Homer trodded the paved path leading to the front door of the Almendares house. He looked up at the old house where he grew up. Despite its grim history, Homer cherished that house. He had many fond memories of that old house. It was originally owned by old Jose Pastores, whom his dad fondly called Uncle Joe. The house itself had been renovated twice. His father, the late Zandro Almendares, told him how he came to own the house and other properties of Old Joe.
"Uncle Joe sold this house and his other properties to me for just twenty pesos. I promised to him that I'm gonna take care of this house, which he loved so much," Zandro explained to him.
"Twenty pesos, Dad? That's unbelievable!" Homer recalled his disbelief.
"I and your mother risked our lives in saving this house from the devil," his dad said. Then he told Homer about that terrifying day when he, Rachel, Felix Camba (no relation with Victor and Vincent) and a certain Father Lopez tried to drive away the demon that possessed Old Joe's house. His narration commenced with the time when he, Rachel, Felix, Father Lopez and a certain Lakay Emil got inside the demon-possessed house.
Father Lopez led us into the living room, while Felix started scanning the entire living room with his detector. At first, we only heard a series of statics. But when he aimed the detector at the foot of the stairs, it produced a staccato of bleeps.
"He's there!" Felix cried.
"Let's begin," Father Lopez said. I raised the crucifix and aimed it at the spot pointed out by Felix.
Father Lopez started the ritual "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
"Amen!" we all responded.
Father Lopez said the opening prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
We responded, "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the power, and the kingdom , and the glory, now and forever, Amen."
Father Lopez went on, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit."
We again responded, "As it was in the beginning, it's now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen."
He opened his prayer book and began to read, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
O Lord to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew Thyself. Lift up Thyself, Thou Judge of the earth:render a punishment to the proud."
Suddenly there was a strong rush of cold wind that almost knocked us down. Then the demon reappeared.
He cried, "You fools, your god can't help you! He can't prevail over me." He guffawed and began blaspheming God. He shrieked, "Your God is nothing, because He's just a fucking son of a bitch!"
And my anger was kindled against the demon because he dared blaspheme God, "Shut up, you evil spirit! You blaspheme the name of the living God! The Lord God Himself will destroy you!"
"Really!" the demon glared at me. He opened his mouth and blew more cold winds. I felt Rachel clung to my elbow as she screamed in terror.
"Hand me over the holy water, Emil!" Father Lopez yelled.
Quickly Lakay Emil handed Father Lopez the bottle of holy water. Father raise the open bottle and sprinkled the holy water to the demon.
"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command you evil spirit to leave this house! The power of Christ compels you!"
Not to be outdone Felix cried out his incantation, "Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, save us! Holy Immortal One, protect us from evil!"
Rachel and I prayed aloud, "Lord God, help us. Cast out this demon that he may know that You are God!"
Miraculously a bright light, brighter than the midday sun, engulfed the entire interior of the house. The demon shrieked violently, "No, stop it! Stop it you fools!"
He began to shake and twitch. I perceived that he was in pain and agony. Then suddenly, he vaporized, with no more trace of him. Simultaneously, the cobwebs and dust disappeared, and the whole house was in good order again.
"He's gone! The goddamn demon is gone!" Felix cried in excitement.
"We've made it! We've made it!" Rachel cried triumphantly.
"Yes, we've made it!" Father Lopez concurred, "the devil's gone! Praise the Lord!"
"Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!" I exclaimed.
"Your house is now free, Zandro!" Felix said as he hugged me tightly.
"Yes, Felix. Praise the Lord!" I cried with joy.
As his father narrated the story, Homer could not help but to shudder at the thought of the demon that his parents had encountered.
"Someday, you and your future siblings will own this house. Promise me to take care of it, and take care of your mommy, too." Homer remembered those words of his father. Sadly, Homer never had a sibling. Rachel, his mother, developed an ovarian cancer. Fortunately, she survived. Thanks to the wonders of modern medical science. Unfortunately, she could never bear a child again. His dad wanted him to become and engineer, but Homer chose criminology as his profession. At first, his dad objected, but his mom told his dad to respect Homer's decision. And so it was that Homer became a criminologist.
His reverie was interrupted by a maid who came out of the house to meet him.
"Good afternoon, sir. It's nice of you to come," the maid said.
"Good afternoon, Vilma. How's mom?" Homer asked.
"She's fine sir. By the way, have you eaten your lunch?" Vilma said as she led him into the living room,
"I'm famish, Vilma. What have you got for lunch?"
"Pinakbet and chicken adobo, sir," she said.
Homer grinned, "Set the table for me, please. I'm starving," he said. Then he asked, "By the way, where's mom?"
"She's in her room, sir. Probably reading Uncle Tom's Cabin again," Vilma replied courteously, then went into the dining room to set the table for Homer.
Rachel's room was adjacent to the living room, and Homer walked toward his mother's room to see her. But before he could reach it, Mrs. Rachel Natividad Almendares came out of her room. Obviously, she must have heard Homer's voice, so she went out of her room to meet her son.
Mrs. Almendares was still strong despite her advanced age of 95. Her hairs were all white and her face were full of wrinkles. Her deep-set eyes, however, were still vibrant. Her voice was full of life as she greeted her son, whom she had not seen for six or seven months.
"Homer, my son. How nice of you to come. But why you came so late in the day?" she said.
Homer bent and kissed her mother's forehead. He said, "I'm fine Mommy. And you?"
The old lady just smiled and said, "I'm still kicking and very much alive. By the way, have you had your lunch?"
"Vilma's preparing the table for me Mom," Homer answered, and led his mother to the couch in the living room.
Mrs. Almendares took her seat While Homer sat beside her.
"Where have you been? What are you doing here in Alcala?" Mrs. Almendares asked.
"Just made a visit with Attorney Buencamino—workin' on a little case. That's all, Mom."
Mrs. Almendares eyed him curiously, and said,"Homer, don't lie to me. Are you working on the Casimero murder case?"
Homer wasn't surprise at all by his mother's sharpness of mind. He knew all along his mother. Despite her old age, she was still mentally sharp as ever. He could never hide anything from his aging mother.
He said, "This would be my last case, Mom. After this, I'm gonna hang up the cuff."
Mrs. Almendares sighed, "You know, son, it's really time for you to retire. Then you can join your family in Canada."
"I can't leave just yet, Mom. If I go, who will look after you?"
"You live in Villasis, while I live here in Alcala. So how can you look after me?"
"Once I crack this case, and retire, I'll join you here," Homer assured her.
"And how about your house and lot in Villasis?"
"Going to sell them. No problem with that, is there?"
"Do you think your wife will give her consent?"
"Actually, Mom, she's been urging me to sell our property, then join them for good," Homer said.
"Why don't you do it now? Then you can join me here. This, too, is your house—your legacy from your father and a memento from your Grandpa Joe," Mrs. Almendares pointed out.
Homer thought for a while. His mom was right. He could sell their house and lot in Villasis and live with his mother once more. Grandpa Joe's old house had sentimental to him since it was the house of his childhood. He had so many fond memories there. Besides, his parents risked their lives to drive away the demon that possessed the house.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll consider that," Homer finally said.
Just then Vilma came out of the dining room and said to Homer, "Sir, table's ready."
"Okay, son. Go and have your lunch. You must be very hungry now," Mrs. Almendares said.
Homer did enjoy the chicken adobo and pinakbet. After the meal, he felt reinvigorated and
ready for another round of day's work. However, his mother urged him to stay for a while and rest. Of course, the Casimero murder case couldn't wait, but the advice of his mother was more compelling. So he decided to pass the remaining hours of the day with his mother.
At about dusk, Homer bade farewell to his mother and drove all the way to his home in Villasis. He knew that his mother would be beset by loneliness whenever he left after a few hours of visit with her. He admitted to himself that he felt some sort of heaviness whenever he left his mother. Maybe he would consider selling their house and lot in Villasis, and go back to his boyhood home in San Juan, Alcala, Pangasinan.
"Don't worry Mom. Pretty soon, I'll live with you again," he whispered.
Homer stepped on the gas. He wanted to get home in Villasis as soon as possible. He had already made up his mind.
Meanwhile, he had a big case to crack, and crack it he must.
"Jesus Christ," he sighed.