The heat of the sun digs into my skin. I feel like I am literally smoking right now. My mind is a blank slate. I can not seem to remember what just happened.
My eyes fly open as the sound of splashing water fills my ears. A fountain is springing water high into the sky. My sight is blurry, but as soon as it stabilizes, I see two heads bobbing near me. They are kids, maybe seven or ten years old. One is definitely a boy with short hair, and the other is a girl with long hair and big, curious eyes.
"Lucy!" the girl with the long hair spits out.
Who is Lucy? I have no idea who Lucy is, just like I have no idea where I am or how I got here. I manage to stand up and finally get a full look at the kids and their clothes. The girl is wearing a frilly pink dress, and the boy is in a crisp school uniform.
I rub my eyes, though my head is still reeling. I stare down at my hands. I spread them wide and freeze. They have shrunk. My fingers are smaller, and the nails are painted purple.
I hate purple. And who the hell painted my nails?
"Where am I?!" I scream, ignoring the fact that the two kids look genuinely worried about me.
I look at both of them and see their faces twist in confusion.
"Lucy, what the heck is wrong with you?" the boy asks, one brow lifting.
"I'm not Lucy!" I reply, my throat burning with fumes.
Clack-clack-roll.
The sound of a skateboard rolling over concrete makes me spin around. The place is actually familiar, though it has its differences. My eyes light up. I recognize it immediately as I turn back toward the fountain.
It is Gaston Park. But why does it look so weird?
The clean pavement and rock-solid square designs are gone. They are replaced by grass. The air smells different too. It smells fresh, not like the usual city smog.
To be sure, I ignore the kids who are currently protesting that I have gone crazy. I step away from them and walk straight toward the path of the circle to search for the Water Tower Museum. I look up and strain against the sunlight. The trees make it difficult to see, but there it is. The tower stands tall.
I am definitely in Gaston Park, Cagayan de Oro. But why is everything so different from what I remember? Vendors are screaming like it is the end of the world on the sidewalks below the upper ground of the circle.
I step down the circular path. The fountain is still rising behind me. My heart beats fast, and my legs are trembling. I have zero idea what is happening.
"Hey, pretty lady," a voice speaks behind me.
I sigh and turn around. To my surprise, it is a guy wearing an oversized black shirt with a massive skull on it. His jeans are fitted, but he looks like he just stepped out of a 90s magazine.
And he is calling me pretty lady? Yuck. Yes, he has good facial features, but no thanks. I have a boyfriend.
"Please stay away from me," I say, stepping back.
A smirk molds onto his face. "Great fit today, Lucy. Loving the crop and the jeans." He winks at me and then walks away like he has known me since I was born.
"What the fudge?" I mutter under my breath.
I sit down on the stairs of the circle to catch my breath. I look down at my body and finally realize what I am actually wearing. It is a black crop-top and sick fitted jeans.
"No way. This is totally not my style," I scream.
Two girls nearby turn their gaze toward me. Their clothes are tragically out of style too. I roll my eyes at them and then return my attention to my own outfit. This is the worst outfit ever.
"Hey Lucy, can't stop rolling your eyes?"
I look up, and god, it is the girl I just rolled my eyes at. She is wearing a pink jacket and baggy jeans that I would actually totally die for. Okay, maybe not everything here is out of style.
I stand up to face them because I can not just let them win without a talk-back.
"Stop calling me Lucy, my name is Han..."
"There she is, Germa!" a soft, high-pitched voice shouts and cuts me off. Great.
I turn to see the little girl with the long hair from earlier. She is the one who was arguing with the boy, but now she is with an older girl around seventeen years old.
This new girl is stunning. She is wearing a red crop-top and has long hair. Her pretty tan skin shines as she walks by with her clicking heels and sick baggy pants. She wears a necklace that looks quite familiar to me.
"Losers stay away from my sister," she says with confidence.
She chews gum and winks at me. But why is she calling me her sister? This is so confusing. I think I am losing my mind. I am not even sure if this is Gaston Park anymore because it looks so different from what I remembered.
"Why should we, Germa?" the girl says. The other girl beside her gives me a death stare like she is about to stab me.
"Because I know your boyfriend Nathan cheated on you. He thinks you are not pretty enough for him," she says with her soprano voice.
My eyes open wide. That has got to give her a hole in her heart. Ouch.
"That is not true!" she yells. Tears form in her eyes.
"Yes, it is true." She turns her head to me. "Right, Lucy?"
"Yes, right." I nod.
And with that, the girl's eyes burst with tears. She storms off with her friend.
A lot of people know Lucy and Germa. What is this place? Is this even Gaston Park? And I have to wonder why they are calling me Lucy. Then a realization hits me. It is my grandma's name.
"Holy shit," I whisper.