Ghosted

 

Photo credit:  Funny White Ghost 3D Model $29 - .max .obj .fbx .c4d .3ds - Free3D

 

May mumo sa bahay namin.  I am not talking about the dress here, nor about crumbs left behind when someone eats.  I am talking about the paranormal Mumo.  Ghost.  Multo.  Spirits.  Encanto.  Mga kaibigan ni Mama Susan.  Those kinds of things.  Pero ang mga multong ito na naninirahan sa bahay namin ay hindi kailanman nagpakita or nagparamdam sa akin or sa aking pamilya.  (Thank goodness na lang at wala akong third eye dahil kung meron man ako, baka binulag ko na sarili ko). 

 

Ang kauna-unahang bahay na kinalakihan ko ay sa isang barangay na may kalayuan sa bayan.  We were not the original owners of the house and I was probably too young to remember the details of my life there, but I vaguely remember if the house really had spirutual tenants.  At least ‘yun ang sabi ng mga kapitbahay namin, who spied on the ghosts on our behalf.  I don’t know if I should thank them for spying on them, but apparently, neighbors would see shadows in our home when no one was inside.  At least that was how they told us.  I did not spend a lot of time in that home because I grew up around my two old maid Lolas.  Kaya spoiled brat ako nung bata ako.  Mukha lang akong mabait kasi payat ako pero siguro anim ang sungay ko sa ulo.   Baka kaya na-attract ‘yung mga espirito sa akin kasi isa akong masamang nilalang. 

 

Eventually, lumipat kami from that small barangay to the big town.  Big na ‘yun sa lagay na ‘yun kasi katabi namin ‘yung national road kaya mahirap mag-siesta sa tanghali:  laging mong maririning ang non-stop na pasada ng mga bus at jeepney. 

‘Yung bahay na nilipatan namin ay may neighboring rice mill, a.k.a. konohan ng palay na hindi na nag-ooperate.  Abandoned na ang building for a number of years when we moved next door.  Mukha tuloy haunted ‘yung kapaligiran kasi off-limits ang rice mill sa tao, madilim sa loob at punong puno ng mga alikabok at sapot ng gagamba. 

Unusual ang set up ng bahay kasi mayroon itong “half- basement”.  At hindi ko din masasabi na isa itong two-storey house kasi yung bedroom namin ay nasa ibabaw ng basement.  Ang gulo di ba?  Basta ganun ang kanyang format. 

Nung bata pa kami, lagi sa aming kinukwento ng aming kapitbahay (again) and at the same time ng aming mga kalaro na may batang namatay sa aming basement dahil nakuryente ito after the house was partly submerged by the infamous Annual Hermosa Floods tuwing typhoon season.  Hindi ako sure kung pinagti-tripan lang kami ng aming kalaro or sincere sila sa kanilang warnings of terror.  Pero kung ang goal nila ay takutin kami, nagtagumpay sila kasi I despised going under the basement for fear of bumping into an electrocuted ghost in the middle of running an errand for my mudrakels (nakatago kasi sa basement ‘yung mga Coca-cola products na tinitinda namin). 

 

We never proved the existence of the young ghost to be true in the years we were living there.  At kahit minsan, hindi kami minulto ng batang ito.  Just the same, we were still scared of him. 

 

The weird part of the spirirts living in our home was: hindi sila kailanman nagparamdam sa amin.  Kadalasan, ang mga bisita namin na nag-oovernight sa bahay ang pinagdidiskitahan ng mga otherwordly enteties.  I have a theory that these spirits respected us as home owners and they usually made their presence known to other people to make sure that the guests would not take over their home.  Because these  spirits knew that we were good at sharing the house with them.  They did not want new co-inhabitants. 

According to sources (i.e. mga bisita namin), they have also seen an older man with a straw hat in our backyard by our mango trees.  May narinig na din akong kwento kung saan may babaeng nakaputi at mahilig mag-stroll along sa mga tanim naming sampaguita.  I feel bad for this woman in white because she always gets the blame in horror stories like these.  All she did was put on a white dress, perhaps to feel fresh, mainit sa Pilipinas to sport a black turtle neck as your daily pambahay.    

 

Pag may mga guests kami na malakas ang vibrations sa mga engkanto, medyo nayayanig ang mundo nila kapag tumutuntong sa bahay namin kasi nati-trigger ang kanilang 6^th sense na parang strobe lights na itatapat mo sa isang tao na may seizure.  Minsan nga winiwish ko na lang na ‘yung sixth sense nila was just sense of humor, para walang binabangugot pag gabi.  Or kahit man lang ang 6^th sense na ‘yun ay ‘yung common na lang.  At least, common na s’ya.  (Cornok, I know.)

 

There was also this one guest who said that he saw a tikbalang somewhere in our garden.  That would have been funny to me now kasi I always pictured a tikbalang as Dolphy from his 80’s movie Once Upon a Time.  I would have told him: “Wala dito ang bolang kristal, lumipad at dumapo sa bulaklak ng calachuchi.” (Raise your hand if you remember this tagline). 

 

And don’t get me started with my lola’s house, kasi feeling ko, ‘yung bahay na ‘yun ay portal ng mga alagad ni Toguro at ng Boogey Man.  Kahit walang nagpaparamdam or nagpapakita na ghostly spirit sa bahay ng aking lola, hindi ko kinakayang mag-isa kapag bumibisita ako dun.  I always had this lingering feeling that any moment someone would just show up around the corner to say “Boo!”  And I would drop dead with heart attack or just die peeing my pants. 

 

In the truest sense of portals ala Ghostbusters, there were more than two enteties that were felt or seen in the house. 

Case in point, when we had guests sleeping in one of the bigger bedrooms, they felt someone was standing on the mattress and was ever so slowly stepping over them in the middle of the night.  Lahat aware about this ghsotly shenanigan pero none said anything until the next morning for fear that the mumo would know that they were awake. 

May mga kaibigan din ako from college who had a little altercation with a poltergeist.  They were locked inside a bedroom and were trying to get out from it but someone or something was holding the door from the outside locking them in.  This happened in the middle of the day.  When they tried to check out any semblance of shadow under the space on the door, there was no one on the other side eventhough they felt that the door was being pulled against their forces.  Umiiyak ang mga kaibigan ko ‘nung datnan ko sila sa kwarto kasi hindi pa sila naka-encounter ng spirits in their lives, until they stayed at our lola’s house. 

On a separate occasion many years back, someone has heard of children playing insdie the bedroom upstairs when it was locked for the longest time. 

A visiting uncle also had heard foot steps throughout the night going up and down the stairs. 

Someone saw an old man in a straw hat (again) sitting on the couch in the living room.  Siguro pareho lang ‘yung matandang naka straw hat na nakita sa bahay namin at sa bahay ng lola ko, mahilig lang s’yang mangit-bahay kasi bored na s’ya.  May theory na baka ang matandang naka-sumbrero ay Lolo ko  kasi mahili s’yang magsuot ng straw hat.  That was his fashion statement- scaring people off. 

 

Kahit naman may kakaibang paranormal activities ang bahay namin, I still loved that house.  Hindi ako natatakot sa silong basta may kasama ako.  In fact, during my elementary years, pabitoring venue ng mga classmates ko ang bahay namin tuwing magpa-practice kami ng kahit anong activities na ipe-present namin sa klase.  Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero ang theory ko: dahil sa secret passage ng silong ng bahay namin na connected sa bodega, na connected sa tindahan, na connected sa outside world.   

Sa bodega namin naka-stock ang sako-sakong feeds at pagkaing baboy/manok/baka atbp. kasi ‘yun ang business ng nanay ko: poultry and agricultural supply (with a side of coke and ice as mentioned above).  Kaya as kids, nakalanghap na kami ng maraming carcinogens at nakatikim na din kami, at one point in our curious childhood lives, ng pagkaing baboy. 

At dahil nga sako-sako ng feeds ang nakalatag sa aming bodega, mukha tuloy s’yang isang obstacle course na parang tinatawag kaming magkakaklase na akyatin ang mga sakong iyon, ala American Ninja Warrior or during our time, Takeshi’s Castle.  Pero mas feel namin ang Bioman, sabay pose habang isinisigaw ang designated color and number ng corresponding Bioman na napili namin. 

Ang nakakatawa dito, lagi kaming nahuhuli ni Nanay sa suppposedly off-limits area ng aming practice sessions.  Kadalasan in mid-pose, ala Shaider, habang naka-spread out kami sa buong bodega.  Mukha tuloy kaming isang malaking production number ng GMA Supershow waiting to fall off the stacks or maybe the other way around:  the stacks waiting to fall on us.  Pag nagalit ang Nanay ko, mas nakakatakot s’ya sa multo.  Kaya mabilis na nagtatakbuhan or nagtatago ang mga kaklase ko.  

 

Somewhere along the way, we grew up.  So ‘yung mga fears on mumo at our home somehow vanished as we got older.  We outgrew our beliefs in the supernatural.  I could venture under our basement now without fear of bumping into an electrocuted ghost, and even if I do, I’d probably say hi and ask him, “What really happened to you?”  At least we could put to rest the lingering mystery of the boy who drowned.  But did he really? 

However, my Lola’s house is still another story.  Hanggang ngayon, meron pa din kaming takot sa bahay na’yun, lalo na ngayon na wala ng nakatira dun at completely abandoned na ito, parang ‘yung konohan na dating nasa tabi ng aming bahay- dark, dirty and foreboding. 

I have a feeling na at one point, may maririnig ka na lang ng mga batang tumatakbo sa hallway ng bahay, may taong umaakayat at bumababa sa hagdan, or may babaeng nakaputi na sisilip sa may bintana.  Good luck na lang sa ‘yo pag nakita mo s’ya, pagkatapos, napansin n’ya na nakatingin ka.  Tapos, bigla na lang s’yang ngingiti sa ‘yo, maybe you will smile back because of fear.  Then you will realize that she does not have any eyes. 

 

 

March 5, 2021