Felicine
"Oh shoot!" Napahawak ako sa nanlalamig na kamay ni Eudayme. Tumingin naman siya sa akin at lumapit sa amin si Cali.
What I saw was white, and it was moving! The only conclusion to that was a ghost! I saw a ghost at this very house passed by the railings of the stairs in the second floor.
"B-bakit Felicine?" Nangiginig na tanong sa akin ni Eudayme. Naramdaman kong mas lalo pang nanlamig ang kamay niya.
"I-I saw a g-"
"A ghost? Haha!" Cali butt in. "There is no such thing as ghost Felicine. They only exist in your playful imagination."
"But I saw it with my own two eyes, Cali. If you don't want to believe, then don't."
"I truly won't believe."
"G-g-ghost? S-saw?" Napatingin kaming dalawa ni Cali sa lalaking nakakapit sa akin.
Bahagyang lumaki ang aking mga mata ng makita kong unti-unting nawawala ang kulay sa kanyang mukha. Mas lalo pang nanlamig ang kanyang mga kamay at humigpit ang kanyang kapit. Nanginginig na rin ang kanyang tuhod at malapit ng bumigay.
"Hoy! Eudayme, okay ka lang? Hala! Ang lamig mo na. Baka gusto mong umalis na?" I asked Eudayme and looked at our other companion. "Hoy! Ikaw naman Cali, why don't you help him? Hindi na siya humihinga oh!"
Cali laughed for a minute. "Why would I? He's my rival. A rival does not help each other." He said then crossed his arms. "And, he was the one who dragged us in here. He should've not entertained the idea in the first place if he's so scared."
Unbelievable! He really is taking the meaning of being a "rival" seriously.
"Cali! Eudayme might collapse any minute now!"
"Let him be. If he were to collapse, you aren't the one who'll lay down on that dusty floor, are you?"
"Cali!"
"Nope"
"Isa!"
"I know how to count."
"Dalawa!"
"Still no."
"Luca Linsly Valencia!"
"Fine! But don't ever call me by my whole name. You aren't my mother to call me that." Lumapit naman siya sa lalaking nakakapit sa akin.
Para siyang estatwa dahil sa putla ng kanyang kulay at dahil hindi siya gumagalaw sa kanyang puwesto.
"Hey Eudayme, do you want to taste this?" Cali folded his hand into a fist and showed it to Eudayme. Nakita kong lumaki ang mata ni Eudayme at napatayo ng tuwid. Bumalik na rin ang kulay sa kanyang mukha.
"Hehe~ no thanks. I love my handsome face just the way it is." He smiled and lifted his arms in the air.
"Good! Now let's go to the second floor to find the ghost that Felicine saw." Cali lead the way again.
I'm glad that Eudayme's okay now. I appreciate Cali's help though I didn't expected the way he helped him.
Paakyat na kami sa hagdan. Katabi ko si Eudayme pero hindi na siya nakakapit sa akin. Si Cali naman ay pinupunas ang kanyang daliri sa hawakan ng hagdan.
"Where did you saw the ghost?" Cali asked not turning to me.
"Sa kanan, papunta sa kaliwa." Sabi ko at tumingin sa kanan, pakaliwa.
"Let's head to the left side." He said then turned left as soon as he touched the second floor. "Maybe we'll meet the ghost that you saw."
I gulped as I heard his last line. Is it possible that we will have to face the ghost? I mean, its a ghost! It can past through walls, it's invisible and floats! So what is Cali talking about?
"Felicine, I'm scared." My companion beside me whispered to my ear.
I turned to him with knitted eyebrows but it was eventually replaced by concern. I can see from his eyes the scared, terrified and the horror.
Why is he so scared? I mean, he was the one who entertained the idea of going in here and yet, he was the one who is really scared among the three of us. I'm not questioning his bravery pero kasi ugh! Paano ko ba iexplain?
"I know that you are confused and maybe criticizing me in your mind." He said while looking down. He stopped from walking, so did I. "Well you see, I hate to say this but I have Phasmophobia."
Oh? Is that why he was so scared and was about to collapse when I mentioned "ghost"? I'm sorry for judging him without even knowing why is he like this.
"I actually didn't know where did I get this phobia of mine. Nalaman kong may phobia pala ako nung 4 years old pa lang ako." He went on and started walking, but slowly. "My late sister told me a story about ghosts. Pagkasabi pa lang niya ng ghost, namutla na ako at malapit ng magfaint, good thing naagapan niya ako."
So he had a sister. I wonder what happened to her?
"My mother immediately brought me to a doctor and the doctor said that I have a phasmophobia." Sumunod ako sa kanya at pumantay. "From then on, I lived with this phobia."
"Sorry to hear that you have a phobia of gh- I mean supernatural things."
"Don't be." He chuckled.
"Uhm... if you want to cling on me, I don't mind. Its understandable." I offered him my right arm.
"Really? Well, uhm... sorry for making you do this." Nahihiya niyang sabi at tsaka kumapit sa aking braso. Nagsimula na ulit kaming maglakad.
The presence of Eudayme beside me made me less scared now. Kung dalawa kasi kaming takot dito, baka pareho kaming himatayin dahil sa takot. Wala pa naman dito si Cali kasi nauuna na siya.
Speaking of the captain of this debunking, nasaan na siya? We cannot see him anywhere. Pumunta na kaming dalawa ni Eudayme sa left side but he's nowhere to be found. Why did he left the scared people behind?
"Nasaan na yung lalaking 'yon?" Eudayme asked looking from left to right. Same question, Eudayme, same question. "Geez. Lagi na lang iyon nawawala."
We checked all the rooms located in the left side of this house. Ako ang bumubukas ng mga pinto dahil natatakot si Eudayme. My role here is to protect the prince instead of him protecting the princess. Kind of a rare story if you ask me.
Patuloy pa rin kami sa paghahanap sa kanya. Hindi kami pwedeng sumigaw dahil baka may makarinig sa amin sa labas. Kung tinalian ko lang ang lalaking iyon bago siya mauna sa paglalakad, hindi sana kami magkakahiwa-hiwalay. Si Cali pa naman iyon, walang pakialam sa iba.
Kada bukas ko ng pinto, nararamdaman kong humihigpit ang kamay ni Eudayme. Kadalasan lang siyang nakayuko at tahimik. Minsan niya lang igala ang kanyang paningin.
May bubuksan pa sana akong pinto ng may marinig kaming may naglalakad galing sa itaas. Napatingin kaming dalawa ni Eudayme doon at sinusundan ang tunog ng mga mabibigat na yabag.
THUD! THUD!
Naramdaman kong mas humigpit ang kapit ni Eudayme at nanlamig ulit. Hinawakan ko naman ang kamay niya, pati ako ay natatakot na.
"Why don't we check it out? Malay mo, si Cali lang pala 'yon." I suggested to him, he buried his face to my back and I felt his nails burying through my blazer. "Baka pinagttripan ka lang."
"No. I'm too scared to check it out." He replied in a low voice. If only na may kasama pa kami dito, baka tumulad din ako kay Eudayme na magtatago sa likod. But unfortunately, there were no other people with us so I have to act as the brave one to this companion of mine with Phasmaphobia.
"Kung ayaw mo, edi dito ka na lang. Wait for me as I check what's on the attic." Aalisin ko na sana ang kamay niyang nakakapit sa aking braso nang higpitan niya pa ito lalo. Ayoko rin namang tingnan kung ano ang nasa itaas but my curiosity is asking for answers.
"No. If you'll go up there, then take me with you. Don't leave me here." He said.
Good! As much as I want to go alone, I can't. Why? Two reasons. Because I'm scared to go alone in there and because I don't want to leave him behind. Baka kasi pagbalik ko, ang maabutan ko ay ang walang malay na Eudayme. To which, I don't want to happen.
As an agreement, we went to go search for the stairs going to the attic. Nakita namin itong nakababa dahil ang hagdan niya ay naka-attach sa kisame. I ask Eudayme to go first but he declined and he asked me to go first to which I did. I have no other choice but to go.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The noise was getting louder amd louder as I ascend to the stairs. Kinakabahan at natatakot ako but I have to do this for the sake of my curiosity.
THUD! THUD!
"Pinned down!" I heard a familiar voice coming from where I was heading. "You have nowhere to run now, mister drug user."
Iniangat ko ang aking ulo upang makita si Cali. Nakita ko siyang nakaupo sa ibabaw ng nakadapang lalaki at hinahawakan niya ang dalawang kamay nito sa likod. Did he just say mister drug user?
Tuluyan na akong umakyat at lumapit kay Cali. Sumunod naman si Eudayme sa akin. Nakita kong nakangiti si Cali na para bang nanalo soya sa lotto habang tinitingnan ang lalaking pi-nin niya.
I forced a cough to get his attention. "What are you doing?" I asked him as soon as he turned his face to me. "And who is that?"
"Oh! Took you long enough to get here." He said to me. His victorious smile is still there. Hold on! That line was familiar. "I'm pinning this drug user guy down. He's doing something illegal."
Look who's talking about illegal stuffs. Napatingin ako sa lalaking nakadapa. Napapa-aray siya dahil sa ginagawang pag-pin ng lalaking nakahuli sa kanya. His face was not familiar but I can see from his uniform that he's a student, but not a student from where I am learning.
"Ronald?"
Napatingin kami ni Cali sa lalaking katabi ko. Eudayme knows him? Well, I'm not surprised to know that he is an acquaintance of him. Eudayme is a friendly one, he can be the favorite friend of many and also, he is a detective. Baka once na nagconsult na itong si Ronald sa kanya.
"Eudayme! Tulungan mo nga ako dito. Nakakasakit na itong lalaking ito. Aray, aray!" Ronald said. Sinamaan niya ng tingin si Cali. "Sinasabihan pa ako ng "drug user" ng gung-gong na 'to."
"Cali won't pin you down if you didn't do something immoral." I butt in and complimented him. I may not know Cali fully, but I'm sure na hindi siya tulad ng ibang tao na basta-basta na lang mang-aakusa kung walang pruweba.
"Tch." Narinig kong sinabi ni Ronald. Is he guilty now that he was caught by someone while doing something illegal?
"Oh good! You two know each other. Eudayme, call for the police." Cali said, ignoring my compliment. Tsk! Siya na nga itong kino-compliment tapos hindi pa niya pinapansin. Fine, that will be the last compliment that he will heard coming from me.
"You do have proof right? You know that we can't just arrest people whenever we want without any evidence." Eudayme reminded him.
"Yeah right! What you have just claimed, that was just mere conjecture! You don't have any proof against me, mister Cali." Ronald agreed to Eudayme.
Ngumisi naman si Cali dito. "Uh-oh. What's this?" Cali said in a sarcastic tone and grabbed his phone. He typed and swiped and showed to us a video flashed through the screen. "I wonder where did I get this? Ah! I remember. It was before I pinned you down. You were enjoying the peace and pleasure you are getting from taking the drugs. But then, I came and ruined it. Talk about unlucky, right?"
Pagkakita ni Ronald sa phone ni Cali, biglang lumaki ang kanyang mata. Ang kaninang nakangising labi ay biglang nawala. Nanlumo na rin siya na para bang sinasabing wala na siyang takas pa.
A few moments later, the police came and arrested him. He was already 18 years old kaya pwede na siyang ikulong. We were scolded by an officer because of trespassing, my two companions seemed to be not affected by the scolding. After the lecture, they thanked us for catching a drug user.
We also learned that Ronald was a tenant of an apartment beside the house, kaya pala magkakilala si Eudayme at Ronald kasi pareho sila ng apartment na pinagtutuluyan.
Cali bade goodbye to Ronald with a mocking face. Muntikan pa ngang suntukin ni Ronald si Cali ng ginawa niya 'yon but that was prevented thanks to the officers. Such a childish act made by this serious detective.
Naiwan kaming tatlo sa labas ng haunted house. Ay teka! Hindi namin nadebunk ang kung anong paranormal sa loob ng bahay.
I heard Cali laugh that made me turn to him. What's so funny?
"We debunked the claimed paranormal things that happened here! I'm so proud of myself." He said proudly. Napatingin na rin si Eudayme sa kanya nang may pagtataka.
"Enlighten us please. Ikaw lang ang may alam sa kung anong nangyari, eh." Eudayme asked the proud detective beside us.
"Oh? You don't know?" Cali asked in a surprised manner. Magtatanong ba siya kung alam na niya? "It was all done by that bastard Ronald."
"How?" I asked him. Siya lang naman ang nakadebunk kasi iniwan niya kami ni Eudayme kaya wala kaming alam.
"The door knob has scartches on it, indicating that someone entered in before us. Next the dusty floors, some dust was disturbed and it has a fresh footprint, it means that there is someone inside. By that, it made my mind think that I was right all along. No ghosts exist and it was made by a human being." He explained.
Nakikinig lang kaming dalawa ni Eudayme sa pagreveal niya sa kababalaghan na nangyari sa loob ng haunted house.
"The first. The felt-being-watched-case, he was the one staring at the girl who claimed to have experienced it." He went on. "It seems that he has a liking on the girl."
"Thus, watching her though the window located below and just across the victim." Eudayme continued whilw nodding and crossed his arms.
"How about the second?"
"The ghost passed by the window? Ah, it was also his. He just wanted to creep a person and it happened to be that old woman."
"The third? The shouting and breaking of the glass.
"It was him too, he became crazy as the effects of the drugs and went berserk. I saw a shattered glass in the kitchen area and it was new."
"How about my case? The one I saw." I asked him.
"Ah that? He became aware that someone trespassed his comfort. He thought of a way to scare us and make us run, exiting the house. But that failed." He explained while shaking his head.
Oh, that guy! Parang gusto ko siyang sugudin sa police station at sabunutan ang kanyang parang kinuryente na buhok.
"Anyway, Eudayme. How did your acting go?"
Nabigla ako sa timanong ni Cali sa kanyang kausap. What acting is he talking about?
"Why are you speechless? Did someone cut your tongue?" Cali asked more. "Oh! Maybe you have forgotten about it because of that bastard Ronald. Silly me. Then let me remind you of what you did."
Napapaisip na ako sa kung anong acting ang sinasabi niya. Nakatingin lamang ako kay Cali na hinahanda ang kanyang boses para iremind kay Eudayme kung ano nga ba iyon.
"Eudayme, you pretended to be scared and to have Phasmophobia where in fact, you don't have one. I guess that you did it to cling to Felicine. I must say that you did a remarkable stunt and she was not suspicious of your actions. Let me remind you that I was not there but these are all just mere guess." Cali explained.
Oh? Eudayme did that? Unti-unti naman akong napapahakbang papunta kay Eudayme na siya naman ay napapaatras. Kita sa kanyang mukha ang takot at pagkaguilty.
"There's more. I have guessed all of this because it is too ironic for a person who has phasmophobia to entertain the idea of going to a haunted house to which by just a mere mention-"
"Oh Cali shut up!" Eudayme cut him off short.
-of supernatural things will make it trigger their fear." He continued. What a naive man, but I like it. It is so handy. "Why did you shout, Eudayme? Did you not tell her about this? Oh how disappointed am I."
What a really naive man. Hindi ko ba alam kung sinasadya niya ba ito para inisin si Eudayme o wala talaga siyang alam. Whatever it is, I am happy to know that he is revealing what did our other companion did.
"Let me explain, Felic-" I cut him off short.
"There's no need for explanation, Eudayme. Come here, I'll just caress your nice hair and pat your head." Sabi ko at isa-isang pinapatunog ang aking mga daliri.
Handa na akong sunggaban siya ng bigla siyang tumakbo. Of course, as a woman who was fooled by a fool, hinabol ko siya but unfortunately I did not caught him.
Nanood lang sa amin si Cali without a tinge of emotion can be seen from his face, but I know that he is laughing on the inside.
In the end, pinabayaan na lang namin si Eudayme dahil pumunta na agad siya sa kanyang apartment. Ang daya kaya hindi ko siya nahabol, parang yung mga batang nakita ko dati na naglalaro ng tagu-taguan, halos lahat sila nagsiuwian sa kanilang mga bahay at iniwan yung taya.
Sabay kaming naglalakad ni Cali pauwi. Same lang naman kami mg apartment kaya hindi na kami naghiwalay. Tinitingnan ko ang dalawang kamay ko, sayang dahil hindi ko nasabunutan ang lalaking iyon.
"My God! That man has the guts to fool me!" I exclaimed, turning my hands into a fist.
"Why did you let yourself be fooled by a fool?" He asked. Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. Hindi man lang sita natinag dito.
"Ano kaya kung ikaw na lang ang sabunutan ko? Magulo naman na iyang buh-"
"Thank you for the compliment earlier, by the way." He said. Natigil naman ako sa pag-angat ng kamay ko papunta sa kanyang buhok.
Natulala ako sa kanya. Tama ba ang narinig ko? Nagpasalamat siya sa akin? Wow! This is the first time I heard him say thank you.
"You're welc-"
"Don't get used to it." Pahabol niyan sabi tsaka binilisan ang kanyang lakad.
Napatawa naman ako ng mahina dahil sa ginawa niya. I guess that compliment will not be the last. I kept up with his pace with a smile on my face.
At this moment, I can say that Cali still has respect and manners. And the case about the haunted house was already debunked by the one and only, Cali Valencia.
~RIVALRY~