I wanted someone to understand, but there's never anyone who does, so I stopped looking... ~ Keu Tur Chai Mai (It's You, Right?), Getsunova and Tai Oratai
xxxxxx
Not once in my life had I thought of coming across this kind of... adventure. Wait, should I call it like that?
No, I guess I shouldn't. Para sa akin, it was a nightmare. One that haunted me ever since it happened. Matagal nang nangyari iyon, sa totoo lang. Alaala na nga lang sila ngayon, eh. But until now, those memories only made me aware of a skill I couldn't even fathom as to where it could come from.
A skill na hindi ko alam kung para saan at kailan ko ba maaaring gamitin.
"Ellie, puwede bang pakilagay ang mga librong 'to sa dapat nilang kalagyan sa shelf?"
Galing ang utos na iyon sa boss kong si Owen Martin. At salamat na lang talaga, dahil ginising lang naman ako ng boses na iyon mula sa malalim kong pag-iisip. Again. Ilang beses nang nangyayari ito.
Seriously, I was starting to hate this. Bakit ko ba inaalala ang buhay ko gayong dapat ay kinakalimutan ko na ang mga iyon dahil walang ibang ginawa ang mga alaalang iyo kundi bigyan ako ng sangkaterbang bangungot?
"Okay, coming!" sigaw ko mula sa storage room kung saan dapat ay may kukuhanin akong mga bagong dating na libro para sa store na iyon.
That's right. I worked at the only bookstore in town called "Pages & Scenes". Kailangan, eh. I had to earn money since I was living by myself. I didn't have parents to support me, you know. Matagal na silang wala sa buhay ko.
And that nightmare I kept having was the reason. The nightmare which only held the memory of what had truly happened to me a long time ago.
Pero mamaya ko na siguro pagtutuunan ng pansin iyon. For now, it was time to focus on my job.
It didn't take long for me to finish putting the books na iniutos sa akin ni Owen on their respective shelves. So now we got stocks for those books that our customers were looking for.
Especially the one titled "Fifteen Years". Grabe, sikat na sikat talaga ang librong iyon.
Well, perhaps I could understand the reason why it was so popular. Kahit naman ako, naantig sa kuwentong iyon. It was a love story that spanned fifteen years, only to end painfully because of the male lead's sudden death. Yes, alam kong sad ending naman ang kuwentong iyon at talaga namang pinaiyak ako n'on nang unang beses kong mabasa iyon. But the underlying messages contained in the story were something I could consider incredible.
Once again, I was snapped from my musings nang marinig ko ang pagtunog ng bell na nasa entrance ng bookstore. I immediately put the book "Fifteen Years" back on its shelf para makita kung sino ang pumasik. I ran so that I could do so immediately.
But to my confusion, no one was there. Only my boss was busy cleaning the grandfather clock that was placed there as one of the store's ornaments. Weird. Alam kong narinig kong tumunog ang bell, eh. Huwag mong sabihing imagination ko lang iyon?
"Kuya Owen, may pumasok ba rito kani-kanina lang? I thought I heard the bell ring," I tried asking since I needed to be sure of something.
"Ano ba'ng pinagsasasabi mo riyan, ha? Nandito lang ako the whole time at wala akong narinig na kahit anong tunog. Besides, if there was indeed a customer na pumasok rito, eh 'di sana kinakausap ko na siya, 'd ba?"
At that point, hindi na maitatangging bumilis sa pagtibok ang puso ko. I couldn't possibly be thinking of 'that', right?
Despite the increasing fear in me, I tried smiling. Hindi ko gustong may mahalatang kung ano si Kuya Owen. "Sorry for asking something silly. Baka nga guni-guni ko lang 'yong narinig ko kanina."
"Something tells me it happens to you all the time," Owen said.
But I chose not to say anything as a response. It was better that way kaysa naman may mga taong nag-aalala sa akin dahil sa mga nararamdaman ko't iniisip ko. I couldn't possibly have them do that for my sake. Ayokong maging perwisyo sa kanila.
I had enough of dealing with discrimination and unnecessary fear for one lifetime because of what was happening to me. Lalo na dahil sa kung ano-anong pumapasok sa isipan ko.
Panibagong pagtunog na naman ng kampana ang nagpabalik ng isipan ko sa realidad. This time, it was surely a customer coming into the store. But for some reason, that person immediately faced my direction before I could even say anything or welcome him.
Wait... Was he looking at me? Bakit bigla na lang itong tumingin sa akin?
And that was when I felt that incredible chill running down my spine. I could only close my eyes tight when I felt that. Oh, my gosh! Ano na naman ba ito?
Does it have to happen here inside the store? Please, tell me it won't. Nasa loob ako ng trabaho. Ayokong ma-distract dahil dito.
"Ellie, puwede mo ba akong kuhaan ng kopya ng "Scarlet Road" sa storage room?"
Scarlet Road, huh? That was another of our bestselling books here aside from "Fifteen Years". But even so, both books were good reads. At least for me. Kaya hindi na ako magtataka kung bakit ang daming naghahanap ng librong iyon.
I chose to pay attention to the duty at hand instead of even more worrying about that chilling sensation I felt earlier. Kukuha na sana ako ng kopya ng Scarlet Road from the top shelf kung saan inilagay iyon doon ni Kua Owen nang bigla akong may narinig.
I didn't dare turn my back for me to confirm what it was. The sound was enough. Hindi ako puwedeng magkamali this time. Once again, I shut my eyes tight. My hands were starting to feel clammy because of that. Aminin man natin o hindi, hindi ko na nagugustuhan ang konklusyong nabubuo sa utak ko dahil sa naririnig ko. Moments later, there was the sound again.
The sound of chains being dragged. Lalo akong kinilabutan dahil ang lakas ng tunog n'on. Para bang... ang bigat ng kadenang hinihila ng kung sino man iyon.
I finally took a copy of the book na ipinakiusap sa akin at umalis na ako roon as inconspicuously as I could. Perhaps I should deal with that later...
Now that I knew the reason why I was feeling that chilling sensation.
xxxxxx
Gabi na at uuwi na dapat ako sa bahay pagkatapos ng trabaho ko dahil gusto kong i-check if the sound of the dragged chains was still in the storage room. But Owen didn't want me to do any overtime at the moment. Mukhang nakahalata na ang boss ko kaya wala na akong lusot ngayon.
"You'll end up getting sick if you still work late at night when you're pale like this!" he scolded which I could only listen to as my head was low. Hay... Grabe namang manermon 'to. Then again, may point naman siya. Ako lang naman ang matigas ang ulo, eh.
Despite being my boss, he was acting more like my older brother at this rate at walang kaso sa akin iyon. Well, he knew I was an orphan and we were once living in the same town before he moved to the city when he was in high school. As for me, I moved to this town when I was in college. Nakilala niya ako after all this time at in-introduce niya sa akin ang kanyang proudly owned bookstore. Right there and then, nakapagdesisyon na akong tumulong sa kanya bilang pasasalamat man lang sa ginawa niyang pag-aalaga sa akin when I was younger.
So that was about my life. Or at least part of it. Ayoko munang magkuwento at alalahanin ang ibang bagay patungkol sa buhay ko.
But even at the moment na nasa labas ako ng store at tumitingin lang sa mga tao sa paligid ko, that weird sound was replaying in my mind. Then again, hearing something that weird was enough to make me remember it.
I faced an antique shop just across the street and I could see a stand-in mirror even from my position. Pero nanlaki ang mga mata ko matapos ang ilang sandaling pagtataka nang may makita ako sa repleksyon ko sa salamin doon.
"Chains..." I could only utter that much.
Ibig bang sabihin n'on...?
"Ellie~!"
"Wah!"
Ginulat ako ng boses na iyon. Kasabay n'on ay may dumamba sa akin mula sa likuran. Muntik na akong mapasigaw dahil doon. When I looked behind me to know who it was, I grunted at the sight of my cousin Tomi Lorenzana grinning at me.
"May balak ka bang patayin ako sa sakit sa puso sa ginawa mong iyon, ha?" Halos pasigaw kong salubong sa pinsan ko. But she just let me go and grinned once again before showing me a V sign.
Seriously, this girl wasn't making it all easy for me to put things at the back of my mind with this nature of hers. Paano niya nagagawa iyon?
"You were about to have a heart attack when you were looking on the other side of the street, you know. Akala mo ba, hindi ko napansin, ha?" Though my cousin was smiling, her voice was laced with seriousness and concern.
Natigilan ako sa sinabi ni Tomi. That alone made me remember the reason for me to be like that again. As inconspicuous as I could, I faced the shop on the other side of the street. The figure I saw in the mirror wasn't there anymore. I sighed in relief soon after.
"Are you okay, Ellie? Namumutla ka, ah."
I nodded just for me to appease my cousin's worries for me. "Okay lang ako. Baka puyat lang. Don't worry," I said, even though I knew it won't be enough to make her stop worrying about me. "Let's go."
xxxxxx
When I got home, I immediately headed to my room and threw myself on my bed. Great! Why was I feeling so tired all of a sudden? Oo nga't maraming trabaho kanina sa bookstore pero... Iba ito, eh. Iba ang pakiramdam ko ngayong nakarating na ako sa bahay.
But I tried shaking that off from my system nang may maalala ako. I sat up and took the mail that was in my mailbox earlier. The only written word on the envelope was the name of the sender.
Or should I say a pseudonym?
"Grabe. Pang-apat na buwan na pala mula nang mag-umpisa ito, ah," sabi ko na lang sa sarili ko. I found myself smiling as I ran a finger on the pen name written on the envelope.
'Mr. Paper Plane...'
Despite all the weird happenings in my life since that incident when I was in elementary, for some mysterious reasons, the letters coming from Mr. Paper Plane were giving me reasons to smile at the end of the day. I wasn't sure why was he doing this to me. Noong una, gusto kong matakot na nakakatanggap ako ng ganito. Pero... hindi ganoon ang gustong maramdaman ng puso ko, for some weird reason.
For now, I couldn't thank him enough for helping me clear my mind with those letters coming from him. The words written in those letters somehow held wonders that I couldn't think of knowing how or why it could do those things to me. And with the life I've been trying to live since my parents' deaths, Mr. Paper Plane's letters were a gift to me so that I could overcome those life challenges I've been facing day by day. Dramatic man, pero iyon ang totoo. At hindi ko ide-deny iyon sa sarili ko.
I sighed as I opened the letter and prepared myself to read it, knowing that I would never be able to sit still after reading that.
However, the letter only contained ten words that made me frown, though. And enough to make my heart beat fast once again.
'Don't allow the chains to haunt you like this forever.'
What was that supposed to mean? At bakit... Bakit binanggit niya ang salitang 'chains' sa sulat na 'to? Chains of what?
Seconds later, I instinctively raised my head upon hearing that sound again.
The sound of chains dragging on the floor. Mas malakas ito ngayon. And the sound -- it was coming... from inside the house.
But as soon as I raised my head, I froze at the sight that greeted me which was followed by words that seemed to be hissed.
"Tulungan... mo ako..."