LITERARY: "The Tale of the Five Ghosts" by Eric Paulin

October 27 - School

Melek was the type of guy who enjoyed the deafening sound of silence. He always made it a point to be in school at least forty-five minutes before the start of their class and a good fifteen-minute alone time before another student would arrive. Although the teacher had assigned them seats according to the alphabetical order of their surnames, Melek had embraced the seat at the back most corner of the room. It had no windows on either sides. Even when the room was filled, he still enjoyed the comforts of feeling isolated and away from everybody. 

“Hey,” a pitchy voice erupted from the direction Melek wasn’t sure. It was Mickey. “Can I copy your homework?”

Melek shrugged.

“Oh,” Mickey wasn’t very sure whether he agreed. “Thanks.” He left.

“Can I copy, too?” asked Greg when Mickey went back to their circle of chairs.

“Negative. He’s so creepy, Melek.”

The group of seven boys lowered their heads down and talked in an undertone.

Louie: “Have you seen his eyes?”

“He’s so weird,” added Jonathan.

Greg: “He’s not nice to be friends with.”

From Melek’s peripheral, he could see his classmates eyeing him as they talk about what felt like a secret. He knew people talked behind his back and this instance wasn’t new to him.

When the bell rang, Melek had to wait for at least thirty minutes before he would stand and exit the room. He didn’t want to leave while others were still in the room. When the school appeared to be empty, he slowly traversed across the quadrangle, calmed with the peacefulness enveloping the campus.

Their classroom was the farthest from the school’s main gate and Melek had to walk through at least five corridors before reaching the exit to the dungeon that had kept him at bay every day. One particular corridor that he had to walk through was worse than empty and silent. It felt as if civilization had left this part of the world. There were two science laboratories along the right side of the walkway and Melek could see mannequins through the glass doors, mimicking the different systems of the body.

Melek was taken aback when he noticed something that wasn’t in the right place. He had to take two step backwards to take a second look. He went closer to the glass window of one laboratory and the reflection of the sunset took him one full minute for his eyes to adjust and focus to the room’s insides.

In total, there were seven display models in the room representing the different body systems. They only appeared as scary silhouettes as the orange sun declines from the other side of the building. However, what made Melek take a second look was the fact that there were eight figures.

He was sure that there were supposedly only seven. 

He tried hard to remember.

And then, he was sure: there were only seven. But that time, there were eight.

Melek wrinkled his eyes to get a better glimpse. After a few seconds, details finally came into place as his eyes had fully adjusted to the room’s darkness.

He saw the respiratory system model… the nervous system… the skeletal system…

Suddenly, the right most figure caught his attention. Melek was certain that the model made a movement. When he turned his gaze towards it, he saw that it was a full body model that showed none of a human’s internals. It was an actual body of a man. A naked man.

His physique was fit. His muscles were toned and his body shape was edgy. The white that were his pupils looked sinister, almost devilish. The unmistakable shape of its front hanged there, reaching at least six inches towards the floor despite still being flaccid.

“Melek,” it hissed. His voice was sharp and sexy.

The hairs on the back of Melek’s neck stood. He ran as fast as he could.

October 28 – Room

My Chemical Romance’s “Mama” rang across the room as it played from a vintage CD player Melek had owned since two years ago. It had a sticker of a five-leafed plant.

A barely visible fog also filled the room accompanied by a strong smell that someone aside from Melek wouldn't in any way handle. He sat on his bed, trying to recall the things he needed to do for school, and although he could recall at least three schoolworks due on Friday, he told himself that all of these could wait until Thursday. Instead, he continued sliding an object on his arm, left to right, nonstop. Something red dropped on the floor with a silent thud.

“Nak, kumain ka na dito!” the unmistakable voice of her mom echoed from downstairs.

Melek ignored her.

He stood and slowly walk towards the opposite side of his room where a rectangular dirty mirror hanged. His room was dark and his pale face reflecting the greyish light from his lamp shone on the mirror.

He looked like a ghost.

He inched closer to his reflection and observed the spots on his cheeks.

His nose was cracked and his lips thick and dry.

His curly hair did nothing to improve the situation. In fact, Melek thought his hair was the worst part of his being.

He was skinny too; skinny to the bones.

This was one of the reasons why he hated being with a lot of people. Even the thought of being with two other people already scared him. He knew that they would only look at his hallow eyes as if they were sucked by his skull from within. Plus, the only thing that wasn’t white in his face was his eyes, which were crimson.

I’m so ugly, he thought.

He closed his eyes and lamented on how undesirable he was. Even he hated himself for being that way… for looking that way. His eyes were shut to the utmost extent that it almost hurt. The edge also started to form tears.

 

Melek took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes, now relaxed.

He was expecting to see his ghostly face highlighted against the dark surroundings but when he regained his sight, there were other sources of illumination reflected on the mirror. At least seven people were there, standing still from behind. From the mirror, he could see that all of them were looking straight to him, their gaze unimpeded. They were about his age. No girls. Their faces, though vague, seemed to be just one and the same. As if on cue, they smiled in unison, the kind of smile that was terrifying instead of comforting. Their eyes gleamed.

Instead of the mirror cliché Melek was expecting, he turned around only to be surprised that they were all still there.

Melek wanted to scream but an invisible force choked him. His entire body also felt numb. He couldn’t move.

The seven figures slowly walked towards him. No, they weren’t walking. They were gliding in mid-air. Any second now, they would be right on Melek’s face.

Thzzzudz!

The sound of wood hitting cement rang loudly.

“Lek, I called you three times already!”

It was his mom.

The song “Famous Last Words” was playing softly in the background.

October 29 – Terrace

If it was the end of the world or if Mt. Pinatubo would erupt again, Melek wouldn’t have the slightest idea. Any background noise, loud or soft, was totally blocked by the loud sound coming from his black earphones that were plugged deep within his ears. That moment, the song “Nobody Can Save Me” by Linkin Park was playing.

From where he sat, he could see at least two blocks below.

Without warning, a sleek silhouette of a man appeared on the street directly in front of their house. Melek knew who it was. He was actually the reason why he was at the terrace in the first place.

Albert.

Melek’s crush.

He was a little older than Melek. Although he had been watching him for almost a full year, there was something in his stature that reminded him of something recent. It felt like he had seen Albert somewhere else within the current week. But Melek was also sure that this was the first time he had seen him since last week.

That was weird.

Linkin Park’s “Halfway Right” played next.

As he walked from across the street, Melek was secretly following him with his eyes. His shirt perfectly fitted his toned body build. His poise was also something to appreciate. The way he maneuvered emitted a radiative aura that would definitely hit someone’s interest regardless of the gender.

“Melek!”

Melek didn’t hear him but he noticed that Albert had had his attention at him and that he was signing something. He immediately took off his earphones. “Yes?”

Albert ushered him to go down.

Of course, Melek ran down. Before coming out of the house, he calmed himself down and let his panting subside.

“Hey,” Melek tried his best not to look excited.

“Hey.”

“So…?”

“So… how did you get home so fast?”

“I’m sorry?” Melek was confused.

“You were just there a while ago, right?” Albert said, pointing towards the direction of the subdivision’s chapel. “We… saw each other.” His last sentence sounded like a question.

“What?” Melek’s confusion had turned into its superlative. “I was just up there,” he said, referring to their terrace. Waiting for you, he added in his thoughts.

“That’s not possible… I really saw you. You waved at me.”

Melek didn’t mind what he was saying. He was sucked in a world where he and Albert were together. But he also realized its impossibility. He was ugly and undesirable. He barely talked. He wasn’t smart nor funny. 

“I guess I’ll just see you around.”

Albert started towards their house’s gate. It slid open with a metallic sound and without a word, Albert disappeared. Melek looked down, knowing that he wanted to talk to him longer but he did not know how to initiate. Now, he was gone.

What Albert had said to him finally joined and occupied his train of thoughts. He saw me?

He looked towards the direction of the chapel and someone was there looking at him. He waved his hands towards Melek and his entire body shivered. His eyes sharpened and bulks of sweat sliced through his face, which had just turned tomato.

It was him… also him. But… he looked handsome. His face was clear and radiative. He noticed that this other version of himself had more shape than his bony self. He looked confident.

His doppelganger. 

People said that when a doppelganger was seen…

October 30 – Room

Am I in Baguio?

Melek was in his room but his room was as foggy as the chilly December nights of Baguio. His nose was already immune to the strong scent for he had been inhaling the same pollution for over a year now. He was as high as Baguio, and whenever he was, his problems about the world vanished. He forgot the fact that he was always alone, the fact that he was ugly, and the fact that the person he liked almost didn’t care about his existence.

His friend Lucy was the supplier.

Now, he was having the time of his life. No homework to think about. No classmates he had to endure. No teachers eyeing him as if he was a bomb waiting to explode at the back of the classroom. Such feeling liberated him from all sorts of negativity, and he liked it very much. Despite the impending instance that his room would spin and his vision would turn blurry any minute now, it was a feeling he was actually glad to be anticipating. It was a sensation he was very familiar with and it was something he fully embraced.

A temporary escape was all he needed.

He put the lighter down for the second time.

Melek’s throat was already as dry as the desert but he did not care. For the past three days, his life had become so strange that the things he had been seeing already seemed like a shade buried deep within his foggy thoughts. He even considered them as the side effects of his lifestyle: the sorts of hallucination he was not expecting but knew were under typical circumstances. Melek was not even trying to connect the dots.

He had had crazier encounters than those recently.

“Lek!”

It was his mom again, calling for dinner.

He had to postpone his third round for later. He still had half a pack left.

Melek reached the dining area before his mom could speak another word. He was a little dizzy but he managed to walk straight and play pretend. Melek mom was already making the table and the strong scent of adobo slightly made it through what was in Melek’s nostrils.

“What happened to your eyes?” Letty asked.

“I scratched them,” Melek lied.

Doubt crossed her face but it disappeared just as soon. “Eat.”

The timing was perfect; Melek was starving. He devoured over his mom’s adobo and emptied the plate in just a couple of minutes. When his mom saw that he was already through, she ordered him to bring the plate to the sink.

And then, something happened in just a flash of time.

When Melek lifted his plate off the glass table, there was something that made his entire body shiver. He froze as if a bucket of ice was emptied on him.

Directly below him, right underneath the glass table, was someone.

He resembled Albert, but he had a more ghostly figure.

His skin was pale white and the blacks in his eyes were gone. His two bony hands with thin fingers ending with dark tips were perched on Melek’s legs as if he wanted something from him.

What really scared the life out of Melek was that the boy had his mouth gasping like a fish out of water.

Within a split second, Melek was on his feet and the plate fell on the floor with a loud clattering sound. Good thing it wasn’t fragile.

“What is it?” Letty asked but it sounded more like an exclamatory sentence.

 

October 31, Halloween – Room

The incident that had been happening for the past few days, particularly the night previously, were something Melek had just been relating to him being high in almost all instances. Using different substances simple made people see things and he was very much aware of it. That was the point of abusing the substance, after all: to see the world in a different lens. Sometimes, however, this lens made us see beyond the natural.

Besides, he did not believe in ghosts. He had never seen anything supernatural since birth, and he stood by the saying that to see is to believe. Nonetheless, he was starting to get a little scared. He knew that it was normal to see things under the influence of whatever he was taking… but not ghosts.

Were they ghosts in the first place, Melek questioned himself.

He’d seen a guy who looked like him. One looked like Albert. The seven men he saw the other night were, now he suddenly realized, all Mickey, his classmate.

All of these instances were already getting into his nerves. He was having panic attacks whenever he remembered the series of unexplained events. Even things unrelated to the matter at hand such as his fear of being in a crowd and his very low self-esteem were all attacking the walls of his mind.

And so, he decided to do some ramifications. He knew two things that would immediately clear his mind. He would smoke and he would touch himself.

That’s it. He summoned a pack from his drawer and lit a piece with his lighter. He knew just what to do about his other plan, and so, he went to his bed and fell flat on it, stiff.

But just as he was preparing to do so, the final boss in the video game of his recent life had appeared in front of him. It was a huge stature of a man with his black feet not touching the ground. The silhouette was that of a man, but he wasn’t sure what it really looked like. His dark room did not permit any details to materialize. However, he noticed that it had tentacles blossoming out of its robe-like figure. The stench of death could be smelled strongly around the room and the deadest darkness seemed to sprout out of the creature’s outline.

Melek backed away until his shoulder hit the hard surface of his eastern wall.

The obvious thing to do is to scream at the top of his lungs, but just as immediately, one of its tentacles shot forward and wrapped itself around Melek’s neck. Instantly, his air was blocked and he gasped as hard as he could. Both of his hands made contact with the rope-like slimy hands and he exerted all of his efforts to try and rid of it, but its grip was impossibly strong.

That was the moment when he regretted doing everything he had done that led up to the situation where he was right now. He regretted doing weeds. He regretted wanting Albert. He regretted hating on his classmates. He regretted feeling sorry for himself. he regretted questioning his desirability. He regretted ever existing.

But it was too late.

The monster that held him on his neck was slowly taking the life out of him.

His feet wiggled uncontrollably as they both looked for a pedestal to stand on.

But the back of his feet only thumped against the wall behind him where he was pinned.

He felt like he was submerged deep into a swimming pool and his lungs were in pain.

With one final gasp, Melek’s eyes shot upwards, towards the direction of the sky.

And that was when the angel Adrammelech fell from grace and was offered among the ranks of the dark. 

*  *  *

 The next morning, Letty had had to open his son’s room for he was already an hour late from his class… only to find her son hanged by the neck on a noose, cold and lifeless. There were no ghosts nor monsters nor doppelgangers there with him; just his own miseries that took the best out of him.