Red Shirt

This story was related to me by my uncle.
Believe me, hindi ako nakauwe ng bahay namin sa sobrang takot.
I hope macapture ko yung essence ng story para maramdaman niyo din yung fear na naramdaman ko nun.
Bleh!

My uncle (itago na lang naten sa pangalang selya hehe joke lloyd na lang.)
Yung friend niya (mark na lang)

So one rainy afternoon, lloyd went to his friend's house dahil usapan nilang magkikita sila doon.
Wala pa si mark dahil nasa office pa but he said na pumasok na siya sa loob using the spare key sa ilalim ng doormat.

When he got inside, he was confused to find out na super init sa loob considering ang lakas ng ulan sa labas.
Thinking it might be because the house is kulob, he ignored the feeling and sat on the sofa.

Inikot niya ang paningin sa kabahayan.

The place exudes this weird uncomfortable feeling.
Like somebody is watching his every move.
He also noticed that the room's only illumination is coming from a light bulb, giving the place a somewhat eerie appearance.

"oh well, he said to himself, must be my wild imagination."

He was completely drenched from the rain so he decided to text mark if he could borrow a shirt.

*beep*
1 msg received

"sige, help yourself there na lang, kuha ka na lang ng damit sa closet. Sorry mga 30 mins pako dito. Ill go straight there soon as I get out of here pare. Find something else to do there muna para hindi ka mabored
- mark."

Lloyd heaved out in frustration.
He got up to check the clothes inside the closet.

Upon opening the closet, he saw a red camisa-de-chino.(a plain cotton shirt worn inside a barong)

"perfect." he said.

Soon as he put the shirt on,he felt weird but he ignored the feeling.
He was about to go back to the sofa when he caught glimpse of the computer laptop.

Lloyd smirked and said to himself,
"looks like I won't be bored at all. Hehe."

He paced the table where the laptop is and excitedly opened it para magsurf sa net.

He was busy browsing when he noticed that sobrang init talaga.
He fanned his neck using his hands when suddenly, the light from the bulb went off.......
..
..
..
..
..
Startled, he stood up to check maybe nagloloko yung bumbilya.

Pagkatayo, the light came back.

Puzzled, he sat down again but then came this nagging feeling that something is wrong.
A weird feeling crept inside him.
He coudnt find a logic for his suspicion so he decided against his better judgement na faulty wiring lang siguro.
He thought that getting spooked would be the last thing he ever needed since magisa lang siya.

Exactly.
Magisa lang siya.
All alone inside a house na ngayon lang niya napuntahan.

He quickly dismissed the idea at pinagpatuloy na lang ule niya ang pagsurf sa net.

Then the light went off again.
..
..
..
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..


Then on again.

Ayaw man niya matakot, pero ang lakas bigla ng heartbeat niya.
His senses are now alive.
Hairs on his arms are standing out.
Ang ulo niya, parang nanlalaki.
Then came that nagging feeling again.

He is now sure that something's goin on that he can't quite put his finger to.

He felt restless now.

So he said to himself,
"isa pa. Isang isa na lang. Mamatay pa ng minsan itong ilaw na ito, lalabas na ako dito."

Dalawang beses ng nagflicker ang ilaw.
Alam niya, dapat na siyang lumabas, but he needed that one last flicker of light.
Thinking that maybe, just maybe, he may be wrong at all.

Anxiety is now clouding his sanity.
Soon as he reached for the laptop, the light went off again... For the third time.
..
..
..
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..

Lloyd froze in fear.

*Lub-dub-lub-dub*

He can now hear his heartbeat.

"That's it, im leaving."

Soon as he jolted out if his chair,
Saktong pagkatayo niya,
Bumukas ang ilaw.

And he found himselff face to face with someone.

At mula sa kinatatayuan niya, kitang kita niya mula sa liwanag ng bumbilya,
Ang isang bagay na naririnig lang niya sa niya sa mga kwento.

A transparent figure right in front of him.

He can see right thru it.

Isang matandang lalake na sunog na sunog ang anyo.

With just a fraction of 3 inches away from him, he was able to see the intricate details embroidered on its barong.

Pag angat niya ng mukha niya, bumulaga sa kanya ang isang mukha na alam niyang hinding hindi niya makakalimutan.

Agnas na mukha.
Nakikita ang ilang bahagi ng ngipin nito dahil sa bahagi ng balat na nasunog.
Nakaluwa ang kanang mata nito at mulo doon, isang brown na likido ang umaagos.
Its jaw dropped when it was about to speak.

Lloyd mustered his courage and sprinted his way towards the door.
He was fumbling his way out but he was glad he made it.

Its still raining outside but he coudnt be any happier.

With trembling hands, he shoved his hands inside his pocket and fished out his mobile phone.

He texted his mom for it was all too big for him.

Luckily, his friend came home 15mins after.

He refused to come inside and narrated the whole story to mark.

Mark, while attentively listening to lloyd, was busy eyeing the red shirt that lloyd was wearing.

"pare, lolo ko yung nakita mo. Siguro natuwa lang sayo yun. dahil suot mo yan." mark pointed lloyd's shirt using his lips.

"Saka pare, yan kasi yung suot suot ni lolo nung namatay siya eh."

-THE END-

Story by: IAmZevi