Chapter 2
I don't know why it happened. That is all I can say. All the people inside the bus were killed in a sudden crash. I didn't know, my dream was already giving me a warning!
If only. . . I had just shouted it yesterday! Then maybe no lives would have been wasted! The kids, the elders, every single one of them.
It feels like all of this pain fell on me.
I was looking out the window. Staring at the wide blue skies, while the sun cast its blazing rays on me. The intense heat of the sun was already spreading. With every passing hour, it felt like the whole world was slowly coming to a halt.
I know it was my fault. It always was.
There, that's right! All of that is your fault! IF YOU HAD SHOUTED IT, THEN THEY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE! IDIOT!
A strange, eerie voice echoed from nowhere, cold and venomous. I turned to where it came from but I couldn't see anything. No one was there. But why was someone shouting right into my ear?
Is it just my mind playing tricks on me? I don't know. I looked at myself in the mirror. A troubled face stared back at me, silently questioning my sanity. I think. . . I was just overwhelmed. Maybe that's why I was imagining that I saw, heard, or felt something even though there was really nothing.
The door to my room opened so I gasped. I saw Mom smiling at me. The gentle smile on her face still hadn't faded.
"My child, your old friends. . ." Her gaze wandered around my room, as if looking for something, then looked back at me. "They're looking for you."
I don't know if I still have friends here. Ever since my friend and I fought because of a girl, the group completely fell apart. I haven't heard from them anymore, though.
But why are they looking for me? Did they make up already?
I urged myself to look at Mom. "Since when?"
"Since yesterday."
I just nodded at her answer. After that, Mom said she would go to the market first. I only found out now that my mother also sells at the market.
I was left alone in the house. Dad wasn't around because he said he had somewhere to go.
I don't know what to do here. I don't have anywhere to go either since I rarely went out before.
In the end, I was holding my phone while endlessly scrolling through my social media. I didn't do anything the whole morning. I only kept scrolling through Facebook.
"My child, help your father outside," Mom ordered.
I looked at her in surprise. I didn't realize she had already come home.
I knew she was waiting for me to move, so I immediately stood up and went outside to quietly follow her order.
I saw my father carefully sorting and caressing a few ripe mangoes. I approached him to help. He insisted that I shouldn't, but I insisted even more. Until he just smiled and let me help.
I also helped in preparing and cooking the vegetables. I was happy that the three of us were working together, the feeling light while we were busy in the kitchen. It's just like. . . I suddenly became my younger self again.
After we finished cooking, we also ate together at the dining table.
"Some of those mangoes there, my child. Bring some with you, okay?" my father said.
I enjoyed it more than I expected. I just looked at him and smiled, then gently nodded in agreement.
We paused for a moment when we heard a series of loud knocks on the main door. I was the one who went there to see who had arrived. It was my cousin, Sol.
"Hey, Luke!" She was slightly surprised when she saw me, but later smiled and fully entered our house.
She was my cousin from my father's side. She's one of my closest cousins, almost the same age as me. Most of my cousins, whether on my mother's or father's side, are really close to me. We talked for a while, the conversation light and lively, before she said goodbye.
She said something before leaving.
"Uh, Aunt Yessy, you're invited to my sibling Aries' birthday. It will be held at the famous resort. And, you already know that," she said properly before finally leaving the house.
***
So, it's Sol's sibling's birthday today? I almost forgot about it.
We were heading to a resort that was just near our place. I was quietly excited because this was only my second time coming here. I think. . . the first time I went here was when I was graduating from high school.
Don Picaso Malawmawan Sands Resorts & Travels Inc.
That was what was written on the large sign at the entrance. I stared at it for a few seconds, feeling the familiar sensation, before finally looking away and continuing to walk.
A woman approached us. She might be in her 40s, based on her appearance. She was neatly dressed, had faint lines around her eyes, and carried herself with a calm, composed posture.
"Ah, excuse me. Do you already have a reservation?" she asked calmly.
Mom was about to answer, but I answered instead. "Yes, ma'am. Samson family."
The woman left for a while because she said they would confirm first if there was a Samson family inside. While waiting for confirmation, we just stayed at the entrance.
I was just looking at the people walking wherever you looked. Three years. It was three years that I'm here again for the second time in this resort since high school graduation.
I couldn't believe that this resort had changed a little. I wasn't really a regular visitor here in the past whenever I went home to the province.
I had no time to give myself a fresh, clear mind. I think problems don't stop unless I truly fix them.
The woman returned after three minutes. There was a smile on her face. "You may come inside. Your family is already waiting for you. Enjoy!"
We entered through the resort's entrance. On our first step, two women immediately approached us to inform us where our family was seated.
I could already see the ocean. Even from a distance, the view stretched wide and inviting. There were already people heading there to swim. That's when I truly felt my excitement.
When we got closer to the shore, I saw Sol and Jerome happily splashing in the water.
I also saw many of my cousins swimming in the sea. The sand wasn't like before anymore. It was even more eye-catching compared to the first time we went here.
From far away, I saw my Uncles and Aunts there. Some were watching the kids. Some were eating. And some were laughing.
We reached where the rest of our family was seated at the tables. I think they rented three or four tables.
Manang Celia greeted us with her familiar, beaming smile. "Look what we have here!"
I did 'mano' to her (in which you'll bring your forehead closer to their hand as a respect). She had been our nanny since we were kids. She used to watch over us whenever our parents left the house.
Even though I was only gone from the province for four months, I missed our nanny. And why wouldn't I be?
After that, I gently looked at my aunts and the rest of my extended family from my mother's side.
I immediately did 'mano' to all of them, too. I didn't miss the chance in case they would complain that I didn't respect the elders.
But thankfully, the short exchange of greetings ended. I approached my Dad to help him for a while. After that, I excused myself to go to my cousins who were happily swimming by the shore.
It was breezy. The wind was too strong here. This is really what you feel when you're in the province.
I was startled when a young boy approached me. I don't know who he was, so I was just smiling gently at him. He looked at me from head to toe, blinking slowly, as if memorizing who I was.
I don't know what the boy was doing, whether he was curious or he was silently judging me with those observant eyes.
"Kid, why are you observing me?" I asked him, wanting to hear the answer to the thoughts circling in my head.
He didn't move. He was still staring at me while his expression remained the same. Curiosity.
"Are you a demon?" he suddenly asked, which made me freeze immediately and slightly part my lips.
What the hell.
He stepped closer to me, which made my lips part even more. He was smiling faintly. "Because. . . we're the same. A demon."
The smile on his face slowly etched itself into my mind. That smile was strangely familiar. I don't know where I saw it before. But I'm sure I've seen that smile somewhere.
I slowly tried to go back on track, but it seemed my feet had failed me. There was something unseen pulling at me, quietly controlling my movements.
"Luke, who are you talking to?"
My senses returned when someone called my name. I slowly closed my eyes and turned toward her. Then I gently opened my eyes to see her clearly. It was Martha, one of my cousins.
"N-Nothing," I answered, slightly stuttering. I looked at the boy earlier, but he had vanished like a bubble.
I was completely stunned. What the fuck was happening?
I looked again into the distance, but I really couldn't see any boy. I just wanted to ask what he meant.
Martha tapped my shoulder, so I turned to her. She was just smiling at me. "You're just stressed, so come to the sea. Cool yourself down first."
I was about to answer but she suddenly grabbed my hand to pull me there. I didn't have a choice but to follow her lead.
The water wasn't that cold when we splashed in the sea. But sometimes large waves would crash toward us so it was too dangerous if we went farther.
"Luke," Sol called me.
I automatically looked at her, a sudden feeling of curiosity creeping in. I don't know why she called me so I signaled to her what it was.
She just shook her head slightly. So I turned back again while splashing here.
I don't know what was happening to me. It seems something strange was going on. I just really didn't give it meaning if maybe it wasn't true.
But I felt like I just saw something I've seen before. It felt like what I was seeing was real.
That boy earlier. . . he didn't seem human.
The way he smiled at me, I feel like I was trapped in a horror movie. His voice was eerily familiar to me, too. It didn't sound like a child, and not fully human either.
I returned to my real thoughts because someone suddenly screamed from not too far away. I didn't look directly at the one who screamed, instead I looked at the people walking toward there.
My cousins also approached there. I didn't know what was happening, but there was an unseen force that kept me from coming closer.
I remained splashing in the sea while watching the people gathering not far away.
Even though my cousin was shouting at me to come and look there, I couldn't do it. It felt like something was pulling me underwater so I couldn't leave.
I couldn't help it. I wanted to leave. I wanted to look at why people went there.
I looked down at my feet to check if something was pulling me or not. I froze when I felt something strange around my ankle.
It felt like. . . there was a cold hand tightly holding my foot.
I didn't think anymore whether there was really a hand holding my foot. I forced myself to push away the fear and leave.
After a few minutes, I finally got free from my position. I hurriedly left the sea and went to the crowd of people.
I had no idea what was happening around me.
I couldn't see what they were there for so even though it was too crowded, I still tried to get closer to the center.
I asked some people there what happened. And they said that a child had drowned. When I saw Jerome near the center, while looking down, I slowly went to them.
I was shocked when I saw the body there. But I didn't know who it was because it wasn't facing us.
Based on the body I saw, it was a boy. And I think he was already dead. There were also police and authorities approaching near us so we left one by one.
When they got closer here, they turned the body of the boy around. I was shocked when I saw the familiar face of the drowned boy.
It was the boy I saw earlier. The boy who asked me if I was a demon. It was also the boy who suddenly approached me with that terrifying smile.
I noticed that his eyes seemed to be staring at me. As if he was saying. . .
They have found me.
But that wasn't the only thing I noticed. . .
Why does it look like the boy is smiling while his face is facing me?
#ISWISCh2