The prize table had huge eggs with prizes worth way more than I expected. I laughed it off until I saw other people walking around holding claimed eggs. I asked one guy where he found his. He…

We spotted the prize table before we even reached the starting line, and my brain short-circuited. The eggs were huge. Not like, cute Easter decoration huge. Like, could-win-something-real huge.

“Okay, we should probably consider that,” I said, staring at the display. “Those prizes are legit. ”

I didn’t ask where they found them. Maybe I should have.

But the thought hit me anyway—what if this is Hunger Games and the key is survival of the fastest? We were in the middle of an Easter egg hunt, but it felt more like a military operation. My friend and I had shown up with zero strategy. I figured we’d stroll around, spot a few plastic eggs, grab one, and call it a day.

The organizers said the hunt started at six. The police were standing around. The streets were closed for a no-car Sunday. It was supposed to be a chill event.

“Do you think I can try to get a hint? ” I asked. “Maybe. ”

“Should I just complain about not having any eggs?

”

The first thing I noticed was the price of drinks. Sixty pesos for Pocari Sweat. That’s vibes, but seriously? I made a joke about robbing them.

Then I remembered I didn’t want to get arrested again. Not today. We wandered. The sun was already brutal, and I was sweating through my shirt.

People walked past with cameras, snapping photos like this was a press event instead of a scramble for plastic. When a guy offered to do social media for us, I said sure, but only if he handed me a freaking egg. “Eggs or die,” I announced. Dramatic, but true.

The first time I saw someone holding a claimed egg, I nearly tripped over my own feet. A couple of people stood there, plastic prize eggs in hand, looking smug. I studied them like they were artifacts. Small eggs.

Large eggs. Two sizes. “Okay, they exist,” I told my friend. “They actually exist.

Get it? ”

“Get it? ”

I laughed. I was so stressed I was making puns.

I said I’d go look. The people who had found them were already done, just standing around like winners. I asked one of them if I could check the eggs up close. “Are they all large?

” I asked. “They’re small,” they said. Two sizes. Okay.

I thanked them and moved on. I started thinking about negotiation versus physical searching. Are we better at sociopolitical navigation or at actually finding stuff? I wasn’t sure.

I just knew I had to find one. Someone said there were eggs in Salcedo. I didn’t even know where Salcedo was. Another person said they found one in the parking lot.

I ran over, flashing a smile, and asked a police officer if he’d found any. “No,” he said. “Someone just gave me one. ”

Gave him one.

Not found. Literally handed it over. My eye twitched. Negotiation was a real possibility.

I studied the situation like a strategy game. The prize table was loaded. There were still lots of prizes left. Maybe we could convince someone to team up.

Or trade. Or pity us. “Maybe we can make friends and convince them to give us the cookies,” I said. I spotted a guy who looked like he knew what he was doing.

Confident. Alert. Like he’d already scouted the entire area. I walked up and asked him where to find the eggs.

“There was a yellow one over there,” he said, pointing. I thanked him and headed that direction, but nothing. I kept circling. I checked bushes.

I checked flower beds. I checked behind planter pots. I even asked more people. They all said the same thing—eggs existed, someone found one, but nobody could tell me where the next one was hiding.

And then, a random guy said something that broke my brain. “I found mine at four thirty something,” he said. “Four thirty in the morning? ”

“Four thirty something.

”

The hunt was supposed to start at six. He found his egg at 4:30 a. m. People were already out here before dawn, grabbing eggs while the rest of us slept.

I looked at him. He was calm. Unbothered. Holding his one small egg like it was treasure.

“What the hell-y? ” I said. He just shrugged and gave me a little wave. Happy Easter and all that.

I walked back to my friend, fuming. “They started at four thirty,” I said. “The Easter egg hunt started at four thirty when they told everyone it starts at six. ”

I had thought going early would be cheating.

I didn’t want to be that person. Instead, I was that person who showed up at the right time and still got nothing. “Easter egg hunting in the Philippines is cracked,” I muttered. “I don’t get why I’m so sad.

”

My friend tried to cheer me up. The journey is the reward. The eggs are the friends we made along the way. I told them to shut up.

I wanted prizes. I wanted eggs. I didn’t want a lesson about friendship. I kept an eye on the police.

Even they didn’t know where the eggs were, and I considered asking one for a ride to Salcedo just to check that side of the city. Excuse me, Pa, are there eggs in Salcedo? This way? Straight?

He pointed vaguely and I nodded like it made complete sense. “We have to actually find the eggs,” I finally said. “Thank you. ”

I needed at least one.

I wasn’t about to get grounded over a plastic egg. That would have been embarrassing on so many levels. And then, just to distract myself from the crushing failure, I started talking about history. Gabriela Silang.

The Filipina revolutionary. The first woman to lead a revolt against the Spanish in Ilocos in 1763. After they murdered her second husband, she took command of his troops and waged a harassment campaign until she got captured and hanged. An absolute legend.

“This is basically equivalent to me not getting any eggs,” I said. “Call me a Generala,” I added. “I’m so sad, bro. ”

I mean, I wasn’t leading troops into battle.

I was wandering around a closed street looking for a hidden plastic egg. But still. I was determined. I was emotionally invested.

I was sweating through my hair tie. I stopped for a second and looked around. So many people walking by. So many strangers holding eggs.

I hadn’t found a single one. And then I looked at the table with the huge prizes again. There were still eggs out there. I knew it.

I just had to figure out where the next one was hiding before someone else did. My friend pulled out their phone and studied the map like we were plotting a raid. “Let’s go,” I said. “We’re not leaving until we find at least one.

”