Sunday, October 25, 2020

LITERARY: "Libertad" (Freedom) by Fatima Rigel Ong

There are certain things in this world we wish to explain but somehow, it’s out of our grasp. Things that might have been a product of someone’s imagination yet droplets of truth lie beneath their stories.

Ana, a member of a paranormal club at Lyceum of Alabang interviewed some students regarding their chilling experiences around the school. Most of their stories had one thing in common. According to them, they saw a lady with no face from afar then in a blink of an eye, the lady was gone. They saw this certain lady at the pool area or along the corridors junior high department. Some testified that they didn’t see anything but they felt something unusual when they were at the college library and AVR.

After she recorded all their statements, Ana headed to their clubroom and made her clubmates listen to the recording. They planned to investigate and find out whether those rumors were true. So they scheduled their ghosthunting the same night their school will hold a retro ball. Basically, on the night of their ball, Ana and her group already had their cameras on hand. They were not allowed to go to the main building so they sneaked their way in. The five of them trembled with both excitement and fear as they explored the school’s halls. They decided to start at the pool area and visit the AVR and library last. It was chilly at the pool area but aside from cold and fear, they felt nothing unusual.

Ana and her friends roamed around the upper floors and walked slowly together. They had their flashlight in one hand and camera on the other. They joked and teased each other at first then suddenly, they all fell silent and stopped on their tracks then looked at one another. Cold breeze blew, and felt goosebumps all over their body. Then someone finally had the courage to voice it out.

“Who the hell farted?” asked Shan. The group bursted with laughter and pointed their fingers towards Liam who was sweating profusely. Liam, didn’t deny anything. He gave his camera to Cara instead. Curious, they watched it on the spot then felt goosebumps all over their body. Though a little bit blurred, they knew what it was. Liam’s camera captured a child’s feet running across the hall. In an instant they all panicked then headed towards the stairs. They ran back to the gym where the ball was held. They stopped for a moment to catch their breaths, then the four of them turned their gazes at the main building, fear and worry were etched on their faces.

They ran back again to the building but stopped on their tracks when they saw Liam. Cara called his name frantically while the other three called for help. The loud music filled the area but Ana knew, her heart drummed louder. It was as if she couldn't hear anything, except her friends’ cries and pleas. Liam, who was standing at the edge of the building, just smiled at them. Then in a blink of an eye, he was already on the ground, his blood bathed the dusty pathway and a part of his brain scattered all over the place. Cara fainted, Shan stopped Ian from running towards Liam’s body and Ana still couldn't grasp what just happened and just sat there on the ground, shaking immensely.

Police officers and Liam’s parents took Liam’s body. The four of them were also fetched by their parents. Disbelief, pain, regret, and deep melancholy clouded their minds that night. None of them knew it was going to happen, except Ana.

Months passed and Ana’s world changed its pace in an instant. She and her friends suddenly lost connection. Shan still tried to talk to her but the wall between them was too tall, and rumor has it that Ian was doing drugs, and lastly, Cara who was her best friend left her and went aloof.

“Mr.Cua wake up and watch the show please,” Ms. Dolor, their teacher said. Ana looked back and saw her classmate at the far end corner of the classroom, sleeping on his desk. She turned her head back to the presentation again. Her classmates murmured something inaudibly then someone raised her hand.

“Miss? Why did you call out Clyde? He’s not here, he’s absent. No one’s sitting at the back Miss,” said Kyla.

Their teacher asked them to turn the lights on and to her shock, no one was really there. Murmurs grew louder but her teacher silenced them, thinking it was just her imagination. Ana looked back at the corner and froze when she saw Clyed was still there, smiling at her. Then she heard one of her classmates cry and went to their teacher who was sitting in front. She announced that Clyed suddenly got into an accident and was declared dead. Chills ran down Ana’s spine but she shook it off. She had been seeing unpleasant things after she witnessed Liam’s death.

It was bothersome, she couldn’t even sleep at night cause they kept on pestering her. She had been seeing them non-stop, wandering around their school and whispering in her ears when they have a chance. It was disgusting and disturbing, she felt like going insane. She never tried to talk to any of those lost souls, they didn’t even come near her but she can hear their pleas. “Give it back,” they said.

Ana travelled back to her province on their sem-break, and decided to meet up with a shaman. She did not believe people like them but she was desperate and she wanted to stop seeing unwanted sights. When she met with the Shaman, he held her hand but immediately dropped her it the moment he touched them.

“You want it to stop?” he asked. “Then give back what you took. Now go out, I don’t need an evil spirit roaming around here,” he said and pushed her away and shut the door behind her. She wasn’t even able to say a word. She kicked the old man’s door and walked away.

“Give back what I took? To hell with that, I own this body now,” Ana said and smirked. She went home and stopped in front of her mirror. “You were just a silly puppet Ana. You played with a fire you shouldn’t have touched. Now I’ve gained freedom and you lost yours,” said the girl who haunted the school after she killed herself in front of her classmates. The innocent looking face was replaced with a bloody image. Half of her face was carved and her eye socket was filled with worms. She suddenly remembered when she pushed Liam off the building and possessed Ana’s body. A smile crept on her face then laughed diabolically.

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