Decay In Her Bones

CHAPTER 13

In a morning like this, the greatest challenge a man could ever face was to endure the ice-cold water when taking a bath. If only time permitted, Bobby would have heated a pailful of water but then he would be late. Thus, he had no choice. It was a little past five when he entered the bathroom. As he closed the door, the sound of sizzling onion in cooking oil was immediately shut off; Susan was preparing breakfast for her two boys. A silent click was followed by an orange light coming to life, illuminating the marmol tiles that covered the entire bathroom chest high. The floor felt cold beneath Bobby's feet as he made his way towards the corner where the faucet was.

He took of his clothes and hanged it by the door. He turned the faucet and waited for the water to fill. His vision was not sharp yet; the surroundings were just an orange blur to him and his senses were still not very clear. When he heard that the water was already overflowing down the floor, he snatched the dipper, scooped enough water, and poured its content over him.

His entire body shook uncontrollably.

Bobby continued to punish his body over the chilling sensation. He only had to endure a few more scoop before his body could adjust to the coldness.

As he was applying soap to his body, scrubbing his skin thoroughly, the memory of last night came back to him. He remembered feeling foolish in front of kuya Ariel, but he knew well what he saw. Besides, even they were not able to explain how the hole mysteriously appeared in the ceiling. They had both agreed that it was not there before. What bothered Bobby most was that the hole was positioned directly above where ate Becky was sleeping.

The couple did not believe in myths such as creatures who eat babies, but Ariel's mom did. When she found out about Bobby's claims, she forced them to switch rooms. At the age of seventy-three as well as the fact that she used to live in the province, instances like that was kind of usual to her already. According to her, there really were creatures of night such as the aswang. Kuya Ariel also had no choice but to stay awake and keep watch the entire night. In the end, old Mrs. Comia was the one who thanked Bobby before he was accompanied back home by Ariel.

Suddenly, a searing pain pierced through Bobby's eyes, pulling him away from the flashbacks. Everything went black as an immediate darkness overtook his sight; only his sense of touch enabled him to manage to keep his balance. His hands abruptly came to his face and scrubbed his eyes gently to get rid of the shampoo that went inside his lids. A narrow line streamed down his back, and his skin was aware that it was shampoo. As it crawled downwards, it tickled him and made his hands push the shampoo even deeper inside his eyes.

A grip of panic enveloped him: the kind of panic one feels when he is aware of another presence inside the bathroom... imagining a pair of eyes looking through the bathroom window.

Bobby groped like a beggar asking for money as his hands wobbled, searching for water. When he felt the surface of the pail in front of his feet, he scooped a handful of water and splashed it on his face. He did it one more time and waited for it to take effect. The comfort came slowly and Bobby stood up, still blind. The sensation was too painful, almost unbearable. He stood quietly while waiting for it to vanish when he was suddenly made aware of another feeling: he felt something touched the top of his head as if someone was poking him with the tip of a finger.

Bobby's figure fell toward the nearest wall. He laid flat as an intense fear gave him chicken skin. In panic, he opened his eyes even though they were still faintly in pain. As a result, a blurred surrounding formalized through his vague vision.

Did someone just poke me?

He slowly turned his head upwards.

Towards the bathroom's ceiling.