JAMIE

IF THERE'S one positive thing that came out of this twist, 'yon ay ang pagiging motivated ni Loki dear. Mukhang game na game na siya sa scavenger hunt na 'to. Medyo may pagdadalawang-isip pa siya kanina. If he's gonna enjoy this activity with us, much better! His happiness is my happiness too.

"So we just have to look for seven items," banggit ni Lorelei. Marunong naman kaming magbilang. There were seven bullets in the list, so obviously seven items. "Let's start the hunt?"

Lumingon ako sa likuran. Napansin ko ang ilang teenagers na tumatakbo patungo sa may tubig. They must also be scavenger hunters. How did I know? Through the plastic bags they were holding! Aba, napaka-competitive! Hindi pa nga nag-iinit ang mga talampakan namin, may gusto nang mauna agad.

If we wanted to win this thing, we had no time to waste!

"First! Finer than gravel, coarser than dust. Filling me in half a bottle is a must," Lorelei read.

Mabilis na umupo si Alistair sa may buhangin habang tinanggal ko naman ang papel sa loob ng boteng kanina ko pa dala-dala. The answer to the first riddle was so obvious na kahit nakapikit ako, kaya kong sagutan.

"Cover them up!" utos ni Loki. Tumayo siya sa tabi ko. How sweet! He's protecting me from cheaters. Pumwesto naman si Lorelei sa tabi ni Alistair. "We don't want the other scavengers to see our answer."

Nagiging mas madaldal na siya ngayon compared kanina na sobrang tahimik at sa isip lang niya nagmamaktol. Being competitive really got him fired up!

Inayos ko ang pagkakahawak sa bote para swak ang paglalagay ni Alistair ng buhangin doon. Finer than graver and coarser than dust refers to sand. Kailangan naming lagyan ng buhangin ang bote hanggang sa mapuno ang kalahati nito.

"Done!" Alistair exclaimed, rubbing the sand off his palms. Wala pang one minute, tapos na agad kami sa unang item!

Maingat kong inilagay ko sa plastic bag ang bote ng buhangin. I was wary of other scavenger hunters who might be taking a peek into our answer. We still have six other bags to fill. We may be on the lead right now but we can't let up!

"Second! They throw me out, you pick me up! Until the whole bag is filled up!" pabulong na basa ni Lorelei. Naging aware na rin yata siya na baka may palihim na nag-e-espiya sa amin. This was a competition after all. A life-changing prize is at stake. Cheating is possible!

Kapwa iginala nina Loki dear at Alistair ang kanilang tingin sa paligid namin. Their two minds put together could beat all the other teams combined. Kahit nga mag-sunbathing na kami ni Lorelei ngayon, mananalo pa rin kami. Basta magtulungan ang dalawang 'yan, sure na ang pagkapanalo namin.

Let me try to answer it. Kailangan naming hanapin ang bagay na itinatapon basta-basta. Tapos kapag nahanap na namin, saka namin pupulutin. Well, that wasn't so hard! Wala na bang mas hihirap dito?

"Simulan na nating magpulot hanggang sa mapuno ang bag!" utos ko na parang ako ang boss. Our two boys already arrived at the same conclusion.

Naghiwa-hiwalay muna kaming apat so we could cover more ground. Pagkakita ko sa nakakalat na balat ng chichirya sa may buhangin, agad ko 'tong pinulot at ipinasok sa plastic bag. May mga nagtataka kung bakit ako nagpupulot ng basura. May iilan pa ngang p-in-icture-an ako, eh! Magpo-pose sana ako, pero kailangang candid para natural looking.

So whoever organized this hunt wanted the players to pick up the trash for them. What a brilliant move! Sa dami ba naman ng mga participant, hindi na mamomroblema ang mga tagalinis nila.

Maliban sa balat ng tsitsirya, may mga napulot din akong balat ng candy, sandwich wrapper, plastic spoon at fork at iba pang disposable. This may sound weird, but I wanna thank these people who lacked the discipline to throw their trash in the proper bins. Don't get me wrong, I don't condemn their acts. Convenient lang ang pagkakalat nila sa scavenger hunt namin.

Lumapit sa akin sina Loki at Alistair na puno ang mga kamay ng napulot na kalat. Sunod si Lorelei na kakaunti ang napulot. Nandidiri ba siya sa mga basura? Well, she had a reason to be careful. Baka may nakahahawang sakit ang gumamit ng plastik na kutsara at tinidor. Come to think of it, kailangan kong mag-disinfect mamaya. I also touched almost the same things.

"Done!" I exclaimed, zipping the plastic bag. Gaya ng sinabi sa riddle, pinuno namin ito ng mga basura. The management should pay us for cleaning the beach. Well, they would. Once we claim that life-changing prize later. "What's next?"

Sa dami ng mga taong palipat-lipat mula sa isang part ng beach patungo sa kabila, hindi ko na alam kung nauuna pa ba kami o nahuhuli na. Wala ring specific arrangement ang pagsagot sa mga riddle.

"You always see me in the skies, but you can also see me in the seas," basa ni Lorelei. Napatingala muna siya sa langit bago magawi ang tingin sa malawak na dagat.

I rolled my eyes as I listened to her. Napakadali naman ng sagot niyan. Sana mas pinahirapan pa ng kung sinuman ang nakaisip ng mga riddle. Even a fifth-grader who studies science would know the answer.

Nagmadali kaming tumakbo patungo sa dagat. Damang-dama na ng mga paa ko kung gaano kapino ang buhangin sa aplaya. May iba rin kaming nakasabay na participants. Sinubukan kong silipin kung nakaiilang items na sila, pero hindi ko na malinaw na makita.

"Let's look for a starfish," I whispered to them. Kailangang maging discreet pa rin. Baka isda o alimango ang hinahanap ng mga kalaban namin.

"A dried one, preferably," Alistair added. "Paniguradong may mga starfish na inanod na ng alon dito at kinalauna'y nanigas na. We don't wanna kill an alive starfish by lifting it out of the water."

We soaked our feet in the shallow waters as we looked for a star-shaped figure on the fine sand between our toes. Malinaw ang tubig, kitang-kita ang buhangin sa ilalim. Hindi ko lang makita nang maayos kung may starfish na ba sa paanan ko. Kinailangan ko pang mapaupo at mangapa sa ilalim.

"Found one!" sigaw ni Lorelei na ilang hakbang ang layo mula sa akin. Sayang! Balak ko pa namang ako ang unang makahanap para maging proud sa akin si Loki dear.

Maingat niyang iniangat ito mula sa tubig at dinala sa amin. Nanigas na parang bato ang starfish na hawak niya. Sa sobrang tigas, pwede ko na ngang ibato sa ibang participants para ma-distract sila. Walang pinagkaiba ang itsura nito sa mga souvenir na ibinebenta sa labas ng beach resort.

Binuksan ko ang isang plastic bag at inihulog doon ni Lorelei ang nahuli niyang dead starfish.

"We're almost halfway through our list!" I was tempted to do a victory dance, pero baka maudlot ang pagkapanalo namin. I didn't wanna jinx our team.

"This could have been more exciting if they wrote riddles that are way more difficult to solve," Loki complained. Nabawasan na ang enthusiasm sa kanyang boses. "This is like answering a third grader's quiz on riddles."

I agree. Sa una lang mukhang mahirap ang mga riddle. Kapag binigyan mo na ng atensyon at kaunting pag-iisip, mare-realize mo kung gaano sila kadaling sagutin. Sorry, but we did not need a big brain energy for this one. Which was kinda okay for me kasi 'di na sasakit ang ulo ko.

"You can't blame them," Alistair replied. Napatingin siya sa ibang participants. "They want the riddles to be easily solvable para mas ma-enjoy ng mga scavenger hunter. If beachgoers stress themselves out by thinking too much about the riddles, that can totally take the fun away."

"So it's okay to sacrifice the quality of the riddles for the sake of making it appeal to almost everyone?"

"That's their choice. I understand why they made that decision. Gusto nila na mas marami ang mag-participate at mag-enjoy sa scavenger hunt. Kapag mas mahirap ang riddles, mas kakaunti ang magpa-participate."

"But that's a stupid—"

"Mamaya na kayo mag-debate, okay?" Namagitan kaming dalawa ni Lorelei sa kanila. Sorry, pero may four items pa kaming dapat hanapin. Madali mang sagutan o hindi ang mga riddle, kailangan pa rin naming manalo. Mas nakakahiya pa nga kung ganito na nga kadali tapos may makatatalo pa sa amin. They could continue their debate later.

"A scallop, a crab, and a turtle went to a bar underwater. Tell me what did they order altogether?" basa ni Lorelei sa ikaapat na item.

Sandali kaming napaisip. What do they have in common? Shells!

Kung kanina'y ankle-deep lang ang tubig, sumuong pa kami hanggang sa kalahati na ng mga binti namin ang babad sa tubig. We couldn't see any seashells on the shallow water kaya kailangan naming lumayo nang kaunti.

"How many do we need to pick up?" tanong ni Lorelei habang nakayuko. She dipped her arms into the water, searching for something on the sands.

"Basta kuha lang tayo nang kuha!" sagot ko nang may mapulot na akong isang shell ng scallop.

Each of us picked one shell. Wala namang naka-specify kung ilan ang kailangang kolektahin. Kapag sinabi nilang hindi 'to counted dahil kulang, masasabunutan ko talaga 'yong babae sa booth.

"Next!" I pointed my finger at Lorelei. That's her cue to read the next item.

"I can be igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary. Look at the rainbow and pick only three."

"The answer is rocks," sagot ni Loki. May pinulot siyang bato mula sa ilalim at paulit-ulit na hinahagis sa kanyang palad. "They are usually grouped into three basic types: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Basic science lesson."

I remember our science teacher telling us exactly that thing, but I was not paying too much attention.

"The riddle has a second part," dagdag ni Alistair. His finger traced the second sentence on the fifth item. "It mentioned a rainbow and a note to pick only three."

"Maybe we should pick three rocks, each having a color of the rainbow?" Lorelei suggested.

Well, that's easy! May napulot na agad akong kulay dilaw na bato na kasing laki ng kamao ko. Inilagay ko na agad 'to sa plastic bag sabay sabi sa mga kasama ko. "I already found a yellow one!"

Yumuko si Alistair at itinaas ang kanyang kamay. May hawak siyang kulay berde na bato. "Green!"

"Orange!" sigaw ni Lorelei na napataas din ang kamay. I needed to squint my eyes at her to see what she was holding. Halos kasing laki yata ng limang piso ang napulot niya.

"Lori, hanap ka pa ng mas malaki riyan!" utos ko sa kanya. "We need rocks, not pebbles!"

"But pebbles are also rocks—"

"Kailangan nating maging sure, okay? Hanap ka na lang ng bago."

In less than a minute, may hawak na siyang kulay asul na bato. I unzipped the bag so Lorelei and Alistair could drop their rocks in it.

"That's five down! Two more to go!" I could feel it already. We're close to winning this thing!

"No, I'm not a piece of music sung by singers. I'm an organism that you can touch with your fingers," Lorelei read.

"Is it rock? Jazz? Pop? Classical? Hip hop? Folk? Country? Blues? Heavy metal? R&B?" I listed every type of music in my head. This one's not so easy. I repeatedly muttered the words singers and fingers, hoping the answer would present itself.

"Coral!" Loki shouted not so far from us. "Chorale is a piece of music sung by a choir. Coral is a marine invertebrate."

Sa sobrang excitement ko na yatang manalo, hindi ko na napansing nawala siya sa tabi ko. He was a couple of meters ahead of us. Lagpas tuhod na ang tubig kung saan siya galing. I noticed something in his hand. It looked like a complicated figure of a rock. No, that's a coral.

Binuksan ko na ang isa pang plastic bag para sa kanya.

"I already went ahead and looked for the sixth item in the list," Loki said as he dropped the dried coral. I knew he wouldn't simply quit this game! Kahit simple ang riddles para sa kanya, gusto pa rin niyang manalo. "That leaves us with the last item."

"You might think of me as a beach currency. I'm actually one of the creatures you'll find in the sea," Lorelei read, raising her gaze at us. "That's the last one."

"Beach currency?" pag-uulit ko. "Meron bang peso rito?"

That was a joke, pero walang tumawa sa kanila.

"We might have seen one earlier," Loki said. Nagpatuloy siya sa paglalakad pabalik sa may aplaya. Sumunod kami sa kanya. Tanaw ko na mula sa kinatatayuan namin ang scavenger booth. Luckily wala pang ibang team na nandoon at nagpe-present ng kanilang nakolekta. We still have a shot for being the first!

"The only currencies that I can think of is dollar, euro, pound, yen, among others," Lorelei enumerated. "Alin sa mga 'yan ang may connection sa beach?"

"I guess it's the dollar," Alistair said. He narrowed his eyes into slits as if he was trying to recall something. "What do you call that thing again?"

"A sand dollar," Loki revealed as we reached the white sands area. "They can be called sand cakes or cake urchins. A dead sand dollar looks like a large silver coin with a petal-like pattern. They also like burrowing into the sand."

Umupo kami sa may aplaya at kinapa ang mga buhangin para hanapin ang bagay na idinescribe niya. I remember seeing an image of a sand dollar in one of the books that I read. Medyo may idea ako kung ano ang itsura nito.

"Gotcha!" Loki showed us a coin-shaped thingy that has a pattern drawn on it. Napapalakpak ako habang nakatingin sa kanya. He looked like he enjoyed searching for it.

Mabilis kong binuksan ang natitirang plastic bag na walang laman para maipasok niya roon.

"Seven out of seven. Complete!" I declared as I unzipped it. Isa-isa kong tiningnan ang mga kasama ko. "You know what this means."

"RUN!"

Tumakbo kami mula sa aplaya patungo sa scavenger booth. Maingat kong hinawakan ang mga plastic bag para masigurong walang mahuhulog sa mga 'to. We're already this close to victory, ayaw kong maging rason ng pagkatalo namin.

Just when I thought we were already leading the race, may isa pang grupo ng teenagers na nakikitakbo rin. Teka, sila 'yong sumingit sa pila kanina, ah? I thought they were just playing beach marathon, but when I saw the plastic bags they were carrying, bigla akong kinabahan. They were just a few steps ahead of us!

No, we can't be defeated by these random people!

q.e.d.

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