Eris was running and breathing heavily in the corridor. Obviously, she's late. Today is the day of their discussion about conducting community studies for their thesis defense. This was the first time this had happened to her. Their professor was strict in that subject that made her heart beat loud and fast.

She held onto her knees and gasped for air as she reached the front door. There was no time for beating around the bush, so she calmed herself down.

She inhaled and exhaled before she gently turned the lock of the door. To her surprised, Mrs. Mandela's gaze met hers.

"Good morning, Ma'am!" She greeted with a smile. But she then received a sharp stare from her. All the students in the classroom also turned to her.

"Why are you late, Miss Mallari?" she asked in a gruff and an emphatic tone. The nervousness rose again in her chest but she did not let it prevail.

"U-uhm... I slept late last night. I'm sorry for being irresponsible, Ma'am. It won't happen again!" Eris bowed to apologize. She remained bowed until Mrs. Mandela spoke again.

"Okay, you may now take your seat."

Eris immediately straightened up when she heard those words from the professor. She didn't expect that the instructor wouldn't be that angry like she often does.

"Thank you, Ma'am!" She walked to her seat next to Aya.

"You're lucky today." Aya grinned to her.

"Yes, I really am."

After the circumstances, Mrs. Mandela continued her discussion earlier.

"So, as I said earlier, it's up to you to choose the community you want to study. You already have your partner and all that needs to be done is execution."

"Remember, it has to have a good outcome. Make me impress with your works. The one with the best output will be published and taken to one of the famous libraries in Italy. And as expected, those with the best output have higher grades," she added.

When the students heard those words, their competitiveness suddenly revived. Not only in sparking aptitude but also intelligence.

"The strategy is all yours. Tackle your desired community that you want to study with your partner."

"You'll be given one week to complete your conduction and that starts the next day. So probably, this will be our last meeting in this subject. Prepare everything that you will need. And since your letter has been approved by your mentor and dean, proceed to the activity."

"That's all for today. Dismiss." She left after that. Since that was the only subject that day, they quickly left the room.

While walking out of the campus, Eris and Aya were talking about the place that they would go to. These two had always been partners in activities ever since. It's like they're sisters, inseparable.

"Have you thought of where we can conduct?" Eris asked Aya.

"Actually, yes. I have talked to her about that," answered the woman.

"Really?" The excitement will be seen in her face.

"Uh-huh! Piece of cake! Your best friend is the best!"

"You really never fail! Hahaha!" They both laughed in chorus.

"Of course! This is me! Aya, your best friend!" she said in a sarcastic tone and winked to her.

"If that would be the case, we won't have any more difficulties because the person I talked to was my childhood friend. Of course, my relatives live there. She said, it will be on her to talk to our barangay captain so that we can continue. I hope he agrees."

"That'll do! Just trust your instinct!" Eris said energetically and the other just nodded.

"So, what are we planning to do now? We will be gone for a week here in our town." Aya changed the conversation while also thinking their next plan.

"Hmm..." Eris started thinking too.

"Aha! Let's have some bond! Let's go!" A smile formed in Eris' lips and without any hesitation, she grabbed Aya's wrist.

"Wait! Where are we going? Stop!" Aya asked in confused but her friends refused to answer her. There's nothing more she can do, so she just go with the flow.

They just played the arcade at the mall like they always do. They are used to it when there is no class. It also serves as their stress reliever when their school activities are overloaded.

They just hang out and indulge themselves with sweet treat. It took them two o'clock before they could finally decided to go home. For them, they still follow and believe in their parents' advice not to spend too much time outside because they could be jeopardized.

When they are on their way home, Eris' cell phone suddenly rang. She quickly took it from her bag and answered it.

"Hello?"

[Eris, where are you? I thought, you only have one class today. Your cousin is looking for you. She's going back to America tomorrow. She's requesting if you two can bond before she leaves. You know her. You two won't see each other again for a long time.]

"Mom, we're on our way home. Aya is with me."

[Oh, okay. Be careful.] Her mother hung up and Eris turned to her friend with a mischievous smile.

"Guess what? Our bonding has a part 2!"

"Huh?" Aya asked confused as she frowned.

"Come to our house. Fern is looking forward to it. She's going back to the States tomorrow and she wants some bonding before she leaves," she answered.

For the second time, Eris didn't give Aya a chance to react. Like she always did, she grabbed her friend's wrist.

Several minutes had passed and they quickly arrived at Eris' house.

"Eris!" Fern called her energetically and she even greeted her with a hug.

"Yes, I know. Mom told me. Oh, is it okay if Aya joins us?"

"Of course. It's like I don't know this Aya, right?" She smiled at Aya and the woman returned it.

"Let's go inside! So, let's have a movie marathon?" Fern volunteered.

"Bet!" Eris and Aya said at the same time.

The three of them went to the mini cinema room of their house and jumped on the couch. Fern quickly set up the smart TV and immediately looked for something to watch.

"I'll just get us something to eat," Eris said before heading to the kitchen.

"I've found it! For today's video, what we're going to watch is a horror movie, it's supposed to have a thrill, right?" Fern grinned.

"Of course! Horror movies has never been boring," said Aya.

Eris just arrived with a pitcher of orange juice and popcorn.

"It's starting! Let's sit!" Fern giggled as she sit on the couch.

In the middle of their marathon, they just screamed and eventually got aghast. Until Eris fell asleep. While her eyes were closed, she suddenly dreamed of people who were not familiar to her. They were screaming, crying, and begging for help. Their skins were burnt and it seemed to be decaying. Eris was horrified by what she witnessed and just wanted to run away from that place.

"Eris!" Aya called her. She immediately got up and realized that it was just a dream. She's catching her breath. Sweat was forming on her forehead.

She looked around and saw the worried Fern and Aya.

"What just happened?" Fern asked.

"Hey, you okay?" Aya also asked and held her both shoulder.

"I am." She sighed deeply and took the glass of juice drank it to calm herself down.

"Are you sure? What did you dream about?" Aya asked again.

"It's nothing. I'll take a bath first." She stood up and headed to the bathroom.

Her forehead frowned and she didn't even know why she dreamed about that weird thing. In her whole life, it was the very first time that happened to her and she thought maybe it was just random. She shook her head and put that stuff out of her mind.

The next day, they took Fern to the airport. Fern was even emotional before she left. She would surely miss their bonding together. Of all the cousins, Eris was the only one who was close to her.

When they were about to go home, Eris' cellphone rang. Aya was calling her.

"Yeah?"

[Our barangay captain agreed. We can really go on, bestie!] She screamed on the other line. Eris immediately distanced herself from the phone because of the shrillness of Aya's voice.

"Really?! That's good news!"

[So, yeah, let's go?]

"Where to?"

[Did you forget? We're going to buy our things for our one week leave, right?]

Eris hit her forehead when she immediately remembered that they were going grocery shopping.

"Be there within 5 minutes. Bye!" She hung up and kissed her mother's cheek.

"We'll just go to grocery for tomorrow's trip, Mom. Bye, I love you!" She bid good bye to her before running away and she still hear her mom calling her but she didn't bother to look back.

When she reached the store, she saw Aya waving at her. She immediately approached the woman.

"Hehe, sorry. I almost forgot." She made a peace sign.

"Sign of aging haha. Let's go inside."

They bought their basic necessities and left the store. When Eris came to her subdivision, she waved at Aya before parting their ways.

Eris was happily walking and was about to enter the gate when someone grabbed her wrist.

"Aaaaaahh!" She screamed in fear when an old woman exposed herself to her. She had a fat body. Her back was also hunched.
Dressed in black clothing and wearing a black veil. Her face was wrinkled and her gaze on Eris was sharp.

"Who are you?! And what do you want from me?!" Eris asked in terror.

"Be careful with her. You don't know her well," the old woman said in a raspy voice.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Eris asked confused.

"I'm warning you, hija. You will end up in perish if you continue to be with her," said the old lady.

Her forehead furrowed even more when she heard those from her interlocutor. She did not understand what she wanted to convey.

She wanted to pester the old dame but when she blinked, she was no longer in front of her. She looked everywhere for her but she couldn't find her.

Eris was left dumbfounded and it left a big question in her mind.

What was she trying to point out?