It was snowing.

Mateo trailed the specks falling from the sky, his hands outstretched over the railings overlooking the ocean.

He thought it was styrofoam. It was either styro balls magically falling out of the sky by some freak airplane accident or actual snowfall in the seasonless climate of the Philippines. He couldn't pick which seemed more believable.

A snowflake landed over his palm before melting to a cold dew.

It really was snowing. Just like in the movies and dramas and all the tourist's stories from outside the country, he's finally seen snow firsthand. His child self would be jealous.

"Styrofoam?" Ana said, leaning on Mateo's shoulder, rubbing her eyes a couple times with a drowsy look on her face. It was unusual for her to wake up this early in the morning, more so when it's a weekend with no school.

"It's snow." Mateo said.

"It's what?"

"Snow. Like Jon Snow, snow."

"The cold white thing?"

"Yup." Mateo rolled his eyes.

Ana immediately slapped her face awake, forcing her eyes open only to stare dumbfounded. "It's… snowing. It's snowing, Mateo!"

"Oh my God."

She dashed, grabbing her shirt from the couch, put them on, then went straight outside to play. At her age, everyone would think she's already beyond that. She's seventeen for God's sake.

But who could blame her? Filipino snow was pouring outside. That really was something to write home about.

Seeing Ana outside dancing to her own silly beat, it made Mateo's early morning. Aside from the constant partying, there were only a handful of things her sister liked, and seeing her all giddy like that, it was a pretty warm sight to see.

But there was always something nicking behind the ears, whispering in the back of Mateo's head.

Caution.

Mateo's eyes darted to the sky again. Past the falling snow, he looked for it–the sun. The blue sun. Thankfully, the sky was still swimming in rolling clouds of gray, with the sun nowhere in sight.

Mateo bit his lip. Reaching for a snowflake, it didn't seem to have any ill effects. It didn't turn his hands blue, nor did it do anything magical in particular. It was just–cold, white, normal snow.

Hopefully, it really was just that.

"You going out today?" Mateo walked over to the front veranda.

"It's Saturday, so no school for me. With the recent things going on, it'd be pretty bad if I were to go out too." She paused, taking in a deep breath before heading back inside. "Though once the sun sets I'm off to the usual club again."

"Guessed as much." Mateo shrugged. Feeling the cold air getting to him, he went looking for his jacket. It was on the couch. Grabbing it, he wrapped it around himself to keep warm.

"You're still wearing that?"

"Of course, it's a gift from lola." Mateo glanced to the door in the living room. "Could you go wake her up? And get breakfast done while you're at it."

"Let me guess? Off to work today too?"

"My sister's tuition and Lola's hospital bills aren't going to pay themselves, you know."

* * *

"No one?"

Uncle Pedro nodded. Because of the sun, cold, and snow, no one was dumb enough to go out for a happy little vacation on Dolphin Island. Everyone stayed in their homes and hotels, under roofs and ceilings, in fear of the sunlight that could show up anytime again.

No one could blame them. Who wouldn't be scared? Mateo even experienced it firsthand, that feeling of burning yet freezing–it was pretty nasty. He wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

But this meant no cash for today.

Mateo looked around, his eyes trailing the stalls in and out of the covered court. Early in the morning, people would usually be around preparing their goods for trade and buying in the wet market.

People would run around, carrying barrels, baskets, bags, and everything in between to make ends meet. The shouts and murmurs and the overall noise of crowds on those early mornings would always pump him up, like a warm cup of coffee, shaking him wide awake. Seeing other people working their asses off, it was hard not to.

But there was none of that now. There was only him, uncle Pedro, and a small few others glooming about.

Mateo let out a deep sigh before turning to his motorboat. He dropped down from the pier, causing the boat to rock against the waves before it settled.

He took a quick glance back at the sky. With the sea of clouds above, there were still no signs of sunlight anytime soon.

He then ducked below, eyeing the engine. It was rusty, with the gears and chain hanging on extreme life support. He opened the toolbox beside and brought out the big guns: a spanner and a screwdriver, and after a few nuts and bolts removed, he held it up.

"Let's get you to Hans." Mateo jumped back to the pier.

He started back towards uncle Pedro who was off to the edge of the docks, smoking for himself a pack of cigarettes. He swore he's been off the nicotine for a couple months now, but maybe old habits do die hard.

"Are your fingers okay now, Tito?"

"No need to worry Matty," Uncle Pedro turned with a grin. "God finds a way. Just like my impotence, it'll come around eventually. Have I told you about old lady Marie yet?"

"I heard the story twice already." Mateo hinted at a laugh. In the gloom atmosphere they were in, it was pretty nice to see someone's positivity so immovable. "Listen, I'm going to get the boat's engine checked. Can I take the bike with?"

"Sure you can," Uncle Pedro rummaged through his coat's pockets before throwing the keys to Mateo. "Just drop it by before sunset. Your Tito's scored another looker across town, this time, at the ripe young age of forty."

"What about old lady Marie?"

"She, uhh, died."

"Oh."

With a wave goodbye, Mateo started towards the motorbike. It was a fair distance from the pier, docked along a line of abandoned stands.

Squinting his eyes, he saw a girl leaning against the nearby stand, meeting Mateo's gaze with hers. She had jet hair hung up to a high ponytail, but its length still reached down to her hips, with a sweater to complement the look of her doll persona. It didn't fool Mateo though. Those clothes of hers were cheap as hell.

"Jan?"

"Sup. You're going to Hans' place?"

"Yup."

She beamed him an impish grin. "I'm coming too."

Mateo sighed, moving to drop the rustic engine over to Jan's hands. "Sure, I could use some help."

He gave her a grin before turning to the bike. Kicking his leg up, he jumped to the seat. After turning the keys, the bike let out a dirty purr, with Jan jumping right behind after kicking back the kickstand.

"God, you're heavy. These suspensions cost a ton, you know?"

"It's because of this thing, stupid."

Mateo sped through the market, turning left then right then straight ahead to the main road with the icy wind whipping by, changing gear to five. Thanks to his jacket, the winter weather was cold, but far from unbearable, though his freezing fingers said otherwise.

Snow flitted by, with everything around a blur of white. Normally the road this early in the morning had traffic–a lot of traffic, so it was pretty weird having no one else driving even this far into the center of town. Far in between though, a number of trucks would come around, but most of the time, it was only Mateo, Jan, and the lonely road leading ahead.

It felt kind of nostalgic, in a sense. It was only a few years ago when Jan and him were still dating, driving around town doing fun things with uncle Pedro's motorbike. They'd stop by for balut every once in a while on the streets. Mateo didn't like the taste of the growing little chick inside, if at all, but Jan advocated for them like they were a product of miracles. The thought of eating a half-grown embryo didn't sit well in Mateo's stomach, but Jan's face said otherwise.

The evil smile she showed when eating those things scared him.

After their weird dinner dates, they'd then spend the evening stargazing on the oval field, or just go to the town plaza when it was cloudy. Even though they both weren't that well off, those little things made up for it.

But things don't always go according to plan.

Mateo knew it was pointless to think about the past. To think about the what-ifs. But the time they spent together, he never thought of them as pointless. They were pretty fun.

"We're here." Mateo kicked the brakes. Revving to a stop, they parked beside a small shop in a quiet suburb surrounded by woodlands.

Jan got off first. Mateo followed, jumping off the bike. Taking the keys, they headed to the double doors up front with a clear sign saying 'closed.'

"Hans?" Mateo knocked on the glass. After a short while, the doors opened.

"Yo, what's up bud?" A guy came up to meet them. A tall, handsome ass guy with a mole right under the left eye. That was Hans. If Mateo and him were to stand side by side, Hans would've been at least half a foot taller, with his looks comparable to the main character in that titan anime, the one with the long hair shouting 'freedom' every other episode.

He wore an apron above the tank top, and coupled with a pair of welding glasses on his face, his entire aesthetic shouted 'mechanic' no matter how Mateo looked at him.

"The engine's spewing black smoke. Again." Mateo said as Hans let them in, leading them to the counter at the center of the shop.

"Legit?" Hans said, with Jan handing the engine over to him.

"Thanks Jan." He eyed the thing, giving it a few stares before dropping it over the counter. "Aight. I'll take a crack at it in a few days. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Hold on. Days?"

"Yeah." Hans sighed, pointing with his wrench to the back of the shop. "A lot of customers are dumping problems all over me because of the recent… you know. That's just how it is, being the only competent mechanic in town."

"That's a bummer." Jan turned to Mateo. "Guess you'll have to hold off working until Hans gets it fixed–"

The ground shook. Hard.

Things around the shop–materials, tools, doodads–everything on display went crashing down. Mateo took cover, fast, along with the other two, ducking and reaching for anything to plant themselves solid on the ground. He clung to the counter's stands.

This was no normal earthquake.

The engine slid from above, dropping inches right in front of his face. Around, the windows broke, along with the light bulbs that fell down, scattering shards of glass all over the floor. Far above, the ceiling even started to fall apart, with a crack shaping before all hell went loose and came crashing down.

With all the dust swirling, Mateo's vision blurred, with his ears ringing from the dull clack of wooden planks against tiles, along with the clang of metals bumping around, with everything–everything going awry until–

Nothing.

The earthquake stopped. For a while, none of them dared to move. Not Hans. Not Jan. And definitely not Mateo. With breaths heavy, they glanced to each other first, and after sharing a nod, they slowly crawled out, hands before feet, then turned to stand.

Everything around was a mess.

The ringing in Mateo's ears dialed down, with his vision slowly clearing. He darted his eyes around. There was nothing left for Hans' shop. With a part of the roof caved in, snow trickled from the sky down, the gray sky now crowning the center of the ceiling.

Mateo looked over himself, patting around his thighs, waist, chest, and neck. Nothing broken. Nothing bleeding. At least, he hoped they weren't. He then turned to the others. Jan was fine. She gave him a thumbs-up, so that was something to go off on.

Hans too looked okay, only having a few scratches on him, though Mateo couldn't say the same for his shop. That was a goner. Mateo started towards them, before a sudden sting nicked the back of his head.

Like a bullet sinking deeper and deeper, the pain doubled, causing Mateo to drop to the ground staggering and flailing. Hans and Jan followed up, but he could barely even make out their two silhouettes right in front of him. He let out a scream, turning to a shriek, then to a silent whimper. The ringing in his ears dialed up again, with everything around turning white, white, white, white–

Body is undergoing reconstruction for magic adaptation. Estimated time until finished: 71 hours, 59 minutes, 49 seconds.