Accidental Quest (Book 1) ☑️

Chapter 17

Beth's POV

A few hours before the sunrise when we arrive at a forest, minutes away from the main city. It is too dark to appreciate the picturesque beauty of nature. I can't help but feel scared as it is eerie and mortifying. Kaiser hops off the car next to me facing the array of big trees in front of us, with a smile. He sighs and looks at me.

"Let's go."

I stop him, holding his hand, shaking my head. "No."

He shakes his head and holds my hand, squeezing it tight, as if he gives me a reassurance of my safety. "It's okay. I'm with you," he says in a comforting tone, showing a warm smile. Damn. Please don't smile at me like that, Kaiser. Stop it.

I gulp as he grabs my hand entering the narrow entry between the trees. With only our lights from our phone on hand, we have a limited view of our pathway.

While he enjoys the silence of the place, I keep glancing from side to side. My imagination runs wild as my head starts to fill with a weird-looking creature or a ghost following me.

Wide-eyed, I tried too hard to appreciate the beauty as we pass the trail. To the bridge looking like a traditional Japanese design for almost an hour hiking. If it is a daytime, I could appreciate the awesome beauty of the surroundings.

At the end of the bridge, I see a stone pathway with an array of flat stones arranged towards a certain direction. We follow it as there is no other trail seen until I smell a faint scent of the salinity. It's a familiar odor.

As we walk further, I hear the waves slamming to the rocks. The air becomes cooler with a hint of salinity in my nostrils. The cool breeze from the sea touches my face, slicking my hair back. The faint light beamed from the early sunrise shadowed the view in front of us. "At the cliff?" I say, looking at him who keeps his smile.

He releases his grip off of my hand and looks to the distant—seeing a crack of dawn behind the large mass of clouds. There I realize it's already passed five o'clock in the morning. "Maybe she's wanted to let go of something. Maybe it's her past. I don't know." Kaiser's explanation sounds plausible so far. I couldn't get the gist of bringing me here.

"See here." He presents the page to me with the clues in which Alexandra used other symbols I couldn't apprehend. "She wrote something in whatever symbols they are. Do you know what this is?"

I pause and think of the possibility since I am kind of familiar with them. Somehow I have already seen them in the past subjects but I failed to notice their importance. Not until Alexandra used it for her game. "I guess I know what they are," I say while showing my faint smile on my face.

"What?" I point the symbols with my index finger, as I look at his hazel eyes.

"They're Filipino ancient symbols, Kaiser. It's in baybayin. It's the old Filipino writing system."

"Why would she use them for clues?" He sputters, annoyed with Alexandra's reason for using a language he isn't familiarized with. "She could have used other codes. But this?"

I sigh, rolling my eyes while I grab my phone searching for the baybayin on the internet. After my search, I grab the book and sit on the grassy part of the cliff. I place the book on my lap and pick a piece of paper from my sling bag and on top of the page with the baybayin printed on it.

Though he doesn't understand a thing of what I am doing, he sits down and leans to peep on my notes. I copy the exact baybayin she wrote on the paper to decode the meaning of the symbol, putting the clues together. "There," I say."

What does it say?"

"Di...to...ko...na...tag...pu...an...ang...ka...la...ya...an...Sa...ta...ong...ma...hal...ko." I read the Filipino sentence by syllable before I say it in full. "She says, this is the place where she finally found freedom. With the person she loves."

At the moment, he fixes his sight on me and I keep staring at them. Because, damn, his eyes are so beautiful.

"Alexandra fell in love with Giovanni?" When he asks the question in a doubtful manner, the romantic atmosphere shatters. I roll my eyes instinctively returning my sight on the clue I write on the paper.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It could mean another man. It could also mean she falls in love with herself as she achieves the freedom she wants. After all, she's gone through a lot of difficulties in life. I don't know," I explain, leaving him to agreeing with whatever I say.

That thought of Alexandra falling in love with Giovanni remains in my head. If she fell in love with him, did he acknowledge it or at least return her the love she gave him? Did they end up having a secret relationship or was it an unrequited love?

"Impossible." He sputters, clucking. He bends his knees and places his elbow on top of it, leaving the other leg straightened. "Mom told us anybody could like that guy. And Alexandra could be one of those crazy fan girls."

"That's possible. But, there are still more to the story. Before we give our conclusions, we should search for more clues," I close the book, slowing getting up. 

***End of Chapter 17*** 

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PUBLISHED! It's early Sunday in the Philippines but I am here to publish a new chapter for you, friends. Hope you enjoyed it.

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