Esoteric.

she snuck towards the tool shed, pushed aside the barrel that sat the corner, found the keyhole and inserted the stolen key she grabbed on her way out. the trapdoor sprang open, steps disappearing into the darkness. she turned on her flashlight and started down, pulling the hatch, closing the door behind her. at the bottom, she inserted another key, then pressed the buttons sequentially. the door opened with a click, she walked straight down the narrow tunnel. deep inside was her destination, a place away from detection yet functioned perfectly as her hidden hideout.

隠されたスポット。

Chihayafuru (2011) ちはやふる

Chihaya was fascinated by the world of karuta (かるた), a card game based on 100 Japanese poetry. she was first introduced to karuta by Arata, a classmate of hers. soon they were joined by Taichi. after finishing their elementary school, circumstances forced the 3 friends apart, and reunited them again in high school.

as boring as a card game seemed to be, it was an exciting anime! the story followed all 3 characters, each with their own personalities, standing out yet mingled perfectly together. a few short episodes were enough for us to know how karuta worked, and from there onward, had us completely hooked, not to mention being able to followed their matches easily, sharing their excitement and anxiety. the end of each episode lead to an even more anticipated next episode, an interest that never faltered throughout the anime.

Women of the Otherworld #11: Waking the Witch (2010)

eleventh book into the Women of the Otherworld series (2001-2012), it followed the story of Savannah, the daughter of Eve, the dark witch and Kristof, the sorcerer. after years taken in by Paige the witch and Lucas the sorcerer, Savannah now worked at their investigation agency, with impressive knowledge of spells and the supernatural world. having a hard time convincing her adoptive parents to take her seriously as an adult, she jumped at the chance when Jesse, a supernatural detective offered her a chance to call a case her own. Savannah was confident that she can handle the case, but finding more and more clues indicating the involvement of the supernaturals, things quickly got out of hand and turned more dangerous than she realized.

Savannah had a strong personality, a little arrogant and stubborn, but definitely one of those lovable characters that grew in our heart. what appeared to be the doing of a local occult group turned out to be revenge from the afterlife, returning to claim her life. being the daughter of a dark witch and sorcerer made her spell casting ability extremely powerful, yet the moment these abilities were stripped from her was when she was forced to admit that this was too much for her. like the previous installments, this book gave a lot of unexpected twists and complications to keep us entertained, especially when some people were being too helpful, too informative, or even too held back. i was absolutely impressed at how much Savannah reminded us of our teenage years, where romance easily becomes the priority.

Water for Elephants (2011)

Jacob was a veterinary student with a promising career, but his last exam was interrupted when he received the news that his parents were killed in an accident. his father left behind huge debts and he ran away, jumping onto a passing train with the hope that it will bring him somewhere else. he realized the very next morning that it was a circus train. August was the circus owner, a sadistic and ambitious guy that hopes to eliminate all other circuses. Jacob met with August's wife, Marlena and fell in love with her. while he developed an unlikely friendship with August and Marlena, Jacob had to make risky decisions to disobey August and train the animals in his own ways.

the story took place in the past, its details so beautiful that it was easy to get absorbed into the film. August was a complicated character, we disliked him most of the time, but he can also be so pitiful at a different time. Jacob was an honest character, going with the flow and accepting what came his way. Marlena played a small role between the 2 men, a dutiful wife especially when it came to accepting August's violent behavior. the film's attraction mainly laid in the dark side of the circus entertainment, a side where we were rarely given the chance to be exposed to. it was interesting and absolutely captivating.