“What happened to your cousin, Meissy?” his uncle asked as they sat on the sofa facing each other, while his aunt was in the kitchen.
He had just come down the stairs when he heard that, and his uncle's voice made him stop. They had just finished eating. Earlier, his aunt Sylvia had called him for dinner, but he had said he wasn’t hungry and had no appetite. He told her he would come down later when he felt hungry.
“I don’t know, daddy. Maybe he just wasn’t in the mood to eat, and he had a snack earlier,” Meissy lied. She hated getting involved in Gael's issues or whatever was happening with him. She had wanted to tell Gael something earlier, but she knew he wouldn’t listen. For now, she decided to keep it to herself. “Don’t worry, Dad, Gael is fine.”
Gael went back upstairs and threw himself onto the bed. He wasn’t hungry yet, so it was better for him to stay in his room. The door to his room was closed, so he was sure neither his aunt nor Meissy could enter. He opened his phone and checked his messages. Eir and Xinc had messaged him, but he chose not to read them. He didn’t want to update them, because instead of enjoying his vacation at Sitio Tanglaw, he was confused by what was happening to him.
When he opened his email, he smiled at an email from a well-known publishing house in the Philippines. His manuscript had been accepted: his fifth mystery-thriller novel. However, his smile faded when he closed the Gmail application. He stared at the ceiling again, feeling empty. Feeling bored, he got up from the bed and sat on the edge, covering his face with his hands. He wanted to go out but didn’t know where to go and wasn’t sure if the outside world was safe. But he had no choice and wanted to calm his mind.
It was nine o’clock in the evening when Gael finally decided to step out of his room. When he went downstairs, his uncle and aunt were no longer in the living room. They were probably asleep already since they had an early bedtime. He ventured outside the house without a specific direction in mind, simply letting his feet carry him wherever. He wrapped his arms around himself as he felt the cold. The surroundings were eerily quiet, and the moonlight cast unsettling shadows, but he pushed those thoughts aside. He needed to calm his mind and lighten his spirits.
However, the tranquility he sought was abruptly shattered by a whistle whose origin he couldn’t discern. The whistle was haunting. It sent a chill through him. Gael looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound, but it felt as though the wind itself carried it to his ears. Fear began to creep in as he heard it again, but this time, the fear intensified, and the whistle seemed to be drawing closer, yet he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.
He stood up from his sitting position and started walking again. He tried to push the sound out of his mind and to shake off the fear he felt. But about twenty meters ahead of him, he saw him again: the man in black, staring right at him. Anxiety gripped him as the man began to move, taking hesitant steps toward Gael. Without hesitation, Gael turned and ran, abandoning the road and darting into the nearby woods. He sprinted deeper into the forest, letting his feet lead him wherever they might. He just needed to escape from that stranger.
His heart raced faster and he felt something pulling at his back, so he couldn’t run quickly. But he was determined, so he gathered all his strength and ran as fast as he could. Yet, Gael couldn’t shake the feeling that the man was following him. Every rustle of leaves and snap of twigs amplified his paranoia. He dared not look back, his heart pounding in his chest as he raced through the darkness. What did the man want? Why was he being followed? Questions raced through Gael’s mind, but he knew he had to focus on finding safety first.
The woods seemed to stretch endlessly, the path twisting and turning without rhyme or reason. Branches scraped against his arms and legs as he pushed onward, driven by fear and adrenaline. Sweat trickled down his forehead, mixing with the cold night air. How far had he run? Gael had lost all sense of time and distance.
Suddenly, he stumbled upon a small clearing illuminated by moonlight filtering through the canopy above. Gasping for breath, Gael halted, his senses on high alert. Was he finally alone, or was the man still out there, lurking in the shadows? He strained his ears, listening intently for any sign of pursuit.
He started to search for something to defend himself with—rocks or wood he could use to hit the man. But he was unlucky and couldn’t find anything. He prayed for his safety. Silence enveloped the clearing, broken only by the sound of his own ragged breaths. Gael took a moment to collect himself, trying to formulate a plan. He needed to find his way back home, but he couldn’t risk encountering the man again. He remembered the case of Ethan Rodriguez’s death; he was sure that the man chasing him was the one who killed Ethan.
But why did the man's entire figure seem familiar to him? Why did Gael have this unsettling feeling that he knew him? He couldn’t afford to be mistaken; he felt it in his bones that he knew the man.
He had been hiding for some time now, thinking that maybe the person chasing him was gone. So he decided to come out and try to leave. The problem now was how to find his way back home. Gael had lost track of the path leading home. He wasn’t familiar with this part of the forest, especially at night when the moonlight was gone. On top of that, he couldn’t use the flashlight on his phone; he was sure that if he did, the man would spot him.
So, Gael started walking cautiously, feeling his way through the darkness as if blind. His senses of touch and smell became his only guides. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of candle wax that smelled like death, followed by the scent of blood. He ignored it and continued walking slowly, even though he couldn’t see where he was going.
The forest seemed dense and disorienting, the moonlight barely penetrating the thick canopy above. Gael's heart raced with every step, the adrenaline urging him to move faster while his mind urged caution. Was the man still following him, or was he imagining things? He couldn’t be sure, but he couldn’t afford to stop either.
He froze in place as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. The chill that spread through him wasn’t just from the cold night air—it was an icy touch that sent shivers down his spine. Fear gripped Gael, paralyzing him for a moment before curiosity overcame his terror. Slowly, he turned to confront the presence behind him.
There stood the man who had pursued him through the woods, but where a face should have been, there was only darkness. No features, no eyes, just an unsettling void that seemed to absorb the moonlight. Gael's breath caught in his throat as he stared into that abyss, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
The grip on his shoulder tightened briefly, sending a wave of dread through him. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the figure dissolved into the shadows, leaving Gael standing alone in the eerie silence of the forest. His heart pounded in his chest, and every rustle of leaves seemed to echo like whispers in the darkness.
Who was that? What was his purpose? Could it be Ethan Rodriguez’s soul asking for his help?
He shook his head stubbornly, not knowing what to do next.