r~vE.

P.I-IILIP.P.INE.
6+/0Sr SrO~IE.S
I'OOK'
By Gianna Maniego And Her Team Of Ghost Writers

Copyright 2004 PSI COM Publishing Inc.

All Rights Reserved
First Printing 2004
Printed by PSICOM Publishing Inc.
Quezon City, Philippines

Most names of the characters in the stories found in this book have been
changed to protect their real identities.

If you have any ghost stories, feel free to share them with us*
E-mail us at [email protected]

For comments and suggestions, Txt us at 09189305034

If you want to talk about ghost experiences, join us at our messageboard

at http://www.psicompublishing.com/forum

*All stories submitted will become the property of Psicom Publishing Inc.
 If there's anything that can prove how popular ghost
stories are, it's the fact that we are now on our sixth book and
the stories still keep on coming.
Ghost stories have been popular for thousands of years,
passed on from generation to generation, from campfires to
classrooms to sleepovers and drinking sessions.
Why are ghost stories so popular?
Perhaps it's the vicarious thrill of being scared out of our
wits without being in any real dangef ourselves.
Perhaps it's the fact that these stories reinforce our sus-
picions of an afterlife (indeed, who wants to believe there is
no afterlife?)-a conviction of faith for Christians and non-
Christians alike.
Or maybe it's the delicious possibility that if one is fool-
ish enough to tempt Fate and challenge the unknown, then
Fate is more than capable of biting him back on his behind.
Be that as it may, there's no doubt that ghost stories are
as much a part of our culture as legends and superstitions.
At any rate, ghost stories are here to stay-and so are we.

The Editor

ISBN 971-0372-02-5
Vengeful Spirit .............................................................. 5
The Promise ................................................................ 9
BAby On Board .......................................................... 15
Betty's Funeral ........................................................... 20
Happy Birthday ... From Beyond The. Grave ................ 26
Confessions Of A Spirit In Limbo ................................ 31
Hardworking Ramon .................................................. 35
The Haunted Science Laboratory ............................... 41
The Baby ................................................................... 44
The Difference In Me .................................................. 48
The Haunted Ringtone ............................................... 53
The Last Cabin .......................................................... 57
The Pink House ......................................................... 62
The Roommate .......................................................... 65
Veiled Lady .............................................................. , .. 69
Heritage Ghosts ......................................................... 72
The Visitors ................................................................ 76
Training For Terror ...................................................... 79
Ghostly Tales ............................................................. 80
The Cubicle ............................................................... 82
Baguio Chills .............................................................. 84
Zapote House ............................................................. 86
The Undead ............................................................... 89
Bloody Mary ............................................................... 92
TltVE. ~IIIU~~INE. G-IIOST ~TOitiE.~ ~OOK 6

Saturday morning when my brother called my atten-

tion regarding my dog crawling Friday night, the dog seems
to see something unusual. It was then that I informed him
that I saw a woman wearing kimona and saya going up
the stairs that same night. A few minutes later my nephew
came with a picture taken from the camera of his cellphone
also Friday night.
A group of teenagers headed by my nephew were
having a good time that night inside our compound, when
suddenly one of them saw a person pass by but suddenly
disappeared. They dared my nephew to take a picture in
the area. After they saw the shot, they all run out of our
compound.
In the picture you will notice a man wearing maong
pants facing the camera, and a picture of a naked child
also facing the camera. But when you look at the picture
through the cellphone, there was another man looking
sideward.

4
 VfN6-£FIIL 11'1F(lr
By Stephanie Valenciaga

I was mad, so mad I wanted to hit someone, something,

and anything, just to get this rage out of my system. I did every-
thing to make our relationship work and after two years to-
gether, Jake comes up to me and says he has fallen in love
with someone else.
It's bad enough that I'm being dumped but to be set aside
for a woman who looked like she grew up in a house with no
running water and flush toilets is another matter.
Was I wrong about this? No, Jake's friend Alex told me
that she's a saleslady in a boutique somewhere in Makati. Hah!
That means she lacks education. He also said she has a son
out of wedlock. Hah! That means she's promiscuous.
I know that at 25, I'm too old to think of this - but I
want revenge. So bad that I can taste it. I want to wreck Jake's
car with a sledgehammer, throw bleach on all his clothes so
they'd look like a tie-dyed nightmare, massacre his family and
mutilate his new girlfriend.
I'd thought of kulam but didn't really know anyone who
could perform it. Thought of calling his office and spreading

5
horrible lies about him but people there knew my voice. I also
thought of stalking Jake's new love but it's not worth getting
caught.
1 spent my days wrapped in a rage I couldn't explain or
control. I barely slept, ate or bathed. It wasn't that my rela-
tionship with Jake ended; it was the thought of being replaced
by someone who was not even my equal that really got to me.
Then, I remembered a story my cousin told me. That she
was mad at someone and she summoned a vengeful spirit out
of the mirror at midnight. It's not clear to me now how the
spirit can help someone who's out for revenge but I do re-
member how to summon it.
My cousin said to say "Bloody Mary" 13 times in front
of a mirror in a pitch-dark room lit only by a single candle.
You are supposed to be looking at the mirror while doing this
although for the life of me, I cannot imagine what I can see in
a dark room. Oh, and you're supposed to do all of this at mid-
night.
But at this point, I had nothing to lose. I hated Jake and
his girlfriend and they had to pay for my misery.
The thought of what I am about to do made me feel weird
but I decided to go ahead and do it. Throw all caution to the
wind and forget everything. Hakuna matata-I don't care.
It's now about six minutes to midnight and I'm about to
summon my vengeful spirit. How scared am I? Well, I've peed
about four times in the last hour, I haven't had dinner and I'm
not even hungry. I'm nervous as hell. What do you expect? i
feel I'm about to make a pact with the devil and I'm not even
sure I want to.
Here goes nothing. I'm about to do it but I swear, I can't
do it with my eyes open. I remember my cousin saying that
when you chant, each incantation has to be louder than the
last.

6
 I do it in the bathroom, the only place in my room with a
mirror big enough to summon any spirits, vengeful or other-
wise. On my sixth "Bloody Mary," I feel so cold. The bath-
room floor seems to have turned to ice .
... Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen. Ouch, is someone pulling my
hair? Incredibly hard? I though the spirit was supposed to help
me get revenge? Whoever is pulling my hair will not let go.
I'm holding its hand but it doesn't feel like a hand. I scream
and scream.
"What's wrong? Hey, hey. What's happening to ·you,"
someone is touching my hair, not pulling it. It's my sister Ella.
I'm still screaming and I realize, crying.
"What hap.pened, why ar.e your hands like that?" she asked
with panic in her voice. She was shouting now, calling our
mother to come to my room.
In a few seconds, the whole household was in the bath-
room. The two maids were screaming, my mother was hys-
terical and so was I. There was a lot of blood in my hands. I
thought I had a big wound. My hair looked like a tornado had
gone through it. My face was streaked with dirt. I looked like
a crazy person.
Ella had the good sense to make me wash my hands.
There was a lot of blood but no wound.
I didn't want to sleep in my room anymore. Ella said I
should sleep with her. In two hours, we were fast asleep.
What's that noise? I nudged Ella who was already awake.
The noise was coming from my room. The household was
being disturbed for the second time that night. Soon, it was
quiet. Ella and I asked the maids to accompany us to my room
to see what really happened.
My room was more than a mess. It was a wreck. My four-
poster bed didn't have posts anymore, they were broken. My
clothes were all out of the closet. Bottles were broken and
pictures were out of their frame.
The next day, my mother called a priest to bless my room
and the house. I never admitted my part in what happened so
to this day, they look at me as the victim.
I sleep in my room now, only I don't tell about the noises
I hear or the presence I feel. I've gotten used to it. After all, it's
my entire fault.

8
By Joel P. Salud

This is a story that sounds too scary to be true. But, ac-

cording to the source. it did happen ...

Ronnie (not his real name), an OFW civil engineer that

worked for an American company in Thailand, had just received
his first pay check and was excited to tell his wife about it. To
earn a fat sum of American dollars was a dream-come-true to
the couple who'd been married for almost six years. It was
1990, the height of Filipino overseas workers migration, when
the couple thought of trying their luck abroad. They loaned
from a bank and from close relatives who were just too thrilled
to see the couple make something of their lives. Both came
from very modest, lower-middle-class families and had been
childhood sweethearts since they were fifteen. When Christia
gave birth to her only son Paolo, the husband Ronnie thought
of .earning more money so that the couple could prepare send-
ing Paolo to a good private school when the time comes. The
first trip Ronnie made was in Dubai. where \ie worked for a
very appreciative Arab boss, who gave him extra cash incen-

9
tives just so he could send more to his family back home. Af-
ter t\vo years, he was recommended to a Thai entrepreneur
who needed a civil engineer for a specific project in Bangkok,
Thailand. Coming highly recommended, the Thai entrepre-
neur even doubled his salary. Ronnie could not pass up an
opportunity to earn more cash, hence, he accepted the job.
The couple and their son Paolo, who was then about five
years old and studying in a Quezon City elementary school,
celebrated the eve of Ronnie's departure by going to the mov-
ies and having dinner at home. Christia herself prepared all
there \vas to prepare to make the despedida party worthwhile.
After going to the movies, the family arrived home and had
dinner as planned. It was a wonderful night for the couple, as
well as Paolo who spent most of his time on his father's lap.
After Paolo went to bed, Ronnie and Christia talked for al-
most five hours until finally they both went to rest.
--Promise me you will come back to us ... ,. Christia said
as if having a foreboding of what was to come.
--chrissi, babe, of course," Ronnie replied with more than
t'-1e usual tenderness while softly caressing his wife's cheeks.
"I will miss you ... ''
Christia, out of the blue, made a promise: "On the day
you come back to us, I promise a bouquet of roses, the same
\\hite ones I gave you during your birthday, will be waiting
for you on the table ... .,
It nas been a flattering gesture of Christia to give Ronnie
flowers during special occasions. They kissed that evening
and promised to love each other more.
For almost two years, Ronnie worked hard to provide
more than enough of his salary to his family. He wrote and
mailed letters to Christia and his son Paolo almost every other
day. Christia, on the other hand, never missed an opportunity
to give her reply or send pictures through email.

10
 However, during the first week of the last three months
before his furlough, Ronnie noticed that Christia had missed
writing back. He was too busy to notice at first since he was in
the thick of finishing a multi-million-dollar project in
Bangkok. A friend and co-worker who was also a Filipino told
him the company's email server had been down and offline
due to repairs for the past so many days. However. Christia
should have written and sent her letters through regular mail,
Ronnie thought. He hasn't received a letter or email for al-
most four days.
When the server was finally fixed, Ronnie received an
email from his neighbor in Quezon City, saying that his wife
and kid met a tragic accident a few days ago. Their house
burned down due to faulty electric wiring, killing Christia and
Paolo who were trapped within. He almost fainted; the news
was more than he could bear. However, he saw another email
in his inbox - from his wife Christia - sent a day after the
aforementioned tragedy.
The email message read:
<Ronnie,. please come home ... mtss you so much ...
Christia>.
A faint photo of Christia and Paolo smiling while sitting
on the couch in the living room was attached to the message.
The next day, Ronnie filed for an early vacation leave so
he could go back to the Philippines. When his boss asked why,
he kept mum about it, and instead whispered that his mother
was gravely ill. The boss, without second thoughts, granted
him permission and ·even took care of the travel requirements
and expenses. The only available flight was the late evening
flight back to the Philippines, but he did not mind. Ronnie
was just too glad to come back home and make sense of what
has happened.
He arrived at the airport at around 11 :30 in the evemng

11
and went straight to the subdivision by taxi. Since it was a
Saturday. it took him more than two hours to reach his house.
When he finally arrived, his house was there, not burned down
as was told him. and the lights were all open. He rang the door-
bell and out came Paolo and Christia, looking delighted that
the man of the house had finally arrived. Ronnie hugged them
both tightly as they walked into his home.
Nothing seemed to have changed. Paolo went to bed at
eight in the evening, the usual time. Christia and Ronnie had a
long conversation about what had happened in Thailand, his
projects and his work. Christia listened attentively. Ronnie,
however, vvas having misgivings about telling her the bad news
he received. It was probably a bad prank, but why would his
neighbor do something like that? He never mentioned a word.
The only thing Ronnie noticed was that there was a bouquet
of white roses on the dinner table, and the very faint scent of
burning \VOod, which he thought was coming from outside.
··How did you know I was coming today?" asked the
puzzled Ronnie.
··I just knew ... '' Christia smiled.
"Why don't we celebrate? Tomorrow, let's invite our
neighbours to a party for your safe return. I want to do this,
baby. Please go invite Roxanne, the Barangay Captain. She's
probably at home at the moment." blurted Christia.
"Let's not bother her anymo"re. Just do it tomorrow morn-
ing ... " said Ronnie.
Tired and exhausted from worry and jet lag, Ronnie asked
Christia not to clean up the dishes that night and just go with
him to bed ...
Christia was still asleep beside him when Ronnie woke
up and took a walk outside the house. He recalled what Christia
said that night and proceeded toward the Barangay Hall, which
was just a few blocks away. When he reached the Hall, he

12
TitVE. ~r11U~~INE. G-r1~T STOittE.S i'OO{( 6

knocked on the door and Roxanne, the Barangay Captain,

opened it. When Roxanne saw Ronnie, her face fell.
"When did you arrive?" Roxanne blurted out uncontrol-
lably.
"Last night ... " said Ronnie with a puzzled look on his
face.
"Were you told about what had happened?" the barangay
captain could not contain her tears. She's been a family friend
ever since the couple moved in the house down the street.
Ronnie asked, "What about?"
"Didn't Christia's family tell you? Come with me!''
Roxanne said while she dragged Ronnie out of the Hall to
walk back to his house.
When they reached the street where the couple I ived.

13
rT<.VE. PHILIPPINE. G-HO'Sr 'SrOT<.IE.'S f>OOf( 6

Ronnie saw nothing but piles of burned wood and collapsed

cement walls. Everything from furniture to clothes was gut-
ted to a crisp .. He could make out their bed among the ruins,
black now because of the soot. Ronnie fell on his knees and
cried aloud, not knowing what to say or think. He saw his travel
bags placed in front of the burnt gates of the house, unpacked
and intact. When Ronnie got back his composure after about
an hour, he went inside the gate to· look through the rubble.
After a while, he noticed something sticking out of the
smoking ruins - a small white rose petal, fresh and untouched
by the apparent wreckage. It was only the11 when it dawned
on Ronnie that Christi.a kept her promise.
According to the story, the white rose petal, withered now,
still remains with Ronnie to this day.

14
By Joel P. Salud

It's been three weeks smce Rene and Alicia (not their
real names) got married at a church in Quezon City. Little did
they know that the couple's exhilaration would take an unex-
pected turn toward a macabre journey into the unknown.
It was an exciting time for the couple. The parents of
Alicia, the richer among the two families, gifted the pair with
a house in New Manila, Quezon City, while the parents of
Rene offered roundtrip tickets for tvvo to Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia as a wedding gift. The two did not lose time furnishing
the new house with the necessary furniture. Ali.cia. the inte-
rior designer by profession, took care of all that.
Rene, as a sign that he will not depend on his parents for
further support, gave up his old white Honda Civic to his
younger brother and bought with his own savings a second-
hand, yet fairly new, Pajero from a neighbor in New Manila.
Their neighbor decided to sell their car for a cheaper second-
hand sedan.
Everything fit into place, or so it seemed.
It was obvious that the artistic inclination of Alicia got

15
the better of her because the interior of the new house started
to look !ike a smaller version of an antique showroom where
wooden statuettes, Chinese and Middle Eastern jars, which
she collected during her frequent trips abroad, were displayed.
They matched well with the late l8'h-century fayade of
the new house, embellished with expensive narra, carved
arches made of dark kamagong, and capiz shells. The huge
stained glass image of the sprawling flatlands of Batangas
crowned the new house and gave it the aura of a sacrosanct
Roman cathedral.
The living room was vast and spread out evenly to frame
the antique furniture Alicia's parents gave her as a keepsake.
It was deliberately designed to be a reproduction of their old
and abandoned ancestral house in San. Juan, Batangas, with
more than enough space both inside and outside of the house
for children to run and play.
However, Rene and Alicia knew prior to getting married
that they would not have any children. When she was a teen-
ager, Alicia suffered a cervical disorder when she fell more
than twenty feet during her mountain climbing days. At first,
Alicia did not easily accept her fate. In fact, she thought she
would never know a man that would empathize with her con-
dition until Rene came into her life. When Rene proposed
marriage, Alicia's bouts with depression stopped. The wed-
ding was the culmination of a life-long battle with self-doubt.
it was their second week in New Manila and everythi_ng
went fairly well. They lived like any family would in that
neighbourhood. Mornings were given over to trips to the mar-
ket or grocery, and the afternoons were either spent at home
or in meetings with the clients of Alicia and Rene.
One Thursday morning, as they were driving their Pajero
to the market~ a 70-ish couple inside a car drove. -slowly past
them and waved their hands, but not to them directly, but to
someone or something at the back of the couple's SUV Alicia

16
turned her head to look who was in the backseat of the Pajero,
but found no one. Rene and Alicia just dismissed the incident
But that Saturday night. the same thing happened while
they were cruising along E. Rodriguez Avenue.
A car filled with children drove past them and started
calling and waving their hands, as if playing with someone at
the back of the Pajero. Again, there was nothing and no one
there. It happened more than six times in a span of four weeks.
With a pocketful of questions in their minds, Rene and
Alicia finally decided to ask Mitch, the neighbor who sold
them t~e Pajero who lived only two b1ocks from their home.
When they reached the house, they found no one there but
Mang Ricardo, an old caretaker. The)"' related the story about
the Pajero. Mang Ricardo's face turned 'white.
The old man told the story of Michelle, Mitch~s four yeM'
old daughter who died in a terrible car accident during the

17
summer of that year. The Pajero crashed accidentally into a
cement telephone post as father and daughter were driving
home from Baguio. Mitch and his friend Christian were both
in the front seats while Michelle was seating at the back. For
some reason, Michelle was able to detach herself from the
especially designed seatbel~ when the accident happened. The
young girl hit her head and died instantly from a crushed skull.
One Thursday evening when Mitch was driving the
Pajero back home from a meeting, a car with children drove
passed him and waved at someone or something at the back
of the SUV. It happened five times during the course of a
month. The last time it happened, Mitch quickly went down
and -tried to talk to the couple who waved. The couple said
they saw a beautiful girl waving and smiling at them from the
back of the Pajero.
That was the very reason why Mitch decided to sell the
Pajero and take a trip to San Francisco where he has finally
decided to stay.

18
 MAKATI OffiCE SCAkE!

This is a picture of my friend's brother taken last year

at one of Makati's office buildings. He chose to have his
picture taken behind the window glass overlooking the
shopping malls. However, when the pictures· were de-
veloped, they were surprised that also behind him is· the
supposedly white lady that is haunting the said office
building. It was rumored that the supposed white lady is
a former model who committed suicide when she learned
that her boyfriend has a wife and family.
- submittted by Aida D.

19
T~VE. F>HIUF>F>INE. vHO'ST 'STO~IE.'S f'OOK 6

~FJTY'1 FVNfrl~ltL
By Jherry Barrinuevo

"It's bad luck to go to wakes."

This is what my friend Serge told me after consulting his
friend who is an expert in feng shui. He had asked his friend if
it was alright for him to go to a wake, because one of our close
friends had just died.
Serge and I both worked for a radio station when we met
Betty, who was with a promotions group. We grew quite close
after we worked together on several projects.
Betty passed away after a lingering degenerative illness
that affected her brain.
"I really can't go, he to1d-me it's really bad for my feng
shui."
"But we have to go, we have to show up at her. wake.
Betty's parents would never forgive us if we ignored their
daughter's funeral. And besides Betty is so close to you, don't
you remember that you tqld me she had a big cn~sh on you?"
I reasoned with Serge, hoping to convince him to come to
Betty's wake.

20
 "Well my friend told me that if it's really important and
if I really have to go, what I should do is not go directly home
after the wake. I must stop by some place before going home
because if l go straight home I might bring bad luck to my
house," Serge said.
But I could tell that Serge was really reluctant to go. Serge
was blessed with a third eye and could see and feel supernatu-
ral spirits everywhere he went Going to a wake would be like
walking into a lion's den.
"I'm afraid that Betty's spirit would be at her wake. I can
feel that she'll be letting us feel her presence the.re," Serge,
my clairvoyant friend said.
''Have you not gotten used to it yet? You've been seeing
ghosts and other supernatural creatures since you were a kid.
And at least when you see Betty later you can say goodbye to
her,'· I told Serge, half in jes~.
''Well alright then, but I'm telling you something extraor-
dinary will happen, just wait and see when we get there," he
told me as we prepared to leave his house and go to our friend's
wake.
Serge and I have been friends for years. We met during
my first job at the radio station immediately after I graduated.
He was then the station manager, and he hired me as one of
their "trainee jocks."
He took me under his wing and trained me, allowing me
to go on board with him during his time slot as a disc jockey.
We've become good friends ever since and though we are
now working for different companies. we try to keep in touch
with each other, to see what was going on with our lives.
Through the years that Serge and I had been together, I
have been witness to his 'special ability.'
He could see ghosts. He could see different creatures that
the ordinary human eye couldn't see.

21
 They call him clairvoyant because he had the third eye.
But possessing this '·special talent" did not make him
happy. For him seeing ghosts and supernatural beings was
more of a curse than a blessing.
""Imagine seeing ghosts and scary creatures everyday,"
my friend would explain.
""What happened?" I blurted as the van screeched to a
sudden stop.
''What's got into you now?" I asked Serge. anticipating
another supen1atural episode.
··sorr_y, Betty's face just suddenly flashed before me. She
seems to be relaying a message that she's going to be at her
wake." Serge told me as he stepped on the gas again.
When we arrived, Betty's mom and sisters immediately
welcomed us. They were sobbing as they led us to the chapel
where Betty's body lay.
When we were almost at the entrance of the chapel Serge
suddenly stopped.
··can I just stay here, I am not used to looking at people
inside their coffins. And also I want to remember Betty's face
when she was still alive." Serge told Betty's mother and sis-
ters.
Betty's mom and sisters understood Serge's predicament
and allowed us to stay outside.
""Well that's okay. We'll just serve your food and drinks
here. Andrea (one of the sisters of Betty) will stay with you so
you can chat and you won't get bored." Betty's mom said.
As \Ve chatted and munched on the snacks that was
served. Andrea asked Serge the question he dreaded answer-
1ng.
'·Serge you can see ghosts right? Is Betty right here now?"
Andrea asked.

22
rf<.VE. F>H-ILIF>F>INE. fTH-O'Sr 'SrOf<.IE.'S f>OOf( 6

··oo you really want to know?" Serge asked Andrea be-

fore reluctantly admitting "yes she's here. I can see her.''
Serge's remark sent chills down our spines. We were all
speechless and waited for Serge to talk more about what he
could see.
'"What does she look like?" Where is she? ·· Andrea asked
Serge after she called some of her sisters and her mom over to
listen in.
··well I'm not going to tell you where Betty is. But I can
tell what she is wearing now. She is wearing a long white dress,
with sequins and ruffles. The sequins are mostly located in
the chest area," Serge said.
Serge and I heard a collective gasp. Betty's mom and
sisters broke down and wept.
''We now truly believe you can see spirits. You haven't
looked at Betty's coffin yet you know what she is wearing."
Betty's mom told Serge.
"Huh? You mean that's the dress Betty's wearing now?"
Serge asked Betty's mom.
"Yes exactly as you have described it;' Mrs. Galang reit-
erated.
Immediately after Betty's mom said this, all of us felt an
tcy breeze touch all of us who were outside the chapel listen-
ing to Serge.
After a while Betty's mom and sisters went inside the
chapel to attend to other guests.
"Something extraordinary will still happen. I'm telling
you,'' Serge murmured to me.
"Wasn't that it?" I asked Serge, my eyes almost as round
as. saucers ..
''No,'' Serge answered. "Hey, just stay here. I'll just go to
the wash room."

23
 As I waited for Serge to come back, I heard women's
voices chatting behind the bushes near the area where Serge
and I sat. l stood up to find out who were chatting ..
To my surprise nobody was there. I looked around and
watched the other people outside the chapel hoping that I could
see where the voices vvere coming from.
I watch the lips of all the people talking and tried to match
if the words I \Vas hearing were coming from them. But to my
shock, nothing matched.
The voices continued and as if getting nearer and nearer
to my ears. I suddenly jumped from my seat and followed
Serge to the wash room.
·'Hey, what happened to you?" Serge asked me, as I was
running towards him.
·'Something really vveird and scary just happened.'' I told
Serge and proceeded to tell hi1~ exactly what just happened.
·'I told you something extraordinary would happen.

24
Maybe that's Betty with other spirits outside the chapel."
"I didn't expect the extraordinary thing you were talking
about will happen to me," I told Serge.
"Well maybe Betty likes you too," Serge jokingly· said to
n1e.
"That's it, let's go home," I told Serge. We bid goodbye
to Betty's mom and sisters and made our way back to the van.
"We can't go home. Remember? My feng shui? We must
first go somewhere else," Serge told me as he tried to look for
a place where we could stay for awhile.
We decided to go to a coffee shop and relax for awhile
before going home. We talked again about the scary incidents
that happened at the wake.
"We forgot something,!" Serge suddenly told me.
"What?" I asked.
"We forgot to say goodbye to Betty, "Serge told me. "I
guess that will not be the last time we will be seeing Betty
again, or rather feel her again."
As I sipped my coffee, I know Betty's going to be back
to say her goodbye to us, I just don't know when it will be.

25
By Jherry l. Barrinuevo

I got this story during a trip to Tawi-Tawi. My fellow re-

porters and I were invited to. see and write about Tawi-Tawi's
floating clinic. It was a long trip from Manila to this southern-
most province. and since it took us- several hours to get to our
destination, we had a lot of time to chat about anything under
the sun.
We started our trip around 2 a.m. We arrived at the Phil-
ippine Airlines Domestic Airport around 3 a.m. for our flight
to Zamboanga. The flight to Zamboanga was scheduled to de-
part at 5 a.m. and obviously we were too early for the flight.
So the media relations practitioners who were with us sug-
gested ''Ve kill time in a coffee shop inside the airport.
After ordering our coffees and fraps. we engaged in an
animated discussion about ghosts.
Since some of the reporters and media relations practi-
tioners know that I am one of the ghost writers of this book
they decided to share their own ghost stories, hoping to have
them published.
Among the stories have heard, one really caught my

26
attention. It came from one of the media relations practitio-
ners who was also a close friend of mine. Her story is so touch-
ing, and of course scary, that it is worth being included in this
book and this is how it goes.
Hazel has been a media relations practitioner for the past
ten years. I don't know if it's really natural for her or because
of her profession. she has this aura of being accommodating
and always cheerfuL .She seems to have no problems and has
always an infectious smile with her.
But even a happy person is struck by tragedies. Hazel's
grandmother died three years ago. According to her, she was
the favorite apo of her lola that's why she loved her grandma
so much.
Hazel said her grandma spoiled her a lot. She bought her
everything she wanted - toys, food, clothes - anything she
would request.
Her grandma was so protective of her that she would even
watch over her when she played outside the house with her
friends.
But if there was one thing that she couldn't forget about
her lola is that she never failed to greet her a happy birthday.
Even as a kid. her grandma would visit their house no
matter how busy she was just to greet her a happy birthday.
Her lola's greeting was usually accompanied by an expensive
gift.
Her grandma would give her expensive clothes for her
birthday. Sometimes these were clothes from abroad, which
her grandma buys for her when she goes out of the country.
Sometimes it would be jewelry.
She remembers one time her grandma gave her a jew-
elry worth P 100,000 just for her birthday.
"I was so loved and spoiled by my grandma. That's why
I can't forget her, our bonding was so strong even as we moved

27
far away from her place.·· Hazel recalled.
But when Hazel's parents moved to Manila so that she
can have her schooling here, her relationship \Vith her lola
was put to the test.
··since vve moved. my lola and I seldom see each other,"
Hazel tearfully recalls.
But she says that even as they are thousands of kilome-
ters away, her lola still lets her feel that she's just around and
she still loves her so much. She would send gifts and letters to
her brought by her relatives who live near her lola's place.
And the most important of all, her lola never failed to
greet her a happy birthday even when they lived far away from
each other.
·'She never failed to greet me even we were apart. She
\VOuld call. text me or even ask some of my relatives to relay
her greeting to me. But our distance seemed to take its toll on
her because she grev, \Veak and sickly."
Hazel started to worry about her grandma's poor health,
part of which she attributed to the fact that they were apart.
~he knew that her lola missed her so much.

·'I know that our distance was a major factor of her dete-
riorating health condition. Some of my relatives told me that
my lola stopped eating and sleeping. She would always ask
them ho\v I was doing and also telling them she wants to see
me.
Hazel tried visiting her grandma during weekends but
when she started working as a media relations practitioner her
visits became few and far between .
.. , became too busy. The best thing I could -do was call
her.·:
But Hazel said her thrice-a-week calls to her lola were
not enough to make her grandma happy. "She still became
sickly and eventually she died. It was very painful for me be-

28
cause I lost my grandtl)a who loves me so much and who I
loved since l was a kid ...
"When my grandma died I became so sad. I know I would
be missing her love. her care. and most especially her greet-
ings during my birthdays:' Hazel said.
Time passed and Hazel slowly overcame her sadness and
longing for her lola. She finally knew she had to move on.
"I know that l had the last greeting of my lola during my
birthday before she passed away. That was it, no more greet-
ings from my dear grandma:' Hazel notes.
But Hazel's birthday after the sudden death of her
grandma proved that she \Vas wrong. She thought she would
never hear from her lola again. '"I thought that her birthday
greetings would stop. But I was wrong:·
"The night of my birthday. I was shocked to hear heavy

29
footsteps downstairs of my room. The sound was slowly get-
ting nearer and nearer to my room. Then it stopped. But what
happen next gave me the greatest scare of my life. I suddenly
heard a whisper, which sounded so familiar, greeting me happy
birthday," Hazel fearfully recalls.
"After that, I told my mom and my relatives what hap-
pened and the~ can't believe it. But they were only convinced
after it happened again on rriy next birthday."
"It happened again during night time. I first heard my
grandma's footsteps. It's like she was dragging her feet up the
stairs. I also smelled her favorite perfume, then her footsteps
came nearer and nearer to my room. The footsteps stopped
and a cold breeze of air suddenly filled the room. Then the
whisper, 'happy birthday.' Then I felt someone kissing my
cheeks," Hazel recalls her terrifying experience.
After that Hazel knew that her grandma didn't- miss her
birthday and that each birthday from now on she would get a
grisly greeting from beyond the grave.
As I write this story Hazel was waiting for her lola to
greet her because she just had her birthday. She said maybe
this time it would not just be a whisper and a kiss,· but also a
hug.

30
 tONFf.~~ION~ OF A
~~1~.1r IN LIN/~0
By Tea Cup

Though I look like death sometimes, I would like to think

that I am still a person of strength. My strength is not a flowery
inventory of physical attributes or abstract virtues that sound
too good to be true. My strength lies in my spirit - God·s gift
of rectitude that has helped me brave the worst circumstances.
God knows how many times I have fought my personal
demons. I have been fighting them since I was eleven. They
would come to me in dreams. chasing and haunting me. Some
unseen, others grotesquely tangible, they would cast shadows
in my sleep and visit me with the same warning that one card-
reader-interviewee gave: Sooner or later. vve vvill get you. Of-
ten unable to scream, I would pinch myself to consciousness
and I would wake up breathless ... muttering a short prayer for
strength.
Two summers ago, the demons I feared so much edged a
bit closer to reality. For one month, I would hear voices inces-
santly calling my name. I tried to think them away, hoping it
was a slight case of delusion and paranoia. The voices never
stopped and finally, I told my mom.

31
 We went to see the priest in Bacong the following day. I
do not wish to think it was an exorcism session that ensued. It
was not. I would rather call it a spiritual cleansing session. As
if a weight had been lifted off my chest, my heart beat calmly.
For the first time in years, my spirit was at peace.
For hours, Fr. Pepe just kept quiet and along with two
other mediums he prayed until large beads of sweat trickled
from his brows. "How many green? How many red? How
many brown?" he would ask the mediums and they would-
give him different answers. The only thing certain was that
their answers were in hundreds. Until today, I have not really
figured out what the colors and numbers meant.
After the session, he simply gave me a list of 20 names
to pray for. They were the names of my ancestors whom I
should have offered mass. "Sometimes, the succeeding gen-
eration pays for the sins of the ancestors," he said quietly. I
still remember him smile at me weakly.
For quite some time now, my spirit seems to be in a limbo.
Once in a while, the voices would come back and again, I
would find myself waking up breathless in the middle of the
night. Still, my stubbornness would not let me give up easily.
I have learned to make do with the situation and have self-
imposed a hectic work schedule so I could push the nagging
evil spirits behind. Still, I was glad that the demons tormented
my mind ... in "nightn;are land" only. I entertained the sil_ly
thought that as long as I do not see the demons in the flesh, I
will be okay.
They did come. How wrong I was to think they only ex-
isted in my mind! Again, my heart raced as I realized that the
ultimate demon could be man himself- man, the creature:
greedy, base, and earthly ....
Creatures that spring from my nightmares ... I've never
seen so many of them until this year. The August thirty-first

32
was the fateful day when I first set foot in London, the most
unlikely place I expected to find them.
It was neither the greasy darkness of their skin. nor the
unruly tangle of their curls that haunted me. Rather, it was
their gruff. labored panting and bright wild eyes. They were
there: vigilant animals eyeing a prey. Like a frantic school of
piranhas feeding on an unfortunate animal's carcass, they el-
bowed and stepped on each other's toes in fr~nzy.
They stepped on my toes but I too headed towards the
thing that the creatures ranted and raved for: a plane leaving
for Africa. To them, the name is home sweet home. To me, it
was a dreaded place in my nightmares. For the first time in
my life, I admitted that I was hopelessly, helplessly afraid -
afraid of demons-in-the-flesh, of the dark, of traveling alone,
and of never coming home alive.
Tortuous and excruciating. the plane ride left me no sec-

. - -
ond of peaceful slumber. I closed mv eves to wish the crea-
lures away until 13 hours later. which was when I had to face
my nightmares, my own fears: demons in the flesh.
The wind hushed a warning and two of the creatures ap-
proached me. They were men - creatures with greasy dark
skin, unruly hair, gruff panting. and wild bright eyes. Their
lips curved to a smile as if to lure their prey and then they
struck. They took my pounds - all the money that I ever held
in my cold, clammy hands - and started to pull my most pre-
cious possession: a shabby· blue-gray suitcase full of not-so-
new clothes, which I would use during a peace conference.
One of the creatures was so rough and strong that for a
moment, I imagined myself physically wrestling the same
demons that tormented my slumber.
I don't know if he had a knife or a gun. If he had, I was
glad I did not see either weapon anyway. I knew only that 1
had to risk my life or attend the two-week-long conference

33
TltVE. ~HIU~~INE. GI10~T ~TO/tiE.~ 1'00/( 6

filthy or undressed.
Such vanity saved me. I never screamed or cried. I sim-
ply refused to be the helpless victim that I was in my night-
mares and became - in an instant - a trapped cat clawing her
way to survival. I held my suitcase tightly, glared at him defi-
antly, and said quietly, "I'm going to make a phone call." I
wanted to bite my tongue off I heard myself speak. I could
have had shouted for help or at least, called him a litany of
foul names. Yet, the creature froze and he too went away qui-
etly and became one with the mob of creatures that peered
restlessly at the arrivals gate of Kotoka International Airport.
Today, I still toy with the idea that the worst could have
happened. Still, it did not happen and I am just grateful.
The experiences were not the "good" things that I have
fantasized in my childlike world. Yet, they taught me well.
My body remains the fragile shamble of bones that I was born
with but my spirit has grown a lot stronger.

34
By Jherry L. Barrinuevo

This story was a told to me by my mom who works for a

publishing company in Ma~ila. Her company only has a few
employees, that's why many of them are tasked to do a lot of
things.
They are picky in hiring people, because they want work-
ers who are industrious and can work overtime. As a result.
majority of the employees are hardworking and willing to take
on extra hours.
But according to my mom, they had an employee who
was "the most hardworking of them all." His name was Ramon.
His work was to prepare materials for pub! ishing.
Ramon's work was so demanding that he would always w9rk
in the office until the wee hours of the morning. alone. Some-
times he ·leaves the office around 4 or 5 in the morning espe-
cially when there is a rush job. ''He is so astounding, I have
never seen any employee as industrious as him," my mom
would describe Ramon.
All of the employees m my mom's company thought
Ramon was a model employee. He was smart. industrious and

35
honest. Even though sometimes Ramon is left to do the job by
himself, he never complains·. He is serious and dedicated to
giving his best to his company, whatever it took.
"1 am ready to give my life for this company," Ramon
once jokingly said.
Ramon soon won the best employee award. The com-
pany finally realized his work and gave him a raise as well as
a cash gift. He was even promised additional compensation
if he would keep working for the company. He was given ad-
ditional benefits for his work.
Ramon was so happy with the award he won and the
prizes he got. During the awarding they let Ramon say a short
speech, and here is what Ramo!l said.
"I am so happy with this award. The prizes you gave me
will go a long way. This will help my family. Thank you very
much," Ramon said before the audience.
When he was about to end his speech, somebody in the
audience asked him why was he so hardworking and did he
have any inspiration? What made him do his best and give his
all to the company?
"Well before I was employed here, I worked for numer-
ous companies. I was always fired because of my laziness. I
was not serious in my job. I was an easy go lucky guy because
I didn't have any family to take care. Even if I got fired from
my job, it was alright with me since I did not need· much
money," Ramon said.
"'I jumped from company to company. I always got fired
because I was too lazy, Lucky for me I had connections, so I
always got hired. But later it got harder for me to find a job
and this happened when Rhea and I got married."
"Rhea got pregnant and I needed to find a job so that I
could prepare for her child birth. I was in a desperate situa-
tion, I said to myself that I would turn a new leaf and make

36
good in the next company that hired me. I'll be giving them
my one hundred percent service," Ramon continued.
"That's why when I was hired here, I gave my best. I
don't want to lose this job anymore, ·There might not be an-
other chance for me. Especially now that I have two kids, I
can't afford to be fired again," Ramon concluded to thunder-
ous applause.
Everyone was happy for Ramon. They knew he was an
asset to the company, a model employee that everybody must
follow and his experience must be remembered and learned.
So Ramon continued working hard and continued being
a model employee.
But later some of the employees got jealous of Ramon,
some of them also coveted the best employee award and
thought Ramon was a show-off, only working for the money.
Ramon later had enemies in the company. Some of them were
eager to boot him out.
But try as they might, they couldn't dethrone Ramon.
They couldn't even match his zest for work.
Unable to slow him up, they decided to make life miser-
able for him instead.
So they tried to play pranks on him while he worked late
at night, calling the office late at night, making believe they
were robbers or terrorists about to bomb the building if Ramon
didn't go out.
Some even pretended they were spirits of former em-
ployees who died.
These prank calls took their toll. Ramon soon became a
bag of nerves, paranoid about everything from robbers to
ghosts.
It destroyed his confidence and he couldn't work prop-
erly. At night, when he went home, he would tell his wife that
dead employees of the company were haunting him at work,

37
destroying his peace of mind and robbing him of sleep.
Despite the lack of sleep _however, Ramon showed up
for work everyday, and continued to stay late at night. He later
developed tuberculosis, doctors said he needed to get enough
rest and drink his medicine. But Ramon kept on working. He
didn't obey his doctors, did not take his medicine.
After some time, Ramon's health deteriorated. His em-
ployers urged him to take a vacation, but he insisted on going
to work.
Until finally, he succumbed to the illness and died.
All the employees where shocked when they learned what
happened to Ramon, even his enemies.
"We were all saddened by what happened. We all feel
pity for Ramon and his family. We lost a very valuable em-
ployee, we lost our best worker," my mom said.
''After Ramon's death we never had any employee like
him, no one who was willing to work till the wee hours of the
morning," my mom said.
One night, however, the owner of the publishing house,
who resides in the office together with her husband, was awak-
ened from sleep by a noise inside one of the offices.

38
 According to her, She cotJid hear someone typing in one
of the rooms of the office.
They also heard someone whistling, cheerfully and chairs
being moved around.
"Now who could still be here at this time of the night,"
she asked herself.
She immediately told the guard to check the room. The
on-duty guard opened the room but found no one inside. He
even checked the bathroom to see if someone was hiding there,
but he sti II found no one.
My mom's boss kept the weird incident to herself and
told no one, not even her husband about it. Aside from her
only the guard on-duty that night knew what happened.
But that wasn't the last incident.
One night while doing his rounds, the guard heard a noise.
He thought it was an intruder, a robber bent on stealing office
equipment.
He said that he hea,rd someone moving inside the same
room where the boss heard someone working. The boss
thought of a clever way to find out if someone really was in-
side. They decided that the guard would call the phone lo-
cated inside the room.
Rrrri iii i innggggg ..... .
The shrill ringing of the phone could be heard, several
feet- away.
''Hello .. ?" said a familiar male voice.
The guard dropped the phone with a clatter. Both the boss
and the guard ran to the room to see who was there.
But the room was empty. Papers and other office sup-
plies were scattered all over the floor. They even saw the chairs
all tumbled down. But that was the only thing they saw, no
one is inside, they checked if the windows were open and but

39
r/tVE. P.lltUF>F>INE. ITI/O";r SrO/ttE.S i'OOK 6

they were all closed.

My mom's boss, who could no longer keep the weird
goings on to herself, blurted what happened to her husband.
Not satisfied the following day, told other employees about
the incident. Soon all the employees were alarmed that a bur-
glar or burglars are trying to rob their office. But some of them
believe that a ghost is haunting the office.
One day an employee who resigned before Ramon died
visited the office. "'Ramon is so hardworking, imagine the
other night T tried to put a prank on him by calling the office, I
think that\ around 2 or 3 in the morning, he answered the call
and greeted me by name suddenly. I was surprise that he rec-
ognize my voice, he told me he is finishing some work and
also asked me how am I doing in my work. He's really a nice
person, we chatted about 30 to 45 minutes."
All of the employees who heard what the ex-employee
is telling were terrified. " What? You talked to Ramon? But
Ramon is dead already ·for a year, How can that be?"
The ex-employee was shocked. He can't believe that he
talked to a dead person.
When all the employees knew about what the story of
the ex-employee, they now know who is the person working
or moving in the wee hours of the night inside one of the rooms
of the office. "It is Ramon .... hardworking Ramon. Even death
can't stop him from working. He is so industrious, until now
that he is more than a year dead, he is still working in wee
hours of the night," my mom said.
"Even today, some of the employees, who try to check if
someone is working inside the office during late hours by call-
ing the phone, report that someone is picking up the phone
but no one is answering. But some that are lucky say they heard
a male voice saying "hello." A voice that resembles Ramon's,
the voice of hardworking Ramon.

40
By Joel P. Salud

The fourth floor science laboratory of this old and presti-

gious university in Manila is known for its numerous ghostly
apparitions.
More than a hundred and one ghost stories have centered
around that place alone, which is probably the most haunted
area in all of the schools in that area. Through the years, a
number of ey.e witnesses had sworn they have seen something
or someone that's not supposed to be there in that part of the
Science Building.
One eerie story was related by a Psychology major stu-
dent who spent a little more time inside one of the laboratory
classrooms at the fourth floor after class hours. It was eight
o'clock in the evening of July 1983. The rains were pounding
on the pavement with claps of thunder and lightning.
The whole junior college class was already dismissed,
and Jenna, together with her teacher Ms. Alvarado (ncit their
real names), stayed behind for further tutoring in Compara-
tive Anatomy.
Jenna was preparing the slides for the microscope when

41
a figure, which she described as pale white and reddish, started
to tloat passed the classroom door.
She thought she was just tired and probably seeing things,
having been in school for more than 15 hours already.
But just as she was about to dismiss it as a hallucination,
a shimmering yet faint figure of a young womari appeared
once more to tloat slowly from one end of the room to the
other. passing through the \vall where the animal specimens
were kept.
Jenna glanced surreptitiously at Ms. Alvarado to see if
by any chance the teacher saw the apparition.
But the instructor was still looking into the microscope,
apparently. the teacher \Vas oblivious to what was transpiring
around her.
Jenna tried hard to get the image out of her mind as she
continued preparing the microscope slides, but it kept playing
m her head I ike a worn-out record.
The apparition was ashen white, not quite corporeal yet
clear enough to be seen from where she was standing.
It moved slowly, she recalled, as if it was being dragged
by a rope, had torn clothes, or what looked like clothes, its
skirt and feet dangled above the pavement.
She and her classmates had heard a lot of ghost stories
about the science lab but she nev.er thought she would actu-
ally see one.
Finally. she couldn't stand it any longer, she had to tell
Ms. Alvarado about what she saw or else she would faint.
Having made the decision, she looked up to see where
Miss Alvarado was and nearly jumped .out of her skin.
THERE, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER WAS THE
GHOST!!!!
The v.roman wore a tattered white blouse and skirt. It stood

42
before her, feet floating an inch or so above the ground. She
had misty eyes that ·looked back at her sadly.
But what riveted Jenna was the woman's mouth, WHICH
WAS WIDE OPEN AND SPOUTING BLOOD.
AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Out of sheer fright, Jer.ma suddenly dropped the slides
and the specimens and screamed.
She shut her eyes to avoid the deathly stare of the appari-
tion, but then she felt something cold touch her shoulder.
This prompted her to shout louder.
Then she felt someone shaking her shoulders and asking
her to stop shouting. It was only Ms. Alvarado trying to com-
fort her.
Jenna asked if the professor left the room a while ago.
The professor swore to Jenna she never left.
Jenna related to the professor what had happened.
Ms. Alvarado said it was a common occurrence in the
fourth floor to see either the ghostly image of a priest without
its head or a woman whose clothes were torn flitting from
room to room.
Many of the janitors have witnessed t~e apparitions
which begin at around eight o'clock and last till about mid-
night. The apparitions occur, more often than not, during a
thunderstorm.
As far as I know they still haunt the room to this day.

43
By Stephanie Valenciaga

Seventeen!.year-old Marita's excitement knew no bounds.

--Free at last!" she .thought.
She was going to be on her own for the first time in Ma-
nila as a freshman at one of the country's most prestigious
t•niversities! This after what she felt was an entire lifetime of
being the sheltered daughter of a rich businessman and his
wife somewhere in Mindanao.
In her hometown, Marita couldn't even go to church
alone or visit her friends. An elderly aunt or one of her two
brothers always accompanied her.
·'Y:m have to be more responsible." said Caridad, Marita's
mother. who vehemently objected to her daughter being alone
in the big city.
Caridad however, had no choice except 'to agree to her
husband's wishes. Marita was her father's pet, being the only
girl.
"Yes, Mama," Marita replied, thinking that she would
have the grandest time of her life once her mother left her and

44
went back to the province.
Marita was to stay in a women's dormitory near her school
where she would take up Fine Arts. Her mother or father would
come to visit her every month to check on her and bring her
allowance.
Marita loved her dorm and her roommate Charing.
Charing was a year older than her at eighteen but seemed a
little nervous and agitated.
"They say there's a ghost haunting this dorm,'' Charing
whispered to Marita after thei.r respective parents had left them
on their own.
"Really?" she replied with an arched eyebrow.
Charing nodded.
"The rumor is that a girl died here of a miscarriage and
you know what? She died in the bathroom right on this tloor!
How horrible is that? They say she continues to haunt that
bathroom. How scary!''
Despite growing up in the province. Marita was not very
superstitious nor easily scared. She did not believe in ghosts.
aswangs and other supernatural creatures that many Filipino
children were scared of
--['m here to have a good time. not listen to scary stories.
Besides, if there's really a ghost, I'd like to see her. Let's see
who gets scared," she said to herself
Marita promised herself that she'd have a good time and
after a few weeks, she did, forgetting all about the ghostly
rumor in her pursuit of newfound adventures.
Surprisingly, she didn't find college boring at all. In fact,
she enjoyed her studies and really immersed herself in school
work.
She also made many good friends, among them, Charing
and another girl from Mindanao named Baby.

45
 Marita hated to admit it to herself but the best times of
her freshman year were spent in the school library with
Charing and Baby, poring over books.
In their leisure time, they would paint each other's nails
and talk about the boys from Ateneo and La Salle.
There was one thing troubling Marita though that she
would never admit it to anyone.
Every time she would use the bathroom, she would get
the funny feeling that someone was watching her go through
her bathroom rituals. She was so sure she was being observed
that she checked the ceiling and walls for peepholes.
One morning, after a long night spent completing a
project, a bleary-eyed Marita went to the bathroom to get ready
for school.
When she entered the cubicle, she realized she had
stepped on something sticky.
Because it was barely 5:30 it was still a little dark, so she
could not clearly see what it. was she was stepping on.
"Eww.. " she thought as her foot nudged a bulky mass on
the bathroom floor. She peered at the floor, trying to deter-
mine the unidentified object.
What she saw nearly made her faint.
At first glance it looked like a little lump. But looking a
little more closely, she realized the lump was a dead naked
child and the sticky thing she stepped on was blood!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! !"
Barefoot, wild eyed and screaming at the top of her lungs
for help, Marita scrambled for the door as she fled the bath-
room.
Charing and the other girls who stayed on the second
floor came rushing.
"What happened?" Charing asked, as she tried to calm

46
down her hysteri-
cal roommate.
"Ch-ch-
child," Mar ita
gasped, gesticulat-
ing wildly.
"What?
don't understand.''
Charing said.
"A BABY A
DEAD BABY!
ON THE BATH-
ROOM FLOOR!"
Mar ita finally
pieced together a
coherent sentence.
''AAAAl-Il-If--Il'
her revelation
drew a collective
gasp from the
crowd.
A few brave
girls peeked into the bathroom, while the rest tried to calm
Marita down.
"There's nothing there." one of them remarked.
"It must· have been the ghost that I heard about," Charing
said.
Whether it was indeed a ghost or not, Marita did not want
to know.
Two days after the incidenL she moved into another dor-
mitory, followed by Charing.

47
rltVE. J:>lltUF>F>INE. ITHO~r ~rOittE.~ i'OOK 6

T,.,f, ~IFFfr/tfrN(,f,
IN N/f,
By laarni Limaco

Some say it's a gift ... to some, it's a curse and to a chosen
few... it's an unending wonder packed with amazement ... Per-
sonally, I really don't know how to call it either but what I'm
sure of is that ... it will be with me forever.
It all started out when my biological grandmother died,
the year was 1989. I was only five years old then.
Lola's death meant two _things to me ... first, that marked
the end of my blissful days with her and second, it opened the
doors to a gift I never knew I had.
After that first blow, experiences with death in the fam-
ily, dreams and sleep were never like before.
There were times that I'd hear my lola call my name and
I'd cry out for her begging her to come back- I would be-
come uncontrollable._ My parents and lolo were badly wor-
ried for they didn't know what to do to console me ...
I couldn't even blame myself for acting like that for I
was clueless to as what death really meant. My mother con-
sulted close relatives wi,th regards to my 'case-' and she dis-

48
rf<.VE. PfiiUF>PINE. 6-fiO~r ~rO'<.IE.~ i'OOK 6

covered that what we must really do is to pray for lola's soul

and ask her to spare me. And as for me, they've decided to
talk things over to me and make me fully understand that lola·
is gone and will never come back. Then and there, death's
true meaning dawned to me ... the nightly calls were over but
the dreams continued ...

MEMORY, 1992:
I still dream. This is how I can describe this point m my
life. Though I'm so engrossed with the Polly Poch:t toy or the
Tamagotchi craze, I did had a hard time with sleep. Paul and I
should be in bed by 9pm yet, even at around 11 pm-I'm wide
awake. I didn't know what to do ... if I transfer to nanay :, room
then surely, tatay would scold at me. I may not be able to sleep
with lolo since he snores a lot and not with Paul either for he
has this weird sleeping position. So, I'm left with one option
which is to stay in my room and cry myself t sleep (I tell you,
it works). After a few nights, I discovered something ... some-
thing terrible that my mom made me sleep in their room for
about a year!
One time, in my sleep, I felt something strange, it felt
something light. .. I woke up to find myself out of my body! I
saw myself sleeping and hugging my "babibube" pillow (baby
pillow) I was so much overjoyed but then, something tapped
me at my shoulder and instructed me to go back. I should do
so, she told me. And so, I did, I went back to my body and held
the same position ... then I dozed off to sleep ... the next day, I
told everybody how amazing it was and then: .. VIOLA! that
night, I slept in between nanay and tatay.

MEMORY, 1995:
Dreams are indeed the best episodes in my sleep. During
my "mature" years, I came across to a lot of kilig moments. I

49
have a number of crushes like most girls in school do ... I'd
hang-out with barkadas and stay long over the phone and chit-
chat about really nothing at all! It's like the best years of my
life and I was both happy and satisfied. But then the dilemma
I used to have, struck me once again. I felt like giving up and
most of the time, I'd question myself ·'what have I done to
deserve such?"
This time it got worst and to a higher level with a deeper
degree of pain and continued misery. First, I got to see things
that are not seen by others and oftentimes, I'd become the
laughing stock~ I see one in school or by the lawn or even by
the bedside ... they're just there ... nothing else. This made life
difficult for me. I can't· distinguish the real ones from those
that are not. Then after a while, I got tired of insisting and
tying to encourage others with what I really see and so I started
to keep quiet-I kept things to myself with the fear of being
rejected. I thought that this was the best thing to do and so I
continued doing it not knowing that my nanay, tatay and lolo
got worried with my seemingly odd behavior. They started
talking things over with me and by then I realized that they
believed me all along but they just had to lie because they
didn't want nie to be in a total confusion. And so to help me
out, my lolo contacted the spirit questors.
rwas stunned with the very idea at first .. I mean, I just
get to read about them.

MEMORY, 1998:
I have to move on. This was a tough and trying year for
me. I was given the chance to study here provided that I stay
in the dormitory similar to what nanay and lola did when they
studied here, in Dumaguete City. I must say that this is a one
big turn in my life ... I was alone in a place I'm not well accus-
tomed with ... having a language barrier, it's hard to commu-
nicate ... with a totally different way of life-! have to fit in

50
and blend with them.
Th~ first few weeks in the dormitory was challenging, I
tend to hear things and see things especially when I wake up
and go to the bathroom. One time during my usual catnaps at
siesta hours, I woke up to find a wonderfully laden casket by
our room ... I collapsed and when I woke up-I screamed and
vowed to never again sleep in that room nor will I stay in that
place.
The next day, I was in Manila and was scheduled to once
again, meet the spirit questors but this time, its different-I'm
more interested to know what I have with me and how am I to
develop it-without me being bothered. This is also what they
told me before but I never paid attention to it. .. the thought of
seeing them in person was enough for me ...
The spirit questors is a group of young, psychic volun-
teers, who communicate with human and non-human entities
in the service of peaceful co-existence and unconditional love.
Presently, the group is further subdivided into other sub-groups
with its own ''specialty", strengths and weaknesses and ap-
propriate training. Primarily, the spirit questors exist as a re-
sponsible forum where students of New Age, psychics, ad-
epts and the uninitiated can exchange and interact key con-
cepts about the paranormal, occult and the New Age. The
questors also provide information that will help serve up for
the physical, social and spiritual educational needs of the so-
ciety. '
As I went back to Dumaguete City, I felt that I became
stronger and wiser, not only with my experiences before but
because I knew that there are others whom I can share my
experiences and who will understand me and my being. I know
I can now move on.

51
TltVE. F*t-IIUF*F*INE. GHOST STO!ttE.S I'OOf( 6

AT PRESENT ...
I still dream and dreaming is still the best episode of my
sleep and now... I am moviug on and coping up ...
I see thi·ngs, I dream of dead people. and yet, I'm not less
the person I am ... I continue to remain in a happy disposition
though there "s this part of me that I am-unhappy about.
For many of us, everyday life is difficult enough and we
can hardly imagine what it would be to lose one of our senses
and it must be rather crippling. physically and spiritually. But
for some. disabilities are simply a way of life to be dealt with.
not to be obsessed about-they are merely challenges.
It took a lot of courage for me to write this down ... I con-
sulted friends and close family members ... members of the
spirit questors told me that this is a good outlet of self -
expression ..... writing. And so I did. I chose this for I want oth-
ers to learn also to appreciate what is good in them. I had a
hard time dealing with this but it helped me grow into a kind
of person I am now ...

52
 Tflf. fi~IINrf.~
ftiN6-TONf.
BY JOEL P. SALUD

It was a chilly November morning, Saturday, and every-

one in the huge house by a corner street in a well known village
was in a fre9zy, preparing for a big celebration. Mrs. B has just
been promoted as Managing Director of a small public rela-
tions firm in Makati. Mr. R, who ·works as an assistant chef for
a three-star Makati hotel, insisted that they throw a feast for
his wife of twelve years. She deserves to be treated like a prin-
ce·ss that day, he probably thought.
Ricky and Julian, six and eight years old, respectively,
rushed to the second floor porch of their huge house to play
immediately after waking up. It has become a habit for the
two brothers for the past couple of weeks to play on the porch
while enjoying the cold whiff of pre-Christmas air. Issa, the
household help, who wakes up as early as five in the morning
to prepare breakfast for the children, would, regularly run to
the porch to pull the kids back inside the house. But the effort
to bring the kids to safety only made the children throw one
ear-splitting tantrum after the other. The porch has a low
wooden handrail, about three feet and four inches, just enough

53
for the two children to be held safely inside like a baby's crib.
However, Issa was not the type who likes to take unnec~ssary
chances after one occasion when Ricky, the younger of the
two siblings, almost fell from the second "floor as he tried to
squeeze through the thin wooden railings to go after his small
ball. What saved the day and Ricky's head from being smashed
down on the pavement, was a cellphone ringtone that Issa
sounded off, which when Ricky heard it, came rushing back
into the room. It was the little boy's favourite. Having worked
with the family for the past ten years, the kids falling over the
porch is on-e dark possibility Issa will not have in her con-
science, come what may.
That dreadful day, Issa had been away for about an hour
and a half to buy some groceries and no one in the house, in-
cluding the nieces who were there to help the couple, knew
where the kids were at that moment.
Issa returned with the groceries at around 11 am. As she
passed through the kitchen door, she thought she heard a faint
crying sound just above her head. She didn't mind it at first,
until one of the nieces asked if Ricky was already awake. It
suddenly struck Issa - "The kids!:'
She dropped the grocery bags in the kitchen and ran. to
the kids' room. They weren't there. Almost by instinct, she
took her cellphone and rang the favourite ringtone of little
Ricky as she moved toward the second floor porch.
Unconsciously, she could feel her heart throb with un-
usual apprehension. Faintly, through the bluish-white curtains
covering the entrance of the porch. she could make out only
one child, the elder Julian, standing on a chair positioned near
the handrail and leaning on the railings with his back turned,
as if reaching. out and down to something. "Diyos ko!" she
thought.
Issa ran to the porch and saw Julian gripping his little

54
brother Ricky who somehow fell over and was barely hang-
ing on one of the wooden railings. She dropped her cellphone
and tried to pull Ricky up.
"Go and get your Papa and Mama!" Issa told Julian as
she grabbed Ricky's hands.
She could feel the wooden railing crack beneath both their
weight. There's no more time to wait, she thought, and mus-
tered all her might to pull Ricky up to safety. And she did. But
as Issa leaned incautiously on the wooden handraiL the hedge
gave way all of a sudden. A few seconds later, Ricky's mother
arrived at the porch and saw Ricky walking toward the bro-
ken railing. As .she grabbed her youngest son to herself, she
saw lssa on the pavement below, dead from a massive head
wound.
During the wake, which was held at the same house about
a day later, a number of family members came to pay their last
respects for a faithful and heroic family maidservant. Some

55
close relatives even brought their kids along because Issa, at
one time or the other, had taken care of them during a number
of summer cookouts held at the house. Mrs. B showed her
sisters the porch where Issa saved her little Ricky. As they
went out to view the scene of the accident, the children started
shouting inside where the wake was being held. Visibly shaken,
little Ricky ran to her mother and said, "Mama, it's Ate Issa!
She's here! I could hear her ringtone!"
And true enough, as they stood on the porch, Mrs. 8 and
her sisters could hear a faint cellphone ringtone coming from
all directions of the house. There were no calls made to any
one attending the wake at that moment. ''Mama, don't stand
on the porch! Ate Issa doesn't like it!"
It was eleven in the morning when they all heard the faint
ringtone echo throughout the house. The huge house was sold
three weeks later.
No one knows where lssa's cellphone is up to this day.

56
By Cat Maniego

Boracay is one of the country's most popular tourist

destinations.
Warm blue waters that hosts some of the most colorful
marine wildlife make it one of the best places in the entire
world to scuba dive.
Its white, powder-fine beaches are ideal for lounging
around and getting enviable tans.
And for those who love the nightlife, there are the dusk-
till-dawn parties where skimpily clad people rub elbows with
one another while dancing to the frenzied technobeats of the
various clubs.
The island is also bursting with ghost stories.
My friends and I were blissfully unaware of this when
we were invited by our friend, Tintin (not her real name), to
visit their family's resort. She generously offered us free ac-
commodations, all we had to do was shoulder our transporta-
tion expenses.
Of course we HAD to go. Not only was it a cool way to

57
spend summer vacation, it was one way of rewarding ourselves
after four years of high school.
So we cajoled, begged, sweet-talked and bartered with
our parents to allow us to go.
''Please mom, the whole barkada will be going. And be-
sides, Tintin's ate and her parents will be taking the trip with
us," I reasoned out with my own mom.
"But you have a lot of things to take care of, you have
your college enlistment to at_tend to," she protested.
''That's okay, I can register before I leave. I will take care
of everything before I go on vacation, I promise. And besides,
it's just for one week. Pleaseeeeee ... '' I begged.
·'Hmph. Make sure you do everything you're supposed
to do before you leave. And text me everyday so I would know
how you're doing," I could tell she was about to relent.
"YES!" I promised.
After all· was said and done, only four of us, out of the
supposed eight, were able to go, but that didn't dampen our
spirits.
We were off to Boracay! Without our parents! How cool
was that?
As soon as we got tct the island, we changed into
beachwear. It was lunchtime and after a quick meal at the main
house, where \Ve met Tin tin's dad, the owner-manager of the
resort.
After lunch, he gave us a quick tour of the resort and
introduced us to some of the staff. One of them, Manang Stella,
was assigned as our chaperone.
Manang Stella was a jolly islander, funny and full of sto-
ries about the island. She grew up in Boracay and saw it evolve
from a little-known island back in the 70s, into a playground
for the rich and the famous.

58
 She also knew a lot of ghost stories.
"Ooohh," we said, rubbing our hands with glee. "Ghost
stories! This ought to be good."
That night, we were supposed to visit the bars on the is-
land, but since Tintin's dad wasn't free to accompany us (and
he wouldn't allow us to go out on our own) we decided to stay
in and have a mini-party amongst ourselves instead.
We invited Manang Stella to join us and tell us her ghost
stories.
At first she was reluctant to tell us anything, but after a
couple of beers, she relented.
"Did you know that one of the more popular resorts here
has a permanent resident?" she asked.
According to her, when the cabins m the resort were be-
ing constructed, the owners hired one of the best carpenters in
the area.
The carpenter was known not only for being good at his
job, but also for being a fast worker.

59
 And because he was good and fast, he also commanded
a .high price.
The owners were working against a deadline. They wanted
the resort operational by end of March because they wanted
to catch the summer crowd. Since the carpenter came highly
recommended, and since he promised to get the job done, the
owners agreed to pay his price.
So the carpenter buckled down to work and was able to
complete the job in two months.
But when he went to the owners to collect his payment,
the owners hemmed and hawed. According to rumors, one of
the financiers of the res01i had backed out and the owners were
cash-strapped until the bank approved their loan:
But the carpenter insisted on collecting his pay right then
and there, and threatened to create trouble for the resort if he
wasn't given his due.
So the owners had him bodily thrown out of the premises.
The men who threw him out dumped him near the cab-
ms. where, because it was dark and slippery, he tripped on a
.,;tone and fell headlong on the ground. He hit his head on a
rock and cracked his skull. Blood poured from the wound in
the middle of his forehead, and he weakly tried to press his
hands to the keep his life blood from rushing out so fast.
But he couldn't stop the flow until he grew weaker and
weaker. He was found dead in the morning, lyi'ng in a pool of
his owu blood near the last cabin.
The owners tried to downplay the carpenter's death, tell-
ing anyone who asked that it was an accident.
After a few weeks, they opened their doors to the public.
Their resort became a big hit, not only among Filipino visi-
tors, but among foreign tourists as well.
One night, a lady foreigner staying in one of the cabins
complained to the owners.

60
 "If you're going to do repair work, can you please do it
in the daytime? I can't sleep at night with all the hammering
being done!" she complained.
"Huh? Repair work? We're not having any repairs done
at this time. Our cabins are brand new," they assured the cus-
tomer.
"Well, someone 's been banging on the roof of my cabin,
like he's tearing the place apart. It's keeping me up at night!''
The owners sent their handyman to inspect the cabin, but
the handyman said the roof was undamaged.
Finally after two more days, the customer couldn't take
it anymore and checked out.
After the tourist vacated the cabin, the owners decided
to inspect the cabin themselves.
Goosebumps popped up all over their arms and neck
when they realized it was the cabin where the carpenter had
died!
Since then, no one has managed to stay for long in that
cabin until finally the owners just decided to board it up and
leave it vacant.

61
rRVE. F>HILJF>F>INE. G-1/0Sr SrO~IE.S i'OOK 6

OtiS£

By Stephanie Valenciaga

"It's strange ... "

Jocelyn wondered why every tenant who rented the pink-
colored unit in front of their row of townhouses lasted merely
a few months.
Even stranger was the fact that almost every tenant would
leave surreptitiously in the middle of the night.
But the strangest of all was what the unit's owner told
Jocelyn one day,
"Okay lang kung tinakbuhan na nila ang utang nila, e
hindi naman (I would understand if they were trying to skip
out on their rent_ but they're not.) Even if they leave in the
middle of the night, they would call me the next day to settle
their accounts," said Mr. Buendia.
Mr. Buendia said the tenants could only point to one rea-
son for leaving.
"The house didn't feel homey. It's as if there is a pres-
ence in the two-bedroom townhouse that's pushing them away,
and it isn't human," he told Jocelyn.

62
 'They wouldn't tell me exactly what it is but judging by
their reactions, it must be really scary," he added.
Helen, Jocelyn's maid of four years, was very scared of
the house and would habitually warn her charge, Jocelyn's
five-year-old daughter Patricia, to stay away.
''lv"aku, huwag na huwag kang lalapit doon ha. Hu>vag
mong idadaan ang hike mo kahit sa harapan ng gate nila.
Sige ka, kukunin ka ng mga bad (Don't you dare go near that
house, I'm warning you. Don't even ride your bike in front of
the gate, otherwise the bad spirits will get you)," she would
admonish Patricia.
Jocelyn reminded her maid that it wasn't right to scare
children, especially Patricia who had a very vivid Imagma-
tion. But Helen was adamant in her statements.
"Ate. meron ho talaga. Yung katulong ho na dating
nakatira dyan, si Edna, sabi niya ho meron talagang nakatira
dyan na hindi tao at salbahe pa (Ma'am, there really is a ma-
levolent spirit living there, one of the maids who used to live
there, Edna, told me.")
Jocelyn remembered Edna, she was a pretty, fair-skinned
young girl who became Helen's friend. The two maids had a
six-year age gap between them (with Helen being older) but
they became close because they both came from the same
province in Bicol.
According to Helen, from the moment Edna stepped into
the pink house, she already knew something was wrong. She
always felt that someone was looking at her. It came to a point
that even while taking a bath, Edna was sure she was being
watched.
Edna revealed to Helen: "May panahon nga na iniisip ko
baka ang amo kong lalaki, sinisilipan aka pero hindi e. Ni
hindi nga aka pinapansin nun, ni hindi tumitingin kapag
magkaharap kami" (There are times when I thought that it

63
might be my male employer but that's not possible because
he does not even notice me).''
One night, Edna woke up to a feeling of being smoth-
ered. When she opened her ·eyes, she realized that someone
was lying on top of her and was horrified to realize that she
couldn't see that someone. There seemed to be a force forcing
her legs apart but Edna couldn't see anyone.
She tried to scream but no words came out of her mouth.
What was even more horrifying was that whoever was trying
to rape her was a hairy man or creature.
Edna realized that her rosary was under her pillow; she
tried to reach for it. "Maybe it can help me," she prayed si-
lently.
When the pretty Bicolana was able to get her rosary, she
positioned it in front of her. Then, everything stopped.
Edna wasted no time in waking up her employers and
-recounting what happened. At first, they were skeptical but
changed their minds· when they saw her bed.
It was full of thick strands of black-brown hair!
Wasting no time, Edna, her employers and their children
hastily called a lipat-bahay truck and moved out of the pink
house at 2:30 in the morning.

64
By Ace Tolentino

I spent the last two years of my college life in a dormitory, a

short walking distance away from my campus.
From the start I could sense that something was unusual
about my second home. But I decided to stay not only be-
cause by roommate was my best friend at the time, but also
because I didn't want to endure the murky, stinky fioodwater
during rainy days - which I would have if I commuted to and
from school.
So I stayed.
Despite the initial sense of unease, I learned to like my
dorm. Aside from taking me a mere ten minutes to get to school,
it was very clean, the rooms were well-organized.
It had a study room, which is convenient to nocturnal
students since each study table had a study lamp. Although
there were electric fans, the students prefer the refreshing night
breeze that wafted in through the large. jalousied windows of
the room.
On my first day, I ran to my dorm immediately after class.

65
I was excited with my second home. I swept every corner of
our room, wiped the jalousies and cleaned everything my hand
could touch.
After cleaning the room, I fixed my bed, put my books
on the shelf and sorted my clothes. I was glad these trivial
chores preoccupied me and saved me from ennui.
When everything was done, I climbed to my bed, which
was the upper bunk of a double deck bed similar to that of
hospital wards.
It was barely 3 p.m. My dormmates usually arrived at 6
p.m.
I took advantage of my solitude and started studying
Russian Literature for the next day's quiz. The quiet, serene
atmosphere of the room set the right mood for me to take
Nabokov and Tolstoy seriously.
After half an hour, I took a break, laid on my bed and
closed my eyes for few minutes. Delighted with the silence of
the room, I resumed and moved on with other Russian literatti.
As I was about to open the second hand-out, I heard soft
footsteps coming from the stairs. I thought one of the girls in
the next room arrived early, so i waited for the other room's
door to open. No one opened any door.
I simply -shrugged at this, quickly forgetting the incident
as I became absorbed with my readings.
It had been an hour and a half since I started studying. I
was scanning the second hand-out when I heard the same soft,
barefooted footsteps again. But this time the footsteps were
inside our room; the floor, made of wood parquet, groaned as
if someone was stepping on it.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I could
feel a presence with me in the room. I swear it was not para-
noia. Someone was with me on that boring, humid afternoon .

. 66
 I stopped. I could neither concentrate nor scan the pages
of my reviewer any longer. I just sat still, stared blankly at the
wall with my heart beating oddly fast.
Seconds after, my bed shook slightly, as if someone had
sat on the lower bunk. The shaking continued, this time my
bed shook harder.
I couldn't move, frozen stiff by shock and fright.
When the shaking stopped, I heard the footsteps walking
away from the bed. At the same time a strong gust of wind
entered the room.The breeze caught the white linen curtain
through the screened windows making me look towards the
left corner of the room.
And there she was.
A young girl in blue jogging pants and pink baby tee,
sitting in the far corner facing the window. Her face was turned
away from me and facing the window, where she sat cross-
legged.
I was stupefied, unable to move, unable to utter a sound.
I wanted to call out, but I couldn't open my mouth.
Suddenly the door opened. It was my senior Architec-
ture roommate. She smiled and this seemed to release me from
the spell. I nodded at my roommate and turned back towards
the mysterious girl.
She was no longer there.
"Why do you look so pale?" my roommate asked while
leaning on the wall.
I didn't answer.
Then she blurted, "Ah, you've met her, Don't worry she's
harmless. All she does is shake our beds."
My roommate shared with me the story of the girl named
Rylie.
She was her classmate. It had been a year since she died

67
from leukemia.
According to my roommate, it had been Rylie's habit to
poke and have fun with them before studying. She used to sit
on the lower bunk of the double deck and shake the bed while
sitting on it.
When she found out that she had leukemia, she stopped
shaking the bed.
She bitterly resented her parents' decision to pull her out
of school for treatment. But the treatment still did no good.
She died.
"Rylie always acts weird whenever there's a newcomer.
Maybe that's her way of fetting them know that this room was
once her place. You know your bed once belonged to her," my
dormmate said with a creepy grin.

68
 L

By Ace S. Tolentino

My aunt works at the Filipiniana section of a university

library. Filipino and Spanish books dated as early as 1800s were
kept in that section. She always has- interesting stories to tell
about those who once scanned the pages of those books and
return to touch them again. ·The most unforgettable one ac-
cording to her was the veiled lady.
The last bell which reminds employees, students and re-
searchers to leave the library premises had rang. Five minutes
before eight, all lights, computers and airconditioners should
have been turned off
She was turning the lights off at the old books section
when suddenly she heard someone dropped a book. She looked
for the delinquent library user to tell him that library service
1s over.
Along the way, a book which she suspects the one that
dropped a while ago was left open on the floor.
Puzzled, she picked the book and looked around for who-
ever dropped it. Seeing no one, she just shrugged and turned
to return the book in the shelf.

69
 As she was about to retUin it though, she noticed a slight
movement at the corner of. her eye.
Turning towards the movement, she froze.
Before her stood a veiled woman garbed from head to
toe in pristine white. My aunt was rooted to the spot.
My aunt kriew right away that the woman was not a stu-
dent. She also had a sneaking feeling the woman was not a
living being.
The interesting thing is, my aunt couldn't tell whether
the woman was young or middle aged sirice the lights had
been turned off except for the three shelves behind her.
The woman seemed to be floating on air.
My aunt, felt helpless, closed her eyes and silently prayed
the "Our Father."
After the prayer, she opened her eyes, expecting the
prayer to make the unexpected visitor disappear.
But the woman was sti II there!
What happened next made my aunt's hairs stand on end.
The veiled lady uttered the prayer that my aunt had just
said in her mind a while ago. Her cold voice broke the deafen-
ing silence: and reverberated across the room petrified my aunt.
After a few moments, the woman lifted her arms and was about
to unveil herself.
This galvanized my aunt into action. After uttering a
bloodcurdling scream, she fell in a dead faint.
When sh~ opened her eyes, the veiled lady was no longer
there. Two lady guards were tapping her face until she gained
consciousness.
In her terror, she forgot about the book which she picked
up a while ago. The book was "Doctrina Christiana" dated
1884.

70
ANTitDLD GHOST SIGHTING

This is a picture taken during one of our drinking spree

at Antipolo's over-looking bars. It was around two in the·
morning when we called it quits and headed back to
Quezon City.
Since we were all drunk, we kept on laughing until
our attention was caught by a person (or is it?) standing
behind a post.
One of m·y friend laughed and even joked, " Pare,
mumu yan! !"
And I said "Di ata gumagalaw? Ano ba talaga yan?"
After a cold silence, I heard someone shouted, "Pare,
alis na tayo! Bilisan mo na!"
And we quickly left. Good thing one of my friend
caught the image with his camera phone.

71
By Elvira Buencamino-Bautista

Lory searched in vain for her half a dozen pencils purchased

yesterday. Oh what the heck, she grumbled.
She went back to her bed and re-read her opened dictio-
nary, "poltergeist. .. a noisy (usually) mischievous ghost. .. ".
She reached for her Nokia 3530 and texted, "Eve, polter-
geists here. Lory".
She hesitated at the send key. Instead, her nimble fingers
pressed the erase and start keys almost simultaneously and
texted again, "Eve, ghosts here. Lory."
She liked the word "poltergeist".
Evelyn's gift is sensing or seeing ghosts or other super-
natural presence.
As a young girl in Sultan Kudarat, she reported seeing a
headless man in her school's hallway. At their Santo Nifio
Sunday mission when they moved the little image from house
to house, she saw bad spirits hanging on trees, peeping behind
the vegetation; or scampering across the hosts' living rooms.
Even at home, she was the one who pinpointed the spots

72
where these spirits were present - at ttte back of the kitchen,
near an old mango tree and down the road, be.fore the bridge,
near a .skeleton of a tree.
They learned later that the back of the kitchen used to be
a Muslim burial site marked by the side of a giant open clam
shell. Down the national highway beside the leafless tree is
the accident-prone area where one evening, they saw a bam-
boo torch lighted to signify that an accident and death· just
occurred. Lory gets a chill every time she remembers.
Evelyn arrived in Manila not to visit the ghosts but to
provide moral support. As she crossed the newly landscaped
lawn towards the lodging house, she pointed at the balete tree
and said, "There's a presence at that tree."
She also claimed to see a white shadow crossing her path.
"At the end of the laundry area in the old comfort room,
ts another presence". The comfort room is also, a bathroom
and it is part of the old heritage building that was built in 1906.
"Sleep in my room tonight, Eve", Lory asked her sister
before going to work. "I don't want to be alone".
"Don't worry, I'll have your rqom blessed by a priest,"
Evelyn said.
Lory, a college professor in one of the schools in the uni-
versity belt area was too busy to attend to the ritual.
Evelyn created a stir among the dormitory's residents -
students, professors, and reviewers including Tita Jannette,
the house manager.
She just opened a canteen at the back of the heritage build-
ing and consented to Evelyn's suggestion to include the lodge
in the opening and blessing ceremony of the canteen.
Evelyn led the jolly young priest to the laundry area, to
the comfort room then situated behind Lory's room beneath
the stairs and in the upstairs rooms. This ritual made the resi-

73
dents sensitive to the existence of other beings in the lodge.
During All Soul's day, the senior residents made up of
Evelyn, Lory, and Helen with three young students agreed to
sleep at the Baywalk. However they found it impossible to
sleep so they decided to go out and have a little fun before
going to bed.
An unexpected shower. forced them to run for shelter.
When the rain subsided. they started home after eating arroz
caldo in a fastfood before boarding a jeepney that took them
back to the lodge.
Lory dreamed of dead bodies rolling on a plank and street
boys swimming in their wake, gawking at bottled fetuses.
Suddenly she felt a touch on her shoulder, she suspected a rat
and waited to be bitten. Abruptly, Lory woke from sleep and
sat down. She thought th~ heavy thuds on the GI roof above
were part of her dream. She stood up and walked out through
the backdoor that she left open to let in the cool evening breeze.
That week Evelyn started complaining about distur-
bances in her room that left her sleepless for a week.
"I feel suffocated as if there is tightness in my chest ... I
can't stay here any longer."
The students were di.sturbed.
After a few days, it was Helen who began complaining
how painful her body was as she confided, ''A man seemed to
force himself on me. I pushed the body away but it was a
woman's ·body. I thought maybe it was Gelli, my roommate
but I saw her asleep on her bed. I tried to hold the face towards
me. To my surprise, the face was that of Tita Jenny".
Within that week, Helen left without even saying
goodbye.
Tita Jenny's dealings with Eve, which used to be friendly,
turned sour. She started to grumble and to blame Eve for her
role in bringing these problems and according to her, "instilJ-

74
ing fear and terror" among the residents.
Eve decided to go I:ome to the province. To this day Lory
grapples every morning with the tabo (dipper) and soap case
that keep sliding, slipping and jumping out of her hand, and
losing her pencils. her combs, glasses, hair clips and earrings.
Even her rosaries keep disappearing and there would suddenly
be black and blue or scratch marks on her arms or on her face.

Here is a picture of my dog Twinkle. It was taken

at our sala a year and a half ago. As you can see there is
something floating above my dog twinkle. I used an or-
dinary camera (not the digital one). I took the picture
so I can finish the film and have it developed and to my
surprise, I saw something floating above my dog. It was
unintentonal, I did not see it when I was taking the pic-
ture. - Kris

75
By Nice

When I was in first year college I lived in a dormitory. On

my first day in the dormitory, as 1 was going to my bedroom
with the lady in charge, I asked her if there were bad spirits m
the house.
She said "Yes, they exist."
I just kept quiet and got inside my room.
That summer, I was left alone in my room - I was tak-
mg summer classes, while my roommates were out on gim-
mick - when it happened.
It was two o'clock in the morning I woke up and sud-
denly the room was. in complete darkness (brownout). I got
out of bed to get my flashlight and when I sat down I noticed
that it was so cold. I wondered why it was cold even though
that there was no electricity and the windows in my room were
all closed.
Then noticed that the rosary I usually carried around
was lost.
Suddenly a headless man filled with blood appeared in

76
front of me while on my left side was a door and there was a
man sitting in there.
I do not know how he ended up sitting there because there
was no chair. He just stared at me the whole time.
On my right was a white lady.
I went into a panic. I did not know what to do when I saw
all of then1.
I got my cellphone and called my friend on the third floor
but I could not contact her. Her phone was busy.
The man on my left began laughing. I was so scared, but
just to make sure he was really there, I shone the light of my
phone on him. What he did was grab my phone and put it near
his face. Basically, he just looked at me and I started scream-
mg.
I fled the room and flew to the room of my friend, which
was near my own room. I woke her up and told her what I saw
before I broke down in front of her.
My dormmates arrived at four 'clock in the morning from
their gimmick. I cried upon seeing them and they tried to con-
sole me.
Suddenly we heard the bell in the canteen ring. (when
the bell rings it means that someone wants to buy something
in the canteen). My friends and I wondered who would be
buying at four in the morning.
That day we all slept in one room and when we woke up
we went to church. After hearing mass we decided to eat some._
where. There I met the person who used to lived in my room
and I told her what happened. She said that at least I saw these
creatures unlike her who just felt them. She said that the male
creature used to sleep beside her!
Right then and there, I packed all my things and trans-
ferred to another dormitory.

77
 Later r learned that several people were raped and mur-
dered within the wall~ of the original structure.
A fire razed the whole area before the dormitory was
constructed. I'm guessing the souls haunting the area are not
yet at peace.

HEA~LESS

This picture was taken inside our classroom

in Laguna. Our teacher can't explain how this headless
man appeared in the picture. - Joel

78
 by Conrad Contreras

Have you ever attended a leadership training seminar? I

did! When I was in Grade 4. I was an officer so I attended a
leadership seminar in Pansol, Laguna.
After we unpacked our things, we had a round of
storytelling ... exchanging ghost stories.
After one hour, we went back to the tent. My classmate
Paterno borrowed my pillow because he told me he had a
headache.
It was raining that time and I was the only one awake, sc
went outside and covered our tent.
I saw a tree when a lady appeared floating with red eyes.
went quickly inside our tent and forced myself to sleep to
forget what I saw.
I w·oke up at 3:00 a.m. I forced my classmate to wake UI=
because I was still scared. But by then the others were already
stirring.
By 5:00 a.m., our teacher told us to prepare for the firs·
activity.
As I was preparing, Paterno told n1e that l had somethin~
on my nose. I touched it and I saw blood. I washed my nost
and went to our session hall.
As we were singing I vomited green fluid! I was totall·
freaked out~
Later our teacher told us that we can now sleep m a dot

79
mitory. This time, I did not sleep early again. I saw a red light
coming out of the window. When I opened it, it was the lady
again, LAUGHING!!!!!
After that, I prayed and I saw no more.
That was last year. This year, I'm an officer again and I
need to attend the leadership training again. I hope I will not
see ghosts again!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

~OSTLY T~Lf.S
By Ren-ren Poquiz

STORY 1
I am an engineering studen m a prestigous school here in
Intramuros. Technical person that I am, it's unlikely that I would
believe in the paranormal. I haven't experienced any ghost
encounters in my life but I'm surrounded by people who had
ghost encounters.
This particular story that I'm going to tell you is from a
friend who is also an engineering student. It happened not so
long ago when she arrived home from school. Weary and tired,
she immediately sought the comfort of her bedroom.
It is her habit to turn the radio on and doze while listen-
ing to music. As she was about to nod off, she felt that the
room temperature suddenly was so cold that icy breath came
out of her mouth. Then, without warning, a window banged
open, almost breaking the glass.
This was impossible because all the windows were
locked. Even typhoon winds couldn't have opened it (and
there was no wind at all). Afraid of seeing more, she hurriedly

80
left the room and ran into her sister's where she spent the rest
of the night.
She doesn't sleep in the room anymore but still uses it
during the day to prepare for school. She would always close
the window before leaving but would always find it open again
when. she comes back the following day.

STORY 2
During my last year in high school, I joined a theater group
to satisfy my penchant for acting. It was just a few months be-
fore the school year ended and we were practicing every night.
for a special production before the final examinations.
One night before going home, a friend asked me if I saw
a woman sitting on the last row of the audience seat.
He knew that I vvas a paranormal enthusiast and would
give him honest reply without thinking that he's off his rocker.
I answered "no" but asked him to tell me about it.
He told me that when he came from backstage, he saw a
woman sitting at the back. He thought that she was one of our
director's staff who would assist him in stage management.
When the director finished giving last instructions, my
friend saw the woman got up and walked towards the exit. He
was surprised that instead of going through the door, she went
through the wall! I just told him to forget about it and just
offer a prayer.

STORY 3
I have a friend here in college who is a member of the stu-
dent publication. He told me that a ghost named Let-Let bangs
out in their office. A !though it was .confirmed that she was
friendly and didn't wish to inflict harm, the idea of a ghost
lurkina
b
in their office would still give them the creeps.
~

81
 One time, an editor, coming from a class, dropped by the
office to get some things he needed for his next class. Before
entering, he took a peep between the blinds of the door win-
dow to check if anyone was inside. To his surprise, he saw a
girl in a white gown sitting at the computer..... typing.
When he entered the office, it was empty! The keyboard,
however, continued typing by itself but no words were regis-
tering on the monitor.
He just said to Let-Let: "Sige lang, ituloy mo lang yan.
Pasensya ka na kung na-istorbo ka ... may kukunin lang aka
(It's alright, go right ahead with whatyou're doing. Sorry if I
disturbed you, I just have to pick up something.)"
He hurriedly picked up his things and ran out of the of-
fice.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

By Isabella

This story was related to me by a close friend of mine who

was also my classmate. Stories of our school spread fast, but
this one was enough to make my spine tingle.
We had a friend who claimed that she had the third eye.
One day, she went to the comfort fOOJll, which was just near
our Classroom. When she was about to go out, she heard a low
moan behind her.
Warily, she tried to go out of the cubicle, she discovered
she was locked inside. The cubicle also had a lock outside and
someone must have locked her in!
Looking behind her she saw a white figure, but it was
blurry. Totally scared now, she pushed on the door with all her

82
 Here are three pictures I found in a web site saying it
was accidentally killed by some fishermen in the Philip-
pines somewhere in the Visayas. -jerry mactal

83
strength and the door finally opened.
She ran out of the comfort room screammg.
The following day, we asked some old teachers and jani-
tors about the cubicle.
Manong John, one of the janitors, told us that a second
year high school student was once locked in that cubicle, but
she died trying to climb out of it.
She tried to use the toilet as leverage to get to the top, but
slipped and hit her head on the toilet seat.
The janitors found her lifeless body the next day, her skull
cracked open and blood spilfed all over the floor.
Her spirit haunts the cubicle in our CR because she's find-
ing her way out.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

By Alexander Dugho

I have read all of your books and I like them all, but I re-
membered one. specific story in Book 4 about a woman who came
to a hospital and most of the people there were only spirits.

STORY 1
The first story I will tell you is about a mall. This mall was
already featured in a television show a long time ago.
There was a man who went to a mall to watch a movie.
The movie wasn't really a blockbuster, so he was surprised to

84
rft.VE. ~fiiU~~INE. GH~r ~rOft.IE.~ l'OOK 6

see that the cinema was jam-packed. He felt a little resentful

because he had to stand up for the rest of the movie. While
watching he was still wondering why there were many people
in .the cinema.
·But later ·on he forgot about that as the movie wore on.
The movie ended and the lights were switched on. And to the
man's absolute shock. he saw that there were only about twenty
people inside the cinema.

STORY 2
My cousin and her friends went to Baguio and stayed· in a
lodging house.
One night they decided to paint the town red. They agreed
to take a taxi. Several taxis have alrea_dy passed. but all were
with passengers, so they waited patiently.
They tried to hail one taxi but again it has passengers.
But this taxi came to stop in front of them, waiting for them to
board.
That time they were whispering among themselves;
"Ano ba naman yang driver na iyan, ang swapang. Puna
na nga yung taxi niya gusto pa rin tayong isakay. Para namang
kakasya tayo diyan?!"
Finally realizing that my cousin and her friends are not
boarding the driver sped off.
They were still saying something about this driver when
one of them happened to glance back at the taxi. She called to
her friends and everyone turned.
To everyone's surprise they saw that the taxi has no pas-
senger at all. No one could have alighted because they would
have seen it
The Baguio cold seemed more freezing to them when
they saw it.

85
 By Roland Abad

This is an experience from our former house in Zapote St.,

Makati City.
It's an old apartment ovmed by my wife's aunt (Aunt Cor-
in g).
I used to live in Cavite but when we got married we
decided to live in her aunt's house because it was only a few
meters away from our office.
When her aunt decided to move to Samar, she entrusted
the house to us since we could not find any house for rent at
that time.
She told my wife that we had to take care of the house so
that when the time comes, she can sell it a higher market value ..
Actually there were four of us supposedly in the house
but my other brother-in-law was abroad (Rhande) at that time;
so it was only me, my wife and Rhyan.
The story behind the house was unknown to me smce
didn't believe in ghosts.
On our first yem' of stay in that house l have not expen-

86
enced any supernatural just stories from Rhande's unnervmg
expenences.
In the summer of 2002 Rhyan left for Samar for a vaca-
tion, so it was only me and my wife in the house.
My wife was pregnant at that time. When we got home
from the office, we ate dinner and I told my wife to go to our
room and I would wash the dishes.
As I washed the dishes I noticed an old woman a few
meters away from me. She was beside the television, staring
at me. I could only see her through my peripheral vision (side
of the eye) but when I tried to look at her she would disappear.
At first I .ignored her because I thought it was just my
imagination but when I continued to wash the dishes, there
she was again.
Her Image was so vivid except for a slight haze around
her face.
She was about 50 to 60 years old, weanng a red sa_va
(long skirt), fur coated slippers and about 4' 11 - 5" l in height.
I felt my hair standing on end but l tried not to be scared.
When l finished the washing, I put them on the dish cabinet
and turn the lights off and I went to our room immediately.
I never told my wife what happened. The apparition of
that old woman lasted for three long weeks, day and night
whenever I was alone in the living room.
Sometimes I got home earlier than my wife, so I spent
my time outside the house.
In the last week of May, Aunt Coring and Rhyan came to
visit the house, I told them the story and I was stunned on
what she said.
"You can see strange things here because the house is
not familiar with you. You are the newest member of this
house!"

87
 After a week, Aunt Coring went back to Samar. The fol-
lowing evening after Aunt Coring left, I recorded my favorite
rock music that lasted until 11 :30 in the evening.
At that moment I Sa\V a man through my peripheral vi-
sion again that was very hairy. l thought it was Rhyan but when
I looked at him he was gone!
After a month, Rhande came home from abroad, after
the exhausting voyage he went to sleep, then he woke up in
the middle of the night to take a pee, he noticed someone or
something was
staring at him so
close (about half
a meter away
from him) then he
felt so cold.
He couldn't
describe it be-
cause it was too
dark in the room
and the thing was
almost a shadow
or a silhouette.
After that incident
we never turned
the lights off
when we sleep so
that we could
identify what
creepy things
might stare at -us.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

88
 "
By Grace Uy Pangan

This story happened about six years ago when I was about
to graduate from college.
I had a very good friend named Rose who died a tragic
death a month before our graduation and just weeks after her
birthday. The accident happened at 1Opm as she was about to
cross the street with her boyfriend.
She was hit so hard by a jeepney. that her skull, bones,
ribs shattered and pierced her internal organs.
It was also almost impossible to recognize her. She was
immediately rushed to a nearby hospital and they put her on
life support ma..:hines to help her extend her life but after an
hour, she was given a 30-70 chance of making it.
I received a call from Rose at exactly 11 pm.
She said:
"Grace, pasok ka bukas ha? Exam natin. Tabi tayo ulit.
Mag-iingat ka ha? Palagi mong iingatan sarili mo at mami-
miss kita. Alam mo mami-miss talaga kita. Baka hindi na tayo
magkita ulit pero tatabihan kita sa exam bukas. Lagi kitang

89
tatabihan at babantayan para hindi ka mapahamak. "
I answered back:
"Ay naku, tigilan mo nga yang drama mo at hindi bagay
sa i_vo. Basta bukas tabi tayo. Agahan mo lang at baka ma-
late ka na naman. alas 7 exam ha?! Baka naman dumating ka
alas 9 na naman!"
The conversation lasted until twelve midnight and told
her we had to rest for tomorrow's exam.
Rose replied: ·'Sige na Grace, pagod na pagod na din
aka. Tinawagan lang kita kasi mami-miss talaga kita.
Nahihirapan na din akong huminga. Basta tandaan mo mga
bilin ko sa iyo."
We hung up after that.
The following day, no Rose showed up.
I was so worried because she. might not graduate if she
doesn't take the exam. We finished the exam, but Rose was
sti II a no-show.
After the exam, I told our other friends about the phone
call and the odd conversation we had. I told them that Rose
sounded sad, not at all the bubbly person that I got used to. We
decided to call up her house.
One of our closest friends, Bong, was the one who called
and asked for Rose. Rose's sister told him that Rose has been
dead since 12am. Bong thought she was just joking so he asked
me to call again Rose's house.
So I called up.
Lizette answered me:
''Di ba sinabi kong patay na si Ate Rose? Grace, patay
na siya, kaninang madaling araw pa. Nasagasaan siya ng jeep
kagabi, bandang alas-] 0 sa ma.v Espana. A1ga alas-11
bumigay na katawan niya at alas-12, tuluyan na siyang
namatay."

90
 I argued that this can't be possible because Rose called
me at around 11 pm and we hung up at exactly 12 midnight.
Lizette said:
''Paano mangyayari iyun e nasa ospital na siya noon? at
alas-12 ng hatinggahi patay na siya. Kung ayaw mong
maniwala, pumunta ka sa punerarya . "
Upon hearing that, I broke down in tears. I can't walk ...
my legs seemed too weak.
We went to the funeral parlor and saw her lying there.
After that visit I never \vent back to the funeral parlor be-
cause I couldn't stand the pain of seeing her lifeless.
The night before her burial I decided that I couldn't go
and would sleep early.
At 9 pm I went to my room to sleep. After a couple of
minutes, I heard a knock on the wall. I thought it was my dad,
playing tricks on me because he was in the other room. I went
to check and he was sound asleep. I went downstairs and saw
my other siblings \:Vere watching television and my mom was
doing something.
So I went back to my room to sleep, but when I closed
my eyes I felt someone tickTing my nose and my ears with
strands of hair. I knew right there and then that it was Rose
because she loves doing that.
Afraid as I was, I talked to her (but with my eyes closed)
and told her that I don't want to go tonight but 1 would defi-
nitely be there tomorrow \vhen they bury· her.
After what I said that, 11.1Y bed started shaking as if there
is an earthquake. The laundry bag that was on top of a table
was thrown and our clothes were scattered all over the place.
My father was roused from sleep and my siblings went up-
stairs to check because they heard feet stomping so loud. They
asked me if I'm alright and asked me what happened, so I told
them.

91
 Quickly, my dad ordered me to get dressed and said he
would drive me to the funeral parlor .
When we got there, all our other friends and classmates
were outside. They told us that feet stomping were heard all
over the room as if someone is throwing tantrums and they
decided to go outside. The noise only stopped as when I ar-
rived.
My dad said that maybe Rose was offended because it
was her last day on earth and we were not going to see each
other.
So she made sure we did.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

By Natalie N. Ramirez

I studied at Montessori De San Juan

There was once a legend in the girl's washroom that a
Bloody Mary occasio.nally appeared to people who called on
her.
One afternoon, we were really tired and went to the wash-
room tc freshen up.
Suddenly, my friend suggested we try it. We chanted
Bloody Mary thirteen times in front of the mirror.
Sure enough, there it was staring right at us. We couldn't
move in fright. Then we noticed that it was moving out of the
mirror, leaving a trail of blood behind it.
All of us couldn't leave since the Bloody Mary was block-

92
ing the doorway. Then suddenly, all of us screamed at the top
of our lungs trying to get away. Since I was in the lead. I was
so scared. And then (I don't know why). I just screamed and
ran through the ghost.
All the boys were at the opposite side wondering why
we were ;;creaming and then I accidentally ran into them. with
all the girls behind me and I scram bled up and ran to the
principal's office.
All of the boys were so worried they checked it out. Then
we just heard them running towards us.
We all vowed never to come into that washroom again!

TAGAYTAY GHOST?

When this picture was shown to me, it scared

the living hell out of me ..... only to realize that the
images there are just men in their rain gears. - David

93
Should you be afraid of Ghosts?

Should you be afraid of people? No, I think not. Some ghosts

are simply lost or confused, looking for help. When they haunt
your home, they are testing you to see if they can trust you.
Are yuu going to judge them, condemn them or label them as
evil or demonic. If you treat them with respect, you will gain
their trust and then you will be able to help them complete
their mission or find their way home. Ghosts are life after life
entities who survive the process we call death. I believe that
ghosts are proof that we live again after death.

THIS tiCTUkE IS fAKE! 'UT STILL ••••

94
 Greetings!
I just want to send you this picture of my
cousin taken a few months ago. Sorry, if it is
blurred.
Take a deep look at the picture. This pic-
ture was taken when I got myself a new
webcam. My cousin Faye, who was posing at
the picture appeared to have a face looking at
her behind her back.
We were clueless about the picture before,
but when my sister saw the picture, she told
me that she saw a man in the picture. We were
so frightened about the picture.
My cousin was also shocked when she saw
the picture. The man in the picture appeared
to be madly staring at her.
- Emil Alviz

95
 I
was really scared one night .•• I was asleep
and suddenly the room was filled with
· smoke .•. it was eerie, dark, and chilly .•. I no-
ticed a dim light outside my bedroom window .•. I
hesitated to peek out of it, but I gathered up all
my courage and slowly' took steps towards the
window •• I parted the binding curtains, the dim
light was getting dearer and clearer .•. I heard a
hissing sound ... as I was moving closer to the win-
dow when the sounds began becoming extremely
loudy and repetitive. I swallowed a gulp of spit
and decided to look out the window.~ •. and to my
surprise ..•
My neighbor was cleaning the street in the
middle of the night ... at ang putragis, nagsisiga
pa! Buwisit! -submitted

~ON'T HI,.E UN~Ek THE SHEETS!

SEE YOU AGAIN IN .aOOK SEVEN!

96