UNPSYCHIC.

Case 01 :: Chapter 06

"I'm home." I called out once I shut the front door behind me, relieved from getting out of the freezing temperature that would usually drop several degrees come nighttime.

"Hey," Mrs. Suliman greeted me from the kitchen area where she was stirring a steaming pot on top of the stove. 

"I went ahead and made you guys sopas for dinner. My treat. I noticed Danni's been kinda down ever since I picked her up at school earlier. So I thought maybe some comfort food would help."

My pace slowed as I remembered the events that occurred that morning. Exhaling a deep breath, I shook out of my fleece jacket and threw it over the back of a dining chair, followed by dropping my backpack onto the seat. 

"It smells mouthwatering." Literally, I could feel my mouth salivating while my stomach grumbled in agreement. "I can't thank you enough for babysitting Danni whenever we couldn't, let alone make dinner." 

She dismissed my honest statement with a humble wave of her hand. "You know how much free time I have. Being retired and all. And it gets quite boring on this side of the town if you'd ask me." She chuckled as she added chopped cabbage into the concoction. She'd been living alone in her home for several years after her husband had passed away, while her only son who moved to the city for work would visit her from time to time. 

"Is your mom on overtime again?" She asked as she sprinkled salt and pepper into the mix before finally switching the stove off. 

"Yeah, on a double shift." I headed towards the stairs and called back, "let me just change first and I'll help you set up the table."

Just as I was about to enter my room, I noticed Danni's bedroom door stood slightly ajar. My foot paused at the threshold when I heard Danni's voice. Whispering as though talking to someone.

Goosebumps erupted throughout my skin as thoughts of the dead boy I saw in the library came to mind. Shaking off the eerie memory of his solemn face and the blood dripping from his temple, I reasoned with myself that Danni may be on the phone with someone. Mom and I had an arrangement with her that she'd have a few hours of internet time for personal use and school work so long as she used it responsibly by avoiding chatting with strangers and visiting any suspicious sites.  

But the unsettling feeling that gnawed at my gut had me approaching her room, halting to steal a quick peek through the crack of the door. When I couldn't see her in this angle due to the dim lighting inside, I pushed the door wider. The hushed whispering continued as though oblivious to the faint creak of the hinges once I entered the room.  

The light from the hallway spilled into the dark room. Danni was sitting under the covers in the middle of her bed. The small outline of her head moved with urgency as she continued to murmur words that were incomprehensible to my ears. From the looks of it, she was alone. 

But then a second form slowly raised its head beneath the sheets, just a couple of feet away from Danni's.

I darted to the bed and snatched a handful of her sheet before yanking it out of the bed. Danni's back was to the door and she jerked her head at me, hair disheveled and all. The initial shock that marred her young face morphed to irritation when she realized it was me.

"Kuya! What the eff?!"

But I ignored her outcry as my attention went to the empty space beside her on the bed. No one's there. I switched on the lights to illuminate the dark shadows of her room. Nothing appeared to be out of place besides her school things and discarded uniform littering the floor. As an added precaution, I checked under her bed, wardrobe and behind the curtains (the window was locked from the inside too).