“HURRY UP, Roha!” Shen dragged her best friend out of the taxi cab. “It’s getting late. I don’t want to walk here at night.”

Roha rolled her eyes heavenwards. “Then we should’ve rescheduled this plan on weekends—”

“No,” Shen cut off. “I don’t want to wait long to get the love potion.” She looked around the large marketplace in Manila. “Now, where to start?”

“It’s just everywhere,” Roha said casually. “Are you sure about your plan?”

“Of course,” she replied without a second thought. “I really wanted to make Sir Yohan fall for me.”

Roha heaved a sigh. “I guess, you have really made your decision,” she said, looking worried at her. “Let’s crossed the road. The vendors of odd things are sitting beside the Quiapo Church.”

Shen followed her best friend excitedly. “I can’t believe it. The solution to my problem is just around the corner and waiting for me to pick it up.”

“I can’t believe too that you are this desperate to get Sir Yohan,” Roha told her as they walked on top of the crowded footbridge. “Hold your bag close to you. There’s a lot of pick-pocket kids here.”

Shen’s eyes widened in fear. “Really? Oh, my gosh. I can’t afford to lose the money for my love potion.” She put her bag near her chest and hugged it. “About what you said, I’m really desperate to get Sir Yohan’s heart. And, I will keep on doing this as long as he’s single.”

Roha gave her a frowning look. “You know, what? You’re crazy.”

“I am crazy for Yohan,” she said and giggled. “Who wouldn’t be crazy for him? He’s hot and handsome. Intellectual and mature enough to handle a relationship. Unlike the men in our age. They’re all busy flaunting the wealth of their parents,” she smirked. “I doubt that they already knew how to wash their underwear.”

Roha laughed. “You got the point for that matter,” she said and stopped. “I told you, they’re everywhere.”

Shen looked around the spacious Plaza Miranda. There are vendors on every corner, and they’re all selling the same products that promised to give solutions to your problems. There are also people dressed like the ancient people living in Israel, holding rosaries and crucifix while walking back and forth in front of the church.

“Oh, my gosh,” Shen blurted out. “This is the first time that I saw a place like this.”

Roha crossed her arms in her chest. “It’s because of you are in a high-class community.”

“Of course not,” she said frowning. “It’s just that my mother is not a believer. So we won’t go to this kind of place.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s go—”

“Why is it that I’m seeing something in your eyes, young lady?” A woman dressed in red robe blocked her way. “I can see strong emotions and determination to get something that you really want.”

Shen gasped. “Y-You can read my mind?”

“Nope. It’s your aura that tells me your purpose of being here,” the odd-looking but beautiful woman replied. “I’m Magnolia, the popular fortune-teller in Quiapo. Do you want to give it a try?”

“F-Fortune teller?” Shen asked, getting curios at what her palms tell about her future.

Roha nudged her in the waist. “We didn’t come here for fortune-telling, Shen.”

The fortune-teller looked at Roha, then to her. “So your name is Shen.” She smiled. “Shen, don’t you want to know who will be the man you’ll end with in the future?”

Shen’s eyes widened. “Yes, I want to know! Can you tell it to me?”

“Of course. Follow me.”

Roha stopped her arm, but Shen dragged her with instead. “It won’t take long,” she said to Roha and giggled. “I just want to know if Sir Yohan will be my husband in the future.”

The fortune-teller stopped in front of a large tent covered with a thick red blanket. She sat behind the round table and motioned for them to take the chairs in front of her. She took the stack of tarot cards on the side and shuffled them in front of her.

“Now, Shen, choose one tarot card,” the woman told her after placing a series of tarot cards on the table. “The tarot card that you chose will tell something about your future.”

Shen took a deep breath before choosing one card. “Okay. This one looks appealing to me,” she said and pointed at the card in the middle.

Magnolia, the fortune teller, turned the card open. A thin smile formed in her lips as she saw what’s behind the tarot. “Death Card.”

Shen and Roha gasped. “OMG.” Shen was the one to speak first. “Am I going to die?”

“No,” the fortune-teller countered in a grave tone. “Death card means, you have to kill to be loved.”

“What?” Roha asked in disbelief. “W-Why? That’s horrible.”

“I’m just kidding,” Magnolia said and laughed. “Kids these days are clueless about the universe, huh?” She raised the card and showed Shen. “Death card in Tarot Love Reading means you’re on your way on meeting your soulmate. It also means the dull cycle in your life is about to end and that you are now on the brink of finding your true love.” The fortune-teller smiled at her. “Death card means a new beginning.”

Shen couldn’t believe that the stars are favoring her now. She took her wallet and paid the fortune teller more than the service fee that she charged them. When they stepped outside the tent, she hugged Roha tightly.

“Roha, I can’t believe it. Sir Yohan will soon be mine,” she said, giggling in excitements. “My card has spoken, and no one can stop him from coming to me.”

“But your card didn’t say if it was really Sir Yohan,” Roha told her with an arched brow. “What if it’s a different person than you’re just about to meet?”

“I won’t let that happen,” she said and dragged her towards the store with a signage that says ‘solution to every problem sold here’. The table was filled with different unlabeled bottles. “I will make sure that the only man for me is Sir Yohan.”

Roha heaved a sigh. “I hope you won’t get punished by doing it.”

The old woman sitting beside the table looked at them and asked. “Young ladies, are you looking for an abortion syrup?”

Shen and Roha’s eyes widened in surprise. “No, we don’t need that…” Shen said and laughed awkwardly. “We’re looking for a potion that will make someone fall for me.”

The old woman clapped her hand. “You chose the right store for that product,” she said and hauled on the large wooden storage under the table. “This is the most effective and bestseller kind of love potion here in Quiapo.” She showed the small tinted bottle to her. “It’s called True Love’s Saliva.”

Shen frowned. “S-Saliva?”

The old woman nodded. “It’s just a name, though. But it’s composition is pure essential oils. It is made from thousands of love mantra and love spells in the Capiz Region,” she explained. “We all know that Capiz is known for its witchcraft practices.”

Roha snorted. “How much is that?”

“Three thousand pesos,” the old woman said as she looked at her from head to toe. “It’s proven and effective.” She turned to her side. “Did you see that woman sitting on the lap of the handsome traffic enforcer? She’s my consumer of this love potion.”

Shen gasped in disbelief. “Okay, I’ll get it.” She gave the money to her, but before she could touch the bottle, somebody snatched it. “Hey! That’s mine!”

Shen and Roha turned around to see who snatched the love potion from the old woman, and they both gasped in shock when they saw Charlie towering behind them.

“So this is your evil plan, Shenaida?” Charlie asked her with a smirk.

***