam siya na hindi ko pa gets. Alam niyo naman parang manghuhula mga nanay natin hehe.
The next few days, Celeste kept to herself. Hindi siya sumasama sa masyadong tao, though she joined the Science Club. And guess what? I’m the president of that club. Swerte? Coincidence? Ewan. Pero it meant more chances to talk to her.
“Dan, right?” she said one afternoon sa club room, habang nag-aayos kami ng experiment proposal for the interschool fair.
“Yup. President. Ikaw?” I teased.
“Just the quiet one,” sabay tawa ng konti. Hindi matinis, hindi malandi. Just… sincere. Oh, so cute talaga niya!
“Celeste,” I said. “May tanong ako.”
“Go?”
“Bakit parang ang dami mong alam? I mean, first week mo pa lang pero you’re already correcting Ms. Liza sa chemical composition ng saltwater batteries?”
She smiled, almost shyly. “Let’s just say... I like reading. And listening. And remembering.”
Cryptic much? Pero instead of weirded out, I felt intrigued.
One Friday night, habang pauwi na ako galing practice, I saw her again — sa may footbridge near school. Alone. Tinitingnan niya lang yung langit.
“Celeste?” tanong ko, medyo naglakas loob akong kausapin siya. Eh paano ba naman hindi kasi siya nagsasalita kapag hindi kinakausap. May mga ganyan talagang tao, 'no?
She turned, parang hindi na-surprise na andun ako.
“You see it too?” she whispered.
“See what?”
She looked up again. “The shimmer.”
Umambon bigla. Light lang, pero sapat para mapansin. Walang thunder, walang ulan sa forecast. Pero ayun — umaambon pa rin. And may parang silver mist sa paligid. Parang nag-slow motion.
“Dan,” she said, and for the first time, her voice wasn’t soft. It was sure. “What if I told you the world isn’t what it seems?”
Napatawa ako, pero naglakad pa rin papalapit. “You’re starting to sound like one of those fantasy stories.”
She didn’t laugh. Instead, tinuro niya yung langit.
“You have the shimmer in your eyes too. You just don’t know how to use it yet.”
Napahawak ako sa bag ko. “Wait — what are you talking about?”
Then she said something that didn’t make sense but felt real:
“The Shroud is thinning. Something’s crossing over. And I think you were chosen before you were even born.”
Kinabukasan, literal akong parang hangover. Hindi dahil sa alak (bawal yun at baka mapatay ako ng nanay ko) — dahil sa mga tanong na iniwan ni Celeste. Was she serious? Was it a joke? Or was it something I shouldn’t have heard? Weird talaga ang babaeng yun.
Pero eto ako, naglalakad papunta sa school, trying to pretend na wala lang. Pero sa bawat tao na nakakasalubong ko, I was starting to notice things.
The janitor was humming a song I swear I’ve never heard but somehow knew.
The cat sa gate na parang tumitig sa’kin ng masyadong matagal.
Even our Chemistry teacher, Ms. Liza, who suddenly called me Daniel of the Sight before laughing and saying it was a joke.
Parang hindi na ito coincidence.
By lunch time, I found Celeste sa garden. Solo as usual. I sat beside her, and didn’t even try to be subtle.
“What do you mean shimmer?”
She didn’t even flinch. “It’s the energy between this world and the next. Khel was the first to master it. You’re the third.”
“Khel?” I blinked. “As in yung batang may visions na pinagusapan last year? Urban legend lang ‘yun, diba?”
She looked at me, dead serious. “He’s real. He opened the gate. The second chosen fell. And now… it’s you.”
Pumintig yung ulo ko. Like literal na headache, sabay heart racing. I stood up.
“No. Hindi ako part ng fantasy story mo, okay?”
She sighed. “Dan, I didn’t choose you. The shimmer did. You’ve been seeing through things for years. You just never named it.”
Then she reached for my hand.
And suddenly — I saw it.
The garden shimmered. The trees swayed slower. The air turned silver. And behind the fountain, I saw a figure — not human. Not evil. Just... wrong.
I screamed.
But no one else heard it.
Celeste squeezed my hand.
“You’re not dreaming,” she said. “You’re awakening.”
That night, umuwi ako nang tahimik. Si Mama nagtanong pa kung okay lang ako.
“Ma... may itatanong ako,” I said habang naghuhugas ako ng kamay.
“Sige, go.”
“Do you believe in... powers? Yung mga hindi nakikita?”
Hindi siya nagsalita agad. Instead, she wiped her hands and faced me.
“Dan... you remember when you were five? You said the stars whispered to you.”
“Yeah?”
“You weren’t imagining.”
Tumigil ako.
“Huh?”
“I knew this day would come,” she whispered. “That’s why I left your father. He didn’t want you to awaken.”