Chapter 3: Mystery in our backyard

Rod came in at 7:15pm together with two of his friends. Our staff house was suddenly filled with laughter. Rod came not on the night he said he will be joining us but two days later. He surprised us and was kind enough to bring a bottle of brandy.

We started talking about our company's purpose. I told him about the benefits it will bring to the people in terms of employment and additional earnings. It was all about business for half an hour or so. We drank the brandy with some fried fish Pepito prepared.


"Do you have somebody else living with you here now?", Rod asked. I said, "For now, it's just the three of us since Lina isn't back yet from Santa Cruz". He giggled and looked at his glass. "I saw somebody walk by your front yard just a few seconds ago.", Rod said in a worried tone. I looked at the jalousies behind me. There was nothing except for the leaves and the branch of the tree about 10 meters from the window. "Rod, don't start it. You're scaring my boss!", Pepito said. I laughed. I told Rod that I have been in many strange places in my life but I have never seen a ghost up close and personal.

Rod said that the lot that our staff house was built on formerly stood an old, dilapidated house. Nobody lived in it for years until the owner decided to tear it down. For a while, the site was said to be haunted. Ghostly apparitions scared the passers-by at night. A lady in white would show up at times as if she was walking back and forth behind the window of the old house. Rod said that he couldn't believe the stories but people who told him about them seem to have similar experiences. It was until he saw it himself one night coming from his sister's house. He had to run because the street then was very dark and the next light post was on the other corner. He never looked back until he got into his house. When the house was demolished, there seem to be no sightings reported. Except for what he saw just a few minutes ago. I said that it might have been one of the chickens or we are already drunk. He laughed. He said, "I still know the difference between a chicken and a white dress!". "Agrh!!!", Pepito shouted, "That's enough Rod. Let's just drink and discuss something else."

I was actually a bit worried about what he saw. He never opened up a topic about "Aswang" but the apparition gave me the creeps. I said to myself, "What if that lady shows up at my window".

I actually wanted to get drunk. Besides what Rod brought, we started another bottle of brandy. I told myself that I wanted to be too drunk to think about it. It was still 9:30pm. Early for someone from Manila and late for Romblomanons. We discussed a lot of other things after that and scary stories were not included.

Rod and his friends left our house at around 10:30pm. Pepito escorted them to the gate while Lyn cleaned the table we used. I sat at the bench for while and I was already tipsy. I brushed my teeth and went straight to my room. As I looked at the window, I realized part of it was opened. I locked the jalousie and just closed my eyes. Next thing I knew it was morning already.

During breakfast, I asked Pepito and Lyn if they had any experience similar to what Rod said. Pepito declined. He said that Rod was probably testing me. I laughed. But Lyn wasn't laughing. She said that she cannot confirm nor deny it. She said that one evening when she went to the porch to get the towel she hung there to dry, she somewhat saw something or someone swiftly passed on the side of the house. "I knew I saw something from my side. It's just too dark not to notice something white just passed by". Pepito said, "Lyn, why didn't you tell me about this?". Lyn said, "I knew you will laugh if I did!".

True or not, I told myself "So what else Mr. Carpio? What else will you have to endure? "Aswang", white lady apparitions, and they can be in your own backyard." I had no where else to go but stay in this hell hole for a few weeks. I am still on my third day and all these are already making my adventure a horror story. I told myself that I will have to be drunk everyday to endure this or it will be long creepy nights for the rest of my nights in Calatrava.

No white lady showed up for days. Not even during the weekend. So I guess Rod was just testing me. I guess Lyn was just imagining things. She had to report back to Manila that week for an emergency meeting and Lina was here with us. 

Lina was born, raised and educated in the province of Quezon in Luzon. Pepito teased her and said that Lina was a member of the New People's Army (NPA). I laughed. Lina denied it but she said that she already talked with Ka Roger once in Quezon. Ka Roger is one of the leaders of the NPA band in that region. She had to do this as it was part of her job with the Non-Government Agency she used to work for.

It seems to be another night of boredom. It is only 7:00pm and as always, there was nothing to do. I told Pepito to open that brandy we bought that morning. Lina wanted to join us. We drank only for an hour or so. I guess I wasn't in a "go-get-drunk" mood. So we wrapped things us and called it a night. I went to my room and laid down. I was thinking of my family, my job and my stay in Romblon. The lights were closed. I couldn't sleep and was struggling to sleep for at least two hours.
 
Suddenly...."Baaaggg!". Something fell on our roof. I felt the weight because one of the house' foundations was near where I laid vibrated. "Shit, what was that?", I told myself. Two dogs of our neighbor started howling. These were long, creepy howls. I could hear the roof crank as if that being or thing was walking toward the ceiling above me. 

(End of Chapter 3)