Across the World

Chapter 3: Pay What You Owe Me!

Luna felt uncomfortable as she walked down the road. The wickedness of people was spreading out throughout the world. And darkness gradually flooded the earth. Crime is rampant. Like murder, theft, a******y, different wars are going on, and much more. As if demons were already ruling the earth.

Luna quickened her pace on the road as her emotions were throbbing. She feels like someone has come after her. The surroundings were full of darkness, and her feet were almost running as well. Her instinct was not wrong. Someone is following her, and the man intends to harm her. But when the man tried to approach her, they suddenly heard a loud explosion around them.

The man did not carry on what he was planning with Luna. After the explosion, an extreme earthquake shook the ground. Tall buildings were falling, and the road cracked. Luna stumbled on the floor. And when she tried to stand up, she saw a rain of flaming meteors. That when falling to the ground they explode. In Luna's eyes, the world seemed to be falling apart.

However, Luna thought she still needed to survive. She still chooses to live even if she thinks there is no hope. When her body tried to move, she noticed the moon shining brightly in the color of red. It was as if the Red Moon was calling her. When she tried to move her body again, it became numb. Suddenly, the moon was approaching her, and it wanted to swallow her. Luna was so scared. She covered her face with her own palms. Then, she shouted.

“Hey, wake up!” The conductor of the bus she was riding tapped her left shoulder. Luna caught her breath, and the man left her when he saw her eyes open. Luna closed her eyes again. She realized it was just a bad dream. Until she remembered the man she had accompanied and took off her back and leaned on the chair, then her eyes searched for the man she was with and talked to in the forest. He was in another seat, on her left side. And he was staring at her solemnly.

Luna swallowed. Her eyeballs slowly rolled so she could avoid the man’s eye. Her eyes seemed to be hypnotized by him. “What’s wrong with him? Why does he look at me like that?” Her mind whispered. What Luna did not know, the man was also thinking about her. For him, it was unbelievable that someone had noticed him. “Who is she? She’s the only one who sees me? Is she the one who can answer all my questions?” Again, Luna could not bear to look back at him. But, at that moment, the man was already looking out of the bus window. The nervousness in Luna's heart suddenly disappeared. She breathed a sigh of relief. She also quickly takes the man out of her sight. She also saw that they were about to enter the city.

After an hour of their trip, they finally arrived back in the city. "Thank you!" Luna said to him when they got off the bus. He looked at her and turned his back to her afterward, raising his right hand as a means of a goodbye wave. “Snobbish, he was!” she murmured. Luna also walked away and dragged herself in the opposite direction. Her mouth never stopped whispering something. She could not accept that the man had embarrassed her. She even stopped walking and stomped her right foot, even though she carried her painting materials. It was good that she was wearing a backpack. Luna was upset about what happened until she felt her stomach growl. She had not eaten a heavy meal since she went to the forest. She only chews candy and drinks her water.

She decided to eat a meal before she made her way home. She thought of going to her favorite restaurant, which serves homemade food-- Filipino dishes. Just like her best-loved food, pork sisig cooked from the pig's belly, ears, and face. It was seasoned with salt, onion, ginger, calamansi-- also known as the Philippine lime. Added with soy sauce and chili peppers. It was placed on the sizzling plate with the toppings of a fried egg.

While she was eating, she was still thinking about that man- why he was still on her mind and why she failed to ask for his name.

She finished her meal in silence and looked at her watch on her left wrist. It seems time has passed very quickly while she’s not aware. She's still on the road and hasn't arrived at their home yet. However, it seems something’s urging her to stay in the city. She followed her whim and decided to take more walks on the road.

She stopped at a place where she could drink beer. She came in and ordered a drink. She needed to spend time with herself even if she was alone. She drank a gulp worth of the bottle she was holding. Suddenly, her mind returned to what happened to her when she attended the feast of Blood Moon and until now, she's really confused.

She drank a second time and laid the bottle on the table. Her attention peaked when someone started playing the guitar. It was then accompanied by singing. She whipped around to look at the stage and she gasped at what she saw.

It was the man and this time, he was not only playing his guitar but he sang as well. She watched him in complete admiration as he sang, then suddenly, his eyes met hers and they stared at each other for a while. She peeled her eyes away from him and she turned her back. Maybe if she ignored him, she thought, he'd think she didn't know him. The man ended his on-stage performance.

"Are you alone again?" he asked her out of nowhere, arriving at her side swiftly.

"Is that really your way of action? This is the second time you surprised me. Yes, I'm alone again and what do you care about?" she retaliated.

"Are you following me?" he asked her with a sly smile.

"What did you say?" she snapped at him, annoyed.

"I'm asking you if you are following me because this is the third time when I’m available that you’re also present." This time, he seriously asked her.

"I'm not following you. Geez, can’t it be a coincidence, conspiracy theorist?" She felt so upset. She rose, taking her things, and marched away from him. She walked quickly as she left the place. Who is he? Who was he to ask her such a thing? In her anger, she didn't notice that he followed her until he pulled her hand.

"Let go of me!" she shouted at him, but he didn't oblige and instead, held them even tighter.

"You're hurting me!" she shouted at him. He just stared at her and said, "You owe me." Her eyes widened from what she heard from his mouth.

"You left the bar without paying for your order so I paid it," he answered her internal question.

"What?" She struggled to express herself. She felt stupid and ashamed. She was in shock when he started to walk and dragged her along the way. She let the man pull her away. She didn’t know why she couldn’t refuse him. As if the man has the power to make her obey. And the content of her mind was what the man would do to her. She is nervous. She didn’t know if she was going to end badly at the hand of the man pulling her hand. Then she remembered what happened to her when she attended the Feast of the Blood Moon. What is happening to her right now is similar to what happened there.

"Wait... Let me go and set myself free! Where will you take me?" she asked him. She panicked because of what happened at the party. She was kissed by someone who dragged her. She worries that events from the past might happen again.

"Pay what you owe me!" he answered her while he continued pulling her. She tried wiggling out of his grip but he kept on walking and didn't give up her hand.

“Please stop! Let me go!” Luna shouted with tears in her eyes. But the man seemed to hear nothing. He just kept dragging Luna. He didn’t care if he hurt her hand.