The Color of My Fears [COMPLETE]

Chapter 2 - Dead Bird in the Closet [#9]

What did I just read? The alpha waves in my brain started to dance, waiting for the right frequency, the one that was even more powerful than the Schumann resonance, earth's natural vibration. And when it did arrive, I entered into a trance; I was in synch with the last wave. I might have gone farther into the trance had not Ismael quickly snatched the booklet from me.

After a few seconds, I recovered and felt relieved, but only to find out that both Ismael and Tony were staring at me.

"Have you seen a ghost (morto)?" Tony whispered, this time his voice changed into one of concern mixed with fear.

I didn't mind him and from the corner of my eyes, I espied another object on the shelf. A small, crystal-clear bottle, with some sort of grayish white smoke curling inside, stood alone, apart from the rest of the things in the upper shelf. The bottle turned hazy at first then started to clear, the smoke fading away. Then the smoke appeared again, taking on a form, morphing into many shapes. Tony extended his hand to try to get the bottle. But Ismael's hand managed to grab it first.

"This bottle contains my fears," Ismael revealed, there he was again, speaking the words smoothly, credibly. I had known him since we were in grade one in the village school, but this was the first time I heard him speak like this. His words struck me as mysterious, full of secrets waiting to be revealed and the way he voiced out those words got my head spinning. As he spoke, his face became dark, his image blurred, but his voice was as clear as glass breaking on metal.

Ismael continued, "I trapped my fears inside the bottle. The color started out as red, back to the days when I have so much to fear. My fears slowly disappeared and the color has turned gray. I got nothing more to fear now." He brushed aside his wavy hair and exposed a cut earlobe on his left ear. "See this? Father accidentally sliced a piece of my ear with the labaha. He's still learning to be a barber then. I was scared to death to get a haircut after that. But father showed me how to trap my fears, including the fear of the labaha." That's it. I got hooked.

Fear of the labaha! Ismael had exactly the same fear that I had. Eagerly, I poured out to him what I feared most, the silvery labaha that could slice a man's neck with one swoop. I pleaded with him how I could do the same, to banish away not only the fear of the labaha but all of my fears, if possible. The elves (tamawo), goblins (kama-kama), tree demons (kapre) puffing on big cigars, and all the supernatural beings that inhabit the lunok and other enchanted (mariit) trees. Not to mention the witches (aswang), vampires (bampira), werehorses (tigbalang), and other evil creatures of the night. For endless seconds, I waited for him to tell me how. "I forgot," he said nonchalantly at last.

Despaired, I walked into a corner, nearly sulking. I wanted to leave then but Tony slowly approached me and looked at me with that inquiring gaze. Then I remembered.

I faced Ismael. "I don't see the bird. Where is it?" Tony tried to get past Ismael to look for the bird, but Ismael's body blocked him easily.

Ismael rummaged through the bric-a-brac, finally found a yellow-stained shoe box and opened it. Inside was a small bird, stuff and dried, obviously dead, lying on its side. Its feathers, though crumpled, still gave an ebony sheen. I'd never seen a bird like it before. It was the size of a maya but was black all over, with small beak and claws, except for one thing, the eyes. They were red and fresh and alive! Turning the dead avian on its side, I poked it with my fingers.

"Ouch (aguy)," I said, more surprised than feeling pain. I felt something pricked my fingers. Then I saw red droplets dripping to the bottom of the box. Quickly withdrawing my hand, I saw a tiny amount of blood oozing from my right pinkie.

What followed next became jumbled in my mind. However, I did see images of various colors and smelled odors coming out from that shoe box. Things spun around me. I felt the heavy presence of bayabas hanging in the air. I tried to raise my right hand but couldn't do so. The fruits grew larger each time they made circles around the room. Then from somewhere a labaha, flaming red, appeared and sliced all the fruits into tiny pieces, each slice tinier than the previous one until all the bayabas were gone. I cowered against the wall, my body shaking. Feeling dizzy, I slumped on a dilapidated bamboo bench lying in one corner of the room. The images began to fade away like round puffs of smoke. When I blinked, the images were gone, bayabas and labaha and the tiny slices, all were gone.

Ismael tip-toed towards Tony who was standing cold and looking pale, paralyzed like a statue in front of the fully open closet, his arms wide-open, his eyes transfixed, staring at the bird.

"Now, give me the marbles," Ismael said, standing with arms akimbo.

[End of Chapter 2]

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