According to him, the students left the retreat house. They ventured into the dense forest of Mount Hamiguan on their own without a guide and permission from their teachers. Despite the extensive search and rescue efforts, they were never found until 40 days later.

The disappearance of 22 students in the Hamiguan jungle left their families filled with terror and uncertainty about their fate. The incident spurred an urban legend associated with the town of Marzallan; especially that a few years prior, a feral animal had terrified hikers and caused havoc in the nearby fields.

However, being a conservative town and under the auspices of a certain influential family, rumors died down quickly after the students were found.

Allison, the senior he accidentally bumped into a month ago, was one of the students who disappeared during that retreat.

I won’t deny I’m curious about this Allison. 

From what he told me before, Holy Mercy Academy was originally an all-girls high school. Later on, the school became co-ed and Airon was among the first boys who enrolled. The mysterious disappearance of that class was a new revelation to me. 

After a while, he stops talking. I assume he must be gathering his thoughts to narrate a coherent story. 

"She said that she wanted to take that pill again. So she could forget that incident. But she won’t tell me anything about the pill. She just said that she couldn’t turn back time, the least she could do is forget about it.”

“It’s understandable. That incident was traumatic for her—”

“I know, but… Why would she claim that one of them is dead? And that other was born,” he says with a confused tone, “What does she mean by that ‘other’? She wouldn’t tell me. She said that they will never be the same again…"

I’m irritated because I see no reason to worry over something that happened two decades ago. “She should see a therapist—”

“You know, everyone in class 4-B was found safe and sound. But why would she claim that one of them is dead?”

“Why would that matter now? Damn it, can’t all of you move on?”

“Because of my grandma… She was the town’s shaman. She was shunned by everyone when she told the town that one of the students was dead.”