Talia was celebrating her birthday and she had invited friends. Isabella thought it would be a good idea to go for a change since she had been too busy the past few days being hands on with the jobs at home supervising the house helpers and attending to baby Michael full-time, and Josh and Suzy, who were now in college. Aaron was coming to the party. He said he would love to meet Talia again and her husband. Isabella, too, said that she would love to have a tete a tete with Amalia because Amalia told her that she was also invited to the party.
Josh found the party a good excuse so he called the ghost-buster group to meet at the mansion.
Inside one of the bedrooms, Evan and Yuri were waiting. Suzy arrived from school. Later on, Jan and Fr. Robert also came.
Then, the trance started. They did not shut the light off. After an hour sitting, the white curtain in the room flowed as if a breeze had passed. The scene gave them goosebumps. Evan, who was not a believer, believed upon sensing some strange presence in the room.
"Did you feel it?" Jan asked.
"Yes," they answered, almost in chorus.
"Look, I'm cold." Suzy was ashen-faced.
Yuri wanted to embrace her, but he could not. What he felt for Suzy, he had to keep to himself. Now isn't the time, he told himself.
Then, they went on a trance again, for the third time. After an hour of sitting, Jan asked. "What did you see?"
"I saw something 'though it wasn't clear," Yuri said.
"Me, too, I did see something," Suzy said.
"Me, too," said Evan.
Josh nodded his head. Fr. Robert agreed. He nodded his head, too.
Then, the curtain flowed the second time. Their faces turned pale; their eyes grew big with surprise. The light went off; then, they heard dogs howling.
"That's baby Michael's bedroom," Suzy said.
Josh ran to his brother's bedroom. He found the baby playing with his toys while Zen had fallen asleep on his side.
"Zen, Zen…" Josh was waking her up.
Yuri, Evan, Jan, Fr. Robert, and Suzy were standing, watching Zen who slept on the bed like a log. Nonetheless, she was shaken up by Josh's repeated calling of her name.
Suzy lifted her brother up and played with him.
"Where's Eleanor?" Suzy asked.
"In her bedroom," Zen was jolted; finally, she woke up-- barely scratched her eyes. She was surprised to see the group standing in front of her.
"Did you hear the loud barking of dogs?" Jan asked.
"No."
"It came from this room."
"I do not know."
"Where is Jackson?" Josh asked.
Jackson was quietly sleeping in a corner.
Zen called Ellie from another bedroom. They asked her if she heard the same thing. She also said no. Eleanor called Dante from his quarter to ask the same question. He said he did not hear anything. What was it that they heard? Jan and Fr. Robert were looking at each other.
"Did you hear the howling of many dogs?" Jan was asking Evan and Yuri.
"Yes," the two answered.
"I heard that's why I ran to my brother's bedroom," Josh said.
"I did hear it, too," Suzy said.
I was an on-looker and was myself frightened at what I heard.
xxxxxx
They knew that Isabella and Aaron would come home that night so the group decided to leave. They would meet another day and observe the other rooms in the house.
"Josh, did you see him again?"
"Yes."
"I understand now what you are saying after what happened tonight," Fr. Robert said.
"I felt him, too. He is close, Josh is not lying," Jan said.