Ghost Girl

Haunt # 12

Haunt # 12

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"No such luck," disappointed na sabi ni Vladimir after our Hunt in La Soianna Manor.

Hindi naging productive ang Hunt namin for today. Wala kaming bagong natuklasan kaya Benedict decided to call it a day na lang. Umalis na sila ni Vladimir at paalis na rin dapat kami ni Wesley noong bigla akong hindi matahimik.

"Saan ka pupunta?" Wesley asked as he followed me pabalik sa La Soianna Manor.

Hindi ako sumagot. Naka-lock ang gate ng manor, pero nagpagawa ako ng duplicate copy ng mga susi. Binuksan ko ang gate at pumasok sa loob.

"Mandy," tawag ni Wesley at hinawakan ako sa braso.

Tumingin ako sa kanya. "Hindi ako matahimik eh. I don't like unproductive Hunts. Feeling ko hindi ako makakatulog tonight kapag wala akong nagawa today."

He stared at me for a while before nodding. "Sige, sasamahan kita."

"You don't have to," I told him. "Puwede ka namang umuwi na."

"And leave you here? No."

I shrugged. "Your call. You brought your flashlight ba? Kasi I'm sure madilim na sa loob ng manor," I said. Wala naman kasing kuryente o tubig sa loob ng manor at iyon ang pinakadahilan kung bakit umaga ang Hunt namin.

He nodded and pulled out a flashlight from his bag while I pulled out one from mine. Noong nabuksan ko na ang front door ng manor, pumasok kami sa loob.

Ibang-iba ito kapag gabi. It's... really, really creepy.

It's a perfect scene of a haunted manor. Tipong walang engrandeng mga bagay ang bubungad sa'yo, but eyes in the paintings that will stare and follow you habang ine-explore mo ito.

Nakakakilabot.

And I love it.

Pakiramdam ko ay sobra-sobrang euphoria ang nasa dibdib ko ngayon. I excitedly scanned the ballroom, staring back at the invisible eyes in the paintings that were probably staring at me.

Tinapik ko si Wesley. "'Di ba doon sa taas, 'yung mga paintings ay puro imahe ng babaeng umiiyak? Do you think iisang babae lang 'yun?"

Tumango siya. So pareho pala kami ng iniisip.

"Eh 'yung mga 'yan?" I asked, pointing at the paintings in the ballroom. "'Yung nasa paintings na 'yan na parang may hinihintay? Kahit nakatalikod siya, 'di ba parang iisang tao lang 'yan?"

Wesley nodded again.

"Do you think these paintings were painted by the same artist?"

For the third time, he nodded again. "At ang imaheng nasa mga obrang iyan ay ang mismong maestro," he said, shrugging. "In my opinion, anyway."

I stared at him. "You, too? I thought so din kasi eh."

He seemed to smile at me amid the darkness of the ballroom. "Then we're in the same wavelength of thought."

I stared again at the paintings. "Hindi talaga ako mapakali eh. I mean, normal ba for an artist to paint something like these? Kasi when you paint something like these pieces, it's either product of fantasy ang mga iyon or you're painting someone else or..."

"Or you're painting yourself and your emotions," he finished.

"Sa tingin mo, si Seraphina de Saavedra kaya ang nasa paintings?" I asked dahil wala kaming nakitang kahit na anong file naglalaman ng larawan ni Seraphina de Saavedra, the last known owner of La Soianna Manor.