[JOW]
---
I went home early.
As soon as I stepped into our yard, my adorable cats came rushing to me.
“Meow,” they cried in chorus, circling around my feet.
“I didn’t bring any food,” I said, kneeling to gently rub their soft bellies.
I entered the house, forgetting to take off my shoes.
“You're really something, huh?” Mom scolded immediately.
> Just great.<
I changed out of my uniform and headed straight to the kitchen.
“Ma, what’s for dinner?” The house’s honorary freeloader—me—asked.
Mom stepped out from the bathroom just beside the kitchen.
“There’s fried egg in the fridge,” she said, her face already twisted in stress. “Hey, tell your dad to pay what we owe in the installment scheme. And we’re out of rice again.”
I hadn’t even reached the plates yet.
“Ma, Papa will call you later. Just tell him yourself,” I mumbled.
“You’re so lazy! Just tell him when he calls. Your aunt and I are going to your Tita Allisa’s place—it’s her birthday. I’ll bring you food later in case you get hungry at midnight.”
“Okay,” I replied simply.
> Ma, you know what to bring—the national leftover food, master lumpia.<
She left soon after, and once again, I was alone in the house.
I ate quickly and went to my room, collapsing on my folding bed that I always forgot to fold back every morning.
I opened Facebook on my phone.
It had been three days—three whole days since we last messaged. She hadn’t reached out either. I was a fool for still hoping she'd miss me, that she'd look for me.
> Weak, hurting, and still hoping. What a combo.<
I messaged her anyway. Just a simple “How are you?” It was delivered—but minutes passed, and there was no reply.
I didn’t really expect her to respond.
I switched to YouTube and drowned myself in videos about one of my favorite historical events—World War II.
> At least that Austrian painter managed to finish what he started...<
I lost track of time. Before I knew it, midnight had crept in.
I still hadn’t finished the RRL for our research project. Nova was going to kill me.
Speaking of our research, one of our groupmates—homeschooled now—had been through a lot.
She was hospitalized for hernia. Her condition worsened after surgery, and the doctors later discovered a brain tumor—luckily, still treatable.
She was in a coma for a month.
When she woke up and began recovery, she begged her parents to let her finish her senior high year. They pleaded with the university, and she was allowed to shift to modular learning. They said she could continue that way until graduation—but now, she wanted to return for the third quarter.
She was the one handling the questionnaire.
---
A new day.
I slouched into my armchair, sleep-deprived.
The classroom of 12 HUMSS-D gradually filled up. Chairs creaked. Voices started to rise.
Rain—my seatmate—walked in, her face sour.
> Let me guess. That damn boyfriend of hers again?<
“What’s up? You’re frowning early,” I said, half-joking.
She slumped into her chair with a dramatic sigh.
“That jerk of a boyfriend of mine is still chatting with his ugly ex!” she hissed. “Why are guys such flirts?”
I scratched my head. “Don’t generalize. Your boyfriend’s an ass, but that doesn’t mean we all are.”
“Sure,” she said, pouting.
> The truth really stings, huh.<
I reached out and ruffled her hair. “Cousin, you're the one being dumb. You know what he’s like, and yet you won’t let him go.”
“You’re such a jerk!” she snapped, slapping my hand away. “You just want us both to graduate single. You’ve always been like this since we lived together at Lola’s house back in elementary!”
I rested my chin on my hand. “Tsk,” I muttered.
“See? Why don’t you go find someone to date?”
“You don’t look for love—it just happens,” I said firmly, then gently bonked my head against hers.
“How’d you find your ex then? Ouch! Why’d you hit me?”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “I didn’t look for her. It just happened. Our eyes met under the shade of the mango tree on campus. Then I asked a friend who knew her name—”
Rain cut me off, laughing. “What is this, a soap opera?”
“It’s true!” I protested.
“Anyway, how’s the RRL? Got anything done?” she quickly changed the subject. She’d never liked talking about my ex girlfriend.
“I found ten sources, still not enough. Do you know how hard it is to find relevant studies for our topic—‘Masturbation effects on well-being’? You try searching that on Google Scholar!”
Out of all possible topics, we had to land on this one.
“Nova’s gonna scold you.” Her words made my pulse spike. Nova wasn’t loud—but she was scary when angry.
“You had all the time in the world, and you still haven’t finished?” Rain teased.
> You talk too much. Can’t you just shut up? I’m freaking out here.<
“You know I don’t drown myself in schoolwork,” I shot back.
“Sure. You just drown in hentai,” she teased, nudging me with her shoulder. “This topic suits you too well. You’re losing weight. You never smile. And when you do, it looks forced. You look like you’ve aged ten years from frowning all the time. No guy wants to be your friend because you come off as hostile. You’ve got lines forming on your nose like Itachi Uchiha.”
I flicked her nose.
“Hey! A girl like you shouldn’t say stuff like that!”
“Ow! You jerk.”
“Well… you’re not wrong…”
I went quiet, staring at the floor.
“You know, I think I’ve grown taller,” she said, randomly switching topics again. “Maybe I’ll catch up to you?”
I gritted my teeth. “Excuse me? Even if you drank a gallon of Cherifer, you’d still be short.”
“Who’re you calling short?!”
She slapped me.
> Ouch!<
“You two sure are getting along early in the morning.” A voice behind us made me gulp.
“N-Nova…” I stammered. She smiled—but it wasn’t a warm smile. It was fake.
“Nova, Jow only found ten—”
“I already know you haven’t finished the RRL, Jow,” Nova interrupted.
“I’ll finish it to—”
She grabbed my shoulder—hard.
Nova, the vice president of the Karate Club.
“Come with me later,” she said.
I swallowed hard.
“Where are we going?”
“To another groupmate’s house. I need to consult something with her about the research.”
“O-okay.”
“Good.” She patted my shoulder. Painfully.
Animal!
What the hell?!
---
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that makes your mind wander and fill with noise.
How do you break the silence? How do you speak when your thoughts are too loud?
Nova had grains of rice stuck in her hair, probably from lunch, and she hadn’t noticed.
I wanted to remove them, but I was too afraid to reach out. Too embarrassed to say it out loud.
The sun was setting as we walked to our groupmate’s residence.
> I wonder if Nova could ever get married with that terrifying personality?<
“Peek at it! Your destiny!” a voice echoed in my mind.
> Huh?<
My eyes activated my strange gift—the ability to see the red strings of fate. I quickly shut my right eye.
Nova’s string stretched away from us. Someone was destined for her, huh?
Then I looked at mine, tied to my pinky. It danced like it had a mind of its own.
To my surprise, it pointed straight ahead.
> Where does this string end? Who’s on the other side?<
A chill crept in as the string rose to chest height, then continued climbing—floating higher and higher into the air.
Then it stopped—completely still and taut.
Was that a sign? That whoever it led to was nearby?
“N-Nova? Are we close?”
She nodded.
My unease deepened.
> Don’t tell me…<
We stopped in front of a building.
“We’re here. It’s an apartment,” Nova said. “Wait outside. Buy a snack or something. Here.” She handed me fifty pesos.
“What do I get?”
Her brow furrowed. “Whatever you want. Are you stupid?” she snapped, then rushed into the building.
I sat on a bench outside.
I couldn’t believe it.
The string was pointing upward—into this very building.
The other end of my string was here.
I watched the red thread for several minutes, then got up to find food.
I bought twenty pesos’ worth of siomai and ate.
While eating, a thought bothered me. Why had Nova brought me? Why didn’t she let me go inside too?
I spent the full fifty pesos. Not a single coin left for her. She hadn’t said I had to.
I returned to the bench and waited.
I didn’t know why, but I felt... empty.
Someone connected to me was here, yet I had no urge to find them.
Minutes passed.
Finally, Nova came out.
She was smiling—grinning, even.
> What just happened?<
Then she laughed outright.
“Confirmed!” she said.
“What happened?”
“The consultation with our groupmate went well. But that’s not the only reason I brought you here.”
“Alright. I’m listening.”
Suddenly, she pressed her hand against my chest.
Her palm was heavy, warm.
“What are you doing?” I asked, baffled.
“I was right,” she said, trying to contain her joy. She inhaled deeply several times.
Then her smile faded, and she looked at me dead in the eye.
“You two are meant for each other.”
> Huh? Two?<
I touched my forehead. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but I should go. Before you do something weird again, Leader. I need to finish the RRL.”
I started to walk away.
Her words made no sense—and they scared me a little.
Nova smiled again, but this time, it was unsettling.
“You’re really running away? You’re not even curious what I meant?”
I shook my head.
> You’re being too weird.<
“Nah,” I said. “I came with you for research. If you’ve got other plans, I’m not involved.”
She didn’t speak again. I didn’t look back.
She didn’t follow.
That girl is seriously strange.
---
[Nova]
The beat of his heart was soothing.
Such a wonderful sound.
Each thump echoed through her soul like a melody—steady, warm, alive. The letters… the name of the one destined for that heartbeat… they danced in rhythm with that beautiful pulse.
Nothing else gave me joy.
Nothing… except listening to the heartbeats of human beings.
>You’ll meet her, Jow.<
>You’ll be together.<
I didn’t look back as Jow walked away.
When he finally vanished from view, I exhaled deeply and turned on my heel, strolling down the dimming streets alone.
Finally. Some peace and quiet, I thought, cracking my neck with a slow tilt.
But peace never lasted long.
Just a few blocks in, three figures emerged from the shadows of a nearby alley. Slouched. Grimy. One had a piece of rebar slung over his shoulder. Another wore a chain like a trophy. Their grins were the kind that made normal people nervous.
“Hey, baby,” the one in front called out. “Where you headed?”
“Walking alone this late?” said the second. “Brave little girl.”
The third one whistled, eyeing her like prey. “She’s cute. You think she’ll scream?”
I stopped mid-step.
Tilted my head.
And chuckled.
Then laughed.
Then howled—a wild, unhinged cackle that bounced off the concrete walls like an alarm bell from the depths of some forgotten hell.
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
The delinquents froze.
“…What the hell’s so funny?” one of them asked, his grip tightening on the rebar.
I didn’t answer.
I moved.
One kick—fast and brutal—slammed into the ribs of the man with the rebar, sending him flying into a heap of trash bags with a crash.
The second raised his fists, but she was already inside his guard. Her fist sank into his gut, folding him in half, then her elbow rocketed up into his jaw. He crumpled to the ground, dazed and groaning.
The last one turned to run.
He barely made it three steps.
I lunged, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him to the pavement.
He gasped—then screamed—as my boot drove into his chest.
Again.
And again.
I stared down at them—broken, gasping, writhing.
One of them tried to crawl away.
My foot stomped on his face.
Once.
Twice.
My laughter returned—louder now, crueler. A twisted symphony of delight and rage.
“AHAHAHAHA! YOU THOUGHT I WAS A TOY?!” while stomping.
“YOU THOUGHT I WAS PREY?!” 
My breath was ragged. My eyes glowed with manic joy. Blood painted the edge of my boot, glinting in the flickering streetlight.
>Still so weak. Still so pathetic.<
I should’ve kept going.
I wanted to keep going.
But then…
It hit me.
A memory—not recent, not clear—but sharp.
White.
So much white.
A gang—not like these filth. Not like the weak and the desperate.
They were elite. Clad in brilliant white uniforms that gleamed like armor under the sun. Their presence was a wave of power. Like kings among the damned.
And there, in the center—
Jow.
He stood tall, his back turned, his white jacket fluttering with each step.
The sight made my chest tighten.
Not from fear.
Not from pain.
But from the ache of loss.
My foot froze mid-stomp.
My laughter died.
My voice cracked through clenched teeth.
“When you left the rotten world of the idiotic, barbaric, and chaotic gangsters…”
My throat trembled as she whispered the rest.
“…it became so boring, Jow.”
My voice echoed into the empty street, swallowed only by silence.
The delinquents were unconscious.
Useless.
I stood alone beneath the flickering orange glow of a streetlamp—my silhouette stretched across the pavement like a specter.
A lone figure.
A goddess of wrath.
Still and trembling, laughing softly into the night sky.
To be continued.