ZEN
Flashback
"So... you’ll be staying with us for now, okay?"
I nodded, clutching the teddy bear Sister Abby had given me before we left the orphanage. Despite my efforts, I couldn't stop trembling. I glanced at the boy standing nearby.
"Is there a problem?"
I pointed shakily at the boy, looking up at Aunt Sarisa with tear-filled eyes. Even before I could speak, her eyes widened. She quickly approached the boy and spoke to him sternly. "What did you do?" she asked, but he didn’t answer. My hand dropped as our eyes met. His intense stare was etched in my memory.
"Noah, what did you do?"
Noah, the boy, gave a small smile. He leaned against the window and glanced outside. "I thought she was a thief."
Aunt Sarisa turned to me, her face full of concern. When she saw the marks on my neck, her expression turned to shock.
"Noah! Come here, we need to talk!" She grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him away. I watched them walk off, but Noah kept his eyes on me, his gaze unwavering.
He had strangled me... earlier.
I touched my neck, still feeling the pressure of his grip. It was as if his hands were still there, squeezing the life out of me.
Present
"Damn it," I muttered.
The rain poured heavily, waking me up in the middle of the night again. This had been happening ever since I moved here.
I sat at the edge of the bed, watching the lightning illuminate the room through the window. The rainy season was in full swing, and it looked like it was going to rain like this all night.
I didn’t bother putting on my glasses. It was too early to be up, and I wanted to go back to sleep.
But...
Damn. It felt like someone was watching me.
Despite my reluctance, I groped for my glasses on the table and put them on. Letting my hair hang loose, I cautiously stood up in the middle of the room.
This used to be my room. I asked Aunt Sarisa who owned this house, and she said it belonged to her mother-in-law. But that didn’t make sense since her mother-in-law, Saica Dela Cruz, was already dead at that time.
But would she tell me if...
I really needed to sleep.
I had to report to the precinct tomorrow.
Shaking my head, I sat back down on the edge of the bed, rubbing my forehead. I couldn’t understand why my sleep was so disturbed. Sleeping here felt... strange. I wasn’t homesick... it was just-- it felt weird. That’s why I moved here, for privacy. But...
I didn’t believe in ghosts. There were no ghosts here. I had never seen one, and I knew they weren’t real.
But--
I heard something. I swear I heard something.
Just like the past few nights, I heard noises... inside the wall. And I was hearing them again. I ran my hand along the wall beside me, trying to feel any vibrations--
Rats? No. The sounds were too distinct to be from rats.
I jumped as a loud thud came from the part of the wall I was touching.
I quickly stood up, pulling out the gun from under my pillow and pointing it ahead of me.
Damn it. I knew I was getting paranoid but-- what was that noise? Where was it coming from? What kind of animal made that sound? Damn it, I had been hearing these noises for the past few nights!
And in the morning, I would find things misplaced or missing, only to discover them in different parts of the house. I know, I know. It sounds like something straight out of a horror movie-- but-- come on!
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I cautiously left the bed, keeping my eyes on the wall. I knew it wasn’t that sturdy, it seemed to be just plywood--
I exhaled sharply.
I lowered my gun and rubbed my forehead in frustration. This was ridiculous.
I turned on the light and sat at my table, which was cluttered with papers.
These victims are haunting me, aren't they?
I had spent hours studying this. The red strings connecting the photos on my wall were a chaotic mess-- Damn it, nothing made sense-- it was all the same!
I still hadn’t solved anything.
What was missing? What was I overlooking?
We still had no leads. Not a single one. The same DNA, but we still couldn’t identify who it belonged to. This was ridiculous.
My chest felt heavy as I stood up. My jaw clenched because we had been running in circles for months. Everyone knew how short my temper was-- but no matter what I did, nothing changed.
What if there were more victims?
I approached the wall.
What if...
I kicked the wall. Hard. It broke through, just as I suspected, it wasn’t that sturdy. So, I tore at the wall with my hands and feet until the hole was big enough for me to fit through.
I grabbed a flashlight from the drawer and returned to the hole. With the flashlight clenched between my teeth, I illuminated the inside.
The space was large.
There were metal beams sticking out, and it was a long drop if I made a wrong step...
But the strangest part of all...
Where did these wooden stairs come from? It was all made of wood.
Had these stairs always been here? Were they used by the workers who built this house?
I scanned the area with my eyes.
I grabbed the flashlight and shone it up and down.
It was vast. I couldn’t see everything yet, but I had an idea of how extensive it was if I pieced together the different parts of the house.
I stepped back from the hole.
Now... where were those noises coming from?
Ghosts.
Rats can’t make those kinds of noises.
So, that’s it. Ghosts.
I almost jumped out of my skin when my phone rang. I quickly grabbed it from the side table and answered without looking at the caller.
I knew who it was.
"Yes, Chief, it’s me," I said. "It’s almost four in the morning, what’s up?"
I sat on the bed and looked at the hole in the wall.
Aunt Sarisa would kill me if she found out.
"We have a lead on the DNA from the bodies?!" I exclaimed. "Who? Where? When did you find out?!"
Damn. Finally. Some progress!
I stood up and started pacing. But I froze when I heard what the Chief said.
"The DNA we recovered... it belongs to..." I heard him swallow hard. "...a Dela Cruz."
"That’s impossible," I snapped. "They’re gone!"
"It matches Noah Dela Cruz, Zen--"
What?!
My eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell are you talking about? That kid is dead!"
"I know!" he replied. "But for weeks, this is the only match-- weeks, Zen."
W-What-- What?!
"Then someone’s using the kid’s DNA."
"No, you don’t understand--"
"What don’t I understand?!" I shouted. "Tell me! I’ve spent months of my life on this case and I don’t even know if we’re making any progress!"
"Noah’s coffin is empty."
I was silent.
"It’s empty, Zen. Mind you... the Dela Cruz family’s graves are in a private cemetery guarded day and night... And the coffin is... empty... Everyone knows Noah’s grave was moved by higher-ups... who knows if they opened it before?"
I stared at the hole in the wall.
I felt like I was going to be sick.
"No..." I whispered. "Noah’s dead," I muttered, seeing the silhouette of a man inside the hole I had made.
"I’m telling you..." I swallowed hard, staring at the shadow. "That kid... is dead."
My breath caught in my throat as I saw part of a face peeking out from the hole... I could see the messy, slightly curly hair-- and one eye watching me--
And then the figure vanished. I heard a faint creaking from the wall but...
I needed to get out of here.
I quickly grabbed my gun and tucked it into the waistband of my pajama pants. I didn’t bother changing out of my tank top. I rushed downstairs and dashed into the rain.
But I didn’t get far before I fell. My head hit the ground hard, and I felt my legs give way-- I was sliding back--
--back into the house.
*****