Beyond

The Mysterious Man in White

Eerie and unusual stories circulated among the residents in one of the construction projects I had been to. One story that caught my attention was about the man in white by the waterfalls.

I happened to meet one of the guys involved and he gladly and excitedly narrated how things happened. I made some adjustments and rephrasing of the story he recounted in his poorly spoken Tagalog. Here it is.

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Ronnie and I were patrolling the woody area across the road when we noticed a figure of a man walking by the river.

The moon was shining at its brightest. He could clearly be seen across a clearing of sandy and rocky space. The trees that lined along a brook behind him were like black background, making him more visible in his white suit. His hands dipped in his pockets and his head tilted a bit to the direction of the moon.

Ronnie and I stopped our silent conversation. We looked at each other; our rusty spine tingled with excitement. In a little while, our young blood would finally engage in real action. Like a cat stalking its prey, we closed the distance and hid behind a huge rock. We watched the man strolled by the bank of the stream as if it was his domain. A sudden surge of fear suggested that it might be a ghost living in the vicinity enjoying the bright and quiet surrounding, thinking that it was quite impossible for any man to wander in a secluded place in the wee hours of the morning. But I kept my thoughts within myself.

By instinct, I drew my pistol from my waist while Ronnie cocked his long firearm.

"It's time," he whispered to me. Then he went into the open. He identified himself as a roving guard on duty and called the man to stop walking and to identify himself. At the same time, he pointed his gun above the head of the mysterious man. He further reminded the man that he was inside a private property.

The man stopped walking. I couldn't see his eyes but I presumed he stared at us. He didn't move. He must have been upset for disturbing his holy hour.

I felt weird at that very moment especially the way he looked at us. I couldn't explain why. But I didn't know what was playing in Ronnie's mind. I could hear Ronnie breathing hard. He pulled the trigger, probably by accident. It served as warning shot anyway. But the guy might have been frightened that he suddenly ran away. And it made me change my thought, that he was a human being after all.

We followed him. His nimble feet deftly evaded the rocks along the way. He headed for the waterfalls. But he couldn't get away from us. No need for flashlights as the moon clearly illuminated our path and the prey. Ronnie ran ahead of me as the trail couldn't accommodate us both. The guy suddenly stopped when he reached a huge tree by the river bank and turned around. Surprised by the unexpected action of the man, Ronnie stopped almost at the same time and I bumped on him. This time, we couldn't see the guy clearly under the shade. It was dangerous for us. He might have a weapon and fire back. And this was the reason why Ronnie fired another shot.

I thought it was another warning shot but the shadowy figure bent low clutching his belly.

He turned toward the waterfalls and disappeared. We followed him cautiously, hiding from bush to bush. But the darkness turned to be his advantage. We radioed for reinforcement. They helped us scour the area until the sun was up. We never saw the guy.

Ronnie and I got sick at the same time in the afternoon. We had a high fever and were rushed to the nearest hospital. In the morning, our superior based in Manila visited me to conduct additional investigation which I believed to be regarding the man in white. But it was about the manner of Ronnie's death. My mind numbed upon hearing it.

"Look Fred, there is a hole in Ronnie's stomach and it resembles a bullet wound. How did he get it?" he calmly asked me.

I couldn't believe his words, rendering me stunned and speechless.

I've been with my buddy the whole day before and after the incident with the mysterious man. I had seen his bare body and I could attest that there was no bullet wound before we were hospitalized.

When I went back to my work, I learned that the incident had spread and I was always on the interview by the residents. They have their opinion on what happened. They said that Ronnie shot the stomach of the mysterious man and might have died. In retaliation, Ronnie was led to suffer the same consequences.

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Fred's story ended but not in my mind. I was puzzled about the incident surrounding the death of his buddy. I kept asking myself, do spirits die and do they have the right or power to do the same to a human being? I couldn't believe it, if they do. And where did the spirit of Ronnie go? Did the man in white get him to stay with him by the waterfalls?

It remained a mystery to me.