After her parents' funeral, their old house was sold, and she went to live with her grandfather in Nasugbu, Batangas…the last living relative she had. He was a fisherman, and she thought that moving to the province would give her a fresh start, but she was wrong…new place, new ghosts.
Now she is not just the class clown but the village laughing stock. They would see her running away from an invisible entity or swatting away at an unseen foe, and the most humiliating thing is that if someone saw her doing those things? You can bet she will be the headline news that night.
"Cee, come here, child," her grandfather, Ernesto, called to her. She sat on the couch across from him. "Things will be different. The money that we got from selling the house will all go to your studies. Now, I know that this house is not something you are accustomed to; it's smaller and not pretty, but I will make sure that you can call this dingy old house your home." Ernesto assured her, pausing for a bit to catch his breath. "Now, I want you to just concentrate on your studies, okay? Leave everything to your pops."
"It's okay, Pops, if you need me to help with money, I can sell fish in the morning," she told him, wanting not to be a burden.
The old man shook his head. "Cee, don't worry about me, I can manage, just concentrate on school, okay?" Cecilia gave a melancholy smile.
"I'll study hard, pops, I promise," She assured her grandfather, making the old man beam at her.
"One more thing, child." Cecilia listens intently. "My daughter, your mother, told me about this peculiar ability of yours. Is it true?" Cecilia bowed her head, afraid that she might get shunned. The old man noticed the hesitation in his granddaughter's eyes. "It's okay, child, I won't get angry or send you away."
Hearing her grandfather's encouraging words, Cecilia came clean, "Yes, it's true. They told me to ignore the ghosts so that they would leave me alone."
"They're right, ignore whatever they do, and eventually they will ignore you too," the old man said, sharing some bit of wisdom with the girl. "Go on, child, go to sleep, tomorrow we'll go to the campus to have you enrolled."
The next day, Cecilia and her grandfather were on their way home after a physical checkup when something caught her eye. A disheveled middle-aged man was leaving the clinic and was being followed by a bloodied ghost of a young male teen. She instinctively looked away. She took a peek, and the fear crept inside her when she saw the ghost looking at her, but something unexpected happened — the ghost ignored her and continued to follow the middle-aged man.
"Gosh, that was so scary." She said under her breath, she turned around and followed them with her gaze, "I wonder why he didn't bug me? Usually, they would follow me; maybe that man has the same abilities."
"Is there anything wrong, Cee?" her grandfather asked out of curiosity. He looked at the man she was looking at. "Do you know him, child? Do you see anything lingering around him?"
"Huh? Uhm, uh, no, Pops, nothing," She dismissed the old man's inquiries. "It's just he looked like he was someone who gave up on life," she commented
"Well, that's Andres; he used to be your mom's friend. His son died a few months ago in a car accident." The old man took her granddaughter's hands. "Do not concern yourself with him."
She nods to her grandfather, and the two continue on their way home. "I guess that ghost is his son, then." She thought to herself, "Pops is right, I shouldn't bother with other people's problems." However, her eyes betrayed the sadness she felt in her heart.
But nothing went according to plan. After graduating from high school, her grandfather had a severe heart attack that nearly killed him. She could not pursue college since most of the money they had was used for the old man's treatment and medications.
2025
"I'm sorry, Cecilia, instead of studying, you had to take care of your grandfather," Ernesto lamented and bowed his head.
Cecilia, now a young lady of twenty-seven, replied, "What are you talking about, pops? Seeing you alive and well makes everything worthwhile." It was three in the morning, and Cecilia was preparing for a day of selling fish. "Now go back to sleep, okay?"
"Cee, wait." Cecilia's grandfather tied her hair into a practical ponytail.
"Just like what you did with mom when she was a little girl." She kissed her grandfather on his forehead and went on her way.
At the wee hours of the morning, she trekked the muddy roads of their village, going to her destination. Along the way, she is pestered by the ghost of an old woman: "Hey child, I know you can hear me, so don't you dare to ignore me!" Cecilia put on her headphones and blasted the music. "Wow, look at this kid ignoring her elders." The ghost had had enough of being ignored, and she went directly in front of the young lady and morphed her visage into a horrifying entity.
"Oh my God!" Cecilia blurted out, "Stop following me!" she screamed as she ran to the market.
After securing several kilos of fish to sell, she went to her stall. "Fresh Milkfish and Tilapia!" she shouted to catch the attention of marketgoers. "I'll even de-scale and clean their innards while you wait!"
Daytime, a time of reprieve for her, no ghosts bothered her while the sun was up. But when it was twilight and the sun went down, it was a different story; this was the time of the day she dreaded the most, the time when spooks and specters come out to haunt the living.
That evening, in Cecilia's second job, two waitresses kept pointing at her. "Look, watch Cecilia, she's skittish," A waitress in the coffee bar where she works as a cashier said, nudging another waitress. "Watch her, you don't want to miss it!"
Cecilia was in her chair, counting cash payments and coins. One second, she was facing right, and the next, she was facing left. "Common sister, can't you help another girl out?" the ghost of a young lady asked, but she was only ignored. This ghost pushed and shouted at the poor cashier. "I SAID…HELP ME!!!" Cecilia fell from her chair and onto the floor, scattering all the bills and coins.
"No! Get away from me!" Cecilia cringed and shrank as she sought refuge under her counter.
"Oh my gosh, that is so funny… you're such a loser, Cecilia!" The waitresses stood beside the cringing Cecilia, ridiculing her.
"See? She flinched at nothing at all!" The two waitresses laughed their guts out at Cecilia, who came out from under the counter only when the ghost left. She gathered the scattered money.
The bar closes at ten in the evening, but she only gets to go home at eleven, and only once her sales are cleared. She immediately left her workplace and began her long walk back to her grandfather's house. She saw a group of ghosts waiting for her at the street corners where she usually turns as a shortcut.
The souls shadowed her every step, and Cecilia could sense the gathering spirits trailing closely behind. Just as she was about to turn the corner, a dread-inducing sight loomed before her. Two gaping, hollow eyes stared menacingly, with ragged strips of skin barely clinging to a skeletal nose, and a vile mouth that oozed blood. This horrific visage was stretched across a thin, pallid face, sending shivers down her spine. Cecilia could no longer contain her fear; she let out an ear-piercing scream, "WAAAAHHHH!" and ran in the opposite direction...towards the port.
"Get away! Go away from me, leave me alone!" she yelled, running towards the waters, hoping she could find asylum somewhere. She hid behind some large barrels, and after a while, she carefully peeked, only to be greeted by a bloodied ghost with half of its face missing. Cecilia stumbled back from the fright; she quickly stood up and ran away. She went behind a port warehouse, and that is when she saw a ship she had never seen.
A luxury liner like no other that she knew. It was a sight to behold, white like a beam of light, so massive she thought it could carry a million people at once. The bow is sharp, almost knife-like, and lights adorn the entire length of the hull. Four decks rose above the hull. Cecilia noticed the ghosts backing away at the sight of the liner, so she did the only logical course in her mind…board the ship.