when he was alive, matatakutin si dad sa mumu. we used to talk na if whoever dies first, promise na magparamdam naman kahit minsan, wag nga lang yung takutan. when my dad was about to breathe his last, i whispered to him to keep his promise. pati na rin yung tatakpan na yung coffin nya. ayun, tinotoo

~when i used to live in manila around 2006, a friend and i went house haunting. i'm not very sure but it was somewhere in taft or recto, all i remember was there was metrobank and sm hypermart nearby. anyway, we saw an ad for a room na 2.5k lang, including na utilities. it was a big room for 2.5, i mean hello, san ka ba makakita ng ganung room in manila. curious, we decided to check it out.
it was a big house, which had 7 rooms ata yun. it used to be an antique gallery. the owner was already living abroad. may mga natitira pa ngang antiques. the house had a big tree sa labas, so shaded sya. sa may gate palang parang ayaw ko ng pumasok kasi bumigat yung batok ko. i am wary of antiques---coz they attract spirits. nauna pumasok yung friend ko with the caretaker. mejo nagpaiwan ako, i was looking around. there were antique jars, masks, tables, etc. i was drawn to this dresser, i don't know why, when i touched it, para akong nakuryente. there was this big full length mirror with fancy looking engravings on the side, which curiously looked like runes. both fascinating, but kinda spooked me.
the caretaker showed us that room we were interested in. may mga gamit na naiwan. he told us that there were 3 guys renting the room, who were suppose to take SOLAS . one night daw, nag inuman sila then bigla nalang nagtakbuhan. he thought they were just having some fun, but they never came back for their belongings. nagtaka din ako nun. out of the corner of my eye, i saw a girl, about 4 or 5. she was standing dun sa pinto ng spare room ata yun, looking at us. linapitan ko. i asked her where her mother is, does she live here, etc. parang may hinahawakan sya na tinatago sa likod nya. ano yang nasa likod mo? she just smiled. tinawag ako ng friend ko. he asked kung sino kausap ko. that kid, i said. what kid? tanong nya. i pointed to the spot where the kid was, she was gone. the caretaker, overheard us, asked kung ano itsura ng kid. at this point, nagtayuan balahibo ko, ewan ko kung bakit. i said about 5, naka pony tail, palda, etc. di umimik si caretaker. naglakad lang palabas. sumunod din kami, taka pareho. i asked who the kid was. he said anak daw yun ng may-ari, nasagasaan many years ago, halos maputol yung isang kamay, durog mga buto.
kaya pala mura upa
