Meeting the Peculiars

ONE

My daughter was looking at me intently. She's really into my story. "Mommy. What did you see ba?" she curiously asked.

"What I saw back then was something that I won't expect from my entire existence sweetheart."

---

So I'm not dreaming. These are all probably real. But how?

"Amanda! Sino 'yang kasama mo?" Mandy looked at me first before turning her gaze to a man with hands and feet just like from a bear. I don't know if those were real but seeing the thick brown furs astounded me and frightened at the same time.

"She's my friend Frank," Mandy replied with beam on her face but the four peculiar creatures gave them different looks.

The one with furry feet and hands narrowed his charcoal gray eyes as if he's inspecting me from head to toe.

Another quite normal guy except from his height with around nine feet tall and a skinny girl with silky straight black hair and a pair of fluffy white wings, if it is really possible, slowly shook both of their heads as a sign of disapproval.

Lastly, another petite girl with a shoulder-length hair and full of abstract black marks  or tattoos all over her body including her eyes and protuding lips just remained expressionless.

I blink abruptly still hoping that I'm just dreaming or hallucinating but even I did it so many times, they are still in my sight.

"I-I think... I-I have to g-go." I stuttered as I managed to  stood on my feet that were still shivering.

As I moved one step backward, droplets of water started to hit my head. When I looked from the above, few patches of  dark blue skies started to pour big drops of  rain heavily together with strong winds that thrashed the branches of trees and on my body adding a cold feeling in me.

"It's raining Shana. I guess you need to stay with us until t---"

"I-I need to go Mandy! S-Sabihin mo lang sa akin kung paano ako makakabalik sa amin or kung nananaginip lang ako!" I cut her off and softly slapped my face. "Then please w-wake me up! N-nababaliw na ba ako! This isn't real. T-This isn't r-real," I shouted though my lips was already numb because of the icy winds and downpour.

Tears started to streamed down my face as I turned my back behind them and started to walk somewhere— away from them.

I don't know what's happening.

Kanina lang, palabas ako ng bahay para bumili sa convenient store tapos ngayon nasa isang kakaibang lugar ako na puno rin ng mga kakaibang tao.

Ni hindi ko nga alam kung nanaginip lang ako o baka guni-guni ko lang o baka totoo nga ang lahat ng to.

Another whooshing wind passed my body and in a snap, my feet weren't on the muddy ground already.

My whole body seemed to be light as a feather and then there, I realized that someone was carrying me in a lying position.

"Magpatila ka muna ng ulan. You can't also go back to your place for just few minutes. It would take hours." A tiny and rat-sound voice shrieked as he put me down in the lower portion of the bunk bed.

My jaw almost dropped when I saw this three feet man with a golf-shaped brown eyes and sharp and long ears in front of me.

Is he a goblin?

How come he managed to carry me with a size like that?

A chilly feeling touched my nape as I heard a voice on my right ear.

"He's not a goblin Shana. Don't repeat it to him. Saka sobrang lakas niya kahit maliit siya," Mandy whispered.

Nilingon ko siya at saka ko lang napansin na nandito rin pala sa loob ng isang kwarto ang mga nakita ko kanina.