400 Days After Fina

Day 484

400 Days After Fina by JellOfAllTrades
Chapter 28

The wind was whipping my hair to my face and despite my many attempts to push it back, it kept going to my face. Deciding it's time to cut my hair, I looked around for a pair of scissors but found a hair tie instead. I picked it up and pulled my hair into a ponytail. After that, I realized I'm in Fina's hospital room but she's nowhere to be found.

The bathroom was empty and there's no one in the hallway, even the nurse's station is empty. I wandered around until I heard a rhythmic squeaking outside the hallway windows. On the playground downstairs, someone wearing a hospital gown is on the swing.

I made my way downstairs, taking two steps at a time. When I got to the courtyard, I carefully approached the girl on the swing, breathing deeply to calm my heart's erratic pounding.

"Jellane?" She called out but I can't make out her face.

"Fina?"

To my horror, when the girl lifted her head, she had no face. It's like looking at an unpainted figurine, the curves and structure are there, but the eyes, nose, and lips are lifeless shapes on flesh. And yet, I was sure she's Fina based on her hairstyle and body structure.

"Jellane?" Her voice is shaky and she sounded like she's speaking through a radio. "Jellane, punta tayong playground?"

I winced when a loud ringing started to fill the cold night air. The trees around the courtyard started to sway wildly as if the ringing was making the branches dance.

"Jellane?" Fina's voice tried to cut through the ringing but it failed, her voice sounding like a dying radio in the distance. She raised her hand to reach for me but I was dragged away by an invisible force. I tried to fight back, to return to Fina and somehow see her again, but the ringing kept getting louder, the trees swayed violently with it and I was eventually swallowed by the darkness.

I opened my eyes to the crack of dawn spilling through my bedroom window. The usual hum of the Manila traffic outside is drowned out by the annoying ringing on my bedside table. I realized I've been dreaming again and rolled to my side to pick up my phone.

Angel Mercadejas calling...

I answer the call, my eyes still half-closed. "Hello?"

"Good morning," Angel's cheery voice greeted.

"Good morning," I mumbled.

"Tulog ka pa?"

"Oo,"

"Nasa labas ako ng condo mo,"

Her words woke me up and I sat up straight. "Ano?"

"Nasa labas ako ng condo mo." She repeated. "Kanina pa ako nagdodoorbell kaso tulog na tulog ka naman, di ka magising."

"Seryoso?" I got up and hastily made my way to the living room. True enough, when I opened the door, Angel was outside in the hallway, her phone pressed to her ear. She smiled widely at me, dropping the call and pocketing her phone.

"Sa wakas nagising ka din! Kanina pa ako dito!"

She's wearing a plain white t-shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Aside from the shoulder bag she uses for work slung on her left shoulder, she's also carrying a reusable shopping bag.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I groaned, conscious of my unkempt appearance. I checked the empty hallway in case Jaime's hiding before opening the door wider to let her in.

Angel's eyes lit up, dropped her work bag on the table, and then continued to the kitchen. "Di ako makatulog kagabi kasi nagi-guilty ako sa nangyari sayo kaya naisip kong ipagluto ka na lang ng breakfast."