I am really not an outdoorsy person – my friends knew that easy enough. However, when all of them are involved in a certain outdoor activity I almost always go with them. They’re my friends: they might be extremely rowdy and extremely hyperactive, but I love them. After all, when you’re with your friends, nothing could go wrong.
Ha! ‘Nothing could go wrong’
Famous last words.
My friend, who is also my classmate, invited me and five other guys to spend the long weekend at his hometown. He was just renting a room in the city while on college so when presented the rare occurrence of a two-day holiday right after the weekend, he immediately phoned his parents to ask permission for our getaway.
It was Wednesday when he told us the invite, so we had two days and a half to prepare everything. I was living in my brother’s at the time so I was raring to go – he even gave me pocket money!
Come Saturday morning, we met up at the bus station to ride a bus – of course – towards his home. It’s a five-hour drive and we were just grateful that we didn’t waste time so that we could have enough to explore a little when we arrive.
Around 2pm, we finally arrived at his home amidst sore buttocks and travel-weary bodies. We discovered that his house is a two-story building that is spacious for a family of five – his parents and his two siblings. They had a guest room so three of my classmates claimed that, while the two of us went to my classmate’s room. It was really a very tiring day so, with a polite ‘Good night’ to my classmate’s parents and two siblings, we retired to our resting places.
Of course nothing happened on the first day. I was really looking forward to a stress-free mini-vacation, but sometimes life comes in and shakes everything up.
We decided to go hiking in the local mountain, which is also a tourist attraction. However, the mountain was rumoured to be infested with spirits – which adds to its charm. So, to ‘protect’ ourselves, we went to the shaman who gave us warnings and briefed us. He stressed that we should not make loud noises, not pee anywhere but if really necessary we should ask permission from the spirits, not leave others behind, and never to remain in the mountain after 6pm.
I guess we followed everything: we stayed together, took a few photos after ‘asking permission’, never peed even though our bladders were ready to protest. But, as we teenagers go, we ‘accidentally’ forgot two instructions – the two most important, apparently.
It was 20 minutes past 6pm when we decided to trek down. It was beginning to darken and we loved it. The surroundings just gave of this eerie, mysterious vibe that added to our thrills. Then a classmate of mine, being the idiot he was, decided to scare us by making the aluminum pot we brought as a gong. We jumped in fright, of course, while he proceeded to laugh boisterously. None of us noticed that the wind seemed to die down and the insects’ music started to fade. He banged it again and we laughed along with him, our noises echoing around. However, another classmate shushed us and told us to listen. We heard nothing. The silence was so thick, it was palpable.
Now, I have this habit to light a cigarette when nervous. I took one and lighted it. Only, the lighter won’t work. There was no wind so the flame couldn’t be just blown away. I checked the fuel inside and it was full. I tried again and again. While I was clicking away, I attracted the attention of my companions. After the thousandth click, the flame finally appeared. But, it was blown away. I tell you, it didn’t flicker and die, it was BLOWN away. It was like someone blew it, obviously. I could still hear the sound someone could make when blowing the lights of a candle. Apparently, the two classmates near me heard it too. After that, we made hurried steps down the mountain. You know that feeling you have when someone’s staring at your back: your nape seems to prickle, and have goose bumps all over? Yeah, we had that – all of us.
20 minutes after, we finally arrived at the shaman’s house, signalling the end of our trek. We literally blew held breaths of relief. The shaman, however, gave us disapproving looks. We asked for an apology and he decided to appease whatever we made angry with in our behalf. But, when we were about to go back, he told us to ‘be careful’. Too freaked out, we hastily went.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. The air was thick and my mind was running a thousand possibilities along with my heartbeat. I could see that my roommates were the same. I turned towards the window and saw a sight I swore made my heart stopped momentarily: it was a towering silhouette of a large man with blood-red eyes, looking at me with obvious anger. We held each other’s stares – him of anger, mine of horror – until my roommate closed the window. I turned to him and saw him nodding and said ‘I know. I saw’.
I decided to not tell the others what happened when we had breakfast the following morning. I also realized that my other classmates were well-slept. It was then that my classmate, who invited us here, came quietly down the dining table. It was a such a first time since he is a chatterbox any time, 24/7. We all looked at him while sat down next to me, gaping. He ate without even saying a ‘Good morning’ but he looked at me with his eyes full of something akin to malice. To say that I was unnerved was an understatement. After a couple of bread and a glass of orange juice, he stood up and went out of the house. My classmate asked him where he was going but he was silenced with ‘the look’ he gave me earlier.
We just went to our food when after a few minutes my classmate, who we just saw went out, came bounding down the stairs towards us while yelling a greeting. He sat next to me and asked ‘What?’. Our eyes were like saucers and we were starting to get pale. He then had the nerve to laugh and said, ‘It’s like you’ve seen something scary’. Oh man, he has no idea.
On that afternoon, the shaman came knocking at the door. We let him in and he wasted no time in telling us that the spirits will not be appeased until someone to their liking would be taught a lesson. And the solution was – drum roll, please – one of us must open our third eye so that he will know what it feels like to be disturbed. It seemed a bit silly but after everything last night and this morning, scary would be better. We decided to draw sticks. Fortunately, insert sarcasm here, I drew the smallest one. I was about to protest when the shaman asked, ‘They visited you last night, didn’t they?’ and I was dumb-struck. My classmates gave me questioning looks and the shaman added, ‘No worries kid. They will just be ‘welcoming’ you, so to speak’. That really didn’t uplift my scared-stiff self. However, seeing the looks of horror in my friends’ faces and seeing that I really have nothing to get me out of this situation, I agreed.
To say that the process was smooth-flowing would be idiotic. It was painful as hell. It’s like my forehead was poked repeatedly with a soldering rod. It was so painful that the process left me with a high fever at the end. My classmates tucked me in bed after the shaman told them that ‘It’s a success’. But before going, he told them that at 3am they must not leave me alone. They told him to not worry. Oh joy, just my luck.
I was still delirious with fever when my classmates asked my permission to have a drinking session with some local teenagers. They reasoned that it will be just ‘two blocks ahead’. Well, I don’t know if my screams would be heard two blocks, do I? I knew something like this would happen when they told the shaman not to worry. However, knowing that I was dampening their long weekend enjoyment, I conceded. They promised they would be back before 3am and will be only tipsy. Ha! Good luck with that.
It was quarter to 3am when the air started to be suffocating, but the windows were open. I just laid on my bed knowing that my classmates parents were sleeping in the house. I was just about to get up to get a glass of water when a movement outside caught my eyes. I just shrugged it off but the shadows started to move. It was then that I heard voices. Whispers, actually. I slowly covered myself with a blanket when I saw people staring at me at the windows. Their eyes were pitch-black and held a certain amount of mischievousness. They were wearing flowing white clothes that swayed in the absent wind. They were smiling at me like they were on a secret without my knowledge. Then the real horror began when they started moving towards my bed. I was just paralyzed in fear! I started to scream but no sound could come out. So, I hid on my blanket and closed my eyes while reciting The Lord’s Prayer again and again. The voices stopped and I slowly peeked. I released a sigh of relief seeing that they’re gone. I looked at the clock that showed 3am. So that was the ‘welcome’. I huffed and closed my eyes again. But, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being intensely watched. So, against my better judgment, I opened my eyes.
He was there! He was looming over me with only a few centimetres apart. His red eyes were mocking me. His breath was suffocating my nostrils. I was never so scared all my life. I was paralyzed all over again – stiff as a board. My heart was frozen in fear. But what came out of his mouth proved the most frightful of all.
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