Episode 4

Callea’s hands were moving swiftly over the paper. She was focused while working on the drawing table with a little lamp as her light. The rest of the room was pitch dark. The night was silent and still. It was midnight. All she could hear were the cicadas singing in the night and the night birds hunting for food.

Nobody would think that her room was owned by a beautiful and comely lady. Perched on the wall are different sketches and paintings of scary creatures that would give people nightmares had they been alive. Two skeletons stood guard on both sides of her table. One was wearing an elegant wedding dress. Its skull has blonde curly wig topped with a white veil that matched the gown. The other skeleton was wearing a pirate’s garb complete with eyepatch, swish backsword, and a red bandana. It was a match made in heaven in her eyes.

While Callea was wearing a white night dress. Her straight long black hair flowed down her back. Some strands of her hair were covering her forehead. The strong scent of blood that stained her gown permeated her nose. She was not Callea anymore. She was Althea, an avenging white lady. She was a woman in the 80’s, a beautiful nursing student who fell in love with a doctor and got pregnant.

The image of a handsome man formed inside her head. His piercing eyes were so powerful as if it touched her soul. He was supposed to be Althea’s boyfriend He was rich and devastatingly handsome. He easily seduced the virgin nursing student and kept their relationship a secret. When Althea got pregnant, he refused to take responsibility because he was about to marry another woman who would do good for his family’s financial and social standing. He forced Althea to abort their child instead and died during the operation.

Gathering all her energy, she started sketching the man. Only to end up starting at the gorgeous sketch of Deive Hontiveros, her own fiance.

She snatched her breath.  “No!”

She snatched the paper with her sketch, crumpled it and threw it to her cat, Luna. It was playing with the papers that she crumped beforehand. All of it has sketches of Deive Hontiveros’ face.

She dropped her pencil in frustration and looked around the room. She pulled her hair and groaned. “Why does he keep on popping up on my drawings? I don’t even like him. I don’t like him.”

Callea was a graphic novelist for horror stories. She preferred writing at night where she was usually on the mood. As if the darkness was colluding with her, its secretive and mysterious energy allowed ideas to flow inside her head. It made her feel sane, her normal self. But for that specific night, she was not herself. As if she was insane and the night couldn’t deliver the inspiration she needed.

She started sketching for the new story in her mind. To get into the mood, she loved dressing up like the characters she created - from mermaids to fairy and evil witches. She loved cosplaying while working. That’s why her room was full of different costumes and she had files and discs of horror moves to motivate her more. She loved her white lady character, a woman who was forced to have an abortion by her boyfriend and died in the process. That’s why it had a full blood effect on her dress and skin.

Usually, being in character set her in the mood. She was particularly bothered tonight. After viewing Deive from afar, her story was in a disarray. She couldn’t focus on her work. The full moon was not effective anymore and her costume didn’t add an ounce of motivation to her.

“What’s missing?” Callea asked the skeleton couple standing on both sides of her desk. The two didn’t give her an answer. She got up from her desk and sat in front of her cat Luna that was busy playing with her balls of scratch paper. “Luna, why am I still thinking about Deive?” She put her palm on her cheek. Her heart was beating like crazy when she thought about his handsome face. “Why is my heart racing with the thought of him. What’s wrong with me?”

She had always been in control and she never had this kind of reaction to a human before. She was excited yet scared at the same time. She was more interested in anything gross, creepy, scary and grotesque. Those things helped her form her stories. Her fans loved it in return.

Deive was far from gross, creepy, scary and grotesque. He was more of a Prince Charming on a fairy tale. She hated fairy tales with a lovely princess and a handsome prince. Those are the things she was hiding and running away from. And she won’t fall for that fairy tale trap or crap.

She felt safer in the world of darkness. Because she learned that sometimes, Prince Charmings could be monsters.

So, how could she overcome this awesome obstacle?

An idea clicked inside her head. “I know just what do, Luna. Let’s play the piano.”

Her cat was restless when she lifted it out of the room. She promised Marina that she won’t leave her room wearing one of her costumes, won’t play the piano and won’t bother anyone of the night.

But she won’t be at peace if she couldn’t feel the piano keys under her fingers. She needed the music to set her in the mood. She won’t’ be able to write at all if she won’t play music tonight. It was her only chance so she could focus on her story and get her back on track.

Luna meowed in protest and tried to scratch her skin so she would let it go. But she kept a tight hold on the poor cat and shushed it. “Shhhhh! Be quiet, Luna. Just let me play. Just one piece and it will be over.”

With the help of the moonlight, she carefully tiptoed down the living room where the grand piano was. She felt excitement course through her veins as she lifted the lid of the piano. The moment she sat down the piano bench, the old grandfather clock chime and the sound resonated at the whole mansion.

It was twelve midnight.

A smile curved on her lips. “Perfect!”

Deive woke up to the booming sound of the old grandfather clock. It was deafening in the silence of the night. In horror films, it served as a warning that nocturnal and scary creatures are out to roam at night - from white lady, a beheaded priest, cut-off arms that had a life of its own and many more.

He took off his shirt then laid facedown on the bed. He didn’t give a freakin’ fuck if those creatures wanted to scare people. He just wanted to go back to Dreamland. He was so tired and the horror stuff was the last thing he wanted to worry about.

The cold of the night was starting to lull him back to sleep when he heard the sound of the piano. He let it pass at first on the first new notes. Maybe it was just his imagination. Who would dare play the piano in the middle of the night?

After a few moments, the note formed melancholic music yet hair raising music. He suddenly jolts awake. He couldn’t sleep at all. That song kept on ringing inside his head.

“I’ll be damned!” he uttered and felt goosebumps form all over his body. He remembered the horror film he watched as a kid where a severed bloody hand was playing the piano in the middle of the night.

He remembered the stories a while ago at the stored along the road. Villa Celesta was haunted. Not even the bravest could stay there for long.

He stood up and took the flashlight on the bedside table. He mustered all his courage. He didn’t believe in ghosts. And he would prove that there were no such silly things. It was just formed by wild imaginations. If Callea and Marina who were both women could stay in the house and be not frightened at all, then he could do it as well. He was a man. A real man. He was not scared. He could face everything. He won’t be defeated by ghosts… if there was any.

He slowly walked the quiet and dark hallway of the mansion. He didn’t bother with the slipper because it might squeak and create noise. The wood was cold under his feet. Maybe the music was coming from the entertainment room. According to Marina, there was a television set and a modern sound system inside that room. He must give credit to the entertainment system then. It was like listening to a piano concerto. Right. Maybe it was Callea’s lullaby.

He calmed a bit with the thought. Perhaps he would buy her a music pod so only she could listen to her music. It won’t bother him anymore whenever she wanted to play her unearthly playlist during midnight. It almost turned his experience into a horror fright night.

Right. It was just some silly entertainment system music. Maybe he would just lower the volume. If Callea was fast asleep, perhaps she won’t mind.

He was near the stairs when the music stopped. Holding the banister, he saw a woman with long hair and wearing a white nightdress walking out of the mansion.

He moved down the stairs with. Did he really saw that woman or it was just an imagination? The piano’s lid was open. The bench was a bit far from the piano itself as if someone sat there and played the music.

“Luna! Luna!” called the woman with a melodious voice.

His eyes strayed to the open door. The woman’s voice was coming from the garden. He stepped towards the door.

According to Marina, he must not pay heed to whatever he hears. It means he knew about the mystery in the house. His resolve became stronger. He must discover that mystery. He was already here. He had no plans to turn back.

As he stepped outside, he was faced by the looming shadow of what seemed like a menacing creature, guarding the night and ready to attack him and eat him whole. He stepped back and held his pounding chest. He nearly ran back inside while screaming the house down. But he calmed down when he realized that it was just a huge old tree. The head of the tree with the hollow of the branches made it look like a monster. The extended branched made it look like its extended arms.

“It is just a tree,” Deive breathed. Just a harmless tree. Of course, what would an innocent tree do to hurt him? He was safe.

He heard the woman’s voice again. “Luna, where are you? Please come back. Don’t hide from me.” It sounded like she was worried and about to cry.

He made a few steps and saw a woman. It was the same woman wearing the white gown awhile ago. She was standing under the tree.

He walked to her direction. His head was telling him to turn tail and go back to the safety of his room. But her voice was beckoning him to come closer and there was nothing he could do about it.

She looked vulnerable while the wind was blowing her dress and her long straight hair. Her cries resonated through the night. It looked like the cold of the night didn’t bother her a bit with her thin nightdress. The moonlight bathed her body as if it was comforting her.  How he envied the moon.

It was like a fairy tale. He had never met someone like her before who arouse his curiosity right away. Perhaps he felt the sadness and worry in her voice. He hated to see a woman cry.

He stopped just a few steps away from her. “Miss, are you okay?”

Deive heard her breath hitch. She hid behind the tree right away. Did he frighten her? Did she think that he was a bad guy? Then he remembered that he was only wearing his pajama and none on top. He was on a hurry to check the music a while ago and he forgot to dress up.

He scratched his head. This was the first time that a woman got scared of him. He was used to women fawning over him, ready to devour him in his half-naked state. And they couldn’t get their hands off him.

He tried to explain. “Miss, wait. No need to be scared. I am not a bad guy. Just tell me if I can help you with anything. Who is Luna? Who are you looking for?”

And who was this woman? Maybe there were other people in the house aside from Marina and Callea. They just didn’t inform him so it won’t bother him.

He heard a purring sound. “Luna!” the woman exclaimed in glee. She followed the sound of the cat and pick it up from between the bushes. “You shouldn’t have run away. What if someone takes you away from me? You got me so worried.”

He hated cats but he wanted to see the smile on her face. He followed her. When she heard her footsteps, she stood up and hid behind the other side of the tree. She was deliberately avoiding him.

“Miss, I won’t get mad at you even if you bring a cat or whatever. Don’t be scared.”

“What are you doing here?” she seethed in a menacing voice.

He walked a bit towards her. “I heard someone playing the piano so I decided to check it out. Were you the one playing the piano? If you want to keep it a secret, I won’t tell.”

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