LaoPhil One Shots

A Hellish Heart (Side Story p1)

People say that ghosts aren't real. Some beg to differ. Some even see these otherworldly beings and wonder what their purpose is.

They could be someone you know. A friend, a relative, a pet, or even a total stranger who lived centuries apart from you.

But what happens when the living falls in love with the dead? What happens then? We would never know until it truly occurred.

Would the spirit be nice? Would it be dangerous? Would it accept the living one's love? Questions upon questions but still no answers.

+*+*+

"Here are your keys, sir. Welcome to your new home." The Realtor placed a set of keys into the palm of a certain Filipino's hand. Preparing to leave, she did a quick recap and informed of things and policies and all that. "If you have any questions or concerns, just let us know and we'll be with you as quick as we can." She flashes a smile and walked off to join her partner in the company car.

Sighing, the male tightened his grip on his keys and proceeded towards his front door. He stuck the key into the lock and turned it, opening the door. It creaked a bit but that could be fixed later. Looking around, the Filipino scanned the place. It was small but cozy. Improvements need to be made here and there but otherwise, not too shabby.

"Damn, it's going to a pain hauling everything here.. On top of that, things need touching up." Smiling, the Filipino leaned against the wall and slumped to the floor. "But at least I finally have freedom. Freedom to do whatever. Ugh, but I still have to adult and that's difficult! My mom did not sign that permission slip!" He groaned playfully and laughed to himself. G̶o̶d̶ w̶a̶s̶ h̶e̶ l̶o̶n̶e̶l̶y̶.

Night fell and our favorite Filipino was laying on the floor of what was soon to be his bedroom. He had brought a blanket and a pillow with him. Just for now because of course, he'll soon be sleeping in an actual bed. He locked up the house and now he's getting his long-awaited Beautyrest.

Hours passed and the male fell into a deep sleep but was suddenly awoken by a faint noise. He slowly got up, nearly rolling into the wall. He steadied himself and quietly crept towards the stairway. The noise sounded like crying? He was alone though. As he peered over the railing looking over the living room, he nearly screamed like a little girl -ahem- a man.

It was a woman. She was hunched over and crying into her palms. Brown eyes shook in fear yet twinkled with curiosity. She had burn scars all over her body and she was wearing what appeared to be a long skirt. But the one thing that stuck out the most was the fact that she was almost completely transparent. She was though, stunning.

The male called out, hoping to spark a reaction. He was a bit hesitant, his voice quivering some, "Who are you and h-how did you get into m-my house?" The woman looked up, clearly startled. Her facial features were revealed. Hollow brown eyes and more scars.

"Be careful. Whatever you do, just be careful." Was all that had come out from her mouth. Before the Filipino got the chance to ask what that was about, she disappeared.

He grabbed at his chest, where his heart was. His face felt warm and he was still wearing that shocked expression. Staying silent, all he did was mumble to no one, though he hoped someone was listening, "Come back..."

A few days passed and furniture was starting to settle in the house. The moving process wasn't completely finished of course. In the midst of all this, the Filipino decided to do some research the house he was living in -as well as install security cameras-. The house wasn't too old but there was a possibility that something could have happened.

Clicking on every article that was available, the male shifted his laptop on his lap, sitting up. His eyes scanned every word on the page. He gasped softly as he read quietly to himself, "Devastating fire broke out on Muang Way. The home where the fire was started was badly burnt. Neighboring houses were barely touched. There was one death within the house."

Slapping his laptop shut, he took a few seconds to process what he had just read. Fire? Death? All in that very house. 'Wait, it said that someone died here.. Was that girl dead?..' He thought about the possibilities, becoming increasingly confused as he went on. 'What was she talking about when she said to be careful?'

Unbeknownst to the male, a figure was observing him from the shadows and corners of his home. Long hair swept across a woman's face as she stealthily approached him from behind, silent as a fox.

She stood in place for a few seconds, just observing the other. Silence resonated within the room. "Be careful. You don't know what dangers could be present in this home."

Jumping, the male snapped his head around, facing behind him. Eyes widened as he saw the figure from a few days ago. No one spoke between them. It was as if they were both studying each other. Eventually the silence was unbearable and the male decided to speak up, "What dangers are you talking about?" No response. "Please, tell me what you're talking about.. If something is going to harm me in this house, I want to know as soon as possible." He looked at the other, waiting for a response. After what felt like a century, an answer finally came, "You read the news report but it never said how the house burned down.." Silence.

The girl took the lack of a response as an indication to continue. "People don't believe in demonic entities so they just passed it off as a gas leak or something of the sort. But what they don't know is that that's exactly what happened."

A gasp came from the distracted male, "A gas leak?" "No, you idiot, demons." The two both let out a small laugh. As they settled down, he decided to seize the moment and get some answers, "So uh- I'm Emilio.. Who exactly are you? What are you doing here?"

Taking a seat- er somewhat hovering over the seat, the spirit sighed and brushed some hair behind her ear. Facing Emilio, she put on a weary smile, "My name isn't important, but just call me Dok if you'd like. You already know who I am. Basically, after I died, my soul was confined to this house. But that's not all. As I've mentioned, there's something here that will kill you and basically, I'm serving as a guardian angel until it's banished." Emilio only nodded, lost in thought. It took a few seconds before he spoke up, "The evil you mentioned.. The demon ; what exactly is it and where did it come from?"

Dok tensed up at the mention, thoughts racing through her head. She stared ahead, seemingly off to the side in a frozen manner. Em raised a confused eyebrow, reaching a hand out to snap the other's attention to him before a voice spoke that seemed to be coming from behind them,

"Well well well, it looks like I have another little toy~"

(A/N: Sabaidee! Kay here! Well, this is a chapter that I wrote independently because 1; I wanted to test myself and 2; we need to update. Anyways, Cori doesn't know about this chapter at all until I publish it so woop woop. Anyways, I really don't know if I'll make another part but if it's requested then sure. I do have a plan for if I were to make another chapter so I definitely will if wanted. But anyways, that's it for my author's note, Au Revoir!~)