Caelum stood a few meters back and watched the police do their work. Hindi pa halos sumisikat ang araw, pero mukhang nabulabog na ang lahat ng nasa kalapit na residential area. Sa katunayan, tanging ang pag-"click" lang ng camera ang maririnig sa crime scene.
For a man like Mr. Domingo, he would surely be used to the sound from the paparazzi following him and the various photoshoots he attends.
'I bet he wasn't expecting to hear these clicks while documenting his death.'
Morbid, yes. Pero sa mga kasong kagaya nito, hindi na kataka-takang maraming kikilabutan. Lalo pa't walang makapagsasabi kung ano ang totoong nangyari sa Mahogany Street kagabi. And of course, after the previous newspaper articles and reports, hindi na rin nagulat si Caelum nang sumagi sa isip ng mga residente ang kaisa-isang nilalang na posibleng may gawa nito...
"Ang white lady."
Caelum felt the tension increase tenfold as people continued to gossip.
"Matagal-tagal na rin mula noong nagpakita siya, 'di ba?"
"Naku, ang akala ko ba minumulto niya lang ang taxi drivers na dumaraan?"
"Alam mo ba, ang sabi nila, baka raw sinapian 'yong driver."
Huminga nang malalim si Caelum. He really couldn't believe his luck. Kani-kanina lang habang papunta na sana sila sa isang family reunion, napagdesisyunan nilang dumaan sa Mahogany Street para makaiwas sa trapik. It was actually a good shortcut, despite the bad reputation. At doon na nga nila nadiskubreng may nangyaring krimen dito.
Caelum stared at his phone and hesitated. He really wasn't used to this---calling people and socializing.
Pero magmula noong nabuo ang EPIC, Caleun Zagreus Agustin felt like he was finally accepted in a strange circle of mystery and friendship.
"Huh? Yow! Morning, Caelum! Teka..." Naythan yawned. May pinulot pa itong alarm clock sa ilalim ng kanyang higaan. "Takte... 'Di pa tumutunog?"
Sa kabilang bahagi ng screen, Caelum could almost see Nemesis rolling her eyes at her bestfriend.
"Naythan, try checking the time on your phone, please."
"Eh? Ba't anong---HOLY KAMOTE! 5:30 AM PA LANG!"
Kasabay nito, sumagot na rin sa video call sina Rio at Damien. Mukhang kakagising lang din ni Rio, her hair was twice as messy and bushy as it normally is. Samantala, mukha namang gising na gising si Damien. Ni wala man lang indikasyon na bumangon ito sa higaan. Damn. Does this guy even sleep?
Caelum reminded himself why he called them.
"Uh, sorry... I didn't mean to wake you guys up." Sumulyap ulit siya sa crime scene. May mantsa ng dugo ang likurang salamin ng kotse, from where Mr. Domingo was murdered in the backseat. "Pero sa tingin ko magigising din ang diwa niyo kapag nalaman niyo ang nangyari."
"Why?" Nemesis asked in concern. "Nasaan ka ba?"
With one last glance at the area, Caelum knew it was about to get even stranger.
"Mahogany Street."
*
Nabuo ang EPIC pagkalipas lang ng kalahating oras. Hindi man nila aminin, pero alam ni Caelum na ramdam din nila ang urgency nito. In fact, he even had to make an excuse to not attend their family reunion (na naging dahilan para daldalan siya ng Tita Tessie niya).
Sayang lang pala ang excuse letter na pinasa niya para sana ngayong araw.
But then again, it was now their job to investigate on these peculiar cases, those that cannot be solved by the police.
"Mukhang tama ang mga tsismis," Rionach confirmed as she reopened her eyes. Hindi nila alam kung ano ang eksakto nitong nakita sa kanyang visions, pero halatang nabagabag rin ang psychic. "My, my, my... I can still feel her anger! Spooky. Pero may atraso kaya ang biktima sa white lady natin?"
"To be honest, I didn't even know the white lady is real! Akala ko talaga urban legend lang siya." Naythan blurted out. Nakasuot pa ito ng pajamas at mukhang 'di na rin nag-abalang maghilamos bago pumunta rito.
Caelum felt the urge to explain, "Iba-iba ang mga kwento ng pinagmulan ng white lady. Ang pinaniniwalaan ng iba, ginahasa at pinatay raw ito bago ibinaon sa Mahogany Street para itago ang krimen. Others say that she was a college student too, while some believe she was just an unlucky passer-by. Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin klaro ang pagkakakilanlan ng white lady pero malimit siyang nagpapakita sa gabi, lalo na sa mga taxi drivers. In fact, some stories emphasize that it was a taxi driver who killed her, that's why she's haunting and hunting at night to find her murderer."
"Pero matagal nang hindi nagpapakita ang white lady sa Mahogany Street," Damien countered, his hands in his Harris tweed jacket's pockets. As expected, mukhang lagi siyang may pupuntahang business meeting sa sobrang presentable ng pananamit niya. "But she is quite a famous ghost."
"I can testify to that. Noong bata ako, walang araw na hindi ibinabalita noon ang tungkol dito. It's almost like the white lady of Mahogany Street became part of the culture," Nemesis said, clutching her cardigan tighter around her shoulders. Agad na nag-iwas ng tingin si Caelum nang dumako ang mga mata nito sa kanya. He faked a cough, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.
Did Nemesis catch him staring at her? He hopes not.
"Records show that the last real 'ghost sightings' in this area happened way back in 2005. But of course since this street already gained a reputation, patuloy pa rin kumakalat ang ghost stories na pinalala pa ng taunang documentation ng iba't ibang TV shows," Damien explained, not even glancing at Caelum's direction. "Pero ang nakakapagtaka, ni minsan, wala pang nabalitaang namatay dahil sa white lady."
The five of them trailed their eyes to the crime scene, where spots of blood stained the road.
Hindi alam ni Caelum kung anong misteryo ang bumabalot sa kasong ito o kung bakit biglang nagbago ang behavior ang kinatatakutang white lady ng Mahogany Street, but they are yet to unveil the truth.
'Mukhang panibagong kaso na naman 'to ng EPIC.'
---
YOU ARE READING
EPIC
Paranormal"Stare at the dark too long, and you'll eventually see what isn't there..." If someone offered you an opportunity to investigate the deadliest (and craziest) mysteries in Eastwood, will you be brave enough to accept it? An epic paranormal adventure...
