I was blind as a bat as I walked through a dark path. Sauntering was key to reaching the end of this route. My toes kept touching my other heel to guide myself through each step I took. "Better late than sorry," I said in my head.
The last thing I can remember was that I was on my way to the province to attend my uncle's funeral, then I found myself here. I didn't even know where I was, but I thought I was going in the right direction, so I kept walking. Probably, the long trip made my mind foggy. And I'm not generalizing, but I am one of those girls who don't have a sense of direction.
Even my common sense was a mess. It took me quite a while before realizing that the phone in my pocket had a flashlight. I checked my pockets to look for my phone, and when I found it, I immediately lit the road I was traversing.
There was nothing. It was endless darkness from my point of view. I looked around to make sure that I was not missing anything. I don't know which angle it was because there was no way to tell the difference, but while turning, I saw a bed. It was conveniently placed in the middle of the road. It even has a spotlight! I can't figure out where the light came from or how the bed even got there. I was curious, and it was the only thing I could see, so I walked toward it.
The bed frame was made of wood. It was not like those expensive artisan beds. It looked like it was made by someone who knew how to hold a saw and hammer. The mattress looked clean and brand new. Even the pillows looked comfortable. If I didn't know I was outside, I would have laid my tired body there!
I don't know if it was a mistake or a good call that I ran my fingers through the bed frame. I was shocked by the wooden splinter I accidentally embedded under my skin. And at the same time, I woke up from the dream.
It was raining outside when I glimpsed through the bus window. The dim lights were on since it was still around 4 am, and most passengers were still dozing. I had been traveling for eight hours, but it started to feel like forever. I texted my cousins, who will also arrive today, to tell them I would arrive in an hour.
I crossed my arms while holding my phone and leaned against the window. SUNDS, also known as sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome. That is how my uncle died. The doctors said that it was an unexpected cardiac arrest while sleeping, and it was common. And my mind wanted to believe science, if I didn't know the place where we used to live.
My mind was in the middle of an internal argument when I fell asleep again. It didn't take long when I woke up to see the other passengers scurrying in the aisle to get off the bus. I immediately stood up and even hit my head on the overhead compartment of the bus.
I looked for the tricycle terminal that would take me inside the barrio. But when I was about to approach one, a familiar voice called me from behind. It was one of my cousins, the son of my uncle who died, and some of my aunties inside an L300 van. I immediately approached them with a smile.
"How long have you been waiting?" I asked while putting my backpack inside first. I saw them smiling back at me, but their eyes were obviously swollen from crying.
"Just about an hour. It's okay! We just want to make sure that you'll arrive safely. Jenna will arrive too! She's probably on the next bus," said my auntie, who was moving some stuff away to make a space for me.
I sent a message to Jenna asking where she was, and my aunt was right. She was on the next bus, arriving less than twenty minutes after mine.
We filled the van with light conversations and typical 'how have you been' questions. The house was just an hour away from the terminal, and we had enough time to catch up a bit. When we arrived at our childhood home, everyone suddenly got quiet. It was a familiar feeling since we are at the stage when we only get together during funerals. We automatically stopped talking and let our aunties lead us to my uncle's casket. We paid our respects to the elders as we passed them by "pagmamano," or the "honoring gesture" in the Filipino culture. We also prayed upon reaching my uncle's casket. After that, we went inside the house.
"It's been a while. You both look so professional," said Auntie Lea, the newly widowed. I smiled at her while Jenna was talking. I wasn't very fond of her growing up because she was strict. I was the type who would play with the boys outside and get dirty with the soil. She never liked that, while she adored Jenna because she was more lady-like. It was not a big deal for me, though. But that was the reason why we're not tight.
"You can use your old room. Your uncle got rid of the old double-deck and replaced it with a king-sized bed," Auntie Lea said while leading us to our old room. Knowing how my uncle died, I didn't like where this was going. "That was his last project before passing, and that was where he was sleeping. I hope you don't mind. I could have given you our room, but I just couldn't get myself to sleep on the bed where he breathed his last."
I was too stunned to speak. This was my first time sleeping on a bed where a person died, or that I know of. Good thing that I was with Jenna. Pretty sure that she won't like sleeping where Uncle Berto died.
"How about the other rooms, auntie? It would have been okay because it was Uncle Berto. But this just felt wrong," said Jenna, as expected.
"All of the other rooms are occupied. They even stacked inside your Auntie Chona's room. No one liked the idea. I guess you didn't like it either," said Auntie Lea, on the verge of crying.
Jenna rushed to her and lovingly hugged her. "Alright, auntie. It's okay. I just thought we had other options. We will take it, don't worry."
I was stunned even more. Just standing there like a frozen idiot. Here I am, thinking that Jenna would look for a nearby hotel. I would have shared the expenses with her! But she gave in! And now, I don't even know how I will refuse the room without leaving my auntie feeling bad.
"Are you okay with it as well, Christia?" my auntie turned to me to ask while peeking from Jenna's hug.
"Can we move the mattress to the floor at least?" I asked in return.
"That won't make a difference. He used the same mattress, not the bed frame alone."
It knocked some sense out of me, so I just sighed in defeat. Jenna calmed her for a few more minutes before Auntie Lea finally left us.
"What was that, Jenna?" I asked when we were left alone.
"I don't like it either. I just don't want to add up to the problem," Jenna answered while unpacking. "Besides, there's two of us!" she added.
"Or three!" I said, my eyes widened. Jenna replied with a smile while shaking her head in disbelief.
We got dressed and went out to help our relatives. I carried a tray with boxed juice and bread since it was still quite early.
The day passed by just like that. I had the chance to catch up with my cousins and other aunties. We also learned that Uncle Berto was planning to renovate the whole house, and he started with the smallest room, our old room.
As it was getting late, the elderly and some visitors went home in little groups until the only people left were us, who were staying in the house. Our aunties asked if they could go to sleep first because they must cook tomorrow morning. Of course, it was okay since there were five of us and most of us are used to staying late.
We can't leave my uncle's wake because our province has many superstitions to follow. One is that we cannot let a candle die out because our uncle might lose his way in the afterlife or that we should break a plate to end the cycle of death in the family. I can go on and on, telling these superstitious beliefs, but it will take so much time to say all the superstitions we grew up with.
I don't know what got into my cousin's head that he decided to share the last hours of Uncle Berto.
"Please don't tell Mama, but Papa took down a tree on the east gate," Leo, Uncle Berto's son, said.
"East gate? Aren't we forbidden to go there?" Jenna asked, trying to recall some ground rules when we were young.
"Yes, grandpa built the gate to protect us from evil creatures living there." Jake, our oldest cousin, and Leo's elder brother, said.
"You used to go there, Christia. You were so naughty that you always got smacked when you opened that gate. Remember how grandpa had to kill a chicken for offering every time?" Leo said while collecting the cards to start another game.
"What was the sense of offering chicken if it's not cooked?" Jeremy, the youngest among us, joked.
Yes, I used to run on the east gate. There was nothing there but huge trees, but it could get really dark at night. When we played hide and seek, I used to go there because I just knew that they won't.
Growing up, even if it was unclear, I could remember talking to some entities whenever I hid there. I could remember talking to some people with pointy ears, and some are very hairy. Some are in the form of fire, while some look like normal children. I used to talk about them as well, but I stopped believing when no one believed me.
Actually, I stopped talking about them when the only person who believed in my stories, grandpa, passed.
That's how I knew there was more to find out about my uncle's death, especially now that I learned that he took down a tree from the east gate.
Leo went on to share some stories about Uncle Berto's last hours. It was hard to listen, especially since we all grew up close to him. We stopped playing cards and mourned. After a while, we prayed together. Jeremy asked if he could sleep first since he was still feeling dizzy from the long trip. Jake told us to go with him and rest and that he will stay there with Leo. Jenna agreed, so the three of us went in first.
We prepared to sleep and even said our goodnights. I even told Jenna to smack me with a pillow tomorrow if she has difficulty waking me up because I will surely have a deep sleep tonight.
I was right, but in a different manner.
Just a few moments later, I found myself in the same dream I had when I fell asleep on the bus. The difference is that I am watching myself sleeping on the bed and that it was brighter than my first dream since I could see a path and trees around me. I figured that I was having a nightmare.
I looked around, but there was no clue how I would return to my body. So, I did the most obvious thing and lay on the bed where my body was, wishing my body and soul would connect. But as I was lying there, I heard a woman laughing sharply.
I sat and looked around the bed. I saw my cousins walking on the path, away from me. I screamed, trying to call them out. But even though it felt like I was crying so loud, they couldn't hear me until they disappeared into the darkness. I tried to stand to run to them, but I could not move a muscle anymore.
I thought my soul was finally merging with my body, so I tried to lay on the bed again. I heard the woman laughing louder. It was so terrifying that I closed my eyes tightly while praying.
Then, I felt a powerful force pushing down my body. It was so heavy and powerful that I couldn't even keep my face up. I opened my eyes to see a huge woman sitting on top of me. She was laughing so hard as I struggled. Then she yowled at my face. It was so loud that I couldn't breathe. I tried pushing her when I suddenly woke up kicking in the air.
I felt my heart pounding as if it was going out of my chest. I was sweating so bad, and my body was shaking. The force felt real to me.
That was when I knew.
A batibat killed my uncle.
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