The Child I Still Remember

2025 | ART BY: DORCAS DOLLIE

I remember being with my friends, children lost in their own world.
I remember gripping an umbrella as my father carried me above the flood, the rain shaking the edges of that moment.

And now I find myself waving across the same familiar place, older, still searching for the child I left behind—returning to a home that has seen many seasons.

Room Zero

Step inside the room the school doesn’t talk about

Meet the students carrying the Keys

JARED VELASQUEZ

Known for flipping his butterfly knife during class. To him it’s a fidget; to others it’s a threat. He hates chaos, hates mess, and hates listening to Blake.

His Key is an earring that slots into the hidden mechanism of his knife, splitting it into twin katanas. His fighting style is clean, controlled, surgical.

BLAKE REYES

Blake looks like the typical troublemaker, intimidating, always summoned to guidance. Teachers think he’s volatile, but he’s actually the most level-headed of the trio. His Key is built into his belt; when wrapped around any limb, it multiplies his strength. He wraps it around his fists during missions. Blake acts like the leader because someone has to be.

Vanda Cruz

Quiet, masked, always carrying a bag full of chalk and markers. Rumors say he’s a graffiti addict; others just say he’s strange. The third Key is a tattoo running from his neck to his collarbone. To activate it, he must expose the tattoo, write a command, then speak it. He is the only one who can open Room Zero, but only when Blake and Jared are close. Their Keys function only as one.