LEON/LIBULAN “I WILL.” Sidapa was taken aback by my quick response. “I was very disappointed when you told me that what Leon and Sheldon had were all lies,” I began. My spear reappeared, and I let it float up. “Because, as far as I know, I loved you both, whether it was you or Sheldon. You may be two different people, but I spent so much of my life as Leon. I treasured everyone who had been a part of my life. I value each and every one of you. In terms of my real name, I’m not sure why I didn’t tell you I was Luan. But I did hear someone’s voice whisper in my ear for a brief moment. “This is not the time,” the voice said. I apologize for keeping you waiting for so long, my beloved,” I said. “I’m also sorry for not listening to you at the time,” he added. “It’s all right. I now understand why you did it. Sidapa, you kept your promise to me that night,” I said. “I love you, too… more than my own life, Libulan. I’d do anything for you.” “You really exceeded my expectations,” I chuckl
LEON “WHY…? “Stay with me…” “Where are you going?” “Don’t leave me behind, (.....)—” My alarm clock woke me up with a loud ring. I became aware that I was drenched in cold sweat and that my heart was racing rapidly. It happened once more. I looked around, relieved that it was still the same location. I was staring at my ceiling when I realized it was my room. If I had awoken in someone else’s room, I would have been terrified. Despite my tiredness, I sat up and brought my trembling right hand to my face, covering half of it. “Today’s the third time,” I said quietly to myself, terrified. “What in the world is going on?” I pondered as I leaned against the wall. It was the same dream as before. I’ve been having strange and repetitive dreams that I couldn’t explain. At first, I assumed they were the result of stress from work and everyday problems, but they got worse the more I tried to ignore them. It had already had an emotional and psychological impact on me. I tried talking it
LEON “CUT!” yelled the director. My co-actor and I immediately broke the tension by smiling at each other. “That was exhausting,” she remarked, laughing. “Tell me all about it,” I said. “Way to go, you two!” The director rose from his seat and approached us. As he moved, his belly fat jiggled. He stood about 4 feet 8 inches tall and had a rounded body. Natasha, her stage name, said, “Thank you, Director Kim.” It was an honor for her to be praised. Director Kim laughed and looked at me, saying, “And you, Leon, you’re getting better at this.” I scratched the back of my head lightly with my left hand. “Thank you, Director,” I replied. “It’s also because of you. You really assisted me in bringing out my best,” I added. My words of thanks made the middle-aged man blush. “You, Leon!” He then smacked my arm playfully to show his delight. “Enough with the flattery. Now, I want you two to rehearse your next scene,” he changed the subject and reverted to his “director” persona. “Okay, s
LEON I DIDN’T know where to begin at first. I had no idea how it all started. I had no recollection of any traumatic pasts that could have been the source of what was happening to me. “Does something bother you, Leon?” Sheldon inquired. I agreed by nodding. “This may sound strange, but I had this vivid dream that kept repeating,” I began. “At first, I thought it was because of stress. I mean, we’re currently filming a movie, and I’ve barely gotten any decent sleep, so I assumed…” After that, I exhaled. “Yeah, I know,” Sheldon said softly, implying that he understood what I was saying. “What exactly is this dream you’re talking about? Is it really that unusual?” he inquired. “Voice…” I almost said it in hushed tones. “Voice?” Sheldon arched his brow. “There was a voice... It was a man’s voice. He was calling out for someone, but I’m not sure who,” I explained. “If you put it this way, he seemed to be talking to me when he said those words.” “What did you hear in your dreams?” Sh
LEON THE next day, Alynna barraged me with questions. “Are you all right, Leon? Why aren’t you responding to my messages? I understand you don’t like chatting, but I messaged you before it was too late in the evening. I was so worried about you,” Alynna said when she approached me. Her words made me frown. “Messages? What are the messages?” I inquired, completely unaware of what she was attempting to say. She clicked her tongue, then yanked out her phone and handed it to me. “You just read it all. Everything,” she emphasized angrily. It shocked me to see it, and I read them all before defending myself. “Alynna, look, I slept right away—” I halted and returned my attention to Alynna’s messages. When I noticed something suspicious, I was horrified. “Derrick came to my dressing room yesterday, Alynna. He didn’t come inside, but he told me you were looking for me,” I told Alynna, and her jaw dropped. “I also turned off my phone before going to bed last night. When you sent all those m
LEON THE instant when Sheldon answered his phone, I said, “It’s me.” “Hi. What’s up with the abrupt call, Leon?” my boyfriend asked from the other line. “I’m going to have my phone checked today, Sheldon. I’m telling you now in case you can’t reach me later,” I said to him. “Oh, right. Did it malfunction in some way?” he asked. “Not really. I’m not yet aware of what’s wrong. I’ll call you back when it’s done,” I said, and overheard him sigh. It was subtle but loud enough for me to hear. “Leon, do you have a moment to chat briefly?” he begged, which surprised me. “Go on,” I concurred and perched on the edge of my bed, noting that I wasn’t in a rush anyway. “Well… I get that you are busy and you’re almost done shooting your movie, but can I ask why you didn’t answer my calls the other day?” he calmly asked. “Huh?” I was dumbfounded and confused. “You called? What time?” I asked him back. “Around eight in the evening, maybe? I called many times, but you didn’t pick up at all. Di
LEON “SIR, it’s done,” I felt relieved when she talked again. She handed the phone to me before giving me the results. “Nothing’s wrong with your phone, Sir. Everything is working well. There were no bugs in the system. It’s also safe from any malwares,” she declared. It disheartened me. That wasn’t the answer I was hoping to hear. I expected her to say that my phone had an issue or something. [What do I do now?] I helplessly thought. In the end, I paid the lady for her service and left the shop with a heavy heart. ━━━━━━ ◦ ◦ ━━━━━━ [IT IS over. I’m going crazy,] I thought to myself as I walked in the corners of the street with an absent mind. I staggered, and didn’t care about the judging eyes of the people that passed by me. “Psst! Hey, you!” I stopped in my tracks when I heard a voice coming from a guy, but I had no idea where he was. “Over here! Look to your right,” the guy instructed me, and I followed what he said. I weakly turned my head towards his direction, and befor
LEON “I’M sorry,” I apologized. “Nah, I get it a lot. I even dress like this to look like the real deal, but my appearance probably spoils the whole vibe,” he said. “I didn’t ask for this gift. I saw how my parents died because of this ability, and it made me regret everything. I was on the verge of giving up, you know? But, I saw you!” He pointed a finger at me. “You knew that I experienced weird nightmares and heard voices. How can you tell? You haven’t touched my hand yet,” I asked. The guy sitting across from me went silent for a while. He just stared, and stared. Then, he spoke softly, “My name is Roark. I’m a psychic,” he revealed. “This,” he pointed his thumb at his cloak. “And this,” next, he pointed a finger at the table. “All of these…” he traveled his eyes around the whole place, and continued, “...are just for show. But, I am not lying about being a psychic!” “Why are you telling me this?” I asked, confused and conflicted at the same time. Roark cleared his throat bef