Portville Village

Day 1

Paradise. Everything about this place screamed paradise.

"Okay ba sa'yo 'tong bagong nilipatan natin? Mas maganda ang view rito kaysa roon sa siyudad puro na lang polusyon." Turan ni Mama as she unloaded our stuffs.

Yeah I think I would like it better here. The picturesque beauty of the Mount Makiling knocked my breath away. It was a far- cry from the hustle bustle of the city. Suddenly, the thought of being away from my friends made me feel nostalgic. Although we were only here for my semestral break, Mom was having a second thought to stay here for good.

"Ma, maglilibot lang ako sa village ha? I'll be right back."

"Ingat ka, alam mo namang bagong salta lang tayo rito. Baka mamaya mapagtrip-an ka riyan," tugon ni Mama.

I smiled and held my sling bag, as if to remind her that I'm good and my self-defense stuffs were in my trusty bag. Finally, she shook on it.

Walang patlang na kagandahan ang bumungad pa sa akin habang nililibot ko ang Portville Village. Kung cake lamang ang lugar na ito, icing lamang 'yung nakita kong ganda ng lugar kanina at hetong mga linya ng samu't-saring bulaklak ang maituturi kong "surprise candy" ng isang cake.

But to my surprise, amidst all of the houses loomed around the area, it looked like the houses were deserted.

Until an idea sparked on my mind. I took a deep breath as I fished my mini-phone(smaller version ng megaphone) inside my sling bag. I turned it on and in no time my voice boomed.

"HELLO. HELLO!" I crowed over the area.

The cold October gale blew, giving me shivers. Nevertheless, itinuloy ko pa rin ang pambubulahaw. Hindi ko alam kung anong kapupuntahan nitong kalokohang ginagawa ko pero wala na akong pakialam kung ano man ang kahihinatnan nito. I looked around the houses that stood in a deafening silence and felt a sudden chill. Hindi ko alam kung bakit biglang binundol ng kaba ang aking dibdib.

Wala ba talagang mga nakatira rito?

Apparently, no lone soul bothered to check on me. Imagine, megaphone na 'yung ginamit ko ha! Ni wala man lang nabulahaw sa ingay na ginawa ko. How odd, I thought.

"Ang ingay mo Miss!" said a husky voice.

With that, I looked around to find where it came from and a figure of a tall and raven-haired guy gaped before my eyes. He was clad in a gray tank top and a ripped denim jeans that sheathed his long legs.

"Hi there," I greeted sheepishly. Bigla tuloy akong nakaramdam ng hiya sa pambubulahaw kong ginawa kanina. He was starting towards me and I almost forgot how to breathe as I looked at him closely. Damn, if looks could kill.

"Bagong lipat ka 'no?" Kunot-noo niyang tanong.

"Obviously," I answered half smirking.

"Well, you made a wrong choice here," he countered deliberately, staring darkly at me.

With that, I suddenly felt a loophole twisting in my stomach.

"Huh? B-bakit naman?" I managed to ask, unnerved.

"This place is haunted." He said nonchalantly.

With a toss of my head, I let out a disparaging laugh and folded my arms across my chest.

"Well, if that's so, why are you here? Wait, ikaw ba ang caretaker dito?" Sinipat ko siya ng tingin mula ulo hanggang paa. "..hmm...mukha nga eh." I said bluntly.

He scowled at my retort.

"E ikaw? Bagong salta ka lang dito pero ang ingay-ingay mo na agad?! Shame on you!" he shot back.

"Well sabihin na lang natin na wine-welcome ko lang sarili ko sa bago naming environment. Ano'ng masama roon? Saka nagbabakasakali na rin ako na makatagpo ng bagong kaibigan but it turned out an opposite," I muttered surly with an arched brow.

His lower lip was jutting out as he continued to shoot me deathray glares. I didn't know what the hell I'd done to him to treat me like this.

"Well then, welcome to hell Miss!" He crowed as he stretched his arms outwards.

"Upon meeting you, mukha ngang naka-face-to- face ko ang isa sa alagad niya!" I slurred feeling pissed sa rugged na ugali ng estrangherong ito.

Sino ba siya para tratuhin ako ng ganito? Hindi bagay ang ugali niya sa napakagandang view ng village na ito. I mused over his physique, pangbasketball player ang height niya; probably he stood 6 ft. tall. He also had a strong jaw that complemented well with his chisel physique. Needless to say, he looked like a model in a go- see.

'Sayang, gwapo pa naman sana siya, but his attitude marred his beauty!' I thought with a sour grin.

"Welcome to Portville Village. But I'm afraid to say na hindi ka magiging masaya rito during the duration of your stay," he mumbled as an impish grin played over his perfectly sculpted lips.

Okay, I had enough of this bonkerness.

Letting out a disparaging laugh, I picked my mini-phone.

"Wala akong pakialam sa sinasabi mo estrangherong mayabang. As long as hindi kita makikita, magiging masaya ako, kabaligtaran diyan sa pinagsasabi mo!" I spat and walked away, intentionally bumping into his broad shoulder.

"Ouch," I hissed through my teeth.

"Parang bakal sa tigas katawan ng lokong 'yon ah!" I mumbled under my breath, clasping my shoulder. I shot a backward glance at his direction but to my surprise, he was no longer there!

In no time, a spike of fear radiated in my chest.

What was that? Bakit ang bilis niyang mawala? Wala pang isang minuto akong naglalakad ah? Di kaya siya'y isang..... I stifled a scream at the pit of my throat and I scurried to head home.

That night, ikinuwento ko kay Mama ang encounter ko sa rude na estranghero at kung paano niya ako i-winelcome.

"Enidh calm down, maybe hindi lang sanay ang guy na 'yun na makakita ng magandang kapitbahay," she jested. I smiled at her. Clearly, my mom definitely knows how to lighten up my mood.

"Siguro nga. Baka panget mga kapitbahay niya before, kaya ganun kasungit 'yun haha!" I clipped while savouring our meal.

But still, I couldn't shake off the thought kung papaano siya nawala in the nick of time. Hindi ko na sinabi 'yun kay mama dahil alam kong pagtatawanan niya lang ako. Kung pinagtawanan nga niya ako sa ikinuwento ko kanina sa pagsabi ng lalaking 'yon na haunted daw ang lugar na ito, what more kung sabihin ko pa iyon?!

'Di kaya'y isa siyang hokage? I suddenly imagined him wearing a ninja attire, dashing side to side sa mga puno around Portville Village.

"Pero seryoso Ma, wala talagang katao- tao sa mga katabi nating bahay," I pressed, bewildered.

"Sabi nung property owner, nangibang bansa na 'yung iba sa kanila. May mangilan-ngilan na pinagkakatiwala 'yung bahay nila sa kamag-anak nila na ginagawa na lang resthouse tuwing summer vacation." Mama quipped.

"Ah, kaya pala deserted mga bahay. Kaya pala walang epek ang pag-iingay ko kanina over my miniphone." I told her as I giggled.

"Pilya ka talaga anak," she retorted at iminuwestra niya sa akin ang malukong na may laman na fruit salad.

We happily indulged on our dessert. I could feel my tummy doing flips as my gaze shifted towards the white house na katapat lang ng bahay namin. In my peripheral view, I saw a silhouette though I couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl. Thinking that it was just a pigment of my imagination, I discarded it and finished my dessert.

That night, I logged in to my facebook. There were flood of messages from my friends way back home. They said that they really missed me and I replied that I missed them already too. I smiled as I browsed at our barkada pictures.

"What could I say, I'm the prettiest girl in the bunch," I mused, feeling vain.

After surfing over my social media accounts, muli akong napasulyap sa puting bahay na katapat namin, hoping na may makita ulit akong anino. Pero wala akong nakita. Maybe imagination ko lang 'yung nakita ko kanina. At sana imagination ko na lang din 'yung rude na lalaking na-encounter ko kanina. Sana...sana.