Ghostly Encounters (A Short Story)

 From the small upstairs balcony, I had a perfect view of the stars. It was a cold night. A heavy wind coming up from the rivers was icy on the face. In this old Visayan town, the streets are narrow and dirty and strewn with coral shells. Under the moonlight the leaves shone like bronze. The night’s darkness brought out the faint glow of lights on the distant region at the edge of town. I was scarcely aware of the April heat; the pattern of music fell around me and dissolved swiftly.

It was one of those rare times of celebration where the townsfolk initiate a small social event for entertainment. Father was called out by his friends to drink while the young people went out to dance at the social event and told me to look after the house while he was gone.

I could have remained there all evening, unmoving, watching the celebration from afar when out of the blue; I was jostled by incessant tapping on the window.

“Pssst. Mariano, over here” said the familiar voice.

I looked down and saw that it was Marcela, a close friend of mine. Her angular face was heavily accentuated by the moonlight. Her getup was quite different than usual. Instead of wearing those old battered skirts she wears in the fields, she was dressed in a white, laced, floral skirt up to her knees. I presume she is going to the celebration.

“What are you still doing there? Let’s go to the celebration! I’ve come to fetch you.” she shouted.

“I can’t” I replied. “Father wishes me to look after the house while he’s gone”

“Oh, come on. It’s only for one night. What could possibly happen to the house while you’re gone?” she responded.

I pondered over the thought and saw no harm in heading over there for just a few hours. The town celebration was a rare event. And I think I ought to have a few hours of fun after working hard on the field these past couple of months.

After this, everything that was said and done and that night seemed like an anti-climax, and later, as we walked outside, I felt excited over the few hours that was about to come. It had been a long time since I went to an event like this.

As you walk into the room, you get the feeling that lots of enjoyment will come to pass. A long, antique, dark wood table filled with delicious food is facing the wall. Dozens of young men and women are dancing in their most proper attire. The whole lot of the barrio’s youth was here, dancing and laughing to their heart’s content.

The hours had gone by and I was losing track of time. Before I knew it, it was already past midnight and the crowd people were slowly departing.

The barrio is quite creepy during the night. The stories of my father were slowly flooding my mind, stories about monsters, ghosts and evil spirits.

I was walking home with Marcela with only the eerie shadow of the moonlight guiding us through the dirty, narrow streets.

As the wind swished through the grasses and trees, the air around us grew cold until my whole body shook with chills. I turned to look at Marcela and saw that she too was feeling the same way. Somebody was following us. We walked faster.

Out of the silvery moon-sparkle there came a figure that walked towards us. I gasped, my throat tight with fear. I called for Marcela and we ran. We were screaming and running for our lives when the ghost said something unexpectedly.

“Ughh, Mar-Mariano? Ugghh” It said. The voice sounded familiar. “Hahahaha”

“Father?” I asked it. “Are you drunk?”

“What are doing outside of the house boy? Aren’t you supposed to be looking after it?” he said.