CHAPTER III

I felt the gentle touch of the sunlight, prompting me to rise. I expected to wake up in the room we cleaned yesterday together with my two best friend Hannah and Clyde Angela. I was so exhausted, as if I had traveled a long distance in the dream. What's the point of going to Ilocos? It's like we came here just to sleep.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. It's like whatever dream I had yesterday is happening again.

"Am I still dreaming again? This dream feels unusually long. Hmmm" What I remember is the dream I had last night, and the location remains the same. I was inside a canopy bed with mosquito netting all around. There was a chandelier illuminating the entire room, and on the left side of the wall were paintings, while mirrors adorned the other side. The house was beautiful, with its simple brown color, yet it exuded elegance.

I suddenly remembered something Hannah said about a time travel thingy, so I immediately sat up and went to the mirror. Oh my gosh! It's real, and this isn't me! I even pinched my face, expecting the mask to come off and reveal my real gorgeous face.

"WAAAAAAAH!!!! WAIT, WHERE AM I? THIS ISN'T A DREAM! WHERE'S HANNAH, THIS IS REAL!" I knew that only Hannah could answer these questions, so I suddenly shouted out of panic.

The door suddenly opened, startling me with its force. This feeling was so familiar to me. 

"WHO ARE YOU?! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" I grabbed the old hairbrush and pointed it at him, making him to step back. 

"COME ANY CLOSER AND I'LL END YOUR LIFE!" I threatened, but he seemed puzzled by the situation. What on earth is happening?! CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!

"MARGARITA." We both turned to the one calling me, it's Hannah my savior!

"Hey Hannah! What's happening?! You're really going all out with this prank!" I shouted. She's been pranking me since last night.

"Binibining ("young lady" or "miss") Clemencia, how is my child?" Why is he calling Hannah Binibining Clemencia? And why is she dressed like a Filipina? Is this some sort of theater play performance? Like, do we all need to be in costume?

"To be honest, your child's condition is serious... We found traces of blood at the back of her head when we found her at the riverbank, so my theory is she hit her head really hard and can't remember anything..." Hannah explained, while I listened, still unable to process what's happening. 

All I remember is someone grabbing my hand at first and then I slipped through the mirror because I had no choice. So, did I really go into the mirror?!

"My second theory is that your child isn't used to gunshots, so the sudden noise caused them to react like that." She added, meaning trauma or phobia? Is what she's saying true? What kind of theories are those? They're so surface level. Clearly not believable.

"If that's the case, what should I do? I never imagined that moving here to Binan would put my child in danger." Am I the child she's referring to? Am I her child? I looked at him from head to toe, quite far! What if I'm just adopted, I mean, the girl in my body, I mean, me. It's driving me crazy! 

"Don Felipe, let me handle this. I'll do everything to help them remember you. For now, you need to keep your child away from harm." Hannah suggested, am I in danger? why?

"Gracias, Binibini. Por favor…accompany my child to their mother and go there, it's too dangerous here, I'm sure my child will be safer there, I'll take care of things here, just let my esposa (wife) know what happened." He said and left, followed by the women trailing behind him, leaving only me and Hannah. I quickly closed the door and faced Hannah. She looked at me from head to toe. 

"You're Lily! Just your stare." 

"What are you talking about?! It's me, isn't it? What happened last night---wait, what's going on? Where are we? You said last night that we time-traveled? And why Clemencia, your name? That's corny!"

"Wait a minute. What I told you about the time travel thingy was last week, plus you've seen yourself, haven't you? Your face isn't like that. It's in another persona. I'll throw back the question to you, how did you recognize me if in real life I don't have this face and body? I'm undeniably sexier in real life. Duh!" Hannah said.

"And lower your voice, they might hear you. Come, sit here." I followed her and sat beside her. At this point, I'm so confused because from what I can remember, she whispered to me yesterday that we time-traveled.

"Here's the thing... I just woke up in a room, too, and our reactions are exactly the same. The doctor said they just found me by the creek, unconscious and with no memory, so I used that as a reason for your father not to mistake you for an impostor. " Wow. Brilliant. 

"If we really did time travel, it's kinda annoying that people saw us in random places like the riverbank or the creek. I mean, with our looks, couldn't we be seen somewhere else? Maybe next time, we can request to have like a have a Disney princess moment. Psh. Anyway, going back, when the doctor was explaining what happened, you were there... I mean, Margarita, I really thought it was you but it wasn't, because she's nicer." I immediately rolled my eyes at Hannah, making her grin. 

"What you mean is there's a real... what was it again? Marga?" I asked. 

"Marga, girl? Kadenang ginto?" Huh? We locked eyes for a few seconds, as if she was waiting for me to laugh at her joke.

"Okay, that's not funny. Marga is a character from kadenang ginto. Omg why am I even explaining to you my joke?" 

"By the way, her name is—I mean, your name is Margarita De La Torre. You belong to a noble class family, though I'm not sure if you're referred to as Principalia or Peninsulares? I don't know which one, but I'm certain we're in the period of the Filipino-American War." she explained. 

"You've only been here for a day, right? Why do you already know so much and seem to know how to live and interact with people so effortlessly? You're quite flexible, gaining their trust so quickly." Her facial expression changed when I asked her.

"Wait a minute... my memory tells me I've been here for a month. I've even been with you a few times based on my memory, and somehow, we've become friends. At first, I never thought you were Lily because she behaves and speaks so differently. But when you suddenly shouted, I immediately heard the name Hannah, so I was sure it was you." My head is starting to ache; what is she talking about?

"If you've been here for almost a month already, and I'm just here now, then how did you end up here at this time? I think since my memory is so fresh, you were asleep when we left." 

"Exactly! I woke up around 3:30, feeling very thirsty, so I went downstairs to get some water and noticed that the whole surroundings were very bright. I decided to go out to check the moon because I felt like there was an eclipse happening, and I saw that the gate wasn't locked, so I went for a walk. While walking, I passed by that big tree and immediately noticed the guitar and paint materials. I looked for you and ended up at the house." Hannah. 

"Did you see the old man? What did he do to you? Did he kill you?" I kept asking one question after another because I was so eager to find out why on earth we ended up in this situation.

"He saw me, and then I looked for you." OMG! HE DIDN'T KILL HER. Because from what I can remember, he was holding a knife. But Hannah seemed so calm as she explained, as if she wasn't bothered at all.

"And theeen???" 

"He explained about the necklace you were taking, that's why you passed through the mirror." 

"Yes, that's right! But wait, I didn't steal the necklace, I just tried it on. What's so special about the necklace, is it magical?"

"Hmm. I was able to ask questions to the old man. He just told me that he didn't know if it was magical, but that necklace was owned by a General and it was one of the most valuable and rarest in his collection, so he was really protective of it. He never thought of taking it out of the music box, but apparently, to his theory whoever wears it will be transported to another time."

"If that's the case, why did he scare me and have a knife with him?" I asked Hannah irritably.

"How would the old man know if you were a stalker? When we went to the antique shop, he was just trying to be nice to you because he saw that you were interested in paintings. Then he probably saw you trespassing inside his house and wearing his hidden collections." 

Now! It makes sense that I didn't hallucinate when I saw him.

"Okay, sorry, it's my fault, but he should have explained to me instead of scaring me. And who in their right mind would live in a haunted mansion? But I didn't steal it, I just tried it on, but I admit that when I tried it on, I felt like it was mine. But why did you end up here, did you try it on too?"

"No way, I just went through the mirror to find you... and I didn't try it on, didn't you bring the necklace here?" Oh yeah, I touched my neck and was dismayed to find no necklace.

"If that's the case, what did the portal look like when you entered?" 

"Hmm. If I were to describe it, it's like those typical scenes in movies where the mirror lights up and looks extremely magical, but it was red in color. But yeah, I feel like you haven't gone far because the portal is still open," said Hannah.

"And then, I asked the old man how we could return, he said we need to find the necklace because that's the only reason why all of this happened."

"Wait a damn minute. If you entered here without the necklace because I have it, then in that case, does the necklace even matter?" I asked.

"Oh my god! You're right."

"There are two reasons come to mind why you were able to get in. First, what if it was really the necklace that would be the key to how we could enter the portal? Or it could be because of the eclipse, because in time travel, especially in the movies I've seen, the portal doesn't immediately close. What if there's a time duration for when it's open, like it stays open for 1 hour? So somehow when you went there, the portal was still open."

"Hmmm. You might be right because before we went up to that room, we had a conversation first. We talked for a few minutes."

"Wait! Wasn't it April 8 on that day? and at that time, the moon seemed to be bright, like there was an eclipse," I said, like, right? It's possible.

"What do you mean by that? How does a lunar eclipse create a portal? And why to the past? Is that even possible?" Hannah asked, sounding like she was going crazy too.

"Since we've broken the universal law, I mean, we've broken the law that we'll live continuously and normally, but since we didn't, somehow, I can theorize that, for example, like this, since our world may have many forces or still many somethings that science can't explain. Now the thing is, there's something called a 'temporal anomaly' or there are moments when time is somehow altered or disrupted. Apparently, something about the alignment of celestial bodies causes a disruption in the space-time continuum."

"Wow! You know a lot about science," exclaimed Hannah, clearly impressed.

"Remember when we collaborated with BSED English 2A back in our sophomore year for that major subject, Speech and Theater Arts? We created a theater piece titled 'Tenses,' which essentially explored time travel to the past, with the protagonist becoming Miguel and Miguelito which was played by Marc Anthony. I never imagined that the events of that theater piece would foreshadow my life. Good thing I remembered it." I explained.

"Now it makes sense to us what's happening in whatever explanation there is about that science thingy." Hannah. 

"So our mission is just to find the necklace and the mirror, right?" Hannah confirmed.

"Yes," I replied succinctly.

"Oh shux! Where's Angela?" We suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing that Angela was missing. I felt a pang of annoyance at myself for not following my gut feeling to bring them both along if ever I entered the mansion. If I had, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"Shux! What are we going to do? Angela's missing. Thank goodness we're together, but what could have happened to her? Hannah, I don't know what will happen to me if something bad happens to her" tears welling up in my eyes from this mess, and poor Hannah got involved too.

"Relax. There's no problem that can't be solved. We'll surely find her. Are we not? For now, like your dad said, you'll recover at your mom's place, but in your case, we'll find out Margarita's likes, interests, and what she does. I'll also teach you many things about this time, like how to act or the proper etiquette of the rich. At the same time, we'll find the person holding the necklace, mirror, and Angela, then we'll leave this place." Somehow, my worries lessened knowing that Hannah was there to accompany me.

After our conversation, she left and instructed the household staff to prepare my clothes, and we're going to Margarita's mother. While they were arranging my clothes, I decided to leave the room to wander around since it felt like I had been lying down my whole life.

Wow, just wow! Their house is beautiful... ours, I mean, Marga's. It looks like the place we went to with Angela, they call it the Malacañang of the North but more authentic. The place is so spacious, you can smell the wood and nature. At the moment, the maids were busy in the kitchen, and I could hear them preparing food.

I was about to head downstairs to sneak a peek at the food preparation because the smell of the tinola they were cooking was so enticing, but I suddenly stopped when I heard Don Filipe's voice, "Child..." I looked back, and it was my father. He held my hands. I wasn't used to this kind of interaction, so I felt a bit weirded out.

"Be careful, okay... I'll follow you soon. Don't worry, always listen to your mother so you won't get scolded." My real dad never talked to me like this before.

"Your father will follow. Maybe I couldn't bear not being with you, and I know you're the same. May you recover soon and remember me..." I couldn't hold back the tears, it was my first time experiencing this. What kind of magic does this time travel bring that makes me so emotional? I usually never cry or seem to lack emotional responses, but somehow my emotions feel so shallow right now. I don't know if it's me or if it's Margarita's weak emotions.

"It's okay to cry, my child. I know you'll recover. May God bless you and guide you on your journey. Clemencia won't leave you." He kissed my forehead.

AFTER A LONG JOURNEY, I feel like all I've done in my life is travel. I thought the journey to Ilocos was long enough, but at this time, transportation takes so long because it's just horse-drawn carriages. 

"We're here." Hannah said as we got off the carriage. I looked around and noticed this place seems familiar?

"Isn't this Vigan?" I asked Hannah. 

"What? What's Vigan?"

"Yeah, you're right. Come to think of it, I didn't notice it before, but did you know Margarita mentioned that they have a house since her mother wasn't there, but she only said she didn't like her mother," Hannah remarked.

"Why's that?" I asked. It's disappointing that she doesn't like her mother, but she still has one, right? But yeah, what do I care about Margarita's life, it's her business.

"I don't know! Why don't we just go inside your house to find out," Hannah suggested.

We followed the household staff heading to our house, carrying food and our clothes. While walking, I couldn't help but notice the people bustling around, busy with their work. Filipinos are really hardworking. It reminded me of the times during our vacants when we would go to Intramuros, and there were moments when I would just stay in one place and observe how busy everyone was, especially the Filipinos busy with their respective jobs.

I started sweating profusely, feeling nervous as we approached Margarita's mother. But then I remembered earlier that I should just follow what she wants to avoid getting scolded, so no choice but to play the obedient card.

"Why are you here? Don't you prefer being with your father than with me?!" she snarled. If she was talking to me as Lily, maybe I would have snapped back at her.

"With all due respect, Señorita Carmen, your child is here to recuperate." Hannah interjected. 

"What happened to my child?!" She angrily asked. She grabbed a glass of water and drank, it seemed like she was getting high blood pressure in an old-fashioned way, hahaha. 

"It's a long story, and we're here to help your child recover for her safety as well.'' 

''I've never been listened to by Felipe." She sighed, if I were Don Felipe, I'd just listen to her if she's like this. 

"PALTIK, COME HERE!" What? S-saltik (crazy person)? A sweaty man she called Saltik quickly arrived, seeming out of breath. 

"Send a letter to Nuestra, tell them to send the General to guard the town and my child." 

"Yes ma'am." He hurriedly ran off. 

"A general?" I glanced at Hannah, and she seemed to understand what I meant. I remembered Hannah explaining to me that the necklace belonged to a general.

"And you two, rest for now. Tomorrow, Nuestra will arrive with the general," she assured us.

Hannah immediately led me to my room.

"Are you not excited for the General's return?" Because I didn't know how to respond, I just remained silent. I turned around and saw Señorita Carmen looking worried. Oh, so Margarita is just being overdramatic, and she thinks her mother is bad.

"Don't worry, you're safe here." She's not really that mean, huh!

"Yes, th-thank you." After that, I hurriedly walked to my room. I didn't want to engage in conversation with her. What would I even say?

While arranging my clothes, I noticed Hannah looking absent-minded.

"Hey? Do you think he's the general we're looking for? I mean, you mentioned that the necklace belonged to a general, right? What if he has that kind of necklace? Is that possible?" I asked.

"We can't theorize. Maybe we're just being bombarded and overwhelmed by everything that's happening. Let's calm down and observe, as they might say something that could give us clues. We also need to be cautious with our actions," Hannah replied. She's right.

"But yeah, there are many generals in the world, so I'm sure it could be anyone. It could be the one arriving tomorrow, or maybe your retired general father, or someone else entirely. Let's just go with the flow," she added.

"Let's just see, we'll find out tomorrow." She said.