SNOWED IN
Force of Habit (Gavin & Vera)
Teeth chattering from cold winter weather and the freezing air inside the office produced by the AC, Vera groaned loudly as she stretched her arms up in relief.
She has been working for hours, and it wasn't helping that she was the only one left— except her boss— in the office at almost midnight. Sabi pa naman ng mga katrabaho niya ay may multo raw na nagpaparamdam sa may pantry ng opisina nila tuwing eleven-eleven ng gabi.
She shivered even just at the mere thought of ghosts.
Dapat naman talaga ay wala na siya sa trabaho sa ganitong oras ng gabi, kung hindi lang kupal ang magaling niyang boss.
"Grabe," she slouched back into her seat, waiting for the documents to finish transferring from her PC to the flash drive. "Gutom na gutom na ako."
As if on cue, her stomach angrily rumbled. She was starving.
Lumipad ang tingin niya sa may pinto ng pantry. Parang nang-iinis ang utak niyang umalala sa kwento ng multo, napalunok siya. Nakatutok ang mata sa pinto, animo'y naghihintay na may kung anong mangyaring kababalaghan.
"Nakakainis!" iritableng ginulo niya ang buhok at pumadyak. "Dapat kasi nasa bahay na'ko, eh! Peste sa buhay talaga 'tong Boss ko!"
Her tummy rumbled again, much louder this time. Hindi maikakaila ang tunog na iyon dahil sa napakatahimik na ang buong opisina, maliban sa ugong ng AC nilang parang may plano pa atang gawin siyang i-frozen.
She clutched at her stomach, quickly glancing at the window. Vera watched the snow falling heavily outside, mukhang may parating na blizzard. Kailangan na niyang maka-uwi kung ayaw niyang ma-stuck sa office o abutan ng blizzard sa gitna ng daan at tuluyang maging taong yelo.
But first, food.
Hindi na kakayanin ng tiyan niya ang walang laman. Naubos na niya ang mga pagkain na binili para sa vigil niyang 'to. The only way to fill her stomach: pantry.
But every time she's got brave to saunter over to the pantry and get herself some food to feed her hungry monsters inside, biglang sumusulpot sa isip niya ang multo at takot.
The last thing she wanted was to starve herself all because she got shit scared of some ghost story none of her office mates have even proven yet.
She was busy contemplating whether she'd go for it or just go home when someone cleared a throat from behind her, startling her so much she literally jumped out of her seat and shrieked.
Parang sa mga horror movie, dahan-dahan siyang lumingon sa pinanggalingan ng malalim na boses. She was sure she had this wild look on her face when she finally saw her Boss's face, who mirrored the same look as hers.
Nang makahuma, she stood erect and smiled sheepishly, "B-boss.."
"I—" her Boss cleared his throat again, "did I scare you?"
Hindi naman. Sobra lang.
"Naku, hindi naman Boss!" pagsisinungaling niya, peke pa siyang ngumiti rito. Sa likod ng isip niya, minu-murder na niya ito sa iba't ibang paraan dahil sa pagpapa-iwan nito sa kanya sa opisina. "May bigla kasing gumapang sa may paanan ko, sakto naman na nasa likod ko na kayo nun."
Her boss, Gavin, sighed in relief. She timidly smiled at him in return but at the back of her mind, she was rolling her eyes at him.
"Wait," he casually put his hands in his pockets, "uuwi ka na rin ba? Sabay na tayo. It's getting really late, babae ka pa naman."
