Joy Catulay is not the kind of a girl you'd notice in the street - and that's the way she live her life. She keeps her head down and tries to live a quiet life: dull school, no close-friends, no disruptions. If there are questions about her that rem...
"DAD, MAGKASAMA na kami ni Jay ngayon. Bumalik na siya. Nasabi ko na sa kanya ang lahat ng nangyari at naiintindihan niya naman ang lahat. Dad, he did some horrible things pero I know he's a good guy. Magkamukhang-magkamukha kami!
Dad, bumalik na siya. Sana ikaw rin. Miss na miss ka na namin."
Pinadala ko agad ang mensahe kay Dad. Hindi ko alam kung mababasa niya pa ito o hindi na, pero natuwa lang ako na masayang balita na ang sinabi ko sa kanya sa pagkakataong 'to. Hindi ko na nagawa pang pahabain dahil naghihintay na sa'kin ang dalawa sa labas.
Naalala ko si Jonas, balak ko sanang magpaalam sa kanya sa huling pagkakataon kaso hindi naman siya sumasagot sa tawag ko. Ano kayang nangyari sa isang 'yun? Lintek, i-text ko na lang kapag nakarating na kami sa pupuntahan namin.
"Kaninong kotse 'to?" agad kong tanong sa dalawa nang tuluyan akong makalabas ng bahay.
Patawa-tawang umiling lamang si Percy. "Sa tropa nating si Punch!"
Agad na kumunot ang noo ko. "Whoa. Hindi mo dapat ginawa 'yan! Baka mahuli tayo!" giit ko.
"Hindi 'yan. Ako ang bahala, hop in!" saad niya lamang.
Wala naman akong ibang nagawa kundi ang sumakay na lamang. Pagpasok ko, naabutan ko si Jay na seryosong nakatingin sa hawak niyang mapa.
"Seryoso? May nagamit pa pala ng mapa sa panahon ngayon?" biro ko. Hindi niya naman ako pinansin kaya natawa na lamang ako. Seryoso nga ang isang 'to.
Ibinaling ko na lamang ang tingin kay Percy. "Dude, saan ba tayo pupunta?"
Tiningnan ako ni Percy mula sa rear-view mirror. "Sa Lasker Valley ba 'yun, Jay?"
"Lasker Valley, right!" sagot ni Jay nang hindi pa rin inaalis ang tingin sa mapa.
"Bakit dun? Saan nyo naman nahanap 'yun?" natatawa kong tanong.
"May nakausap kasi akong tao dun nung tumawag ako, alalahanin ko ang pangalan ko. Tunog Hapones e." Sandali siyang natigilan. "Ayun, Jiro Jirazuya! Kung gusto nating mag-aral dun, pwede raw tayong mag-inquire sa Seihoudo High. Tumatanggap daw sila ng transferees."
Napatango na lamang ako.
"Okay, nahanap ko na!" masayang bulalas ni Jay.
"Kuya, ready ka na ba?" masayang tugon niya sa'kin.
Agad akong tumango bilang tugon. "Para sa bagong buhay!"
Maya-maya, nagsimula nang umandar ang kotse at tuluyan na kaming umalis sa harap ng bahay namin. Sa huling pagkakataon, sinulyapan ko ito habang unti-unti na itong lumiliit sa aking paningin.
...
INILABAS KO ang litratong binigay sa'kin ni Jonas. Litrato ito ng isang batang lalaking diretsong nakatayo sa isang sulok, si Jay; at ng isang batang babaeng diretsong nakatayo sa isang sulok — si Joy.
Who is Joy Catulay?
She is not the kind of a girl you'd notice in the street — and that's the way she live her life. She keeps her head down and tries to live a quiet life: dull school, no close-friends, no disruptions. If there are questions about her that remain unanswered, they are questions that even those around her don't dare to ask.
She is the kind of a girl who felt guilty because the bullies in this town had chosen her. She moved here in Dimsdale Hills and went to my school. Everybody know her for being the silent and weak little girl, but she always loves school. Not until, the name-calling, punching, and kicking began. Cassie and her friends didn't like her. They didn't like her for being the new kid in this town.
She would wake up every morning with a feeling of dread and felt physically sick at the thought of, not just going to school, but also going anywhere in this fucked up town. She used to try and think of every possible way to get out of it but she couldn't. She stopped herself from doing it because that's the only way she could see the popular kid in their school — her brother. She couldn't go near him because of his friends surrounding him.
The one night, her brother was shot. Everyone was astounded by the news. Joy blamed herself for what happened. Other people, too. Until one day, she was approached by a group of teens and did something terrible to her.
They almost killed her. And that clique lied to the whole town by saying that Joy was taken by the Dimsdale Monster. And that clique? Those are her brother's friends.
Joy has gone, not because of the Dimsdale Monster, but because of the real monsters living in Dimsdale fucking Hills. Even she wasn't an exception for being the monster people are scared of. Because of a woman who called himself Nanang, Joy became the monster here in Dimsdale Hills.
Dimsdale Hills, a quiet place where people are blind enough to see the truth and deaf enough to hear what the woods around it says.
I hate this place for being the most fucked up and boring town I've ever knew. But in every seventh year, a monster is attacking this town by abducting and killing children and teens. They believe that a monster is trying to terrorize the whole town, scaring the hell out of them. Many stories and legends about that monster are circulating in this whole town. No one really knew whether that stories are true or not. But many evidences and testimonies are saying it's real and always ready to devour kids during the cycle.
The Dimsdale Monster will forever be mystery to me.
And to tell you the truth, with or without the Dimsdale Monster, this town taught me one thing — we are the real monsters we are scared of — the piled-up anger we have for another person, the pain turned to hatred we nourish to hurt other people, the demons in our heads, the ghostly whispers in our ears, the skeletons we're hiding in our closets, the monsters we created for our own fear.
Don't ever find monsters in the middle of the woods, you might just get lost; the real monsters are the one's we're seeing in front of the mirror.
And that's the reality.
THE END
Yay! Whooo. Sorry kung feel n'yo minadali ko na. Thank you sa sama-samang pagkapit! :)
Jiro Jirazuya in the house! Sana na-miss nyo rin siya sksksksks credits google!!
Oops! Ang larawang ito ay hindi sumusunod sa aming mga alituntunin sa nilalaman. Upang magpatuloy sa pag-publish, subukan itong alisin o mag-upload ng bago.
AGAIN, this story is inspired by SOME of Nanang's stories since I used some of SR Oldies as characters. Uulit-ulitin ko 'yan hanggang sa maabsorb nyo po hahaha
This is the end na po! Sorry sa lahat ng tragedies and all the stuff. Sana po nagustuhan nyo!
