For a while, he did not move.

He just sat there with his head on his knees, swaying as the boat swayed. He barely noticed the tears dripping down in the side of his face. His phone rang again with Dad’s name on the caller ID but Benny ignored the phone call. It rang a couple more times until Benny finally switched it off completely in defiance. He then slumped to the side, with his back to the bathroom door.

He was still shaking all over…or maybe it was just the boat.

Benny absentmindedly handled the chain around his neck. He thinks back to Abuela and felt guilty. It was because of him that she wasn’t going to Chez Lamont instead slaving over a stove for a great-grandson that just caused her this expensive treat even after she just imparted her most important heirlooms to him.

A knock came from other side of the door. “Benjamin? Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Benny tried to sound normal, found his voice croaking from all the shouting his was doing, “I’m fine, just an upset stomach.”

“Oh, um, okay!” says Anna, “Well, I just came to get something from the fridge.”

“Like I said it’s upset stomach.” Benny lied again, “I’ll be out in a minute!”

The sounds of the outside seemed to have drowned his voice for the most part as the apparent sound of lightning and thunder became rampant. He just hoped the others weren’t able to hear it.

He walked towards the lavatory and took a glimpse in the mirror. He looked like a mess. His eyes were red, his cheeks were shining with tears and his hair was sticking up in places where he was grasping it earlier. Not wanting to look as though he was on a drama talk show. Benny quickly washed his face and combed his hair. As soon as he deemed himself looking as though nothing was wrong and the he hasn’t gotten out from a huge argument with his Dad, Benny opened the door of the bathroom.

Ace and Terri were sitting directly opposite each other arm wrestling on a wall pullout table. Though it seems they were avoiding eye contact with him.

Anna was sitting on the bed, eating a tart. Benny noticed she covered where she was sitting on some kind of covering to prevent the crumbs from dropping on the bed.

Benny went and sat beside her.

“Are you okay, Benjamin?” she looked at him in concern.

“I’m fine.” He lied almost immediately.

“Are you sure? I thought I heard you shouting...” She asked the last part in a whisper but when she saw the expression on Benny’s face she added quickly, “Don’t worry, the bathroom is soundproofed for privacy and with the motor running along with the rain outside, not to mention the noise they were making so much there’s no way I can hear the conversation. All I hear was a loud sound-”

“Yeah, it’s fine...” Benny cut her off. Whenever Anna was flustered she starts saying too many things. “Though talking with dad really gave me an upset stomach. But I’m fine…at least until I hear from my dad when I get home”

Now that Benny has mentioned it he was now feeling apprehensive of returning home. Trying to ease of his feelings, Benny changed the subject.

“So what are they doing now?”

“They got into an argument about favorite online games and are now settling it with an arm-wrestling competition.”

“I don’t really think arm-wrestling has anything to do with comparing online games…”

“Me neither…”

Anna was acting as though she didn’t hear anything earlier. But Benny could just tell that she did.

A loud thump could be heard as an arm was slammed straight into table. Terri yelled in triumph as Ace groaned in defeat.

“Ha! I won!” she smirked at him. “So who’s game is better now?! Huh?”

Ace was grumbling incoherently, evidently framing the insults.

Suddenly, a huge wave rocked the boat and the tart Anna was eating, flew up from its plate and smacked Ace on the head.

“Pablo, I’m sorry!” Anna apologized, handing him a handkerchief.

“No biggie.” Ace licked the dripping tart on his head.

“Hey, don’t you think rocking is getting stronger?” says Terri.

For once, she didn’t seem to find Ace’s discomfort funny. Instead she was looking at something at the window. Before any of them could look out, the boat began to rocked heavily again.

Something indeed felt wrong.

The boat was rocking more violently and the sounds of the waves can now be clearly heard as though they were pounding against the hull, trying to get in.

“You don’t think the storm is getting worse on us do you?”

Ace lounged back completely unperturbed. “Nah, Manong Dario should be getting us to shore by now!”

“Manong Dario should really be careful! Somebody could get-”

But before Anna could finish, there was flash of lightning followed by a loud scream and a bang!

A second later the lights went out.

“What the-”

“Who’s that screaming?”

“That must be Manong Dario! Something must’ve happened!” says Ace.

“You think?” says Terri sarcastically, but the look on her face was full of worry.

“We have to go topside! Something must’ve have happened to him!” Benny said worriedly, as they made their way to the door.

As they tried to head to door the boat rocked so violently, that it caused all of four of them to tumble down backwards on top of each other.

“Ow!”

“Get off me!”

“I can’t see!”

“Do you mind? Get your butt of me!” Ace’s muffled voice grumbled since Terri was sitting on top of him.

“Pervert!” shrieks Terri, smacking him in the head.

“Who’s a pervert? You’re the one who’s sitting on me!” retorts Ace, as he struggles to disentangle himself.

Benny wound up underneath his friends, his glasses askew and his head a little dizzy. He tried to tell them to get off of him, but the fact that he was being flattened face-first to the floor could only manage a muffled sound. Ace and Terri, however, took no notice of this as they continued arguing which led to Anna breaking them up.

“Enough you two!” says Anna, who happens to be sitting right on top of the pile was looking at the ceiling light with a worried expression. “This shouldn’t happen! The emergency generator should start in case of a machine break down!”

“There’s a generator in this thing?”

“Let’s go to the bridge, something must’ve happened!”

“Something must’ve happened to Manong Dario!” says Ace as he got up and using the bunk beds as support. “You guys stay here, while we go check!”

“No, I’m coming with you!” says Anna.

One-by-one, Benny felt their weight letting up. As soon as he was able to breathe normally Ace’s voice called out to him.

“Crusoe, what are you doing? Get your butt off the floor!” Ace said as Terri and Anna made their way up the staircase

“Stop calling me that!” says Benny as he tries to get up but Ace had already exited out the door.

Benny adjusted the glass on his nose and stood up grasping the sides for support as the motion of the boat was making walking a little too difficult. He climbed up the spiral staircase into the control room.

What he sees is something horrible.

The bridge was completely devastated. The tempered glass windows were smashed! And water was pouring inside from the broken panes. Shattered fragments of glass were strewn across the floor. The controls were smoking and were emitting sparks.

But this was nothing compared to what he could see outside!

The sky was completely dark with clouds, occasionally lit by the bolts of lightning. It was hard to hear with howls of the wind and the rumbles of thunder that seemed louder than a jet engine! But nothing compared to what was happening to the sea! Mammoth waves that were about ten stories high were moving like giants all around the sailboat. Their tiny boat swaying helplessly as they waves moved, completely at their mercy. Occasionally huge sprays of water beat and splashed all over the boat. The water entered through the broken glass.

Suddenly, his head began to hurt painfully! His vision began to become disoriented. He kept seeing flashes of image in his mind.

A storm just like this…

A tiny boat…

“Benny!”

That shout snapped him out, Benny his grip was still on the railings.

“Benny, come on! We need help!” shouts Ace’s voice.

As his vision and dizziness cleared, he finds his three friends gathered around a moaning Manong Dario. Anna was crying loudly, calling out his name.

“What happened?” says Benny as he skids towards them.

Manong Dario had zigzag burns all over his arms and legs. It was a typical sign of a lightning strike.

“Hit by lightning…I’m amazed that he’s still alive.” says Ace, checking his burns. “Anna, is there an emergency kit?”

“O-Over there!” she pointed at a white box with a red cross in it.

Ace took it and quickly began taking out the necessaries.

“Terri, go and see if the controls are still functioning!” he says to his cousin.

Terri wanted to argue but Benny prompted her knowing that she had been rather good at those kinds of mechanical stuff.

“It seems the lightning had destroyed the controls!” says Terri.

That much was clear since there was some of the controls were still smoking.

Their situation was worse than worse.

They were caught in the middle of a storm with the ship broken down and their captain injured. And to add more to the situation, the storm was getting stronger! The boat was moving along helplessly along the gigantic, violent waves, rocking as each waved passed. Their vessel was obviously no match for them.

Benny stood up and headed to the control panel to assist Terri.

“Any luck?”

Terri shakes her head.

“The controls are totally fried. The best we can do is to drop anchor to stabilize the ship and prevent ourselves from drifting away.” she says to Benny.

“How are we supposed to do that? And do you even know how to drive a boat?”

“Driving in this storm? Not an option!” Terri looks around and finds the manual “Ha, here’s the manual. Give me a second. Let’s see…according to this, this do-hickey should release the anchor that way it’ll stop this boat from drifting away!”

Terri grabs what looks like a wench and starts turning the lever.

A sound of metal gears could be heard and sure enough they could see they hear the sound of something heavy splashing in the water. The anchor managed to help stabilize the ship from moving so much.

“It worked!” yells Terri in triumph.

“Good going, Terri!”

But then another wave splashed them on the side, causing each of them to topple over again! As they struggled to get up in the slippery floor, Manong Dario groaned trying to get up.

“Manong Dario!” says Anna in relief.

“Kids, let me! I have to get us to safety!” he groans.

“Forget it, Manong! You’re badly hurt to drive much less move the steering wheel! If there’s any left…” says Ace who looks at the ruined wheel, “We have to bring Manong Dario below deck and treat his injuries!”

Benny, Ace and Terri help carry Manong Dario back below deck, with Anna following them from behind, carrying the medical kit. They managed to plop him on the bed. Ace had already treated the wounds was already dressing them. It was a good thing Ace’s dad also trained him for emergency situations because he started expertly wrapping and dressed Manong Dario’s burned hands and legs.

“I’ll go get some towels!”

Benny immediately goes to the bathroom and returned with a large set of towels.

As they all dry themselves. They kept looking out of the windows. The storm was, if not already, getting worse by the minute.

“Manong Dario, I thought you were supposed to bring us back? How did we get caught in this storm?” demands Anna.

“Anna! Now’s not the time to get all prissy!” Benny reproached her.

“I did, Anna dear…” says Manong Dario with effort to sit up. “But instead of going to shore for some reason…the vessel seems to be going further out in sea…Then, the storm…suddenly reached us. The next thing I knew I was…struggling to drive the vessel against those fierce waves.”

“You should lie down,” Ace pushes him back down. “And try to get some sleep, it’s the best cure!”

Manong Dario did not need telling twice as the man soon fall unconscious.

“Is he alright? He isn’t-”

Ace checked his vitals. “No, he’s alive…just passed out…”

“I’ll try calling for help!” says Anna flipping open her phone, but then a look of surprise appeared in her face.

“I doubt we’ll get a signal in this storm!”

“That’s not it! My phone’s gone static!” Anna showed them her phone and sure enough the screen was now completely static.

“Do you think it got wet?”

“This phone is water proof! And it’s still brand new!”

“Hold on, I left my phone here so it should still be…” Terri takes her phone which she had left on the bed and clicks it on. “What the… There’s something wrong with the screen!”

“Mine too!” says Ace, as he checks his phone.

Benny takes out his phone. As he turns it back on all he received was a static screen.

“What’s going on? You think the storm might be interfering with our electronic devices?”

“Could be? The generator’s not functioning otherwise we’d still have some emergency lights!”

The boat gave another violent shake as a huge wave just shook the vessel. Anna screamed as she fell down to the floor. “I don’t want this anymore! Why does this have to happen on my birthday! I want to go home!”

Terri tries to calm her down, “It’ll be okay! We’ll be safe as long as we stay here!”

Ace stands up, again using the bunks for support.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna look for an emergency light we can use. It’s too dark to see anything in here!”

Terri also stands up. “See if there’s something we can use to call for help!”

“You think there’s a CB Radio in here?”

“I guess it’s worth a try.”

Anna was still sobbing quietly.

“This is the worst birthday I’ve ever had…”

Benny tries to offer her some words of comfort. But even he wasn’t feeling all the optimistic. Even if they could send word of help, there’s no way anyone would be stupid enough to risk their neck to come in this storm.

They were on their own. A sudden horrible realization came to him. There was a chance they could not survive this storm and the tiny sailboat wouldn’t be in one piece if it would be found.

“Benjamin…”

“Huh?” Benny looked up.

Anna had suddenly stopped sobbing and was sitting rigid.

“Anna? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She suddenly grasped his hand tightly.

“Ow! Anna?!” yelps Benny, wincing at her grip which was suddenly strong!

Both Terri and Ace turned at the sound of his shout.

“What’s wrong, Benny?”

“Don’t suddenly shout-”

“Something’s wrong with Anna!” Benny cuts them off as he tries to free himself from Anna’s grip but to no avail.

“What happened?” asks Terri as she and Ace approached them.

“I don’t know… She’s suddenly gotten strong and-ow!”

Both Ace and Terri stared at him. Benny couldn’t blame them since Anna was thinner and smaller than he was.

“Are you pulling my leg, bro? Or are you suddenly turned into a wimp on me?”

“I’m not kidding, Ace! I can’t pull her off!”

With a roll of his eyes, Ace tries to pry Anna’s fingers off Benny’s wrist but to his surprise He couldn’t even budge a pinky.

“Whoa! She’s got a good grip!” Ace grunts as he tries to pull her hand away but couldn’t.

“You boys are such wimps! Here let me…”

Terri tries to pull Anna’s hand off but to her surprise (Benny’s and Ace’s, as well) she couldn’t do it either.

“Look who’s talking?!” snorts Ace.

Terri glares at him, “Shut up! Seriously, Anna! Are you taking some steroids or something?”

“Anna! Please let go! You’re hurting me!”

Okay, that sounds like something a girl being assaulted would say. Benny thought to himself.

Anna had been unresponsive all this time and suddenly raised her head. She opened her eyes and they were glowing in bright white light!

All three of them yelled as they saw this. Both Ace and Terri back away in sheer terror.

“What the hell?”

“Anna’s possessed!”

“A-Anna?” stammers Benny, who couldn’t run away as she was gripping his hand tightly.

Anna turned to face him. She opened her mouth and spoke with her voice was echoing several times.

“Light shall pass through the world’s door…

And with Fire shall reunite once more…

Walking by their side is Nature’s Healer…

And one who bears the Gift of the Knowledge-Keeper…

Seven Stars will the Light embrace…

Plume within the Star Sigil shall mark ancestors place…

When the Black shall engulf the White’s light

The bond shall bring forth Heaven’s might…”

No sooner had she finished talking, Anna slumped and fell backwards. Benny just barely managed to catch her.

All of them were frozen in silence with nothing but howl of the wind outside.

“What the hell was that?” breathes Ace at last.

“Anna? Anna!” Benny shakes her.

After a few breathless moments, Anna opened her eyes again. This time they were no longer glowing.

“Benjamin? What happened?” stutters Anna. “What am I doing in the floor?”

Nobody answered. They were still too stunned by what just happened. Anna rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache.

Benny quickly shook his head, “Anna? What happened to you just now?”

“Well, I don’t know. I guess I must’ve blacked out-”

“Did you remember anything in the last minute?” Terri asked carefully.

“Why? What happened?”

It seems Anna was unaware of what just transpired here.

“But you were…you said something weird…then you-” Pablo stammered trying to piece together just what happened.

“Pablo, are you alright?” Anna asked worriedly.

“THAT’S OUR LINE!” Benny, Ace and Terri shouted together.

Anna flinched from that.

“You suddenly-argh!” Benny grips his head in pain.

“Wha-?! Benny?”

“Oh, great… him as well?! Is there an overdose of mass hysteria going around?”

It was an intense pain! He felt as though he were trying to stop his head from splitting apart.

As a thunder and lightning cracked, his head felt dizzy again. Was the extreme motion of the ship making him sick? But there was another strange feeling…nostalgia…

Why does it feel like he was in this situation before?

Images began appearing in his head.

A storm… A tiny boat…Gigantic waves…

But then new images began to appear.

A whirlpool in the clouds…

A little red-headed boy who was screaming his name…

Kuya Benny!!! Help!!!

Benny’s eyes opened with a jolt. “Wait…Whose voice was that?”

“Benny! Come on! Snap out of it!” Ace shook him roughly.

However, the ship suddenly lurched to the side, causing everyone to be knocked sideways.

“Kya~!”

“Uwah~!”

“Another turbulence?”

Ace managed to get up and looked out of the porthole.

“Oh, crud! There’s a huge wave coming this way!”

“What?!”

Terri went to approach the window. Though still dizzy, Benny managed to get a hold of himself and walk towards the porthole. Anna was left sitting there still dazed, completely unable to get up.

As soon as they looked out the window they saw a gigantic rouge wave was coming this way.

Benny backed away from the window. Feeling his knees give out, he fell to the floor.

“What are we going to do?”

“Why are you looking at me? I can’t stop a huge wave!”

“NOOO!!!”

Anna was curling up and screaming in despair.

He even heard of huge ships being capsized by waves as big as that. There was no way this little yacht could’ve withstand something like that.

One thing’s for sure: they were doomed! They were gonna die!

Benny clamped his hands to his head.

Somebody…please…help us! Benny thought desperately.

Suddenly, a bright light caught his attention. Benny turned his head and saw it was coming from his bag!

Benny pulled it close to him and saw Abuela’s book was glowing.

“What the-”

Benny looked up a little. He saw Ace and Terri bickering franticly. Anna was sobbing hysterically. None of them noticed the book was glowing.

Benny took out the book and all of a sudden it opened and its pages were flapping. It stopped at a page written in Abuela’s special language.

ðə kɔːl tuː rɪˈtɜːn həʊm

If he were to translate it said: The call to return home…

There were some words written underneath it. It was some kind of incantation.

Was it a magic spell?

Benny thought this was crazy but a lot of crazy things had just happened to him recently. Plus the book was still glowing!

Maybe…Just maybe… It could be a sliver of a chance!

As crazy as it was, Benny had no other options left.

“Incoming!” shouts Ace.

Terri cursed as she ducked for cover. Anna screamed louder.

Benny quickly started to read.

əˈpɑn maɪ wɜrdz, hir maɪ pli! (Upon my words, hear my plea!)

əˈkrɔs speɪs ænd taɪm, aɪ biˈsiʧ ði! (Across space and time, I beseech thee!)

maɪ ˌdɛstəˈneɪʃən ɪz æz ʃoʊn! (My destination is as shown!)

brɪŋ mi bæk tu wɛr aɪ kɔl hoʊm! (Bring me back to where I call home!)

On the last syllable, the book exploded with bright light!

Outside, the enormous wall of water loomed over them for a second before it came crashing down!

And then…

BOOM!!!

A pillar of light exploded from the water and parted the clouds!

And from within that light, Benny lost consciousness once more from the use of his very first Magic Spell.