IDENTITY: FIFTEEN

MAICA POV

I was staring at the ceiling, hoping to hear that voice again. "Alex?" I called his name because I was sure it was him. It's his voice! I knew it sounded impossible, but I was certain he called me. "Alex!" I called again, but I didn't receive a response.

I started to cry again, thinking that maybe I was just hallucinating. "Stupid, Maica. How could he call you?" I scolded myself. I just bowed my head again and returned to my previous position, crying. Because I missed them so much, I think about many things.

I can't take it anymore. I've had enough. Let's end this.

"Hi, Maica."

Once again, I looked up upon hearing the same voice from earlier. "Al...Alex?"

"Yes, it's me, Maica." My eyes widened upon hearing his response. But instead of being happy, I was enveloped by fear. "Maica? Are you still there?"

"Stop!" I shouted and covered my ears. This is not real! This is impossible!

"Maica! It's me! Alex!"

"Stop it!" I shouted again, tightening my grip on my ears. After a few seconds, I didn't hear the voice anymore. I uncovered my ears and scanned the whole place. Once I was sure the voice was gone, I heaved a sigh of relief. "That's the worst," I whispered, returning to my previous position.

I was about to bow my head again when I heard a familiar tune. It was the chorus part of my favorite song. I listened to it with furrowed brows, and of course, I couldn't deny that I was nervous and scared. The song continued until it reached the end note.

"We used to sing that together every time we had a karaoke session." It was his voice again, but I just found myself in tears instead of getting angry. Tears flowed from my eyes, and I had no intention of stopping. Even though itwas impossible, I wanted to believe I was talking to the person I'd longed to see.

"Ale-Alex," I called out to him between each of my breaths.

"Hello, Maica."

The fear I felt earlier was replaced by joy. I felt lighter, but I still couldn't get rid of the thought of how he could do this. "How is this even possible?"

"I'll tell you once we get you out of there."

They are planning to get me?

"Are you okay there?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Alex, but you won't believe who arranged my kidnapping. It's Ri—"

"It's Richard Osaka," he interjected, surprising me.

"How did you know?" I asked in amazement, and even though he couldn't see it, I furrowed my brows.

"It's a long story, but it's good that you now know who we're up against."

"By the way, how's Mama?" I'd been wanting to ask him about it.

"Tita is fine, but your disappearance had a huge impact. She's a total mess, but don't worry, Lola Vemine is checking her out." I breathed a sigh of relief upon learning about Mama's condition. As long as she's alive and breathing, I'm okay.

"Thank you, Alex."

"No, we should be the ones to thank you. Because of your text, we found out your location."

"You received it?" I almost laughed when I asked that. They received it. A burst of joy spread throughout my body when I learned they received my text.

"We almost didn't because the police deleted the message you sent. Luckily, Sky managed to retrieve it." I felt a wave of dismay wash over my whole body upon hearing that the police couldn't be trusted.

"Maica?" Alex called out to me. I could feel from his voice that he was serious about whatever he would say. "Six days from now, we will release you from there. I want you to tell us everything you see there," he requested.

"Okay."

"Don't worry, Maica, everything is planned. We're just waiting for the festival." Festival? Right! I almost forgot. The annual festival is next Friday. And it's the perfect time to execute whatever plan they have. "Maica, I want you to be brave and strong. Eat a lot and always stay out of trouble. Don't worry. I'll talk to you every night starting tomorrow. Don't forget what we taught you."

"Understood, Alex."

"Okay, Maica. Stay safe and always hope for the better."

"Thank you, Alex. I know I'm not alone, even though it's hard to believe. I miss you guys so much!" My eyes stung again, signaling they would release salty tears.

"I miss you, too, Maica. I've missed all our hangout sessions together."

"Yeah. I miss those a lot." I smiled.

"Okay. Go to sleep—"

"One more thing, Alex."

"What is it."

"Always remember that no matter what they say about you to me, nothing will change the fact that you are my best friend."

"Thank you, Maica."

"Goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight." And our conversation ended.

A guard arrived just in time and checked my cell. "Who were you talking to?"

"Mice. I was talking to the mice," I lied.

"Insane," he commented, but I just ignored him. He could call me insane if I knew I'd get out of here. I just had to do what they told me and wait for them to contact me. I would show him who the real insane one was among us.

******

ALEX POV

"Goodnight, Alex," Maica bid her farewell.

"Goodnight."

I opened both of my eyes and saw Sky staring at me. He looked confused, as if he wanted to know what Maica and I were discussing. "How is she?" he asked, and I leaned back on the sofa.

"She's fine, according to her."

"That's good."

"She also found out that Richard Osaka is the one who kidnapped her."

"Good for her. At least she now knows who's behind all this." I nodded in agreement and thought again about Maica. "Did she say anything about Rick's intentions?"

"Nothing, but I'm sure it's me he's after."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Remember the black car?" Sky nodded in response as he sat on the sofa opposite mine. "I used my first clairaudience on them and heard one of them talking to their boss. They're keeping an eye on me."

"So, the death threat was out of the question." Sky fell into thought, causing the whole room to be silent. I couldn't help but think about Maica after our conversation earlier. I'm just glad I heard her voice again. "Go to sleep. It's almost two in the morning."

"How about you? Don't tell me you're staying up again?"

"Don't worry about me, Alex. I'm more capable than you think."

"I really hate to say this, but you must take care of yourself, too. If you're going to save Maica, make yourself capable of doing that. I told Maica to stay healthy, so you should, too. I can't manage to save both of you if something happens," I reasoned.

Sky just stared at me for a few seconds before returning to his tablet. I was surprised when the lights suddenly dimmed and the screen table turned off. The sofa he was sitting on slowly transformed into a bed. He placed the tablet on the table and took off his shoes individually. After finishing, he quickly lay on the sofa, turning it into a makeshift bed.

"I thought we were going to sleep?" he asked, returning me to the present. Shit! I was staring blankly again.

I just rolled my eyes at him and slowly lay on the sofa where I was sitting. Unlike his, my sofa didn't transform since it was already high and comfortable enough for me. I stared at the ceiling as if waiting for sleep to come.

For some unknown reason, I turned my head to the right and looked at the man lying down, covering his eyes with his arm. I stared at him, and the gaze continued without me realizing it—

******

"Can you come with us, Mr. Rischon?" a police officer requested. Another officer accompanied him, and their car was parked behind them.

Next, I caught Trisha's gaze. "See you in jail, Murderer," she said with a smirk, bidding farewell.

"Don't worry, Alex. I'll get you out," Sky reassured, watching with concern as the two police officers took me to their car. Many eyes were watching, and everyone wondered why I was being arrested.

The scene shifted, and I found myself behind bars. Suddenly, Lola arrived, wearing a concerned expression. "Alex? What happened?"

******

We were on our way to school for our Saturday class, but I wanted to sleep some more. Probably because I only managed to sleep around three in the morning, and I woke up due to my dream. Speaking of that dream—

"Sky? When do the predictions happen?" I asked my silent companion.

"What do you mean?"

"The ones where you see the future?" I clarified.

"You mean precognition?"

"I think so."

"Most psychics like me experience this mostly in dreams. But like you, you can predict the future anytime you want." Predict the future anytime I want? "However, it is the highest level of psychic power. It also requires a lot of psychic energy, so we consider it rare." Does that mean what I dreamt about will happen? But when? "Why did you ask?"

"Nothing. I was just curious about fortune tellers."

"Fortune tellers do not use precognition. They rely on probability and deductions. They use tools like tarot cards and dice to get what their customers want. It doesn't exactly tell the future, but they know what might happen."

"But are there fortune tellers who are real psychics?"

"Most likely, yes."

Sky and I continued our conversation until we reached the school. However, I didn't expect a police car waiting outside the gate. We just passed by it until Sky, and I had to stop when the devil Trisha spoke.

"It's him, sir! He's the one who issued a death threat against me."

I looked at where the annoying voice came from and saw Trisha, accompanied by her two bodyguards, pointing at me. Two police officers and the school dean were also beside her. The two police officers approached me, holding a piece of paper.

"Don't worry, Sky. I can handle this." It didn't take long, and the two police officers reached me. "Hello, officers. How can I help you?"

"Ms. Osaka filed an arrest warrant against you for issuing a death threat against her," one of them declared.

"And?" I calmly asked.

"Can you come with us to the station?" That's the exact line I heard in my dream last night.

"Can I see the letter?" I requested, and he handed me the paper he was holding. I quickly scanned it before returning it to him. "Well, lead the way, officer," I invited, and they began walking. I glanced at Sky and gave him a reassuring smile, letting him know I would be fine.

"Don't worry, Alex. I'll get you out." I was right. Precognition happened last night.

"I know you will," I replied, then turned away. In front of me, the devil Trisha's face greeted me. She had a wide grin, probably thinking she had already won. Well, she's wrong.

"See you in jail, murderer," she teased, but I just smiled.

"Smile while you can, bitch," I said to her telepathically. I grinned even more as I saw the fear in her eyes. She just stood there, motionless and unable to move. How pathetic you are, Trisha. Little does she know, she already lost the game from the beginning.

******

I was currently in a cell with other prisoners, waiting for Sky to get me out of here.

"Here, Ma'am," a police officer said directly to me as he walked toward my direction.

As they approached, Lola immediately greeted me. "Alex? What happened?" an elderly woman asked with concern. I stood up and faced her.

"I'll explain at home," I replied with a smile.

"Mr. Rischon, you can leave now." I immediately headed towards the cell door and exited from there. I hugged Lola Vemine, and we left the station together. Sky was already leaning on Lola's car when we got outside the building.

Sky and I skipped class for today and went straight to the boarding house. Upon our arrival, Lola prepared a snack for us—her freshly baked pie. "What happened, and why were you arrested?" Lola asked me for the second time.

"How do I explain this?"

"Alex issued a death threat against Rick Osaka's daughter," Sky suddenly spoke, surprising both Lola and me, but he continued eating his pie.

"Why did you do that?"

"That girl is getting out of hand. She seems lacking in discipline. If I didn't control myself earlier, I might have stripped her of her clothes."

"Is that the reason? Or are you projecting your anger towards her father?" Lola asked, interrupting my juice-drinking.

I chose not to answer because it was true—I was throwing my anger at Trisha, but not to that extent. I still knew within myself that Trisha had nothing to do with what her father was doing. But if I found out she was helping her father, I wouldn't hesitate to bring them both down.

"Alex?" Lola called out to me.

"You seem lost," Sky pointed out.

"I'm okay, La. Just thinking."