CHAPTER 4

TILA hangin ang galaw nito sa sobrang bilis. Nakita ko na lamang ang sariling nasa loob ng bisig niya.

“What the! Shut up. I’m not a ghost!” My eyes widened. Panic filled my system as I struggle to get freed from him.

“It’s me, Remmington! Calm down!” I can’t!

Kung kanina ay natakot ako sa multo, ngayon naman ay sa kaniya na! How can I calm down now that he is holding me?! Bigla ay pumasok sa isipan ko ang nakita sa telebisyon. The news about the woman named Rosey Buenaflor made my whole body trembled in fear. Hinila ko ang kamay niya paalis sa bibig ko at nagtagumpay naman ako.

“Get off of me! –” He immediately covered my mouth again when I started shouting.

“I will, but you have to calm down. Don’t shout, okay?” At tulad ng sabi niya ay mabilis niya akong binitawan dahilan para lumayo ako kaagad.

I just realized then that the reason his face was white was because of the facemask he is wearing. Now that he is close to me, I saw that the white dress I thought the ghost was wearing earlier was a white robe.

“Damn… mansyon ko ito pero bakit parang natrato akong magnanakaw bigla? And a ghost? Are ghosts even real?” Ayan na naman siya. He is insulting me again with his words.

“It wasn’t my fault that you sneak in behind me—”

“Whoa there, woman. Hold your horses. Me? Sneak in? This is my mansion. And I didn’t sneak in because I own everything that is in here. Hindi ko kasalanan na masiyado kang matatakutin. Kung pinailaw mo sana ang kusina ay sana hindi ka bigla na lang manggigising ng mga tao dahil nakakita ka ng multo.” It was dark, but I can clearly imagine him smirking at me.

“I didn’t heard your footsteps. Sinong hindi matatakot sa iyo?” balik kong sagot sa kaniya.

He suddenly clap his hands twice, and light illuminated the whole area. Nilingon niya ako at tinignan ulit mula ulo hanggang paa.

“That’s how I walk.” And then he started walking towards the refrigerator. I pursed my lips when I realized what he said was right. When he walks, there is no sounds of a foot walking. Like he is walking in the air.

“So, why are you here in the middle of the night holding a knife? Are you planning to murder someone?” baling niya sa akin pagkatapos niyang kumuha ng malamig na tubig sa ref.

I gulped. Well, I want a knife for protection. I couldn’t sleep properly thinking of what I saw earlier, so I thought that maybe hiding a knife under my pillow will somehow make me feel better.

Pero hindi ko puwedeng sabihin sa kaniya ito.

“I-I’m hungry… I woke up from a dream. In the dream, I was eating some ramen. You know, it really looks delicious because it was Naruto eating it—”

“Who’s Naruto? Your boyfriend?” He leaned his back on the refrigerator while raising his brows at me.

“He is a character from an Anime. You know, Haikyuu? It’s very famous these days because they just released a movie in Japan and I…” I can’t tell him I went there. I made a sad face. “I couldn’t watch it yet, because the movie is not release here in the Philippines. I need to wait for three to four months and isn’t that sad? Kaya ako nandito. Gusto kong kumain pagkatapos ng panaginip ko kasi nalungkot ako bigla…” dagdag ko sa mahinang boses.

I don’t know if it made sense. Just buy my excuse, damn it!

“You are good at speaking in English. Did you study?” I wanna go home.

Hindi ko matignan si Remmington ng diretso sa mata. Pakiramdam ko ay malalaman niyang nagsisinungaling lang ako.

“Y-Yeah. I studied BS Education Major in English. Hindi nga lang umabot ng fourth year. I need to stop because we lack the capability to finance my studies in college. Pero ayos lang naman kasi nakita kong umayos din ang buhay nina Mama noong tumigil ako sa pag-aaral,” sagot ko sa kaniya bago tumalikod para kunin ang naihulog kong kutsilyo kanina.

Pumunta ako sa sink para hugasan iyon. Akmang ibabalik ko na ang kutsilyo sa pinaglagyan nito nang magsalita ulit si Remmington na ikinaigtad ko.

“Aren’t you going to cook ramen?” he asked. Doon na talaga ako napatitig sa mga mata niya. His brown orbs were staring into me so much, I couldn’t make myself look away.

“A-Ano… hindi ba biglaan kang sumulpot?” tanong ko.

“Yes, I did. And you got scared and called me a ghost. And so on… so?” Ngumiwi ako.

“Noong nagising ako ay medyo wala pa ako sa sarili. I-I think it was because I’m half asleep, but when you came and I got scared – you just woke me up completely. Tapos naalala ko na hindi pala ako marunong… magluto…”

Hinintay ko ang reaksyon niya. He stared at me for a second, and then he look away. He covered his mouth using the back of his hand as he chuckled to himself. Ramdam ko bigla ang pamumula ng pisngi ko. This is my first time embarrassing myself in front of someone.

At sa harap pa talaga ng lalaking ito.

Nang muli siyang humarap sa akin ay namumula na ang mestizo niyang mukha. Basa pa ang gilid ng mata niya dahil sa pagtawa na halos ikinasimangot ko.

“Can’t you asked one of your Anime character to cook for you?” he asked, and I finally frowned.

“Alis na ako, Sir,” sagot ko pabalik at mabilis na tumalikod pero hinawakan nito ang pulso ko.

Napakurap-kurap ako at naramdaman ang biglaang pagtibok ng puso ko.

“I’m just kidding. Well, you just got lucky because I know how to cook. So, do you still want some ramen? Oh, wait. I’m not accepting no, since you really have to eat ramen. I don’t know how to comfort sad people, so let’s deal with that. Shall we?” Gamit ang libre niyang kamay ay inilahad niya sa akin ang stool sa kitchen.

Muli akong napalunok. I am supposed to avoid him. Now, what am I doing? Why am I hanging out with him at the kitchen in the middle of the night?