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Dulnuan wanted to live. For a long time, her heart had longed and wished desperately for it. She almost gave up the thought of freedom, but when Danilo saw her--talked to her--she found her escape. All she had to do was make a sacrifice.

She had weighed her life and Danilo's in her hands, but hers was paramount. So, fuck conscience. She needed to get out, and she did.

For over one hundred and thirty years, Dulnuan had not felt the sun's heat on her skin, that warm tingling feeling on the forearms and the forehead guarding against the chilly air. Now, all she wanted to do was stand in the middle of Burnham Park all day and bask in its comfort.

She opened her eyes and watched the small ripples on the lake made by the cool December winds. The sun's brightness shimmered over the water. The sight made her chest swell with appreciation. This was no ordinary thing. Life was no ordinary thing.

A small smile curved her lips, and she allowed herself to indulge in the Oooh-yes sensation. Despite the many years of imprisonment that weighed on her shoulders, her whole body was afloat. And it was due to her freedom. She was so sure it was because life had welcomed her back.

"Never again," she said to herself. "Never again will I allow myself to be used by men." She thought of her husband Ananayo, who had married her to be a child bearer. She thought of Danilo, who had courted her for her gold.

She had been a damsel in distress on the other side but had not waited for any prince charming to rescue her from the darkness. She saved herself.

She took a deep breath. Fresh air--the scent of earth and living things--played on her nose. She listened to the sound of people talking, children laughing, and vendors calling. Liberty touched her ears. These were simple things most would not appreciate, but she treasured it. She valued it.

Danilo favored money. He wanted the gold. But the true prize was not in the chest. It was in front of him this whole time.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, exposing the gold hoop earring and letting it glitter under the light of the sun. Raising her chin, she spoke out to the lake. "I am worth it. I am the gold."

"What are you doing?" A voice beside her rattled her from her reverie. Looking down, she saw a little girl in a pretty pink dress looking up at her with wide and round eyes.

"Hello," Dulnuan said. It felt so good to be seen and heard.

"Hello," the little girl returned. She smiled before running away, laughing.

Dulnuan gave out a small laugh. "Ha." She turned around and looked at the stalls at the far side of the park near the picnic tables. Her stomach grumbled for the first time since she died. "I guess it's time to eat."

She grinned. She'd make the most out of this second chance. She'd make the best out of this granted wish. 

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☠ Fun Fact: 

At the end of the Battle of Baguio in World War II, Baguio became the scene of the last surrender of the Japanese forces in the Philippines.

Surrender of Japanese forces in the Philippines in 1945

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baguio