Chapter 2

                "Best friend for ten years my ass!” Kathleen hissed as she furiously closed the car door, crossing her arms in disquietude.

Christian came a moment later and went inside the driver's seat; evidently vexed by his girlfriend’s attitude a while ago.

“So, why did you storm out?" He calmly asked and she turned at him in disbelief.

                “And you’re taking her side?”

                His lips twitched. “This is not about taking sides; of course, I’ll take yours no matter what; but this is about respect and limitations. I don’t even need to be Samantha’s best friend for me to tell she’s still being haunted by the past you’re forcing her to open,” he sighed. “Just give her more time. Eventually, she will surely open up when she's ready.”

                Christian’s voice is calming, but the furious Kathleen still isn’t keeping her shoulders down. “Yeah, and ten years still ain’t enough!” She huffed. “And obviously, you’re taking her side.”

                “I told you am not, geez!” Christian could only roll his eyes. “It's just that you’re her best friend, you’re supposed to understand. And besides, it’s her past. She all have the rights to keep it as a secret to anybody.”

                “Yeah! Whatever you say, mister Jones,” she jeered, obviously mocking her boyfriend, but he’d only laugh. “You're not going back in?”

                “Nah! Let’s just call it a night,” the mood enthusiast gibed, eyeing Samantha’s old-hunted-looking house as Christian started driving away. Kathleen knows the house really meant a lot to her best friend. She was just worried about her living in that haunted place all by herself.

Most of the people in their town knows about her horrifying past––about the unexplainable disappearance of her twin sister, Agatha.

                According to rumors, Samantha and Agatha's mother has been cursed by her husband’s ex-lover when she was pregnant, and that one of her children will disappear in a said age.

Although some says Agatha has only been abducted and killed, some also says she has been taken by a sleep demon. Kathleen tried confirming the rumor to Samantha, but she denied every accusation, saying her sister was only adopted by their relatives abroad, so she could have a good life and Kathleen believed none. Samantha came from a wealthy family, so she can't see the logic behind her words.

                Kathleen bit her lip in frustration. She couldn’t seem to understand herself either. She doesn’t know why she always have this urge to investigate Samantha’s past. Even though Christian's words already reached her, the desire of unraveling Samantha's past stayed and kept on burning in a scalding heat.

                “Is it because I’m disappointed that my own best friend couldn’t trust me or is it because I wanted to help her from the things that’s been keeping her from moving on?” She thought to herself.

                They arrived at their home and Kathleen never spoke to Christian since. She only took a bath and went to bed right away. ‘Twas around 3 AM when something woke her up––an eerie feeling. She looked around to see the window open. Yawning, she slowly stood up and walked towards the window when she felt a tingling sensation on her nape while her hairs stood on end.

                She stopped at one pace when she spotted an odd silhouette of a woman standing outside the window. Her heart beat like a gust of adrenaline through her body. She could feel each beat resounding yet she didn't even dare to breathe. She glanced to where Christian was and realized he wasn’t there from the moment she woke up.

                A lump formed on her throat, she wanted to run; she wanted to shout for help, but her body was frozen like a sculpture until she heard cracks coming from the window. She looked back and screamed to the bottom of her lungs when she came face to face to a rotten face of a woman covered with greasy, dripping blood. Despite being frozen, she still managed to run downstairs as fast as she could until she reached the dining area to where a familiar little girl, dressed in white, was waiting for her with a sinister smile.

                She's carrying an old, weird-looking doll which was covered with dirt as if it was just dug out from a grave. Kathleen was breathless, but her heart kept beating and cold sweat took over her entire body. She took small, shaking steps aback, and the little girl did the same towards her.

She wanted to escape, but couldn't even run. Seems like she was waiting for the little girl to reach her. She stifled a cry when the little girl started humming a very horrifying lullaby.    

                “Hmmm... tili- tili bom~ zakroy glaza skoreye.”

                “Kto-to khadit za oknom...”

                “I stuchitsya v dveri.”

                Her smile widened as blood started to form in the corners of her eyes. Slowly—they trickled down her cheeks.

                “Tili- tili bom... krichit nochnaya ptitsa.”

                “On uzhe probraisya v dom.”

                “K tem, komu ne spitsya.”

                She stopped and her smile turned into a blank stare. “Come with me, Sam...”

She wasn’t able to finish what she’s gonna say when all of the sudden, a pair of hands, covered with brownish-black, greasy liquid, appeared underneath the floor and drastically pulled her down leaving no sign except for the terrifying doll. Kathleen felt nauseous all of the sudden. She tried to contain herself but couldn’t until her vision went blurry to black. Only then she felt an arm wrapped around her waist and her eyes snapped open. She could feel cold sweats trickling down her temples. Gasping, she looked at the person beside her and saw Christian sleeping soundly. For a moment, she spaced out.

                Was that all just a dream? No! That was a nightmare!

She glanced to see the closed window to where light from the outside is starting to crawl in. Furrows formed on her forehead when she remembered that girl’s last words. She’s pertaining to Shane. Why?

                She pressed her lips together and disassociated for hours to contemplate before standing up and went to the bathroom to take a bath. She still has work at 9AM and have to check their coffee shop.

                “For Pete's sake!” She hissed seeing the clock ticked 8:45 AM.

                “Love! Breakfassstt?!” Christian moaned when she hurriedly ran pass him, carrying her things for work without even combing her hair.

                “I-I’ll make it up later, love.”

                “Hmm… again?” Christian sighed. “I'll bring some in your office then.”

                “Thanks, love! I love you!” Kathleen gave him a flying kiss before heading towards her car and swiftly drove her way to the shop.

                It is mainly hers and Samantha’s project and is managed by one of their friends, Arah. Arah’s superb when it comes to business. She also manages her own shop. The three of them loves coffee but have different professions so, they built CoPhixo to fulfill one of their passions. Kathleen was about to pull over when she saw a woman on her 20's, dressed in floral bodycon, standing in front of the shop.

                She looked decent, but the way she eyes the coffee shop rang suspicion. Kathleen shook the thought off and parked right in front of the woman and walked pass her. Usually, she greets every person she meets, but the day's an exception. She’s really in a hurry. Arah is on her maternity leave as of the moment, so Kathleen has to stop by the shop from time to time. When she was assured everything's in place with the staffs, she left right away.

                Kathleen hasn't seen the woman when she stepped out. She thought she must be just curious about the place, so she decided to set the thought aside and continued with her usual routine in the office.

                Kathleen Anne Abad is a supervisor and an interviewer of the biggest BPO Company in the Philippines and is expected to be at the workplace before 9AM but here she is, running her way towards the elevator, 9 minutes late. Her co-workers greeted her on her way to her office and was about to open the door when she saw Samantha in the lobby.

                She didn't seem to notice her since she was talking to one of the trainees. If she can remember it correctly, his name is Jay. “What is she doing here?” She mentally asked.

She wanted to ask her herself but went inside anyway. She scanned numbers of applicant files and asked her assistant, Sharmaine, to call them one by one for the validation.

                She validated twenty-three applicants by noon and took a short break afterwards. Samantha was no longer around when she went outside. She's obviously already on her work or perhaps in the coffee shop. Throughout the day, no matter how hard she tried to divert her attention and just focus on her work, she still ended up contemplating about her dream last night.

                “Was she really pertaining to Shane?!” She whispered. Covering her face, she rested her elbow on the table. “Why is my dream so vivid as if it was true?” Her voice thinned. “The open window! The chills! The scare! That woman's rotting face! The little girl! The doll! The song! Everything!” She elaborated, groaning in distress. “Why do I feel like it really happened?!”

                “Hmm hmm~ tili tili bom... Zakroy glaza skoreye!”

                “Ugh! Stop!” She squeezed her head when the girl’s horrifying hum echoed in her mind once again. This time, the words were clearer and louder.