The Other Side

I think I saw something from outside the house. That made me leave the stranger's house and go out to see what's glowing I'm seeing. When I got near it, I saw a small castle that looked like a child's toy and got excited.

What a lucky baby! She was just about to get born but she already has her castle to play with. But then a small man with a pointy red hat greeted me. It's a dwarf as I recognize one from the cartoons. 

That castle is not a toy but a real one. The dwarf standing in front of me must live there. I'm only four years old but I know what I'm seeing is real. I get gigglish seeing the castle now displayed with some little flags around it. 

"It's a fiesta! Do you want to come inside?" The dwarf asked me.

I giggled, being this young makes me not be afraid of anything. But I declined the dwarf's invitation. Unaware that it's the first good decision I ever made in my life.

"I wouldn't fit inside! That castle is very small!" I said and giggled some more. 

My mother is a midwife and she sometimes brings me to her patients' houses when somebody is about to give birth. Living in the province, houses are mostly located in the middle of the forest.

"I have my magic little girl! I can make you smaller so you can fit inside. It's fun there." The dwarf said again.

"I'm already small. I want to be big, not smaller." I complained.

"You don't need to be bigger. If you do, you will never see what's inside that castle." He said again.

"Oh, I don't know. My mom will finish delivering the baby soon. She would get mad if she didn't see me right away." I replied.

"That baby will also go inside the castle with us. It won't take long. Let's go now!" The dwarf holds my hand.

"Okay, but just for a short time." I agreed and smiled at the dwarf who is now smiling bigger. 

The dwarf takes out something from his pocket. It looks like candy but it's black. 

"Before we can get in, have some candy first so you can fit in!" He offered.

"Hey, little girl! What are you doing there? Come inside the house now! Your mother is waiting for you!``said the old woman.

Before I could take the black candy from the dwarf, I jerked hearing the old woman's voice, and looked up to her. She's very old, like a hundred years old. Or maybe that's what I thought as a kid.

I stood up since I realized I was kneeling from the ground. Then I look back in the dwarf's direction. He's no longer there. The grand castle doesn't look that grand anymore. It's now just a pile of dirt that looks like an anthill.

The small flags are gone and it's darker now than I realized. The magic was already gone but I didn't care. I went inside the house with the old lady and saw my mother passing the baby to its mother.

"She's a girl, is she?" I used it excitedly. 

"Yes, Mary. It's a girl! How do you know that?" My mother asked.

"They built a nice castle outside for her to play with!" I exclaimed, remembering that it was just a toy castle. 

"Your daughter found an interesting pile of soil from the garden. Good thing I was able to see her before it's too late." The old lady said.

They all gasped and covered their mouths in surprise. I didn't understand their reaction as a child. Though it's still clear what just happened, until this day. The baby's father looks at me.

"Did you see anything from the "Nuno sa Punso" Mary?" He asked.

"That's not "Nuno", it's a castle! The dwarf told me they are having a fiesta for the baby!" I replied as if just remembering what the dwarf told me. 

They exchanged a worried look and my mother stood up and walked towards me. 

"Don't mind her. She can see things that adults can't see. Let's go home, Mary!" My mother announced. 

They all said their goodbyes and we already headed out of the door. It's already dark but we have our lamp to light our way to get out of the forest. My mother is holding my wrist to make sure she will not lose me. 

I take one last look at the "castle" that I saw earlier. The dwarf seems to reappear from there waving sadly at me. I waved back to say goodbye.

"Mary, stop waving at nothing! It's dark inside the forest and it's just the two of us. I don't want you talking to anything you see until we get home, understand?" My mother warned me. 

"Okay, mom. But let's just run when we reach the river. The mermaid there is very unfriendly! I don't like to see her." I replied.

"Oh, Mary! Please stop talking now! You're giving me the chills!" 

We went home safely after that night. I tried not to wave at the other creatures that I saw while we're walking. But I smiled at them in secret so as not to scare my mother. She's very brave to deliver a life but she's very afraid when it comes to the creatures of another side.

It was my first encounter witnessing paranormal entities. I was only four years old at the time and not aware that other people can't see the other side. That's the time when my third eye opened and from then on, I kept seeing some ghosts and elementals. Even the fairies in our backyard suddenly showed themselves up.

My childhood imagination keeps on growing and getting better as I age. Manifesting in my dreams and even during my waking hours. I thought that it would stop when I grew up. But my gift started to feel like a curse. It just keeps on getting worse as time goes by…