When Back In Time

ANOTHER DAY was ended. Three days to go before the deadline.

'But' she told herself, 'I don't need to worry about that petty thing because I have the other clock.'

A smile slipped on her face. She sat up and looked around the dim hut. After the long operation that took hours, Doctor Agustin finally pulled out three bullets on Pepe's body. He cleaned and bandaged it neatly. He also took care of Pepe's broken fingers and tried to mend it as best as he can.

Pepe was now resting on Agustin's bed on the latter's bedroom. Meanwhile, Agustín slept on the table where he operated Esperanza's friend.

Esperanza groped her way towards the kitchen, silently and cautiously as she could.

Finding her way there was easy. Her hand searched the kitchen's sink.

After minutes of searching, she finally located the lamp. She lit it up and finally, the dark surrounding was illuminated by its warm amber light.

She tiptoed her way towards the door and went outside the hut.

Finally free, she looked behind her to check if the sleeping owner of the nipa hut had noticed her. But she didn't see him.

She could not contain her smile. Finally!

She stamped her injured feet softly on the ground, she felt her ankles were no longer hurting. It felt fine now.

Esperanza trod the way deeper in the forest.

After a few minutes, she stopped. Kneeling down on the ground, she put down the lamp. She took the other clock from her bra. Since her dress had no pocket, she had no other choice but to store it in her bra.

She laid the wristwatch on the ground and watched it intensely.

Finally!

Her heart raced faster in joy as she told herself, "I finally finished the 2nd task. I finally did it. Now I only have one last task to do. One last task… last task…Hmm..."

Holding the wristwatch before her, she blurted out, "The last task? Do I really need to that? Do I really need to find Jose Rizal when I already have this tool?"

She raised her head towards the sky. The night sky was curtained by a beautiful velvet black fabric and ornamented by shiny and sparkling stars. She looked at the moon. "That's right. I have the wristwatch. I can go back to my time. I could ditch this stupid quest and go back to my time. Right. Right…."

"No more hopeless searching. Yeah. Yes! No more hiding from the cops. No more wearing this long, hot and painstaking dress, " she said and disgustingly looked at her uncomfortable outfit. "Yes! I can go home. I can now see my family. I can now see my friend Maria. How is she now? I hope she's fine. I can go back to school."

As she watched the moon, she reminisced her life in the present, in 2019. She remembered her life as a senior high school student. Though the school was tough and a pain-in-the-ass, it's still fun. Images of having a good time with Maria playing online games came cruising in her mind. She laughed as she remembered how she effortlessly defeated Maria in the game.

"Right," she told herself and chuckled.

Oh, how she missed it! Oh, how she longed to go back.

'But,' she thought to herself, 'there's still this thing kept knocking on my mind.'

The god of Time and Cosmos' voice came whispering to her ears. Then, she remembered the day Bangun Bangun gave her the tasks.

The god told her to find Jose Rizal for the sake of their nation, Philippines. If she could not find him, then the history of the Philippines will change.

She blinked. "Do I really need to find him? Jose Rizal?"

She bent down her head and looked at the wristwatch. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Even if I tried to find him I only have 3 days. And I think 3 days is not enough to find a missing man without a legit lead. It's like… I'm doing a useless, suicide mission. At the end of the three days count down, I'll be dead anyway."

"Yeah. Screw the tasks. It's impossible to find him. Right, right! Then, it's decided. Year 2019 here I come!"

Her hand excitedly touched the crown of the wristwatch. But then she stopped after remembering Pepe.

If she turned the time, she'll be leaving Pepe.

"Pepe," she whispered.

Right, if she selfishly goes back she'll not only abandon her quest and aiding her nation but also leaving Pepe.

"Pepe. He's there in the hut recuperating. He was shot because of me. He broke his fingers because of me. He broke his nose because of me. And I'm just going to leave him like that?" she argued to herself.

"But…."

If she stayed in year 1892 longer she would cause more harm to him. She'll distort another one's timeline. Then, she will ruin everything. Yes, she'll ruin everything including Pepe.

Besides, this was what she wanted from the beginning: to go back.

And now she had the tool to turn time forward to her 'present'.

Right.

"Pepe's job is now officially done. I don't want to see him hurt again. And I don't want to be the one who inflicted the pain to him," she uttered.

She heaved a sigh. Her fingers touched the wristwatch's crown.

She could hear the noise of the cicadas. She could see fireflies gracefully dancing on the air.

"Right," she whispered, "Now take me back to my home."

She started turning the watch's hands clockwise.

After a few seconds, she then disappeared. The only thing was left as a remembrance that she was once there, kneeling down on the ground under the moonlight, was the lamp on the ground. The fire on it still flickering and illuminating the silent and gloomy woods.