"Today is the day that will finally change my life!" I told myself in jest as I sip on my rationed Taiyou.

Taiyou was my favorite thing in the world, oozing with the goodness of Spirulina and Chlorella prepared by JUICE, Co. in a refillable spout pouch with their company name and logo plastered allover it. They were one of the few corporations in Tanglawan, yet they were such a cheapskate that they wanted the pouches to be remitted so they could recycle them. It was for the environment, they said, but I digress. 

Anyway, this would be my first meal of the day, and might be the only one today, for that matter, for I almost completely exhausted its contents. Or maybe I could at least take another pouch within this month's ration, but that will mean I will not have anything tomorrow.

Ugh, why can't the Diwani provide us with enough rations that can allow us to take Taiyou three times a day?

In my misery, I locked eyes with a guy whose cropped hair is barely in place, the gel on his hair struggling to fight against the wind that was trying to put it in a mess. My guess is that he is more or less my age, judging by the red armband on his left arm, a supposed upgrade from the red neckerchief worn by younger Tanglawos attending Hulmandayan.

He was looking at me funny, and I gulped more Taiyou as I felt my heart beating wildly underneath my chest, as if wanting to get out of it. I hit my chest as hard as I could while I coughed, a mixture of snot and Taiyou coming out of my nose.

When I finally regained the ability to breathe, I looked up and saw the guy walking near me amidst the other people going in the opposite direction, his full lips contorted in an impish grin that extends in his upturned eyes, amusement dancing in his face from the show he has just witnessed.

He was stopped in his tracks when an older lady with the same set of eyes grabbed his other arm that was free of the armband, rather too tightly that it crumpled the sleeves of his shirt, then told him something that transformed his grin into a sulk. I could not really hear what the lady, whom I assumed to be his mother, told him and I no longer got the chance to eavesdrop as they easily disappeared within the thick crowd of other participants of the 30th Lakipan and their family.

With more people coming my way, I decided to get moving, my feet and hands in sync. I willed my feet to move as fast as they can as I half-folded and half-rolled the now empty JUICE, Co. pouch in my hand and placed it in my pocket, to be thrown away once I saw a recycling bin.

I have never seen a crowd this big, with people in such a hurry that they would not mind getting in contact and even pushing others that get near them. Everyone was walking in the direction of the Katipunan Square, a vast space in front of the Halls of Kalibutan where the 30th Lakipan was to be held. I have heard about this spectacular event for years, but what I am currently seeing is far greater than what I would have imagined.

Mothers wipe tears in their eyes as they stroke the red armband of their children who will be taking part in the 30th Lakipan. Fathers wrapped their arms tightly around their children's shoulders, with many even pumping their fists out in the air.

I caught myself staring at them while stroking my red arm band. A lump in my throat formed as a droplet of tear reached my left cheek. I took a deep breath and bit my lip, trying to move along—this is not the time and place for me to wallow in self-pity.

"Words can't express how proud I am that you'll finally be getting your Exorbit," I heard a lady in a tight, well-kept bun tell what could be her daughter, whose hair is kept in the same way but in a sloppier version. "I hope the algorithm favors you like how it has favored our family for years. I'm sure you'll be a great healer!"

I rolled my eyes at what I heard, so I decided to go far from them to no longer hear any of this nonsense. But with my luck, I only found myself surrounded by all the other families who were also saying the same things to their children. That they were proud of them and that they were hoping that the algorithm will bless them with the good fortune of being a Healer or at least a Keeper, hoping that they become anything but a Laborer. And with that, I realized that someone like me will fit properly with Laborers—lost, unwanted, and not too ecstatic about this event.

I wandered around to find Laborers who I could be at peace with, but saw everyone flocking and waving their hands to capture stills of the moment they posed in front of a golden statue of a woman wearing a dress that hugged her curves midway through her body but loose enough to flow endlessly elsewhere. Her dress was long enough to almost cover her feet, save for the part that flew through the air as if it was being blown by the wind. She snappily holds her waist with left hand and her right hand is stretched outward, as if showing the world to the statue beside her, now covered in a black fabric that extends until its pedestal, covering its entirety.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to push around the crowd and get closer to her marble pedestal. It was freshly polished with a golden label was placed on its front, etched with the words, "To the Heavens we owe our good fortune, and to Diwata our continuous prosperity."

Weird flex, but okay.

"The Tanggulaw won't appreciate the face you're making after you looked at our founder's bust, you know," I heard a baritone voice say.

"No, I just had something in my face that I was trying to remove, but I can't place where it was exactly," I lied. As much as I hate what is happening, I certainly do not want to get in trouble with the Tanggulaw and have them punish me for an act they can consider seditious.

"Uh-huh," the baritone voice pressed on. "You don't look particularly happy, and I'm quite sure it's not the face of discomfort from something on your face."

I looked around the now thinning crowd, but I failed to locate where the voice was coming from.

"Then why don't you go ahead and snitch me to the Tanggulaw so they could finally put an end to my misery?" I finally snapped, still looking around for the owner of the voice.

"Then that would no longer be fun," he answered, finally appearing before me, a smirk on his lips. Too bad for me, I recognize this annoyingly smug face! It was the same guy who laughed at me when I choked on my Taiyou.

I contemplated for a while whether I should answer him or not, but I decided to just give him a look of disgust and move away. He just laughed and followed me around.

"I'm happy to see you again as well, fellow nameless Tanglawo," he said, breathless, trying to keep up with my pace. "But you don't seem to know where you're going."

"I know where I need to go," I said simply. "It's anywhere where you aren't in it."

He laughed at my remark and said, "But we are both participants in the Lakipan, so you'll be forced to be where I am."

"H-how did you—" was what I found myself saying, but I stopped myself before finishing the stupid question. As if reading my mind, he just pointed at his red armband and raised both of his eyebrows suggestively, in confirmation of what I already knew.

We were still going around in circles around Diwata's statue when I said, "Why don't you go with your mother at this instant and annoy her again instead of me?"

"I would've wanted to, but they were already asked to leave me here and wait until the Lakipan ended."

"Huh," was all I could manage to say as I stopped in my tracks to urge this nameless guy to tell me more.

"All parents were told to usher their children who will participate in the 30th Lakipan to get inside the Halls of Kalibutan, so I found it weird you fought through the crowds to get near Diwata's statue and stay here in the Square instead," he explained. "I thought you were just a huge admirer, but that face you were making earlier says otherwise."

"How were they told about it?" I asked him simply.

"Through an announcement in their ExoMail," he replied.

I stared at him and looked down, willing myself not to feel bad for myself again.

"No one told me about it," I answered him.

"Didn't your parents tell you about it?"

"We're supposed to go to the Halls of Kalibutan, right? What are you doing here with me asking questions? We should be going there instead."

I walked as fast as I could in an attempt to make him lose composure, making him unable to ask questions.

"I figured you were lost, so I fetched you here out of goodwill. The least you can do is to answer my question," he said breathlessly.

"Fine," I said, still keeping my pace. "I didn't have anyone to tell me because I didn't have my parents with me. They're both dead. Happy now?"

*****

"I'm really, really sorry," said the same nameless guy who kept pestering me, as we settle down with the other Lakipan participants in the Halls of Kalibutan, with both of us lumped together in the last row with other participants who barely made it in time.

"I already told you that it's okay, so now, shut up," I answered with my pointer finger on my lips, in a manner that was like asking someone to hush.

A loud booming sound suddenly filled the hall, which was immediately drowned out by the yells and scuffling of everyone as we try to make sense of what was happening. The yells then turned into ooh's and ahh's as the wonder of nature unfolded in front of our very eyes, turning the bare, white walls of Kalibutan into the greens and browns of the canopy of trees and tall grasses with the occasional ray of sunlight highlighting their beauty. Birds started chirping out of nowhere and we suddenly felt a gentle, wet breeze tickle our senses.

"Welcome, our dear young Tanglawos to the 30th Lakipan," a sweet voice echoed throughout the room, blending in with the chirping birds.

In response to her announcement, silence filled the air the air for a moment. None of the participants dared to make a sound, and even the birds and other animals hushed, as if holding their breath. But once a young lady with long, wavy locks that fell to her waist emerged from the trees, the animal sounds became more audible, as if they were welcoming her and were happily introducing us to her.

I can barely make out the lady's face from where I stand, but I imagine her to be an alluring lady whose perfectly proportioned face complements her well-toned body hugged by the body of her dress. The rest of her dress flows until the ankles, and they seemingly dance with the wind as it blows by her.

The lady extended both of her hands as if waiting for us to embrace her. She then clasped her hands together and placed her clasped hands to her chest and started clapping. Everyone followed suit and tried our best to clap our hands synchronously, wary of the Tanggulaw that might be lurking around.

We kept at it even as I felt my hands getting heavier with every clap, not daring to stop without permission from the enchanting lady in front who was undoubtedly in a position of power. Finally, she motioned for us to stop clapping as she twirled in the air, her feet barely touching the ground as she does so.

"Thank you for your show of enthusiasm!" she said in sing-songs, her voice still blending with the chirp of the birds. "I am AIRA, an artificial intelligence built in the likeness of our founding mother, Diwata!"

Another wave of clapping began, and I found myself wanting to cry from the pain of my palms. Each clap felt like torture as the heat enveloped my palms, which slowly dissipated with a few more claps until I can no longer feel my hands anymore.

"You are now privileged to see a view of what was once Mount Makiling, a mountain located in the heart of the Philippines, the old name of our beloved Tanglawan when it was still divided into separate islands of an archipelago," she finally said after what felt like eternity, her voice laden with emotions as she glided around Kalibutan.

"Right here was where she was born and where she was raised to be the benevolent lady that she is now. So this will also be the first scenery that you will appreciate before you finally receive your Exorbit and begin your journey toward being highly functioning Tanglawos that will contribute to the greatness of our beloved land!"

Another clapping, which was thankfully shorter than the previous ones, but was still painful nonetheless. When will this end?

"Tough day, huh?" the pest beside me whispered. I almost forgot about him, but he easily got into my nerves.

"Just shut up," I whispered back.

He was about to retort when hushing sounds around us started, and we heard AIRA announcing that she will give us a recap of the history of the Philippines, giving us a reason why we are here and why we should fight for our land when necessary.

AIRA suddenly appeared beside me since I was near the aisle. I tried reaching out to her, but my fingers only slipped through her body, a trick of light devoid of flesh. I pulled my arm, aware, careful not to be seen, and reprimanded. She is now in full armor, complete with a shield in her left hand and a spear in her right, and tattoos completely envelop parts of her body without the patterned cloth covering her crotch. Her body also now appears more masculine than it was earlier.

The trees thinned and morphed into those with a crown of long leaves supported by a slender trunk, with round green fruit clumped into the very top. Some of the floor turned into water and some into sand, with AIRA beside me perched on top of a huge slab of rock.

Shouts once again filled the hall. But I am sure that they were not from the other participants, who, like me, are holding their breath from the scene we are about to witness. I knew, because the annoying guy beside me has his lips shut and with eyes wide open, almost not blinking.

Ships suddenly appeared, and other people equipped in the same way as AIRA emerged. They charged toward the people that came out of the now anchored ships, with AIRA killing the one with the most distinct armor.

Scenes continued to change as all of us participants watched in awe, from men in neckerchiefs throwing their fists holding machetes out in the air to men with guns fighting alongside each other with uniforms changing as scenes also changed. We have also witnessed women sewing what seemed to be the old flag that we no longer used, and a lady giving a garland of flowers to soldiers as they tried to stop their tanks from trampling over them.

I heard sniffles and wails from allover the room, and I also felt a lump in my throat as I held back tears from what I witnessed.

Kalibutan then turned pitch black. I tried looking on my either side, but I could see no one. Did I end up here alone?

My chest tightened and my breaths turned heavier and quicker. A rumbling sound then surrounded the hall and the ground below us swayed in a dizzying manner. I no longer know if it is another trick of the light or not, especially with no one in sight and with the absence of AIRA's voice to guide me through it.

Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and my palms felt wet, but I felt a wave of relief rush through me as I felt slender fingers slipping through mine and held them tightly, not wanting to let go.

The rumbling sound continued to surround the hall, followed by the sound of crumbling buildings and cries for help. The sounds grew louder, and the shaking grew stronger, making me want to throw up. But then the lights slowly turned on, dimly illuminating the place, just enough to allow us to finally make sense of our surroundings that are full of destruction. Wherever I look, I just see rubbles, piles of lifeless bodies and blood, and the occasional smoke.

The light grew more intense as the shaking grew weaker, highlighting the figure right there in the middle. It was AIRA, radiating with pure light and looking unscathed. She held both of her hands up in the air while her eyes are closed and she was smiling.

And that was when I understood that it was no longer AIRA who I was seeing—it was Diwata herself, stretching her hands to save all of us from this calamity. She is here to help our ruined land rise from this adversity.