The Clairvoyant's Date

Four

Four
Stain

I can't help but feel light at last when I finally saw our house's black and brown painted gates from afar surrounded by a variety of plants and pretty flowers. Nasa kanto pa lamang ako ngunit kitang-kita ko na ito agad dahil sa matingkad na pintura nito. Daddy actually painted it last Tuesday, kaya naman ay bagong-bago pa ito.

Sa wakas, malapit na rin akong makauwi ng bahay. I can't wait to rest and stretch my bones on my soft and fluffy bed. It surely deserves to be rested after the long stressful day. Isa pa, it's already getting darker and darker.

Matapos kong mapulot ang mga papel ay dumiretso na ako nang mabilisan sa faculty room. In case you're wondering, yes, I got to see my exam results. I actually did great, which I did not expect at all. Ni hindi nga ako nagkaroon ng decent amount of time para sa pagrereview, 'di ba?

Good job, self. Yep. Applaud yourself.

And oh, the mystery about the mysterious address has been solved already. I did a little of matching the puzzle pieces. Hmm, remember the same scratch paper I got from my book? I'm sure it was from Sir Talapian as well. He actually collected our books the day before. Siguro'y naipit lang 'yon doon. Nakumpirma ko na pag-aari yun ni Sir nang nakasama ito sa exam papers namin sa subject niya. What do you, think? It makes sense, right?

Binilisan ko na ang ritmo ng paglakad ko nang makarating na ako agad sa aming tahanan. My stomach keeps on growling habang pauwi ako, at talaga namang nagugutom na ako dahil inubos ko ang oras ng break time namin para sa pagrereview at hindi na talaga ako kumain.

My walking speed gradually slowed down when I saw a silhouette of a woman, who has a very messy waist level length of hair, sitting down at the pavement.

What is a lady doing outside at this time of the day? Masyado nang gabi at delikado na rin. Hindi natin alam ang pwedeng mangyari.

Wait.

Hindi kaya... hindi siya tao? I instantly felt goosebumps nang mapagtanto ito.

Babaeng may mahabang buhok na nakatungo't nakaupo sa sidewalk.

Shit.

Titigil ba ako sa paglalakad?

I shook my head. No, no. Tumuloy ka lang.

I'm sure as hell that the beat of my heart increases as a minute goes by. Naalala ko bigla-bigla ang kwento sa lungsod na ito. It is said that this place is actually known for paranormal creatures. May mga gumagala raw na hindi matahimik na kaluluwa. White ladies, crying children--name it! Meron daw niyan dito. They also said that this place used to be where dead bodies were thrown noong unang panahon.

Hindi ako naniwala noong una dahil wala naman akong nararanasang kakaiba, pero ngayong bumubuo na ng kung anong imahe at mga konklusyon ang aking utak sa aking nakikita, hindi ko alam kung mananatili pa rin ba akong isa sa mga taong hindi naniniwala.

Ngayon ko napatunayan ang linyahang, to see is to believe.

I swallowed as many times I could. May kung anong bumabara sa aking lalamunan na hindi ko malaman. My throat started feeling dry and I could feel my skin forming beads of sweat on my forehead, nararamdaman ko pang tumutulo ito pababa sa aking leeg.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Ano nang gagawin ko?

Okay, Aia, kalma. Yuyuko ka lang at lalakad na parang wala kang nakita. Erase all the thoughts inside your head and just focus on the idea of going home. It's that easy.