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Monday, August 1, 2011

PASIYAM

Picture Source: http://www.desktopexchange.com/gallery/3D-wallpapers/Horror_House




             One of my scariest encounters of the unknown was during my grandfather’s wake. It happened several years ago at my mother’s hometown province of Bicol. I have gone on several summer vacations there especially in my elementary school days. Almost every year, I looked forward to spending a month with my grandfather. The very first time I had my vacation there was probably when I was six years of age. I was like, my “lolo’s” favourite “apo”. And so, each year he’d ask my parents especially my mom (who is his daughter) when I or we would be going there for our summer vacation. And ever since, my “lolo” never failed to prepare a lot of things for me.
              He’d always keep a sack of pili nuts (which became my favourite in the long run) which he had picked all the months of the year before my summer vacation so that when I arrive, he’d crack all those nuts open and cook it with sugar, definitely one of the best delicacies from Bicol. I would always have plenty of those to take home after my month long stay and share it with my paternal relatives, neighbours and friends. It has always been like that. We were always treated very special during our vacation there. My lolo would even spray some air freshener in his room because he would want me to sleep in his room.

            Fast forward to 12 years ago, my “lolo” became ill and died. My family arrived on the 2nd day of the wake. By this time, I had quite grown up. I was already in my freshman year in high school. On the last day of the wake, I asked my cousin who was about 8 years old, to accompany me to Legazpi City because I had to buy something. We left around 4:30 pm. The trip was about an hour so it was starting to get dark already when we arrived in Legazpi City.
           Not having the chance to often go there during my previous vacations, I thought of checking out some establishments there and somehow familiarize myself with the place. It was already dark when we finished going around and I didn’t realize that it was almost past 7:30 so we decided to go home. It would take another hour to go back. In the province, 8:30 is kind of late already to stay out in the night. Instead of taking the usual road we take to get to my lolo’s place which was wide and paved, I said to my cousin that we’d better take the short route. However, the short cut was through a narrow path beside a brook. There was only one incandescent bulb on the make-shift coconut trunk bridge connecting the highway road side to the short cut path and the brook passed under it. Tall coconut trees, grasses and shrubs line up the path.
            There were houses to the right but they were really far apart from each other and from the path we’re supposed to take.  An expansive rice farm and a piggery were to our left. A barbed wire fence separated the farm from the brook and the narrow path. It was dark and only the half moon in the night sky lighted our way. It was creepy and I felt a gush of cool air on my cheek and brushed on my back. I raised the hood of my windbreaker and my cousin, feeling scared, held tight on my waist. It made us walk in a criss-cross pattern. Trying to calm ourselves, I decided to whistle and used my cell phone as a torch light to help us see our way since the moon wasn’t helping that much because the canopy of the trees above us is obstructing it’s light.

             We were midway through the short cut when I noticed that beside a lone coconut tree in the middle of the path were two dark figures standing. I couldn’t recognize their faces nor if they were wearing colored clothes so I turned to my cousin and asked if he knew who those two people were.  The two people seemed to be engaged in a serious conversation that they just stood there. A few meters away from where the stood was our uncle’s house. Their lamp on the bamboo post on the side of the path wasn’t turned on. 
            They must be at my grandfather’s house since it was the last night of the wake and many people have come to spend the whole night vigil.  I got more nervous when my cousin said that he couldn’t figure out who they were nor he could see their faces. They were all black. By around that time, the two should have noticed us and I saw their heads moved a bit to look at us. I and my cousin held each other’s hands tightly, we couldn’t move faster since we were both thinking of stopping and turning back to go the wide road we often take to get there.
            However, it will take us more than 30 minutes to probably go around so I said to my cousin not to look directly at them and bow our heads and just look at our way while we pray. When we were close to passing by them, we both had goosebumps and all the hair in our body seemed to rise out of fright. We took a deep breath, mustered enough courage and said “tabi-tabi po, makikiraan po” in a wobbly low voice and prayed hard in our minds that nothing bad or scary will happen. At the corner of my eye, they seemed to stare at us. I didn’t see their faces or their clothes.  I just saw their lower extremities from the waist down to the feet and they were pitch black figures.
           I almost passed out. After passing by them and we were a few feet away, my cousin looked back and they were gone. I also looked and didn’t see them anymore except for the coconut tree near the side of the path. That was only when we had the strength to run fast to the crowd outside the house of my lolo. We never told anyone there that night except after my lolo’s   “pasiyam”.

Contributor: Allan Antonio
Date: 08012011

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