Laya came earlier to the Babaylan's residence and informed us that there would be an inhabitants' assembly at the park. He mentioned that our presence is mandatory, including Migo, who still needs a few days to fully recover.

Thus, here we are, the ever-loyal visitors of Hiraya as we appreciate the colorful and festive stage. Firelights are in strategic places to brighten the otherwise dark oval. The ground is made of stone, and through our exploration, this is the only place that can be used for events. It's in the inner parts of the island where most of the establishments are built, together with the Babaylan's residence.

I look up at the night sky to search for some symbolic constellations, but there are no visible stars. But then again, I never learned how to connect the stars and think of it as a bear, perhaps, a huntsman or an archer. With only random dots in space, they are worse than two-dimensional shapes. It will be a miracle if I can make shapes out of them.

Maybe Jade can see it. She might see the pattern due to her imagination. Or perhaps either Cielo or Renz, they seem to be the romantic types and might be able to correlate the dots into something more solid. But is there really a correlation between romance and dots in the sky? I cannot perceive it, but that doesn't mean that the others can't.

"What are you looking for in the sky?" It's Cielo's soft voice.

I look at her, trying to understand why this girl is striking up a conversation with me. I remember I was mean to her the first time we talked. Am I smiling and looking approachable while trying to associate romance and the stars? Socializing-wise, shouldn't she approach Jade since they're both girls? That's easier for a girl like her, right? I sneer at her. Of course, Cielo can't act friendly with her after what she'd done to Jade.

"Nothing. Just thinking how romance can destroy people," I answer and sit up properly.

However, she ignores my insinuations and instead sits opposite me on the other side of the table. She indeed rubs me the wrong way, but I can't help but be curious about where she and Renz stay after leaving the Babaylan's residence.

"This place looks old, the people and everything," she remarks in a whisper.

The three of us, meaning Jade, Migo, and I, already had that feeling the instant we saw those warriors on horseback. They look like they were out of history books, especially the way they dress. They tie different colored fabrics around their head. According to the locals, it's called putong, a male headgear. Some wear tops with varying lengths of sleeves. Some wear it open, displaying a well-formed chest, and some choose to close it. Some don't even wear tops and display their painted bodies for everyone to see. Some wore a top with no sleeves and no collar, a Kanggan, I learned, only it was in different colors. Most of them wear loose, knee-length pants with varying shades. They are a colorful group of men on horseback, an eyesore, really. Probably, uniform clothing is not a standard for their warriors.

And their weapons. They have shields and swords of various lengths. There are even small bladed weapons hanging on their waist, weapons that I could not identify except I knew that it was meant to be thrown, like a boomerang or at least similar to it. There are also weapons with strange shapes and blades that seem out of place.

And in that group of men, I found it hard to identify the leader. I almost thought that there weren't any if not for the sash he wore, which gave away his position within the group. Jade was the first to identify him, or maybe she was quickly drawn to him because of how he carried himself. Even if there was awe in his face, he had a captivating smile on his face. Instead, he's the only one with a smile on his face that day. And it's to him we are grateful for commanding his people to treat our wounds and even to let us stay at the Babaylan's residence together with Renz and Cielo who did nothing but spectate on the battle against that Bakasi--or rather, eel.

"Hey." It's Renz. He sits beside Cielo opposite me and looks at me. "We found a place we could stay."

"Name's Aian." I correct him. I wonder what Jade sees in him. He's rude and a selfish prick.

"So, what's next for us? Any news or clues about where we are?" he asks, refusing to mention my name.

"Why ask me? You should ask Jade. She's the one who always wanted her desires to be fulfilled."

The mention of her name puts tension between the two. They still couldn't get over what they did to Jade, which is a good sign and means that they both know that they did her wrong.

After that, none of them speak until the sound of music drowns the conversation on the tables around us. It's beautiful music, mellow and sweet. But, unfortunately, how it's created, I lack the imagination to understand. All I see is some kind of weird-shaped drum, a strange-looking harp, some type of flute, but at least I can identify a kulintang, a group of gongs horizontally laid down.

Yes, everything looks weirdly ancient. After going to the kuta with Laya, Jade and I explored whenever and wherever we could. We can't go past the brick fortress with the warriors at the top and can't enter some areas on the inner island--because that's the administration area and the Rajah's abode--so we content ourselves to go around the middle and outer part of the island.

As we tour around Hiraya, the plain and simple living of the inhabitants is enough to conclude that we are on an archaic island. No signs of technology, everything they have are things created from what nature provides. They don't even have the concept of counting years. They have buan's but no calendar years. When Jade asked a random inhabitant, she just looked at us like we were asking nonsense.

And as both Renz and Cielo became taboo, I never had the chance to ask them how they fare in this land and to ask them what else they found out. I'm also aware that this is a chance. However, every time I see both of them, it triggers me to insult any of them.