The Ghoul's Game

2. The Graveyard - Part 2

I gazed at the old mansion's exterior. It was hauntingly beautiful. Breathtaking. As if it was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your life. I wasn't sure whether to be sad or happy. It was quite difficult to explain the myriad of emotions I was feeling at the moment. I suddenly wondered if the mansion was actually haunted. When I was younger, around the age of three, my parents brought me to visit my maternal grandmother's house in the Philippines. It was a large old house located in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, that dated back from the Spanish colonial period in the 1890's.

My parents stayed in one of the rooms on the first floor where my aunts lived. One day, I was playing in the living room when I suddenly decided to go up the second floor where my grandmother spent most of her time. I was never allowed to go upstairs. Eventually, as I got older, I found out that it was due to the valuable collections my grandmother had. They were all figurines made out of crystal glass and were given by government officials who courted my grandmother.

While my parents were busy talking to the neighbors, I found an opportunity to sneak up the stairs. I was a curious kid who loved to wander off. To be honest, I got lost a lot of times when I was a little. Even when I got older, but it only made me stronger and braver, because I knew deep down, I could do anything.

As soon as I got to the middle, I saw a pale old woman by the landing. Floating. And I could see through her!

The woman was smiling as she tried to get close to me. I remained rooted to my spot as I watched her slowly turned to white smoke, like someone just blew the candle. I closed my eyes and let out a piercing cry that made my parents run to the stairs in panic. My grandmother came to see what was going on. After she heard what happened, she carried me in her arms and pointed at one of the black and white pictures mounted on the wall. Her index finger pointed at each woman. I shook my head every time, until she got to the old woman sitting in the middle of the group. It was her. My great grandmother, Socorro.

I think after that day, I could sense spirits around me. Growing up, I often saw things that other people couldn't. Some say it was simply my imagination. She's a writer. She could easily make things up. My grandmother told me I had a third eye. It was a gift. A blessing from up above. At first, I didn't want to believe her when I was younger, because it felt more like a curse to me than a blessing.

My parents had to bring me to a therapist, thanks to their so-called friends who convinced them to get me help. My classmates found out and stayed away from me. They felt like I belonged to the loony bin. My parents stopped taking me to therapy and moved away. They knew I wasn't out of my mind. They believed every story of mine. As time went by, I started to embrace my gift.

"So, what's the story behind this mansion?" I slipped my hands inside my short pockets.

Hansley tied the trash bag before looking up at the house. "I'm not so sure. All I know is Borden manor belonged to an old scientist named Ralph Borden who passed away long time ago. The tombstones here were all the families from the Borden family line."

"Does anyone live here?" I asked, brushing off a few dried leaves on top of a tombstone. "Perhaps, one of his family members?"

"No," he turned to look at me. "According to the people here, Mr. Borden never married. And I heard this place is haunted by his spirit," he started wiggling his fingers at me, as if he was scaring a little kid. I laughed at his playfulness. "Seriously, no one wanted it. The remaining family members don't even care to put it up in the market. They said it's a waste of time."

"Interesting," I nodded. "Is there a way we could get inside, Mr. Caretaker?"

He grinned, fishing for the ring of keys inside his brown leather bag. "I sure can. You want the tour du jour, you got it, Milady."

"Awesome." I clapped in excitement as we made our way to the mansion. Large and small tombstones with different designs covered the huge property. Something caught my eye as we approached the house. On the top floor, there was a person looking through the window. An old man.

I stopped in my tracks, and then backpedaled a few steps. Hansley turned around. "Hey, are you okay?"

"You mentioned earlier that no one lives here, right?" My heart started to race. The old man slowly turned around and disappeared from the window.

"Yeah, I did," he said, following the direction of my gaze. "Why, what's wrong?"

I opened my mouth and closed it again. Shaking my head, I turned around and started walking fast back to the gate.

Hansley jogged behind me. "Wendy, wait up! I thought you said you wanted to go inside?"

"Yeah, I wanted to," I was a little out of breath. "Sorry, but I just remembered something right now. I have to go meet up with my friend. She's probably worried about me."

When we reached the gate, my heart slowed down. I bent down and started rubbing my chest. I don't know why my body reacted that way when I saw that old man at the window. I wasn't afraid of ghosts, but that ghost was different. He terrified me. I didn't want Hansley to know about my ability to see the supernatural. It was best to keep it from him.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Wendy. Safe travels." His smile looked a little sad as he leaned next to the iron gate with his thumbs hooked at his pockets. His doe eyes twisted my heart. Ouch.

"I'm not leaving yet, silly," I smiled, taking my cellphone out from my purse to check my messages. "I'm here for two weeks, remember?"

His face lit up. "I guess I'll be seeing you around then."

"You bet," I winked at him and started walking away. I turned around to give him another wave, but he was no longer there. Well, that's weird. Where the hell did he go?