My Grandfather's Strange Neighbors

By: Elena A.

The year was 1969 and the world was changing. The Beatles broke up, man landed on the moon, a new jet called the Concorde made its first test flight, the Vietnam war was in full swing, and Ferdinand Marcos wins a second full term as President of the Philippines. It was an eventful year, but those big events seemed hazy in comparison to my vivid memories of what I experienced as a young girl visiting my grandfather's house in the province that year.

I was born and raised in Pasig, Mandaluyong. This year my mother had decided for us to visit her birthplace. My grandfather sent us a telegram a few weeks earlier and lovingly told my mother how much he would love to see his daughter and his only grandchild. A few days later I found myself on a bus headed for the countryside. It was the most exciting feeling for a ten year old who had never been anywhere outside the city.

My grandfather lived in a small town called Cansadan in San Jose, Antique. It was a small town that had a few houses, and a very narrow road that ran through it. My grandfather actually lived in the outskirts of town right by his farmland where he grew and tended his own crops. Every morning my mother would take me to the market where we would buy fresh fish and vegetables to cook for the day's meals. Every night after dinner, I would sit by the window and stare out into the open fields that were surrounded by huge mango trees. There weren't any lights around like how it is in the city, but somehow you could make out the dirt roads because the moon above illuminated everything else. I've never seen such a clear sky with so many stars. The gentle country breeze would tickle my cheeks, and I would always take deep breaths inhaling the scent of fresh mangos. It was a beautiful place.

It didn't take long for me to find playmates as the locals were so friendly. I met this girl named Maya who immediately became my best friend. She and I were the same age, and though I had a hard time understanding her because I didn't speak much Visayan, we were inseparable. Kuya Bong who was 18 at the time, helped my grandfather with the planting and pretty much everything; he was my grandfather's right hand man, and he was instructed to be my personal bodyguard.

One cloudy afternoon while Maya and I were out chasing beetles by the fields, we noticed a girl watching us from the dirt road that led to my grandfather's house. She had long hair, a very pale face, and wore a black dress that came down to her ankles. She was barefoot and seemed like she hadn't bathed for days. She was much older than Maya and I, probably in her teens. We were so frightened by her appearance that we ran home screaming. I told my mother what happened but she dismissed it as my imagination running wild. I didn't get much sleep after that little scare.

A few days had passed, Maya and I were tailing Kuya Bong wherever he went. We told him about the girl we saw. He smiled and assured us that it was probably someone who lost her way. There was something about the way Kuya Bong spoke that was always comforting. Pretty soon we forgot about the whole thing and had a great time playing in a nearby stream.

The next day I was all by myself washing some vegetables my mother had brought home earlier, when I heard this beeping outside. I looked out the kitchen window and saw Kuya Bong waiving at me riding a motorcycle. I ran outside to see him and almost immediately hopped in front of him to go for a quick ride. He revved the engine and we sped up heading for the dirt road that led to town. It was dusk and the sunset looked very pretty. Kuya Bong had this big smile on his face as he told me how his friend loaned him the motorcycle for the weekend. As we passed this big group of trees, something startled Kuya Bong that almost made him lose control of the bike. The same girl Maya and I had seen earlier was standing there wearing the same clothes, looking straight at us with a cold expressionless look on her face. Kuya Bong started asking her questions. I understood very little, but had an idea that he was asking her who she was and if she needed help. I was so frightened that I couldn't look at her. I started to cry and told Kuya Bong to take me home. The girl didn't speak a word. She slowly turned around and disappeared into the woods.

It was getting dark so we headed straight back home. That night Kuya Bong told our story to my mother and my grandfather during dinner. My mother kept on dismissing it as none sense. I looked at my grandfather who was silent all evening and had a worried look on his face. He was usually an animated kind of person, always entertaining us with funny stories, but tonight he retired early and didn't say a word.

I was helping my mother wash dishes while Kuya Bong was serenading us with his guitar. He felt that it would help me sleep and calm my fears. He was so sweet and had such a great singing voice. He got up and started singing louder and my mother and I began to laugh, and that's when we heard it! This loud shriek, this painful scream... tt sounded like a woman, or it could've been an animal, we weren't sure. It sounded pretty close. I was so terrified with the sound that I held on to my mother real tight. Kuya Bong leaped for his bolo and a kerosene lamp and ran outside to investigate. I heard him frantically screaming at someone outside, so my mother and I came to the front door to see what was going on. It was pitch black and all we could see was Kuya Bong holding a lamp with one hand, and waiving his bolo in the other, screaming at someone or something in the woods. All my crying wouldn't pacify the fear I felt when two figures slowly moved forward and emerged from the woods. It was the girl and a young man who was dressed in a black shirt and black pants. They had blood on their hands and were standing deathly still as Kuya Bong ordered them to stay away from our house.

He told my mother to take me inside, which she did, and I immediately hid under my bed covering my ears. I heard the voice of my grandfather who was awakened my all the commotion. He stepped outside to see an exhausted and frightened Kuya Bong sitting on the steps. He told my grandfather what had happened: "They came from the woods... I kept on asking them who they were and what they wanted, but they wouldn't speak to me. They had blood on their hands! And they were just standing there... I yelled at them telling them to go away! But they just stood there! I asked them what they wanted and they just pointed at our house. I told them that if they stepped any closer that I would kill them!"

My grandfather rest his hand on Kuya Bong's shoulder and told him to calm down. None of us got any sleep. My mother kept me close to her telling me that it was just people who wanted to steal my grandfather's livestock. Kuya Bong kept a watchful eye and would walk around our house every 30 minutes, then he'd doze off for a few only to get up again to look around.

The next day we were asked by a relative to attend a special mass in town. Someone's son had gone missing. They said the boy was last seen playing near where we lived, and had been missing for three days now. After mass we went straight home and my grandfather cooked up the most delicious meal. After dinner he got up and simply told us he was going to talk to some people; he did not specify whom he was going to be talking to, or where he was going. He strapped his bolo to his side and headed out into the dark with his kerosene lamp.

Kuya Bong's nagging curiosity would not escape him, so he took his bolo and his lamp, and headed in the direction of where my grandfather went. My mother tried her best to make him stay and guard the house, but he was worried that my grandfather was unaccompanied. He had never taken off like this, ever. A nervous Kuya Bong followed a narrow trail for almost an hour that led him deep into the woods which eventually led to a river. There was a small man-made bridge he had never seen before which he crossed, and on the other side were huge trees and thick overgrown bushes that had a faint light glowing from within them. He turned off his lamp and slowly crept up towards the light. He could hear the faint voice of my grandfather who was speaking to someone in a very authoritative tone. He hid behind a fallen log and observed.

My grandfather was standing in front of a small hut that was built right next to the mouth of a cave, and he was talking to a man who was standing at the entrance of the hut. Kuya Bong couldn't make out everything my grandfather was saying, but he understood most of it. "I know what you did you bastard!", my Kuya Bong had never heard my grandfather swear before. "You stay away from my house and my family! That's my family! You tell your children that my granddaughter is not to be touched! If I see you or any of your children wandering by my home, I will kill all of you! Do you understand?!" The man didn't say a word and headed back into the hut. My Kuya Bong ran straight home to find me and my mother asleep in our bed. He patiently waited for my grandfather as he had so many questions to ask. They stayed up all night as my grandfather told him everything there was to know about the strange family that didn't live too far from us.

According to my grandfather he has known of their existence for many many years. He said that before he married my grandmother, he witnessed strange rituals that occurred in the cave. He says the family feasted on raw meat, organs of dead animals, and possibly even people. One day he was discovered spying at them, but they let him go. There have always been rumors in town about a family of aswang that lived close by, but for some reason my grandfather never mentioned what he saw. It was sort of like a simple unspoken agreement between my grandfather and the aswang. He left them alone, and they left him alone. My grandfather swears that they never seemed to age, and they are never seen in the company of other people from town. There have been many disappearances of young children around San Jose as long as my grandfather could remember.

The next day we left for Manila. I was so relieved. I had enough of strange provincial life and I was ready to come back to a busy city where spooky things only happened on television. I often received letters from Kuya Bong, and after three years he came to live with us in Pasig after my grandfather passed away. I often ask him if he ever saw the family of aswang again. He said he once tried to revisit the place where they had lived. But the hut was long gone, the cave was empty, except for strange markings on its walls, and small fragments of bones scattered all over the floor.

Technorati Tags:60s, halloween, scary story, paranormal, nostalgia

Paranormal Folly

By: Totoy Time Machine

Something happened to my friend's brother that we still couldn't explain, let alone have his family explain it. This happened in Makati back in the 80s.

The "utol" was a young man attending college in the university when he came home late one evening. He said that he just couldn't quite get home. He was so disoriented that he had been commuting around Manila for several hours before he finally found his way home.

The days that followed was a flurry of "weird happenings". Utol hardly slept at night, preoccupied by discomfort and strange sensations going through his body. He also had a hard time swallowing food because he felt that something was "blocking his throat". His limbs and joints wouldn't cooperate so much so that he walked funny and slower than usual. He was practically invalid and was unable to go to school and function on his own at home. Although he was a grown man, another family member had to give him a bath and force-feed him. It was a struggle to feed him because he would almost refuse the food and water that was given to him. Something seemed to control him from nourishing himself. The family saw that Utol grew thinner with each passing day. His lips were very dry and cracked, and his face and body had a deathlike pallor.

There was a time when the family brought him to church so that the priest would give him holy communion but Utol also refused to swallow the blessed host.

A family friend confided that her husband was a "spiritista" and offered to help find answers to the family’s dilemma. The couple came to the house and brought with them another person, a woman who they said would also help out.

So it was one fateful evening in a typical home in urban Makati that our friend called the rest of the barkada over to a bedroom on the second floor of their home to witness what promised to be an actual séance, or possession, or whatever we wanted to call it.

It was still early in the evening, around 7 or 8 pm, judging from the noise of a neighbor's primetime TV show we heard from the open window. The kids were shooed out of the bedroom and someone was instructed to accompany Utol as he was also kept out of the room. This meant that only adults were left behind : there were four of us in the barkada, two or three other family members, our friend's parents, the "spiritista" and his wife, and their guest who was a flight stewardess. Let's call her "Tess".

The spiritista began to advise us that he will try to discover if there was a supernatural explanation to what was bothering Utol. Tess volunteered as a sort of medium and came along because she said that what Utol was going through also happened to her but she was cured by this spiritista. This time she felt she wanted to help out.

The spiritista brought out his paraphernalia from a duffel bag that he brought with him. There were assorted empty wide-mouth bottles and caps, and candles. He didn't caution us to be silent but as he went through the motions of praying quietly while lighting a candle, our excited chatter slowly died down. After some chanting, he melted wax from the candle into a shallow basin and directed us to look closely at the shape or figure that materialized as the wax hardened.

One of the women in the room gave a sudden shriek. She said that she saw the face of a scary old man in the hardened wax. We all crowded around the basin the spiritista was holding out. I eagerly looked closely and saw the lines of what appeared to be a bony face of an old man, with wiry, long hair (Parang si Impakta doon sa Darna movie! hehehe…). Others couldn't distinguish these images from the squiggles and lines they saw.

Convinced of a supernatural creature behind Utol's torture, the spiritista instructed Tess to lie flat on a long bench. As he started chanting and calling out for the creature, he also directed many of us to stand guard around Tess. We positioned ourselves strategically near her arms and legs holding them firmly as we were told that she has gone under a trance-like stage. What was very strange was that right before our very eyes, wrinkles and lines started appearing on Tess' once flawless face. Her eyes were still closed shut as if asleep but a few minutes later she began to struggle as we tried our best to pin her down.

At this stage, the spiritista explained that he was able to send the spirit into Tess’ body. He started to probe the underworld creature trapped in Tess' body.

"Sino ka ba talaga?!"

"Anong kailangan mo kay Utol?!"

A cracked voice, almost hesitantly, came out of Tess' mouth. The words that were uttered were in a foreign language. The spiritista cursed obscenities and shouted at Tess that he couldn't understand him. ( Translator, we need a translator here…)

The spiritista was holding something that he would poke around Tess' flesh and he did this several times when the spirit refused to answer properly or cooperate. Tess would cry out and try to wiggle out of our clasps. There were at least six of us who would alternately hold on to Tess during the struggles. She was a very petite girl but the strength fighting us back was that of a stronger man.

Meanwhile, the spiritista continued his probe until he was able to elicit more familiar words from the stubborn creature. This time, the creature spoke in Spanish. We understood that he was 300 years old and living in a tree along a lane right outside the university Utol passes by everyday to school.

He took a fancy of Utol's weak and somber disposition and wanted to take him to his world for his companion.

After the spiritista was able to draw out all that he wanted to hear, he instructed all the people involved to hold Tess even more firmly because a final, much stronger struggle would take place.

The spiritista continued his chants and rituals, commanding the spirit to give up on his evil designs. The spirit in Tess' body expressed his rage by twisting and turning as we continued to hold her down. He tried to address his captors and distract us from holding on as we avoided direct eye contact with him. I tried not to think too much of the wicked look in Tess' eyes. Tess was spewing out saliva freely at this point. One of the barkada got hold of the spiritista’s tool, a shiny flat stone, and began pushing it into Tess' flesh, as if to hurt her as was done earlier. To this Tess would writhe in pain.

The spiritista asked someone to uncap one of the bottles. A family member handed out the bottle and cap to the spiritista and then we were told to assist in sending the spirit to the bottle by praying quietly on our own.

After what must have been two hours of struggling, Tess let out a final moan and as sudden as the struggle started, fell back limp on the bench. Her profuse sweating made her clothes stick on her body like second skin and her face was covered with slimy, disgusting saliva.

The spiritista firmly sealed the bottle he was holding and expressed smugly that he succeeded in trapping the spirit haunting Utol in that clear glass bottle. He was even holding out the bottle to us for a closer inspection but we didn’t actually see anything with in the space inside the clear glass.

So what did actually happen here?

Technorati Tags:80s, halloween, scary story, paranormal, nostalgia

Famous Hauntings in Baguio City

Ang Dalaga at Kadete
May isang malaking puno dati sa Baguio City na nakikita mo pag papunta ka ng Camp John Hay o PMA. Hindi mo na makikita ang punong ito ngayon dahil matagal na itong pinatanggal ng mga local officials dahil sa dami ng mga nadidisgrasya dito. May babae na dating nagpapakita sa mga dumadaan sa tabi ng punong iyon, at sa takot ng mga nagmamaneho karamihan sa kanila ay namamatay sa aksidente.

Ang babaeng nagpapakita ay dati raw na taga Baguio noong 1960's. Ayon sa mga nakakaalam ng istorya siya raw ay date ng isang kadete sa kanyang hop (parang prom party ng PMA). Noong gabi ng hop, matagal na naghanap ng masasakyan ang babae pero wala siyang makita. Naisipan niya maglakad na lang dahil huling-huli na siya. Sa kanyang paglalakad may dumaan at humintong taxi. Ngunit imbes na kunin siya bilang pasahero, ginahasa ng driver ang dalaga at pinatay siya pagkatapos. Hindi malaman ng kadete kung ano ang nangyari sa kanyang date at hindi nakarating ang dalaga sa hop. Kinabukasan nabalitaan na may babaeng nakabitay sa isang malaking puno sa tabi ng daan.

Diplomat Hotel
Noong May 1911 ibinoto ng Council ng Dominican Order na magtayo ng isang rest house para sa mga terminally ill na patiente sa Baguio City. Ito raw ay itatayo sa isang lupain na 17 hectares na tinawag na Dominican Hill. Ang unang building ay ininagurate noong May 23, 1915. Dahil sa tax exemptions ng panahon, ang Collegio del Santissimo Rosario ay ibunukas sa publiko noong June 1915. Dahil kaunti lang ang nag-enroll sa paaralan, ito ay nagsara matapos ng dalawang taon noong 1917, at muling ginawang vacation house sanitarium.

Nagsimula ang WWII at dito nanirahan ang maraming refugees. Binomba ng Japanese Army Liberation Forces ang lugar, at maraming pare at madre ang pinatay at pinugutan ng ulo. Pagkatapos ng gera nagumpisa ang reconstruction ng Dominican Hill noong 1947 at natapos ito noong 1948. Ibinili ang property noong 1973 ng Diplomats Hotels. Inc at ni-remodel ang interior para maging isang 33 bedroom hotel.

Mula pa sa simula ng pagbukas ng hotel maraming guests ang bigla nalang umaalis dahil sa mga nagpapakitang multo sa kanilang mga kuwarto. Maraming nakakarinig sa mga nakakatakot na ingay na nanggagaling sa hallways ng hotel pag hatinggabi. Kahit sa umaga at madaling hapon ay mayroong mga bell boy na nakakita ng mga lumulutang na paring nakaitim at walang ulo o paa. Nagsara ang hotel noong early '80s dahil sa misteryosong pagkamatay ng isa sa mga mayari ng hotel. Hanggang ngayon, maraming mga nakatira sa tabi ng Dominican Hill ang nagsasabi na mayroon pa rin daw naririnig na mga sigaw at ingay na naggagaling sa loob nito.

Philippine Military Academy
Maraming nagmumulto PMA. Pag hatinggabi mayroong platoon na maririnig nagmamarcha sa parade grounds. Isang kilalang kadete ang nagpapakitang nakasuot ng full-parade uniform sa locker room. Isang pare naman na napugutan ng ulo noong panahon ng Hapon ang lumilibot sa main building, pati na rin ang isang white lady na madalas makita ng mga guardia.


Teacher's Camp
Maraming kuwento tungkol sa mga nagmumulto ng Teacher's Camp. Noong late ' 60s' at early 70s maraming nag-shooting ng mga pelikula rito. Hindi raw makatulog ang film crew dahil sa mga nakakatakot na ingay na madalas nilang marinig. Ayon sa mga nakatira doon ang lupain ng Teacher's Camp raw ay ang original battlefield ng mga natives noong unang panahon, at gabi-gabi silang nagpapakita sa mga bumibisita at nagbabakasyon dito.



Technorati Tags:60s, 70s, nostalgia

My Lola's Haunted House in New Manila: A True Story

When I was a kid back in the 70s we used to visit my lolas house every Sunday. She lived in this big house in New Manila which was passed on to her by her mother. It was a very old house and had been built by my great-great-grandfather who owned the property. As much as I loved the Sunday gatherings, seeing my titos and titas, and playing with my cousins, my family was never really comfortable with the house, and we always felt this creepy vibe every time we visited. There were many stories the family shared about that house which I remember hearing when I was very young. It wasn't a surprise that my lola had many housekeepers and drivers come and go throughout the years. Even new ones would only last a few weeks until they decided to pack their bags and leave as well.

I remember my Tita Conching got very sick one time, and the doctors at St. Luke's Hospital couldn't figure out what was causing her illness. My Tito Eming had the house blessed by the local priest from Mt. Carmel Church many times. Our family held a novena in the livingroom praying for her recovery. The doctors tried their very best to give her medication, but she didn't get any better. As each day passed her condition worsened, and everyone in our family felt helpless. One Sunday afternoon during a novena I decided to visit the servant's quarters, which was a smaller but cozy room where the driver and my lola's guard would hang out. They had been serving the family for many years and were also deeply concerned about my tita's illness. I don't recall the entire conversation between Mang Danny (the driver) and Sarge (the guard), but it was something about the huge Balete tree in my lola's garden. I remember Mang Danny saying "dapat kasi ipaputol ni mam yung puno ng Balete" then Rosario (one of the maids) passed by us, weeping after coming from the novena. A few days later, I overheard my dad talking to his brother on the phone. I found out that Tito Eming had convinced my lola to have the tree chopped down, and on my next visit to my lola's house I saw that the tree was gone. Mang Danny told my dad that our priest came by in the afternoon to bless the garden and pray over the spot where the Balete tree used to stand. That same week my Tita Conching had a miraculous recovery, and the puzzled doctors released her from the hospital. Our family had a dinner party to celebrate her being back home, and everyone was happy except for my lola. She wasn't in such a good mood as she thought that cutting the tree down was a bad idea.

One summer my cousin Cocoy came to stay at my lola's house; he and his mother were visiting from Bacolod. Cocoy was one of my favorite cousins as we were such good playmates every time we got together. We would always run around the house, but our favorite play spot was my lola's garden. We would always use the veranda steps as our Voltes V base and pretend to do battle with imaginary Bozanians. My yaya at the time, who was slightly overweight, would always be out of breath trying to keep up with us spastic kids. One hot afternoon after having exhausted ourselves from an entire day of playing, Cocoy discovered these mounds on the ground right by where the Balete tree used to be. They looked like huge ant hills, about a foot and a half high. The ever curious Cocoy kicked one of the mounds and tried to open it up with his plastic sword, hoping to find an army of ants inside. We were surprised to find out that there weren't any ants to be found, and that the mound didn't seem to be hollow at all. I don't quite remember what happened after that, but i do remember my yaya screaming for help and carrying Cocoy back inside the house. My dad came by to pick me up after work, and I remember him giving me this long lecture. I kept on crying and told him that we were just playing. I told him that I didn't remember much, except that Cocoy had kicked down one of the huge mounds in the garden. My dad did not take note of this and took me straight home. He probably thought that Cocoy had collapsed because of exhaustion and dehydration, and he blamed Cocoy's collapse on our playing too much in the hot summer sun.

The next day my dad dropped me off at my lola's house, only for me to discover the most shocking thing I've ever seen in my life. Mang Danny said that Cocoy was very sick and that it probably wasn't a good idea to see him, but I insisted on seeing my cousin. I ran up the stairs to his room and saw him asleep on his bed. I almost screamed in fear when I saw Cocoy's right leg (which he used to kick the mound); it was covered in boils! His entire right leg was swollen and covered in gruesome boils. The maids told my yaya that they did not get any sleep watching over my cousin who was in great pain. "Bakit kasi sinipa ni Cocoy yung bahay ng Dwende...", whispered Mang Danny in a very sad tone. His mother (my Tita Sylvia) was used to these sort of things as she'd seen similar incidents growing up in Leyte. She said that an Albulario would be the only person who would be able to cure Cocoy. My aunt sent a telegram to a friend in Bacolod and requested for an Albulario to come to my lola's house. It took a few days, but the Albulario finally came and immediately started his work on Cocoy. I remember sitting outside Cocoy's room feeling very scared and spooked to the bone. I distinctly remember hearing Cocoy's painful screams along with the chanting of the Albulario. A few days later, Cocoy recovered and his boils disappeared. His skin had no scars or any signs of boils having been there. The Albulario explained to our family that he had to make several offerings to make peace with the Dwendes in the garden; they were very angry at Cocoy for destroying one of their homes. Cocoy went back to Bacolod a week after his recovery, and sadly never came back for summer vacations.

My family decided to sell the house in the 1980's after my lola passed away, but the house is still there. It looks much older and the faded statues around the driveway still stand. I often think of stopping by whenever I'm in the area, but I never really get the chance. I would think of introducing myself to its new owners and have a look around for a bit. But every time I drive by and catch a glimpse of the garden, I immediately feel a chill down my spine that makes the hairs on my arms stand up. The feeling that takes me back to that one summer. The summer that made me believe in things I could not explain.
--Sandy / Antipolo



Technorati Tags:70s, scary story, nostalgia

Balete Drive, Kwento Ng Isang Taxi Driver: A True Story

Balete drive is located in New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines. The intersection of Balete Drive is between Aurora Blvd that is a few blocks away from Gilmore Avenue and St. Paul College of Quezon City. The east side exits near St. Luke's Medical Hospital and the west side exits near GMA-7 and Tomas Morato Avenue. On the other hand, the center intersection of Aurora Blvd is Edsa-Cubao, the shopping center of Filipinos in the 1970s.

The street is known for white lady apparitions and haunted houses built during the Spanish Era (1800s). New Manila is populated with Balete Trees, according from folklores this tree is the favorite spot of wandering spirits and other paranormal entities. Paranormal experts concluded that the white lady was raped by Japanese soldiers during World War 2 which is parallel to the movie. The witnesses of the white lady, advised motorists to avoid the street at night especially when alone. If they insist, the backseat of the car must be full and no one should look back or look to any mirror. The white lady wears a night gown, has a long hair but has no face or drenched with blood. These occurrences can be seen in the movie.
--Wikipedia

Kwento Ng Isang Taxi Driver
Mayroon ako isang kamaganak na taxi driver na kaka-retire lang dahil hindi na niya kaya magmaneho dahil sumasakit ang kanyang likod, at di na niya makayanan ang traffic ngayon. Nagmaneho siya ng mahigit 40 years at nagsimula siya noong '60s; maluwag pa raw ang Maynila at mas madali magmaneho noong mga panahong iyon. Sa dami ng mga pasaherong sumakay sa kanyang taxi, dalawa lang ang hindi niya malilimutan.

Isang madilim at maulan na hapon noong 1965 nagmamaneho ang aking tiyo patungong Aurora Boulevard; kakahatid lang niya ng isang pasahero sa Cubao. Nakakita siya ng dalawang mukhang magasawa na nakatayong naghihintay sa isang waiting shed. Pumara ang aking tiyo sa tabi ng waiting shed at ibinaba niya ang kanyang bintana para kausapin ang dalawang naghihintay. "Taxi sir?" ang tanong niya sa dalawa. Hindi umimik ang dalawa at tinitigan lang siya ng lalaki. Naisipan ng aking tiyo na baka pipi ang dalawa at hindi sila makapag salita, kaya binuksan niya ang pinto para sila'y makapasok sa likod ng kanyang sasakyan. "Halika pumasok po kayo at malakas ang ulan..." pumasok at umupo ang dalawa sa likod ng kanyang taxi. Mukhang mayaman raw ang itsura ng dalawa, ngunit nakakapagtaka nga naman kung bakit sila naghihintay sa ilalim ng isang waiting shed na walang dalang sariling sasakyan. Nginingitian ng aking tiyo ang dalawa mula sa repleksyon ng kanyang salamin, at kung anu-ano ang kanyang itinatanong para makipagkuwentuhan. "Saan po kayo nangaling? Buti hindi po kayo nabasa ng husto..." walang imik ang dalawang pasahero. "Buti na lang at dumating ako. Wala pa naman kayong payong..." tahimik na nakatingin lang ang dalawa sa bintana. "Siya nga pala, saan po tayo sir?" "Sa New Manila". Nagulat ang aking tiyo at sumagot rin ang lalaki. Mababa at mabagal raw ang kanyang pagsasalita. Hindi malaman ng aking ityo kung bakit siya ninerbyos sa tono ng boses ng lalaki. Hindi na siya nagtanung pa, at naging matahimik ang kanilang biyahe. Umu-oo lang ang lalaki pag nagtatanog ng direksyon ang aking tiyo, hanggang makarating sila sa isang malaking bahay sa Balete Drive.

Saglit na tiningnan ng tiyo ko ang metro; at bigla siyang lumingon para sabihin kung magkano ang pamasahe, "Sir ano po..." nagulat siya nung makita niya na walang taong nakasakay sa likod ng kanyang sasakyan. Hinagilap niya ang kalye at paligid ngunit hindi niya makita ang kanyang dalawang pasahero. Hindi niya malaman kung papano sila nakalabas at naka-lock ang parehong pintuan sa likod. Tiyak na maririnig niya ang pagbukas at pagsara nito kung lumabas man sila. Naisip niya na siguro hindi niya namalayan ang kanilang paglabas, at baka naman pumasok sila sa bahay nila para kumuha ng perang pangbayad. Halos bente minutos siyang naghintay bago siya lumabas at lumapit sa gate ng bahay. Sinubukan niyang buksan ang gate at panay katok siya: "Tao po! Sir! Yung taxi driver po!" walang sumagot. Naisipan niya pumunta sa guard house ng kapitbahay para magtanong. "Boss..." sabi niya sa guardia, "Kilala mo ba yung nakatira sa malaking bahay na yan?" tinuro niya ang bahay na kung saan nakaparada ang kanyang taxi sa harap ng gate. Tiningnan siya nang guardia na para siyang nasiraan ng ulo. "Walang nakatira diyan..." "Ha?! Hindi maari yan! May hinatid lang akong dalawang pasahero..." Huminga ng malamim ang guardia at dahan-dahan niyang sinabihan ang aking tiyo na litong-lito, "Matagal nang walang nakatira sa bahay na yan. May magasawang nakatira diyan dati, pero pinasok sila ng magnanakaw at pareho silang pinatay." Nanginig ang tiyo ko sa takot. Hindi na siya namasada noong araw na yon at naisipan na lang niya umuwi ng maaga dahil sa nerbyos.

Sa paglipas ng maraming taon, maraming mga ibang taxi driver ang nagsasabi na meron rin silang hinatid na magasawa sa Balete Drive na bigla nalang nawala. Nandoon pa ang malaking bahay hanggang ngayon. Ang gate ay naging kulay pula na dahil sa makapal na kalawang, at ang tumubong talahib ay nakasilip mula sa likod ng matataas na pader.
--Mars / Mandaluyong

Technorati Tags:70s, scary story, nostalgia