" What a wonderful day, such a beautiful morning", I thought as I look up at the sky, the the sun seems smiling at me. It's rays is beginning to spread up in the face of heaven.
" Tekya, where have you been?", Aida my roommate asked.
" I bought 'pandesal' in the bakery for breakfast", I answered, pandesal is a bread we usually eat for breakfast paired with a cup of coffee, but because I don't drink coffee , because of my religious belief, I drink a cup of milk instead.
" Do you know that Gemma will be back tonight?", Aida asked.
" Really? well I don't know," I replied honestly, because I don't have a slightest idea who Gemma is, and how important is she with the group.
" They said she's fine or cured but ,I doubt it if she really is", Aida said.
" Why? is she sick?", I asked her.
" She's seemed sick, she wakes up in the middle of the night usually at 12:00 a.m, when everybody was asleep and shouting, begging for help, with eyes so scary, she's seems possess, even eight of us hold her, she can throw us all with the slightest movement of her hands or foot, she's very strong", Aida explained
" Really? I never experience such things before, I'm getting nervous just listening to your story now ", I frankly told Aida. Aida and the rest of the girls are my co workers at my aunt's business. Every school vacation, I spent my time working as a waitress at my aunt's Lapaz Batchoy refreshment, and I stay in together with some of her other helper.
Gemma,is the niece of her husband and she works as househelp and the couple support her high school education. All of us helper stay in one room at the back of the house. And at night no one can go out because we are locked up to ensure no one will roam at night time.
" Yes, it's scary when she's here, I'm telling you ,be prepared, she might have an attack again tonight. But they said she's fine now, but I doubt if that's true", Aida's opinion .
" Okay, but what we'll going to do if she had an attack again?", innocently I asked Aida.
" Nothing, we will just hold her so she will not hurt herself until she stopped shouting and struggling", Aida said.
" I know, before they said after bringing her to the priest that she will be fine but when night time came, she still woke us all with the same tormenting fear, that's why they brought her in Iloilo to be cured by a quack doctor and now the same assurance that she's already cured", Aida continued.
" Okay, hope she's really fine, I'll tell aunt not to lock us up tonight so that incase of emergency we can call them for help", I told Aida.
" Yes, that's right, so we can bring her to the hospital if needed", Aida agreed.
". It's official Gemma will be here tonight", Mercy said as we enter our room.
" I'll be sleeping at my aunt's house tonight ", Tata told us.
" You will leave us here with Gemma tonight? please don't, we need more hands to help hold her down the bed", Aida annoyed,said.
" Anyway Tekya's here to help you with Gemma, I really need to go away from her I'm getting nervous everytime she's here ", Tata said begging for understanding.
" Look at Tekya, she's a bit chubby but she's only fourteen, she's very young to help us with Gemma's strength! besides you're not the only one who's nervous, all of us were nervous and scared because what if she's having a real spirit possession?", Aida reasoned out.
" Okay, please don't get pissed off , what if I got nervous and I'll go crazy like Gemma?", Tata asked.
" Psshhh! you're so overthinking,when uncle hear you ,he'll be angry for calling his niece insane", Aida told Tata.
" He,he he, just being honest with my opinion ", Tata said..
When we arrive from the restaurant that night Gemma was already in the room, sitting in her own bed.
" Hello Gemma, this is Tekya, Aunt's niece.", Aida introduced us to each other.
" Hi Gemma!", I greeted her with a friendly smile, she smiled back shyly at me.
" Why you have rashes ?", Aida asked Gemma when she notice the rashes all over her arms and legs.
" The 'albularyo' said I had thrown a hot water to those invisible creatures here in the house that's why they punish me for hurting their fellow creatures, they give me this rashes", Gemma reiterated, the albularyo is a quack doctor..
" So you're cured now?", Aida asked hoping for a positive answer.Gemma just nod, silenced means something, everybody look at each other secretly giving a warning look to be prepared for the worst. Our suspicion was confirmed that night, at 12 a.m., we had been woken by a loud voice of Gemma..
" Please, stay away from me! I don't want to go with you!", Gemma is already fearfully begging with a tone higher than necessary.
Everybody was woken by Aida, being the eldest among's't the group,each seven of them has their own task to hold her hands and foot to keep her firmly in bed.
" Tekya, please help us hold her other arm firmly so she will not kick or hit us", Aida instructed me. But there's something within me that tells to hold her head and pray a fervent prayer and that's what I do as though I am giving her a special blessing.I felt a warmth enveloping my whole body. And the fear was gone, I felt unexplainable courage that had taken over that instant as though nothing can beat me, I feel so strong as I hold her head in place ,closed my eyes pray sincerely and with conviction to father in heaven to protect her and keep her away from those things and send those creatures out of the house and away from her or any of us that were inside the house, until she began to be calm and look up at me and call my name.
" Tekya? is that you? they are scared of you, thank you for helping me!", tears in her eyes, Gemma told me. I just squeeze her hand to assure her it's okey. The next morning Gemma told me that when I put my hands in her head the creatures stop in a distance and just stare at her angrily they also look at me but later on they turn their back, and from that moment she became totally cured even her rashes were gone and never again bothered by anything unwanted.
" You're a psychic? you can fight off bad spirit!!",, Gemma excitedly told me.
" No ! I'm not! it's the holy spirit that cured you", I told her.
." You can be a spirit warrior, would you like to do that?", Gemma asked me.
" No I won't, that's very scary!", I told her, I just hoped that will never happened again to anybody closed to me family or friends..