*CHAPTER 2* The Tea That Wouldn’t Cool*

Ari didn’t tell anyone.

Not at first.

---

*Cebu City. Boarding House. 7:00am.*

She came home with wet shoes and tea on her breath.

Her roommates were up.

Eating pandesal.

Watching TV.

“Uy, san ka galing,” Maya asked.

Ari shrugged.

“Lakad-lakad.”

Maya looked at her mug.

It was still warm.

“Iced coffee ‘yan kagabi,” Maya said. “Bakit mainit pa?”

Ari didn’t answer.

She put Notebook 3 on the desk.

It closed by itself.

She swore it did.

At work, 9am to 6pm.

Call center.

Night shift next week.

Her supervisor said, “New policy. No overtime after 10pm. City ordinance.”

Ari nodded.

She didn’t know about any ordinance.

11pm.

She was back in the boarding house.

The light across the street was on.

The third floor.

She hadn’t seen anyone go in or out.

But the light never turned off.

She opened Notebook 3.

New page.

New writing.

Not hers.

`Rule 7: The city will notice. Let it.`

`P.S. The Winter is coming. -R`

Ari frowned.

“Who’s R,” she whispered.

The ink shimmered.

Like it was still wet.

Like someone was writing it right now, 40km away.

Her phone buzzed.

Unknown number again.

`Bukas. 10pm. Bring the book.`

`Huwag ka matakot. Mainit pa rin ang tsaa.`

She almost didn’t go.

But at 9:55pm she was putting on her hoodie.

The rain was back.

The door was open.

Same girl from last night.

“Name’s Lian,” she said before Ari could ask. “Rule 5.”

She took the notebook.

Set it on the table next to the pot.

The pot was boiling.

No fire.

“How,” Ari asked.

Lian smiled. “That’s Rule 1. Keep the light on.”

12 people tonight.

Nurses.

A guard.

Two college kids.

An old man with a cane.

No one asked Ari’s name.

Someone handed her tea.

It burned her tongue.

It shouldn’t have been that hot.

It had been sitting there for an hour.

At 10:30pm there was a knock.

Hard.

Three times.

Everyone went quiet.

Lian opened the door.

Two barangay tanod.

And a paper.

“City Ordinance 47-B,” one of them said.

“No unregistered gatherings after 10pm. No open residences for overnight guests. Fine: 5,000 pesos.”

He looked around.

At the pot.

At the tea.

At the 12 people sitting on the floor.

“You have 10 minutes to clear out,” he said.

The Winter Law.

It had a name now.

The old man with the cane stood up first.

“Then we’ll stand outside,” he said.

The guard nodded.

“Outside the door. But the door stays open.”

The tanod looked confused.

“Ma’am, bawal.”

Lian pointed at the sign.

`Door’s open. We’re tired sometimes. Come in anyway.`

“It doesn’t say we have to close,” she said.

They left.

But they wrote down the address.

At 11pm, the 12 people were on the stairs.

In the rain.

With mugs.

Drinking tea.

The door was open behind them.

The light was on.

Ari sat next to Lian.

“My roommates think I’m crazy,” Ari said.

“Are you,” Lian asked.

“I don’t know,” Ari said. “The tea is still hot.”

Lian took Notebook 3.

Opened it.

The page was blank now.

Then words appeared.

Fast.

Like someone was angry.

`They passed the law.`

`Good. Now we travel.`

`-R`

Lian looked at Ari.

“You’re 18, right,” she asked.

Ari nodded.

“You going to college next sem,” Lian asked.

“Yeah. If I can pay,” Ari said.

Lian closed the book.

“Then pack a bag,” she said. “We’re going to Davao next week.”

Ari blinked.

“What.”

“The light’s leaving Cebu,” Lian said. “They’ll shut this door. But it’ll open somewhere else. It always does.”

Ari looked at the people on the stairs.

Wet.

Tired.

Smiling.

She thought about her roommates.

About her shift.

About the 50 pesos she spent on a cursed notebook.

She thought about Rule 1.

“Okay,” she said.

---

*San Jose del Monte. 11:15pm.*

Little Ren was packing.

Backpack.

Notebook 1.

Notebook 2.

The broken pot handle, wrapped in cloth.

Thread watched him.

“You’re really going,” she asked.

“Yeah,” Little Ren said. “The book called.”

Thread touched his shoulder.

“Keep the light on,” she said.

“I will,” he said. “Somewhere else.”

On the shelf, Notebook 3 glowed once.

Dim.

Then dark.

---

*The supernatural rules are changing:*

Rule 7 was new.

Rule 8 was coming.

And the Winter wasn’t snow.

It was paperwork.

And it was cold.

But the tea.

The tea wouldn’t cool.

Not in Cebu.

Not in Davao.

Not anywhere the door was open.

*End of Chapter 2*

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