The Color of My Fears [COMPLETE]

Chapter 4 - More Visions [#14]

I looked behind my back from time to time, to assure myself no evil creatures of the night were stalking me. None behind me, I said to myself. But evil and horrors don't originate at your back; they are meant to scare you to death at first, that's why they should come in front, don't they? So when I turned to face the road, I saw dark figures looming in the distance. Oh, it's the branches of kapok trees swaying low, I thought. But it's slowly getting bigger every second! My feet, if I still remembered it, instinctively carried me to stand motionless behind a large trunk of a dead kapok tree, hiding my body. I smelled something like burning sulfur, heavy and dissonant in the moist evening air. It's a sign of something evil brewing in the air. I couldn't help imagining, in my puerile mind, all sorts of monstrous creatures with hideous appearances meant to freeze someone foolish enough to walk alone this evening with the full moon hiding behind dark clouds, let alone someone, a boy at that, with the propensity to see visions of an occult nature. These monsters might appear suddenly, lurking in every bush and corner of the road, ready to devour me any time. Feeling a bit dizzy in this kapokian twilight, I had totally forgotten the reason why I chose this particular time to go to the little house by the creek (sa higad sapa).

It's only in my mind, and therefore untrue, I kept on repeating, saying to myself, trying to convince myself that there was nothing on the road but dusts and pebbles and mud. But it was a lie I didn't know was a lie. What do you call it? More like cognitive dissonance? My other self said, it's true and you better take a peep. Giving in, from behind the dead trunk of the kapok tree, I peeped and looked ahead at the long stretch of the road, painted to a dull white by the pale moonlight. The dark figures were still there, becoming larger every moment, the shapes blurred by moving shadows formed by moonlight. Am I hallucinating?  I thought. Is this one of my visions, similar to the one I saw during that unfortunate race with Nilo?

Legs shaking and hands trembling, I decided to go back, to run as fast as I could, back to where I was minutes ago, and to the safety of our house. Mother would be happy then. This is a bewitchment (bagat), pure dark and evil. I am being bewitched! I finally admitted. So did I ran, as fast as my feet would carry me, as if I had never run like this before in my twelve years of life living in the hacienda; it was all the whole earth for me. Run, Junior, run. Your life depends on it. I heard that voice again. I'm running, just leave me alone, I cried silently, no sounds came out from my mouth, and the only sound I heard was the throbbing of my heart.

I saw our house just ahead, its silhouette looming in the distance, combined with the shadows of kapok trees, a montage of roof, wall, leaves, branches, and trunks. A hundred feet more, and...

Run faster! (Dalagan, dasiga!) I heard someone called out from behind, unmistakably a human voice, male. Run even faster! (Dasiga gid!) I jumped to the side of the road, more surprised than feeling scared, without even bothering to look at whoever was running or who was it he's running from. And then I saw there were three of them, running with all their might, as I stood behind a kapok tree. I saw something dropped on the road, two or three pieces, from the last one running, obviously smaller than the first two running ahead of him. And farther away, I heard a shout, You sons of thunder! (Mga lilintian kamo!)

It was the voice of Tio Jose, whose house was located at the end of the road, beside the bridge before the village school. He was running after those three, angry and with a vengeance! I could not have been mistaken. The last one running was Totpik and the other two boys were Bugok and Amay. I saw the three of them earlier at the plaza. And I recalled they beckoned Totpik to join them. They had hatched a sinister plan, done only at night, especially when the moon was out. A mischief only youth could carry out, steal somebody's Indian mangoes or bananas or guavas at night.

I picked the Indian mangoes that were dropped on the road. I started to walk towards home, but my feet opted otherwise. I told you they had a mind of their own tonight. My feet traced back the road towards Ismael's house.

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