BEYOND INFERNAL: The Divine Soldiers of The Living and The Dead

11 - Absurdity

I hopped my way down to the dining, saw mama setting the table for lunch and decided to help her.

"Where are the boys?", I asked while grinning and saw that she was a bit shock with my behavior.

"Still in the front yard honey, they're planning a fishing trip."

"Oh! I see..", fishing trip, that's why papa was fixing his old fishing gear.

Wait, he must have gotten those from the attic. Then I remembered what happened to me there before I went to Manila - the old chest, the papers, the bullet, the stone, the blinding light and I passing out. I remembered how I looked at the chest curiously and that seemed so familiar. The girl from my dream just before my birthday was also looking curiously at that chest, why did I just realize that now.

But that chest was full of trash, blank journals and blank papers, but then there's that drawing of triquetra, and the stone that rolled in the middle of my pendant, then that bright flash of light.  Bright flash of light, just like the one Ram saw when he was baptized? No no no that can't be - it's just plain coincidence.

Coincidence twice in a row, I wonder? First the meadow from my dream, now the bright lights from my reality. It really happened right? I really saw that blinding light. I shook my head in confusion – I’m beginning to mix dreams from reality, this isn't good. Was it as real as I remembered? I should probably let Ram know. He's the only one who can help me now -- maybe figure this out.

"Hey! Hey!", I was suddenly separated from my thoughts because I heard my brother. When I focused my mind, I realized that he was swaying back and forth in front of me. He was goofing around. What has he eaten these days? He seemed like the old Carlo.

"You're really freaky sister.---" and he grinned at me still swaying back and forth. "---mama! Have I told you that Thea slept in the attic? That's how freaky she is."

Oh! So it did happened, I really passed out in the attic because I saw the blinding light. For some reason it made me smile.

"You find that amusing sister?", Carlo said in his surprised tone as if that wasn't what he expected to see. I changed my smile into a frown, trying to tease him by showing him what he wanted to see and he laughed.

"Hahaha. Moody!", he announced. Wait, what? I remembered you shouting your heart out at me the day before I left and now it seemed like you completely forgot everything. It's like he has a selective amnesia.

"Look who's talking!", I smirked at him.

"Don't make the food wait", papa George firmly said.

We sat down and began to dig in our lunch. I sent a text message to Ram asking him if he could come over. I planned to show him the chest in the attic; maybe he could shed some light for me.

Of course I almost lost my control - it was my favorite dish and I heard my brother whispering his all time favorite tease "Pig".

I just stuck my tongue out at him and continued eating and he laughed at me. It was as if, Carlo from four years ago was back. What had happened in a week that I wasn't here? Maybe he missed me - naaah, that's a negative possibility.

"You have a sunny mood today, Althea. It's been quite a while since I saw you like this. Is there a reason for that?", mama Elena has a keen-eye for her children – most moms are right, especially to me because most of the time she worried about my behavior. I nodded in response to her.

"Oh my gosh, did you met someone in Manila? Tell me!", mama squeezed my hand in delight (I think), she has her eyes looking wide openly at me and as if trying to hold her breath in excitement.