Decay In Her Bones

CHAPTER 5

In front of Bobby stood a boy with a pale face and whose hair spiked in different directions. He tried to smoothen the chaos in his hair with a gel but soon realized that it was a mission impossible. Under his black eyes, instead of eye bags, were eye suitcases that covered almost half of his cheeks. His face was smooth except for a few pimples which was the product of sleepless nights. The boy just ignored them, thinking that they would soon vanish. Probably the only thing that the he did not like about his looks was his enormous ears that gave him an unusual appearance ― a minor physical flaw that would often catch random people's attention. Still, Bobby faced him with a thin smile. The boy immediately imitated the expression, for it was Bobby's reflection in the mirror who wore the same smirk as his.

It was 3:00 PM, the first time Bobby finally stepped into the sala and looked into the same mirror where he had his first ever paranormal encounter. He examined his own features from his red T-shirt down to his navy elephant pants as if expecting to see the Bloody Mary again. Bobby sighed in relief when it didn't. Although he did not consider the apparition last night as a hallucination, he soon decided that it would not appear anymore. I called for her and she came, Bobby thought, I won't do it again. Ever.

After lunch, Bobby told Franz and Daniel about what had happened last night via text messages. Unexpectedly, Franz did not tease Bobby with I-told-you-so's. In fact, to Bobby's surprise, Franz sounded like he did not believe his story. He asked a lot of questions regarding how Bobby uttered the incantation and how long did it take before the Bloody Mary had appeared. He then went to the specifics concerning her curious appearance. To Bobby's reckoning, Franz did not seem to believe that it really happened... that the Bloody Mary curse wasn't just a myth. Perhaps it was a personal joke for him to have urged Bobby to do this in his hope of seeing a ghost. Meanwhile, Daniel's messages sounded more like a statement of concern. Maybe he felt that his conscience wasn't clear for having been the one to suggest the idea and that if Bobby was hurt, he was to be blamed. Perhaps Daniel, too, found it bizarre that the Bloody Mary had actually appeared. The two of them did not care anymore if Bobby saw a ghost or not; their main concern now was the fact that a ghost could actually be summoned. It was kind of a News to them.

Mylene, however, seemed to have forgotten about it entirely, for she had not asked Bobby a single question regarding his planned ghost hunting. Bobby thought about telling her when they saw each other that afternoon, but that was still an hour later. He was currently preparing himself for a Sunday mass that the two of them would attend. It was Mylene's idea to go to Landayan and attend the mass in the well-known church named Santo Sepulcro. It was one of the oldest churches in San Pedro; erected in 1969, it housed the famous image of Jesus lying in a tomb which the pilgrims called Lolo Uweng. Its complete name was Parroquia de Santo Sepulcro, but people often referred to it simply as "Landayan Church". Although people flocked to this church on Fridays, Eucharistic celebrations were also held on Sundays. Another famous landmark in Landayan was the Well of Lolo Uweng. It was eminent among Catholics in San Pedro because it was said that the water from the well was miraculous. The water there was for free; visitors needed only to bring their own container.

At first, Bobby wondered why they were going to Landayan that day. There was St. Peregrine Laziosi Parish shrine which was in Tunasan. It was nearer to where they lived, but Mylene thought that she wanted to visit Lolo Uweng and hear the Mass in Landayan that day.

Bobby was not very religious; for him it was more of just accompanying Mylene. So, he agreed without giving much thought about it.

After an hour, Bobby found himself with Mylene, entering the Santo Sepulcro Church. Outside, it looked small; just a triangular infrastructure the scale of an average-sized house. It had a white facade that complimented the white bell tower that loomed beside it like a giant bottle of lotion. Its gate that served as an entry way to the building was just a twenty-foot black fence across its horizontal area. The image of Lolo Uweng, which was laid a few yards above the central altar, could already be seen from where they stood. A chamber covered with glass housed it; an image adorned in red fabric against the golden altar. The chamber could be accessed, however, only from the inside. Pilgrims who wanted to touch the miraculous hand of Lolo Uweng had to fall in line which usually started from the street outside. It continued through the right wing of the church until it went through a spiral staircase leading up to the central chamber. The inside of the chamber was enormous, a hollow that usually gave its visitors a heaven-like sensation. Upon entering it, pilgrims were immediately met by the glass wall at the left side of the room. It was the chamber that held the image of Lolo Uweng, the same one that could be seen outside the altar. As Bobby had observed before, the image's face looked sad but peaceful. A golden ring encircled around its head with three rays of light at its end, just above its forehead. Resting on the image's chest was another golden circlet; the woven crown of thorns that was placed on the head of Jesus Christ during His passion and death. The glass that divided the image from the pilgrims had a small, circular opening where one could insert his hand in order to touch the wooden hand of Lolo Uweng. There, pilgrims reached out to the open palm and solemnly prayed for their various intentions. It always smelled like sampaguita there.

Since the main entrance was too crowded already, Bobby and Mylene went to the left wing of the building and tried other entryways. Its left wing was lined with two openings that arched over black gates. The inside of the church, during that time when there was no air-conditioning yet, was poorly ventilated.

Unfortunately, a great swarm of people already barricaded the portals, making it impossible for them to enter the main vicinity.

Mylene checked the time; it was five minutes before the 5 p.m. Mass started. She whispered to Bobby, "Let's just stay here."

"Okay," Bobby replied.

To Bobby's discomfort, there were a lot of old people passing back and forth in front of them. One of them was an old woman uttering a silent prayer, giving her an appearance of a witch who was uttering a curse. Bobby shivered; an image of the Bloody Mary flashed back through his thoughts. He tried to ignore it and concentrated instead on the people inside. Through the iron doors, he saw the mass of people seated on the sea of pews lining both sides of the center aisle. Most of them were also deep in silent prayers as they waited for the mass to start. Bobby tried to imagine what could all of these people be wishing to God, but then, the thought overwhelmed him. He shifted his attention to the ceiling and observed the giant chandeliers hanging on metal chains. They appeared like oversized golden lampstands suspended in mid-air. His gaze followed them one by one until he reached the last of them that hanged right above the entrance of the church. Looking at it, his eyes were caught by an illumination that shone somewhere to the right. When Bobby's eyes traced it, he shivered. It was a life-sized image of Jesus crucified on the cross. It was made of wood that looked as if it had surpassed the challenges of time, giving it an eerie look. The yellow light that shone above it added to the creepy effect, emphasizing the faint outlines that served as wounds. Bobby knew that it was a religious image ― a symbol that represented Catholicism, but it appeared differently to him. He could not imagine himself praying in front of it.

A few moments later, the sharp sound of bells rang from across the aisle, bringing Bobby back to the present. The ringing immediately extinguished the noises that enveloped the titanic room, signifying that the mass was about to start.

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