Cat Calls

2nd Call

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I walked deliberately along Julia Vargas Avenue at dawn, consciously putting one foot in front of the other. I was able to get through my shift, but I had one hell of a coaching session with Shar before I was able to head out. I had no idea how I was able to work last night. My head is a mess of thoughts. Seriously? Just static? They never heard any of those creepy voices on the line?! Aargh! I opened my pack of Chesterfields and was miffed to see that I was down to just two sticks. I just bought these last night! What the hell is happening to me? Nope. I had to stop thinking. I didn't want to think anymore. Not anymore. Not any---

"Mew."

Awww... A kitten sat in the middle of the sidewalk. For an alley cat spawn, she really looked good. Overcome with cuteness, I sat on my haunches and held out my hand for the kitten to sniff. She came up to me directly instead, rubbing her head against the back of my hand. I could hear her purring loudly as she did so. Then quick as lightning, she bit me, drawing blood from two puncture wounds. I put my hand in my mouth in reflex. When I looked back up, the kitten was already gone.

The bite disappeared as soon as I reached the dorm. No wounds, no scars, no nothing. It made me wonder if that was another hallucination or not. I mentioned that to Doctor Acta but he just told me that it might as well just be a reaction to the episode that happened on the production floor. I thought about that, and ended up agreeing with him. It might just have been something brought on by stress. I just thanked the doctor for his time, went back home and kept taking my medications.

THe next couple of weeks flew by. Work was the same as always, but at least, I never got any of those freaky calls or even those weird elevator visions or whatever. All in all, it was a good two weeks at work. By December 25th, I hurried to Cubao to catch a bus going to Pulilan as soon as I got off work. I was thinking of spending the holidays alone at my grandmother's old place. Somehow, I just wanted to be far away from it all this time. Good thing, I still have the key to the old house.

I arrived at the house late on the 25th. I've already forgotten how hard it is to commute there past 9 pm. I had to walk all the way from the main road along deserted, barely lit back roads flanked by ricefields. I'm just lucky that I still remember the way there. Looking at the tall bamboo groves that dotted the streets on the way to Barrio Pulo, I was reminded of the old ghost stories that my cousins and I told each other when we were all younger. Acccording to the tales, there are elementals living among the bamboo groves of the barrio. Anyone caught out walking along the paths past midnight are halted from entering the barrio as the said elementals would bend the tall stalks to block the roads. I guess that story, and probably all the others were just pure nonsense. The bamboo remained tall and unbent, slightly waving in the breeze, never bending to block my path even once.

It was almost 1 am when I reached Mamay Remedios' house. As expected, it was dark and quiet in the cusp of the mango grove Lolo Lito planted decades ago. The last time I was here was three years ago, in the last night of Mamay's wake. Since then, as far as I know, the house stoold empty and abandoned. Memories flooded back to me as I turned the key in the lock. Everything smelled of dust and stale air, but underlying that was the familiar smell that I grew up with. I tried the light switch, but nothing happened. Not surprising. I took my flashlight and tried to find my way around. As usual, it's too late to realize that I did not plan this excursion well enough as I should have. Regardless, I was already here, so I might as well stay the night. Besides, it's not like I could hail a cab then and there and zoom my way back to Manila.

I found my old room, and was mildly surprised to find it in almost the same condition as I left it three years ago. All my old stuff were still there. A thick carpeting of dust was the only addition. I shook off the dust from the bedcovers as well as I could and laid on the bed fully clothed. I must have been pretty tired because in a matter of minutes, I was already deeply asleep.