After finishing their shifts at the bakery, the time was now 6 p.m. in the early evening. With the sun setting, the three closed up the shop for the day.
"Good job guys," Yawning, Andrea said. "Let's continue tomorrow."
Oliver and Summer nodded.
Summer looked over to Andrea. "Oh, isn't it Sunday tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I think so. Does that mean we don't have to open shop tomorrow?" Oliver asked.
Andrea replied. "Actually, I think so. The other baker we hired should be back by tomorrow. She can run the place if we want to take the day off."
In that instant, Andrea's eyes shined with excitement. "Let's go exploring tomorrow! Isn't that what you wanted to do, Summer?"
"Exploring? Shouldn't you know the place?" Oliver said.
Summer hit Oliver on the back of the head. "Stupid, they just moved here, remember?"
Andrea laughed a little. "There are a few places I want to go to. We should probably pass by the church as well."
"Sounds like a plan." Summer smiled.
---------
Oliver woke up to the sound of church bells ringing outside.
A breeze of warm morning air danced on his skin. The windows swayed with the wind.
Looking over to his side, Summer slept ever so unbothered by the noise.
Her hair spread across her pillow, a blanket scattered across the floor.
"Wake up, it's time." Oliver nudged her. She didn't react.
Looking at her closer, he noticed more things.
Summer's mouth was slightly open, her body moving barely from her relaxed breathing.
A loud ringing sound vibrated from Summer's phone.
Summer sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Oh, good morning."
"Good morning,"
The door to the room swung open. "Let's get going!" Andrea called out as she peeked inside. "We're going to miss mass."
----------
As the afternoon clocked in, Sunday mass ended and the people inside the old church of San Agustin were beginning to leave.
Inside the 500-year-old building were rows of pew chairs neatly organized with images and symbols on the tall glass and red brick walls.
Gold-colored ornaments littered the massive altar at the front of the neo-classic Spanish church.
"Alright, where to next?" Oliver asked.
"We could probably go eat some breakfast first," Andrea laughed. "We haven't eaten yet."
Andrea walked out of the church, her movements full of glee. "I know a good place we could go to. Then we could visit my school library after."
----------
Following Andrea, the two marched in the early afternoon heat.
It was relatively quiet in the neighborhood and the only vehicles on the road appeared to be a few tricycles and the common jeepney.
The houses around them varied in age. Some were made of wood and the others were made of concrete and steel.
"Just your average cafeteria, nothing too expensive but the food is great and I know the people here." Andrea pointed her finger to an establishment they were gradually approaching.
The place was a small concrete structure with no paint. On the side of the structure stood a ladder and some wooden scaffolding.
By the door were a few plastic buckets, racks of soft drink bottles, and some cardboard boxes scattered all over the place.
"Hey, Oliver," Summer said. "This place reminds me of the empanada shop back in Vigan."
Oliver took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "Yeah, it does look similar."
"I'm actually excited." Summer smiled.
"Hunger really does something to a person's emotions," Oliver said. "I can almost smell the soy sauce in the adobo."
"We're here!" Andrea pushed open the door.
Upon entering, a horrible stench attacked their nostrils.
"What happened?" Andrea covered her nose.
A boy from inside the foul-smelling kitchen came out to meet them. Styling a red apron, a large cooking knife slightly grazed his clothes as he carelessly held it in his right hand.
Looking tired and dazed, the boy replied to Andrea's question. "Oh, someone forgot to put the meat in the freezer yesterday and now it's spoiled. Didn't expect it to smell this bad though."
"Who was it?" Andrea asked.
"Not sure."
"So you guys can't cook today?"
"Unfortunately, yes. That is until we can go to the market to buy some new meat. But my sister went out and I'm too busy running some other errands."
Oliver raised his hand. "We could probably buy the things you need."
"You sure? It's pretty hot outside." The boy continued. "By the way, I've never seen you two here before. What're your names?"
"I'm Oliver, this is Summer," Oliver said as Summer nodded. "We're friends of Andrea from Baguio."
"Baguio? That's pretty far from here. Nice to meet you, I'm Vincent." Vincent said.
"We could go buy that meat if you want," Andrea said.
"Are you sure? I don't want to trouble you."
"It's completely fine," She replied. "You've shown me where to go already anyway. It should be a piece of cake."
Andrea continued. "And, I don't think you two mind, right?"
Oliver and Summer nodded in agreement.
Vincent scratched his head. "Aw, alright then. I'll give you a list and some money."
As they left the small eatery, the three steadily walked down the road again with Andrea in the lead as Oliver and Summer followed.
"The market is pretty far from here, should we get a tricycle?" Andrea asked.
"Nah, let's walk," Summer replied.
It was now mid-afternoon and the sun was out as usual.
"Are you sure? It's far."
"Mhm, consider this part of our exploring."
"By the way," Oliver looked over to Andrea. "Do you like Vincent?"
Almost stomping her feet on the asphalt, Andrea shot a glare back to Oliver. "What? No, of course not. What makes you think that?"
"Well," Oliver said. "You've been here for two weeks yet he trusts you with so much money."
Oliver counted the money in his hands. "This has to be his life savings."
"Also," Summer added. "You've gone on a date with him to the market."
"His sister went with us you know!" Andrea cried out.
Summer chuckled. "Sus."
----------
After almost 20 minutes of walking, the three made it to a bridge crossing a wide river.
As they walked, they passed by vast fields of rice and other crops, houses of all kinds, and many different locals.
"Being greeted by random strangers feels odd," Oliver said.
"It's a close-knit community as compared to back home," Summer replied.
As the heat grew more robust, the group had to take breaks here and there inside local stores where they also bought and drank some much-needed water to keep them from passing out.
Once they crossed the bridge, they began to see different establishments and houses closer to each other than the more isolated homes in the fields.
"You know, this would have been much easier if we took public transportation," Andrea said.
"We'll ride-" Summer wheezed. "When we go back."
After walking a little more, the group arrived at a public market in the middle of town.
Lined up were rows of wooden stalls and colored tarps on the gray and wet pavement. Fruit, produce, to all sorts of goods were displayed and put up for sale in boxes and tables of various sizes.
The smell, however, was not so pleasant. Raw fish and meat were the strongest amongst the stenches, filling the nostrils of the trio and the rest of the big crowd of people inside the bazaar.
"Hey, I'd like everything on this list please," Andrea said to a girl behind one of the stalls.
Styling a white apron, the girl working the stalls was surrounded by deli products. A big butcher's knife covered in blood swayed in her hand.
"Didn't you buy these with Vincent yesterday?" The girl asked.
"Well, he forgot to refrigerate them. Or at least I think it was him." Andrea giggled.
"Knowing him, it was probably him." The girl laughed. "One time, when he came to buy meat, he forgot to get the things he bought after wandering around while waiting as I chopped up his order."
The girl continued laughing. "Then when he came back the other day to claim it, he forgot to bring his wallet so he couldn't get on a jeep. I had to give him some money to get a ride."
Andrea smiled, her cheeks glowed slightly. "Sounds like him. It's only a matter of time until his parents stop making him do grocery shopping because of the revenue they lose from his regular mishaps."
The girl then turned to Oliver and Summer.
"By the way, I don't think I've seen you two here before."
"I'm Summer," Summer pointed to herself. "And this is Oliver."
Oliver offered a handshake. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh, I'd like to but," The girl showed the animal blood on her plastic gloves. "I've got some blood on my hands."
Oliver withdrew his hand. "Right,"
"I'm Anita, your neighborhood butcher girl." Anita smiled widely.
"Anyways, I'll get your meat ready. There's quite a lot of meat on this list so it'll probably take a few minutes."
As Anita got to work, the three went around the market.
"It's Binondo all over again." Oliver laughed.
"Only this time, it's a palenke in the countryside," Summer replied.
The two smiled at each other.
Andrea spoke. "You know, you two would make a good couple."
"You know," Oliver said. "Maybe we do."
What? Summer shot a stare over to Oliver.
Stopping by a stall connected to a large frying pan and decorated with plastic cups and wooden barbeque sticks, the three bought some fried street food.
"Now that I think of it," Andrea said while chewing. "We haven't eaten breakfast since we were supposed to eat at the cafeteria."
"No wonder we're so hungry." Oliver dipped an egg covered in a crunchy orange coat in some vinegar.
Shortly after, they went back to Anita to pick up their order.
"Nice meeting you two," Anita waved them goodbye.
"Same here," Oliver smiled.
Summer waved back. "'Till we meet again!"
Once they had said their farewells, the three boarded a jeepney.
----------
"Thanks again, guys. You three are lifesavers." Vincent took the plastic bag of deli from Andrea's hands.
With their clothes drenched in sweat, the three nodded.
"So you three still hungry? I'll cook you up a meal."
Andrea grinned. "On the house?"
"I'll give you a discount but I can't afford to give food for free. I've lost too much money from forgetting to refrigerate the last batch."
"So it was you!" Andrea shouted teasingly.
Vincent laughed. "Welp, I slipped."
Summer leaned over to Oliver. She put her hands over his ears.
"Hey," Summer whispered to Oliver's ear. "You think the hourglass would be finished by now?"
"If it were finished, we'd probably get some kind of confirmation."
"What kind of confirmation?"
Before Oliver could reply, Vincent tapped the two on their shoulders.
"Okay, so what do you two want? I'll get to cooking."
----------
"Thanks for the meal!" Summer said as she handed over her empty plate.
"No problem," Vincent said. "Stop by anytime you like again."
"I have to ask, though. What did you put in this chicken?"
"That's a secret."
"Ehhh, I wanna learn how to cook this."
The two laughed together. Oliver and Andrea looked on blankly.
After paying the discounted price, the three walked out of the place with their stomachs full and their shirts still damp.
"Should we go to a cooler place? It's really hot." Oliver said.
"We should definitely still hit up my school's library before we go home. The place is air-conditioned."
----------
After walking another lengthy distance, the three entered a blue-colored school a few blocks down from Andrea's house.
The hallway was quiet. A steady and tranquil breeze ran across the sky above them. Only a small number of people, mostly staff, were present in the institution.
"This should be it." Andrea opened a glass door.
As the three entered, the cold air from the air conditioning inside hugged their sun-bathed skins like a relative on Christmas.
"Let's chill here for a while before we go home." Andrea checked her watch. It was a quarter to 5.
"Hey Oliver," Summer called.
"Yeah?"
"Remember the last time we were in a library," Summer opened a book.
"Yeah. It was when we were choosing the folklore to use for the play."
"Just imagine. What if we didn't choose that one folklore? We could have chosen any other random book."
Summer continued. "We're stuck here in a place far from home, a big possibility we might miss our enrolment, and we're running out of time fast."
"It seems everything is going wrong for us, huh,"
"You know," Andrea said. "Maybe not everything is going wrong. Look at the bright side, you're on an adventure I'd love to be in."
"Not to mention, don't you guys like each other? Both of you got to spend every day together, stuck together."
"Don't assume things just because it looks like it!" Summer cried out quietly.
"Okay then," Andrea laughed. "Do you still remember what they were talking about during the mass earlier this morning?"
"Mhm, the priest here speaks a lot differently than the tone of voice we were used to back home."
"What was it about again?" Oliver asked.
"It was about Joseph the dreamer." Summer said.
"Yes, Joseph," Andrea said. "I don't know but, I think you and Oliver relate to it a lot."
"How?"
"Hmm, how should I word it..."
"I guess, just because this situation may seem like the worst, it doesn't mean that it's all bad." Andrea continued. "It was through his circumstance of being sold to slavery that the pharaoh was able to make him a leader."
"And the dream interpreting," Summer added.
"Yup, and the dream interpreting."
Some more time passed by and the sun outside was beginning to set. Rays of lukewarm yellow sunlight shined through a window next to them. Oliver lay asleep on the brown desk.
"Have you had any weird dreams before, Andrea?" Summer asked. She put her book down.
"A lot. Until today I don't know what they mean."
"What were some of them about?"
"It's a bit strange but I've dreamt of doors before."
"Doors?"
"Mhm, I couldn't move when I dreamed about them though,"
"Why?"
"I don't know, it was as if I didn't belong. Like the place was prepared for someone else."
"I see. That is strange."
"Have you had any weird dreams, Summer?"
"Some, but they're really vague memories."
"If only we knew a Joseph that could interpret some of them." Andrea chuckled.
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