"Any word from her?" Agnes Reyes asked, a hint of irritation in her voice as she glanced at her cellphone. Karl shook his head sadly as he sat on his motorcycle.
"It's been over two hours since I received her last message. I wonder what she's up to, why she's not replying to my texts. She even mentioned that I was the one not replying to her messages," he said, searching for his cigarette in his pocket.
"There's no signal here," Agnes replied. "Maybe she's having difficulty sending messages due to the poor network coverage." This time, she looked at Karl.
"Maybe you're right. I'm just worried..." he said, giving her a smile. Agnes smiled back, but inside, she hid her true feelings. She loved Karl more than just a best friend, yet he was unaware of it. Rose was also their best friend, but the two of them shared a deeper love, causing Agnes immense pain and suffering. She almost cried at the thought of her unrequited love for the man standing in front of her.
"Hey, are you crying?" Karl noticed her teary eyes and approached her. Agnes quickly wiped her tears away and shifted her attention from her cellphone, searching for a signal.
"No, I'm not... why would I be?" she replied. Karl smiled at her, a smile that she cherished, a smile she had always dreamed of seeing.
"Come on, I can see it in your eyes. I know you too well. You can't hide it from me. We've been best friends since elementary school," he chuckled. "I can sense when something is bothering you, when you're facing problems, or even when you're keeping something from me." He gently placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. Agnes was rendered speechless, struggling to control her emotions. Karl lifted her chin, locking eyes with her.
"Do you know how much I've loved you? Do you realize how much I care for you?" he asked earnestly. Agnes could feel her heart racing, everything around her seeming to freeze. Perhaps Karl felt the same way, and his sincere gaze conveyed it. She longed to express her love for him, a love that had bloomed from the day they first met in school till now, but she lacked the courage to tell him how deep her feelings truly were.
"You know that, right?" he asked once more. Agnes remained silent, nodding in response. "There's nothing I wouldn't do to make you happy. That's why I love you, like a sister." He affectionately pulled her closer and playfully ruffled her hair, laughing.
"Hey, you've messed up my hair!" Agnes said, touching her hair and pulling away from Karl. His last words felt like painful knives piercing her heart repeatedly. She wanted to cry and desperately craved some time alone. She raised her cellphone, pretending to search for a better signal.
"Ugh, this place has no signal. It's scorching hot..." she muttered, rising to her feet and moving away from Karl. Her eyes were now red and filled with tears.
"No signal?" he asked again, a smile on his face as he fished out a cigarette from his jacket pocket. Karl was a man of few words, wise beyond his years. At only 18, he was the sole breadwinner of their family. Standing at five feet, ten inches, with broad shoulders and a sturdy build, he possessed almond-shaped eyes, thin lips, a square jawline, and a handsome face. He worked as a quarry checker in his town in Pampanga. Karl was a second-year Engineering student when his father was accused of illegal recruitment and estafa. With his father sent to jail and his mother incapacitated from a stroke the previous year, Karl had to shoulder the responsibilities at a young age.
"Nope," Agnes replied, her voice filled with pain, though she attempted to force a smile. She retreated underneath the camachile tree, seeking solace in its shade as tears streamed down her face. Anger and self-condemnation consumed her; she couldn't help but feel a sense of damnation. She berated herself for never learning, for continuously hoping that one day, Karl would love her not just as a friend or sister, but as a genuine romantic partner.
Meanwhile, Vanessa Castro stepped out of the car, desperately fanning herself with a piece of cardboard as she tilted her head from side to side. Her gaze fell upon Karl, the engine of his motorcycle humming softly as he sat there, casually puffing on a cigarette.
"Karl!" she called out, catching his attention. He glanced at her, discarding the half-smoked cigarette onto the ground before taking another sip.
"Where's Agnes?" Vanessa inquired, still fanning herself while wiping the sweat off her face with a tissue.
"I believe she went toward those camachile trees, searching for a signal," he responded, gesturing toward the cluster of trees.
"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "Get yourself ready; we need to leave now." Vanessa added before making her way towards the camachile trees to find Agnes.
"Take care," Karl whispered, watching Vanessa go with a gentle smile. Gratefulness echoed silently in his heart for the opportunity to help.
Vanessa ventured further into the woods, determined to find Agnes based on the directions given by Karl. As Agnes' best friend, she knew her well, especially when it came to matters involving Karl. As a friend, Vanessa couldn't ignore Agnes' behavior regarding her feelings for him.
"Agnes?" she called out, patiently waiting for a response. "Hey, Agnes, are you there?!" she called again, this time with increased volume.
With no response from Agnes, Vanessa dialed her cellphone to call her. As expected, there was no network signal in that area.
"Damn, what is she doing?" Vanessa muttered, trying to control her impatience. She attempted to reach her friend by sending a text message.
"Hey, Agnes! We need to leave now. Our friends are waiting for you on the road," Vanessa shouted, swatting a mosquito that had landed on her cheek.
Deciding to venture deeper into the woods, Vanessa relied on the moonlight instead of using the flashlight app on her cellphone to conserve battery. She felt reassured by the distant sounds of vehicles coming from the nearby main road, so she was not worried about getting lost.
"Agnes?! If you can hear me, please come with me. It's time to go now. We can't delay our trip any longer," Vanessa called out loudly.
Suddenly, her attention was captured by rustling sounds nearby. A smile crept onto her face as she thought it might be Agnes. Vanessa cautiously approached the source of the rustling, but her heart nearly stopped when a dark bird suddenly flew in front of her, startling her. She instinctively held her chest in surprise and tightly grasped the trunk of a slender tree, taking deep breaths to calm herself from the unexpected shock.
As Vanessa tried to catch her breath, she heard faint cries of what seemed to be a woman coming from somewhere in the distance. A chill ran down her spine, especially since she was searching for Agnes.
"Agnes? Is that you?" she called out, hoping to find her friend and offer her comfort. She listened to her surroundings, hoping to hear the cries again. But this time, she could only hear the chirping of insects and nocturnal birds.
"Agnes, please. If that's you, show yourself. I'm getting worried about you. We need to leave. Our friends are waiting for you," Vanessa pleaded with her friend. But could Agnes hear her in that place?
Vanessa roamed her gaze on her surroundings. All she could see from the gloomy light of the moon were trees with almost no leaves and dried grass covering the forest floor. This was a result of the prolonged dry spell that had persisted for nearly two months since the start of summer. There were also traces of burning in the surroundings due to the intense heat of the weather.
With no response from her friend, Vanessa thought of returning to where her friends were. Agnes might already be there, and they might have just missed each other. Perhaps they were waiting for her to leave and continue their journey.
Before taking a step forward, Vanessa took a deep breath. She hadn't expected to reach that place, as she was a fearful person. The cries she had heard earlier could have been made by animals in the vicinity or simply her imagination. But for her best friend Agnes, she would do anything to protect her. They treated each other like siblings ever since they met as children.
Vanessa had only taken a few steps when she heard the cries again. But this time, she could hear not just one, but two voices. A shiver ran through Vanessa's body. She wanted to run back to where her friends were, but she thought that Agnes might be the one behind the voice she was hearing. But whose voice of a man was she hearing?
Vanessa stopped walking and surveyed her surroundings. In those moments, she continued to hear the cries. Fear started to grip Vanessa. She felt her heart beating fast and her knees trembling. From where she stood, she noticed a part of the forest where she heard the cries. She wanted to run, but something seemed to be holding her back. It could possibly be Agnes in need of her help.
At that moment, she needed to go to the place where she could hear the rustling and the voices of the man and the woman.
"Whatever happens," she whispered to herself, then she started heading towards the location.
Her footsteps were slow as she approached the place where she could hear the cries, but as she got closer, there was something different in what she was hearing. It was strange because she couldn't determine whether the cries of the voices she was hearing were due to suffering or bliss.
Vanessa continued to approach the source of the cries. At this point, her anxiety intensified. She didn't know what danger awaited her, so she began reciting the prayers she knew. As she got closer, her heart pounded faster and her steps grew heavier. The voices of two people in distress grew louder. Upon reaching the location, Vanessa was about to open the flashlight app on her cellphone when she accidentally stepped on a rock, causing her to lose her balance.
"Damn it!" she exclaimed loudly as she fell to the ground.
"There's someone here," said the voice of a woman.
"Huh?" responded the man to the woman's statement.
"I said there's someone here," the woman repeated.
"Somebody's here? Let's go, run!" the man replied, along with the rustling and stomping of their feet.
Despite the darkness of the surroundings, Vanessa clearly saw the urgency as the two naked bodies hurriedly left. She didn't expect that in such a dark and secluded place, there would still be lovers finding solace in each other's embrace. Despite the pain from her fall, particularly on her buttocks, Vanessa couldn't help but laugh at the situation. She didn't know if she would also laugh at herself because of her reaction.
She slowly stood up from where she fell and dusted off her black denim pants. She assessed her hips before taking a step back towards her friends. But before she could take a step, from the corner of her eye, she noticed something.
"A-Agnes?" she softly uttered.