Dark Encounters of the Unseen

the Fourth

I have 3 boys. They are a handful. Always messing around the house. But sometimes, it's not always just them.

I was watching TV in the dinning area adjacent to the boys room which is also connected to my room where the toilet is. I put them to bed for their daily afternoon nap. Then I saw Ace, my youngest, running back to bed from the toilet. I hurriedly got up to check on him. He was fast asleep and even snoring.

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The Nanny and I were busy cleaning the closet near the toilet. At that time, our toilet door was broken and I had put up a shower curtain. I heard Ace, run to the toilet, clearing aside the shower curtain which created a loud rustle. It took him a while to get out of the toilet. And I noticed that it was terribly silent. I was worried.

"Ace?" I called him. "What are you doing there? Are you playing with the shampoo again?"

"Did you call me, Mama?" Ace came running from the living room.

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My boys would jump on my bed to wake me up in the morning. This morning, I was awaken by a strong thud at the foot of my bed. I got up and heard them laughing from the dinning room. The door to my room was closed. I was alone.

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Ace (he was 3 years old at that time) and the Nanny were playing in the servant's room. The Nanny told him to stay put because she needed to get something from the kitchen. On her way back, she had a glimpse of the boys' room and saw Ace on the second level of the bunk bed. His face was turned away and was facing the window.

"Ace! I told you to stay put! How did you get there so fast?" Ace, did not answer. "Ace! You better get down from there or you might fall. Wait there. I'll get you."

She went to their room and found Ace, still there where she left him. He then turned to her and said, "Hey, what took you so long? I was waiting for you to come back."

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One afternoon,  I tucked Ace to bed and slept beside him. I'm a light sleeper and I'm easily awaken by noises. Somewhere between sleep and awake, I heard thumping sounds like a boy is running outside the house near the window of my bedroom. I ignored it for quite sometime. I thought to myself why didn't the Nanny open the door? I got up, opened the window and called him.

"AJ? Are you home?" I didn't get any answer. Since my windows have grills I strained myself peeking outside if it was indeed AJ.  But there was no one.

I dismissed it. "Maybe it was just a dream." I went back to bed. After a while,  I heard someone calling out from the toilet.  At first it was gobbled.  But this time, I was sure that it was AJ. You, see,  my boys would call for the Nanny to help them wash. I answered and told AJ to wait a bit. I called the Nanny and told her to attend to AJ. When she came in,  I told her,  "Why did you leave AJ in the toilet?"

Confused with what I said,  she told me. "He has not gone home yet."

It was then that I recalled what I heard.

"Mama!!! I'm here.  It's me... the Fourth!"

Days passed and I just dismissed that encounter. Not until early this morning. It was still dark.  The rain poured really heavily on the roof that it woke me up. I turned in my bed when I heard someone calling,  "Mama Bai?" This is what the boys would call me. I thought I was just dreaming. So I listened again.

I didn't hear anything. I was about to answer when I remembered what they say about someone calling you in the middle of the night or early morning.  They say you shouldn't answer because it might be Death that's calling you.  I kept silent. This time I was sure I'm awake.

"Mama Bai?"

I heard it again. I was sure it was not any of my boys because they would have already called again if they wanted me to help them get to the toilet.