"Hey, are you okay?"

 

"MJ?"

 

I woke up to a voice calling my name. As I opened my eyes, it was Gwen that I saw. She was running her hand through my hair, and I stopped her from doing so. I stared at her closely and thought,

 

Is it really the Gwen I knew?

 

All these new things happening to me, it’s overwhelming. It’s confusing, yet too scary at the same time.

 

"MJ? How are you feeling?" She asked.

 

"Gwen?"

 

"Hm?" She ran her hand again through my hair, softly caressing it.

 

"Anong nangyari? Tita said you passed out after you opened the door. Are you okay? May masakit ba sa’yo?" Tanong pa nito.

 

"No, I’m okay. Walang masakit. I’m just really really tired."

 

Hindi ko alam ang susunod pang sasabihin. Hindi ko rin alam kung paano ko maiintindihan ang sitwasyon ko ngayon. Everything just doesn’t make sense. It feels like I’m in my world but it’s not really the real world.

 

Do you get me? It’s confusing, isn’t it?

 

"Okay. if you say so. Do you still wanna go skiing the day after Christmas?"

 

"Skiing?" I asked unbelievably. I had never asked her for skiing!

 

"Yes? We planned it out last week!" She responded, "Alright, looks like di ka pa okay. We’ll reschedule it."

 

I sigh. It’s Christmas later evening and I’m here, stuck in a place that looks like home but is not really home. What a great Christmas gift.

 

…

 

It’s December 25th, Christmas Day. For the first time, I went out of the house to walk around. I figured that since I might be here for a long time, might as well familiarize myself with how things work here. Brooklyn looks so alive in this time, it’s just so… red and green. A lot of kids are playing around everywhere.

 

And did I mention that it’s winter here? It’s cold.

 

"HELP! HELP PLEASE! MY BAG!"

 

As I sat on a bench, I heard a woman’s voice screaming. Minutes later, I saw a man in black running with a bag from I supposed the woman earlier.

 

. What am I gonna do? Should I help the woman? But how? I don’t even know what I can do!

 

I tried to ignore the commotion. But something inside me’s telling me to help them but I don’t know how.

 

You literally have powers, dip!

 

Oh, it.

 

I ran to a shop and bought a balaclava. After wearing it, I ran as fast as I can—

 

And boy, I didn’t know I would be this fast?

 

I ran and ran and ran. I let my body take over me. It feels like my body knew the place; I went to shortcuts I didn’t even know existed.

 

"HEY!"

 

"HEY! GIVE ME THAT BAG!" I shout as loud as I can.

 

"ULOL!"

 

WAIT- WHAT?

 

I sighed at disappointment. This is why we get bad records, people! Iwawagayway niyo na nga lang ang bandera ng Pilipinas, sa pagnanakaw pa? Jusmiyo!

 

Imbis na sumagot ay binilisan ko pa ang pagtakbo.

 

Malapit na…

 

When I feel like I can reach him, I jumped into him and reached out for the bag. After getting the bag, I cornered him with my legs and punched him in the face.

 

What the hell?

 

Even I was shocked when I saw blood dripping from his nose. I can’t believe I did it! How exactly powerful am I?

 

I felt the guy trying to break free but I held him tighter. He was facing the ground and I’m on top of him, holding both of his hands.

 

"Alam mo, ayoko talaga pag nagmumura ako pero tangina, napagod ako sa’yo!" Singhal ko dito saka binatukan.

 

"Ha? Pinoy ka?" Di makapaniwalang sagot nito. Natawa ako ng bahagya.

 

"Oo! Ikaw, iwawagayway mo na nga lang yung flag natin, sa pagnanakaw pa! Bwisit na ‘to."

 

"Sorry na! Wala kasi akong pera, paskong pasko wala akong makain. Ang hirap hirap mabuhay dito sa abroad. Akala nila ang yaman yaman ko puro sila hingi ng pera sa Pinas tangina eh natanggal nga ako sa trabaho, bwiset kasi yung amo ko napaka racist amputa. Ayun, binugbog ko nga hahaha deserve niya ‘yon kahit mawalan ako ng trabaho. Anyway, nag aaral ka ba ng martial arts or anything? Para sa babae, ang lakas mo tangina nahabol mo ko? Wait, tomboy ka siguro no?"

 

Did… did you just saw what happened there? Ginawa ba naman akong punching bag na labasan ng sama ng loob?

 

Imbis na sagutin siya, hibu