Chapter 4: 4,096 Likes

4:20 PM 11.16.2009

4,096 Likes in just 10 minutes! Definitely unbelievable but does it surprise me still? Nah, not with my friend Dell.

Almost uwian time na and yet it feels like time is running so slow. I'm done with my tasks for today even my friend and seat mate Avs and now like what most of the people here in 15th floor are doing during these hours, FB! They say the project is lenient naman about employees browsing FB but sometimes I feel guilty. Anyhow, what has started as a weird day with a disturbing encounter with that girl in big copper rimmed spectacles has turned out to be boring as the hours went by.

Dell just posted an after gym picture and friends and people went crazy on his profile. 24 years of age, mestizo, average height and built, the guy is just so lucky. He's one of my online friends to whom I shared interest in photography with. He's a freelance photographer on his leisure hours. Yes, coz he doesn't need to work. Actually, he can spend his lifetime doing nothing and yet still live an extravagant life. He's half Italian, one fourth Spaniard and the rest Filipino, hence the Adonis creation and gift to all ladies in the world. Their family business is in realty here and in the US and of course the very popular source of great income to their empire which is probably one of the finest winery in the world, Tuscany Elixirs. This was once rumored to have Sorcerer's stone effect...immortality back in the 14th Century and now one of the luxurious must haves to the rich and famous.

I think with the rate of Likes he's getting in FB, he'll be one of the biggest names on whatever industry he'll plant his personality on or better yet, his picture. Sometimes I think he doesn't need to travel anymore just to find that elusive subject he was always telling me about, his picture would be enough. But what really strike me when I first met him, is his true passion when it comes to photography. He hasn't formally opened his gallery yet but he shared with me a sneak peek of his latest masterpiece, "13", as simple as that. Thirteen pictures of elements you won't believe to have very deep effects to people who have great passion on the arts particularly photography like me. This may sound corny but I felt with him after looking at those pictures. The pieces are like different plays on light and shadow and surprisingly wind. Yes, I don't know how he did it but the illusion of the wind as invisible as it may seem  through the naked eye has somehow materialized on those pictures. It was eerily genius for me as I told him.

"Shay!", always with the exclamation. Dell pinged me on FB.
"FB during work hours?...tsk tsk tsk :-)" he said.
"4,096 likes in 10 minutes...latest Guiness Record?" I joked around.
"Haha, okay u got me, what's up man? Last time we talked you were telling me something about a boy in white?" he said.
"That was just the half of it, he communed to me through my mind." I said
"Whoa! Third eye finally open? I told ya you're different Shay. Remember the aura on one of your pictures?" he asked.
"Yeah, I remember but I don't know Dell, there's something more to it. I haven't told you the rest."
"Wait man, mom's calling. She went to her annual Europe trip... Okay let's catch up later, I'll pick you up tonight 8PM?
"Alright, but where to later?"
"Nothing fancy, jan lang ATC there's this Tarot booth I wanted to check out too, my cousin Meira's bugging me for weeks now to see her craft and I think she had another "attack" as she calls it earlier today she texted me. Don't ask, even I don't know what these "attacks"are. I'll introduce you to her, she's a killer, lol underneath all these eccentricities surrounding her."
"Ah..Mm alright."
"Great! See ya later man."

"Meira?" Could it be that girl..."attack?" Hmm, okay I take back what I said earlier about how boring this day is.

To be continued...

Chapter 3: Meira

"Sa simula ay liwanag at sa liwanag nagmula, 
dumaloy, umusbong ang bunga ng bathala
Labing tatlong bantay sa mundo itinakda,
walang hanggang daloy Kaniyang pinamahala."


I've closed my cell's Color Note and slowly the phone displayed its Blue Romance live wallpaper showering my room with fading blue light. I've been restless for the past 2 days. Ever since that boy in white spoken to me through my mind, I couldn't help but wonder how he meant by these lines..."liwanag...bunga ng bathala...labintatlong bantay...daloy na pinamahala". I couldn't make any sense out of these phrases. But I guess what has been really bothering me for the past days is his eyes, the golden crescent in his left eye similar to mine. What could this mean?


20 degrees in yellow LED light but still it felt warm in my room. My body was aching to surrender to that deep slumber but my mind couldn't help but process the message the boy in white has given me. "Orakulo?" I wondered if that was his name. If so, he must have been telling me something about the future. "Liwanag", light like how it has always depicted God in stories. "Labintatlong bantay"...I wonder what these meant or to whom these are referring to.


8:15 AM, 11.16.2009


"Hi Shay! Grande Caramel Macchiato Non-fat?" asked the Starbucks' barista Jill.
"Morning Jill! Yep you know me." I've beamed back to her.


"Hummm...Sa simula ay liwanag at sa liwanag nagmula...hummm...dumaloy, umusbong ang bunga ng bathala..." someone was whispering behind me. As I turned, the girl behind me was humming and appeared to be in a trance. She was holding an odd looking notebook in her chest. I looked around the cafe and realized that we were the only people inside. Jill and her co-baristas even Manong guard seemed to have gone somewhere. I've tried to shook her by her shoulders. She was so cold.


"Miss, miss?" I said.


She slowly opened her eyes. She was wearing big copper rimmed spectacles. She said "Meira" as she dropped her notebook on the floor.


"Sorry, I thought you were mumbling something and your eyes were closed. I was afraid you're going to faint or something." I said.


"Aah, I'm...", she dropped to the floor and retrieved her notebook, "Sorry, I'm narcoleptic and sometimes I'm having these unfortunate attacks."


"Ah okay, I'm Shay by the way." I said to her as I offered my hand. She stared at my hand for a few seconds and said, "Sorry, I'm already late. Nice to meet you though." And she hurried out of the cafe.


"Grande Caramel Macchiato for Shay!" yelled the barista Luke.


I took my coffee and went ahead to Globe Tower. "Meira", was it her name? There was something peculiar about this girl. It was the same familiar sense I've felt when I saw the boy in white in the river banks last Friday. Was she part of it all? The message from the boy in white. How can she possibly come by that very same phrase? I need to find her. She might be able to shed some light on this mystery.


To be continued...

Chapter 2: Orakulo

The boy in white was standing near the river banks. Despite the golden glow showered off by the setting sun, the boy's white clothes shone brighter. He was slowly being swallowed by a shroud of mist which seemed to be coming from the river. If it wasn't for the white brilliance emitted by his clothes, I wouldn't have recognized him. For the first time, even without my glasses on I can see his facial features. There was something peculiar about his eyes. It was like I've seen them before. Then it hit me. I couldn't believe what I've seen. He was a reflection of me. The golden crescent in his left eye shone brighter than the sun.

It felt like we were staring at each other for ages. Then suddenly he spoke to me...through my mind.

"Huwag kang matakot Shaylam" he said. "Bakit mo ko sinusundan?" I replied. He went on saying,

"Sa simula ay liwanag at sa liwanag nagmula, 
dumaloy, umusbong ang bunga ng bathala
Labing tatlong bantay sa mundo itinakda,
walang hanggang daloy Kaniyang pinamahala."


"Sino ang mga bantay? Anong daloy ang meron sila? Sino ka?" I asked.

The sun set completely on the horizon and the mist enshrouded the boy to oblivion. As I struggled to communicate in my mind the basic questions I need to ask, he said, "Orakulo...". Then the boy vanished.

"San po bababa?" asked the bus conductor. I was again covered in cold sweat. I didn't realize that I fell asleep in the bus. Everything was so vivid to me. "Pacita kuya" I said. Then I handed off a hundred peso bill.

"Orakulo" I said to myself. Was it a warning he was giving me? Was it just a dream?

To be continued...

Chapter 1: I Am Sha-y-lam

It was already two in the morning. I find it hard to sleep. 23 degrees in yellow LED was the only light in my room. I slightly brushed my fingers on my mac's touchpad, slowly the light touched my skin. It glowed like it always does when it's dark. My mom used to say, "pinaglihi kita sa singkamas, bata ka pa lang maputing maputi ka na.". I'm not convinced. Something was eerily unexplainable to me. It went beyond the glowing skin. I haven't told anyone but sometimes I do feel like I'm different. Ten minutes have passed. I should be sleeping already, tomorrow's work is gonna start at 1:00 pm. As I stared on the computer screen I couldn't help but click on the fortune cookie icon on my FB page. So I cracked it open and it says, "You have a mysterious smile.". Ha! I hope that's all that is mysterious about me. I brushed the touchpad towards the left top corner of the screen and the mac started its flurry screen saver. The colors always mesmerized me. Then suddenly it was pitch black.


Red dark clouds. The breeze is ice cold. I'm falling fast towards an abyss. Great red canyons surround me. As I go down I can see giant stalagmites protruding from the ground below. I'm falling so fast that I could not get sense of time. It seems endless. Then suddenly I see sharp pointed rock stakes. Any moment now...


"Guadalupe!" yelled the bus conductor. I'm all sweaty yet cold. Was it what they call "bangungot"? I shouldn't have stayed awake late last night. I wouldn't normally want to sleep while riding the bus but too much lack of sleep made one do so. As I looked on my right side, a boy in white was staring at me. He was standing right beside a street vendor who was also a bit oblivious about the boy. I can't make out his facial features. It was all a blur but his stance and the brilliance his white clothes emitted is blinding. I tried to take my glasses out of my bag and put it on. But when I looked back he was gone. I couldn't find him anywhere. Was it a ghost? an angel? or was it the all too popular reason to everything that is paranormal, a "guniguni"? His presence made me snap out of my "bangungot". Had I stayed a few seconds more in that dream, it would have been gruesome.


Five minutes before one in the afternoon. I would be late for the meeting. From the bus stop in Pioneer, it was still at least a ten minute walk towards the office. I so hate this place. We shouldn't have left Ayala. I've always felt unsecured here. So stressful with so many people and the lack of trees made the place quite hot. Which reminded me how come it felt like summer when it was almost the Christmas season? I guess it was not only me that was weird, the weather was pretty much so.


Just in time for introductions. The new team I rolled in to was quite small. A group of 10 people. From the org chart on the screen I could see that we have two teams, each with 3 developers, 2 team leads, an AM and a manager who they said was currently in the US. I'm quite thrilled to work in a corporate setting. This was something new to me as I grew up from the province. My cousins would joke around when they find out I worked in a big time company. But I know deep inside they would be just too envious of me. "Shaeeelam? Did I pronounce it correctly?" my team lead asked. I said, "you can just call me Shay for short" and flashed my brightest smile. "Okay then, welcome to the team Shay." he said. The person right beside me nudged at me and said, "You're not a Muslim aren't you?". I almost said, "Does it matter?" but I politely said "No, I'm not" instead. Here comes the awkward part in introductions. One of the team leads started to sound casual and decided we become comfortable with each other by sharing something unique about each of us. Some said something about activities you wouldn't think they do, like collecting antique stuffs. One of the girls said she sometimes help in their family business, a mortuary. Now that's creepy. Someone mentioned something about nude painting which really brought laughter from the boys and smirks from the girls. A person mentioned something about ghost hunting and I went last. I couldn't think of anything unique about me other than my color. So I decided to share one of my secrets which is not really obvious unless you take a better look. I have a golden crescent inside the iris of my left eye. It's not that obvious from afar because I have light brown eyes but one of the girls decided to take a closer look and said, "oohh creepy meron nga!, may lahi ka bang asong lobo?" which brought another round of laughter from the team, and then I said, "yeah, something like that."


It's "Sha-y-lam" I said. One of the girls who happened to be a team mate of mine was insistent to pronounce my name right. I said, "I really would prefer if you will just call me Shay". She said, "Ok, call me Avery, Avs for short.". "Doesn't it sound like six pack Avs?" I said, joking around. She was all laughters. She just said, "I wish, sa katawan ko ba namang ito, good luck if meron ka makapang muscle.". And it was instant chemistry. We became close friends right then.


At five in the afternoon, I started to pack my things. This was a weird start. First day at work and it was a Friday, Friday the 13th to be exact. I said goodbyes to my team mates and went straight to the rest room. I was splashing water unto my face and then he was there, the boy in white. I saw his reflection in the mirror and when I looked behind me, no one was there. I suddenly heard someone flushed the toilet and my team mate Mat went out. He said "Hey Shay, uwi ka na?". I said, "Yeah, mahaba pa biyahe." "Ah ganon ba, sayang Friday pa naman, gimik day. Next time sama ka samin mag-videoke." I said, "Sige pre, next time."


I still couldn't shake off the weird sensation that boy in white has given me. It was beyond creeps that I'm feeling. I felt more uncomfortable like I'm in trouble or something. I kept on thinking about a warning. Something about his gestures was giving me that vibe like he wanted to warn me. It was a nice sunset, as the bus passed by the Guadalupe bridge the sun is showering off a golden glow on the river. Then when I thought the weirdness ended right there in the office, there he was again standing close to the river banks, all in white.


To be continued...