UNPSYCHIC.

Case 02 :: Chapter 03

We refrained from mentioning what I heard once we joined Sir Matti and Rei at the hallway. He then proceeded to show us his bedroom where he felt someone pulling at his leg while he slept. I couldn't help noticing Noelle's watchful gaze all throughout as though just waiting for me to react to something, anything. But nothing was captured by my novice radar so far, just the defaulted feeling of being spooked at Sir Matti's experiences in his very home. 

The last hotspot was the Prayer Room at the back of the house, which I guessed from the name alone, served like a small chapel with their personal religious icons. As we all entered the room, I was correct with my assumption; a regular-sized space with two small pews in the middle like you were in church. A stained-glass window at the altar let in a multi-hued morning sunlight. 

Then my eyes immediately landed on a dark figure sitting at the front pew. 

I yelped backwards and bumped hard against Noelle behind me. My heart that kept beating erratically throughout this whole house of horror tour felt like it was breaking my ribcage for escape. Sir Matti and Rei, who were at the lead, jerked their attention back and gawked at me like I was a crazy person. They must not have seen the entity just sitting several feet beyond them. Tongue-tied, I raised my finger and pointed at the ominous figure in black, who slowly stood from its place. 

"G-ghost!" I croaked, taking a few steps back until my back was against a wall. 

"Ghost?" Sir Matti followed the direction of my finger, only to glare at me the next second, his face returning to that light shade of red it favored. "That is my mother you flipping idiot!"

Silence. The mother in question turned to face us, and lifted the black veil she wore that covered most of her upper body. The resemblance she had of her son was strong in her features. When I say strong, they both shared the same look of disdain as though willing the ground to swallow me up and off the face of the Earth. I could sense Noelle trying to stifle her laughter by looking the other way, while Rei had his face in his palm from possible secondhand embarrassment.

"Bastos na bata! Punks like you should have been heavily beaten when you were younger!" She berated me and trudged past us in slow steps due to her old age. She kept muttering under her breath as she did so,  but I didn't need to understand her words to know that she was painting me a colorful picture using her expletive language. 

"Sorry…" I responded meekly as Sir Matti stormed (or hobbled rather) out of the room, probably to console his mother. I sagged against the wall, willing my heartbeat to slow down on the false alarm, and scowled at Noelle as her shoulders shook from her contained laughter. Glad I was able to be a source of entertainment, I thought sarcastically. 

"A bit of heads-up would have helped." I chastised and crossed my arms at her as she pulled herself together. 

She raised both hands at me, the laughter that twinkled her eyes subsided. "Don't look at me. I wasn't aware she was even here. And what's up with that veil?" 

"It's my grandpa's death anniversary today," Rei informed us, his solemn face screamed that he was not amused at what just went down as Noelle had. "The whole family will be gathering later in the afternoon. It's just that Gran has the knack to arrive the day before."

"Do you think that had something to do with the hauntings here?" I mused, finally straightening. With the "dead man" message from earlier, it felt too much of a coincidence how the hauntings seemed to occur as the death anniversary of Rei's grandad neared. 

"Definitely not." Rei began confidently, adjusting his glasses for the umpteenth time that morning. "He died of a heart attack in Manila. And if it is related, why now? It's his tenth this year. Surely this would all have begun a lot sooner than later."