Monumento

I was working in an occult shop in Quiapo. I usually work until the shop closed and would then walk from there to the LRT station to avoid the crowd during rush hour.

One night while waiting for the train, I noticed that there were only a few passengers around. It was so gloomy that I needed to pause what I was doing to look around, caught in the surreal sense that everything was like a dream. My vision started to blur when suddenly a man tapped my back.

"Hi, pa-Monumento ka?" He asked with a wide smile. He's gay as his shiny red lips and rosy cheeks say so.

"Opo" I answered. I secretly scanned him and assumed that he was an office man or a call centre agent according to the suit he was wearing.

"Pwedeng pasabay? Takot kase ako mag isa." he exhaled, "well, alam mo na.." he continued.

I nodded.

"Thanks" he replied. That's exactly when the last trip of LRT came and stopped in front of us. I checked the time and it's 9:25 pm.

There were a few empty seats, I saw him sitting on the other side, facing the windowpane, watching the city lights with sad eyes.

It's a long quiet ride and the only thing that you can hear is the screeching sound of the wheel.

As we reached our destination, I saw him walking ahead of me. The first stairways have a sign

..."CAUTION...

...Stairwell Closed...

...Please Use Other Access"...

So I walked the other way passing the said stairs.

What frightened me was when I saw him through my peripheral vision pass through the concrete wall!

I wasn't that sure of what I saw so I walked home, went to bed and thought nothing scary about the incident.

However, the following weekend, at the same time, in exactly the same place, the same man, wearing the same clothes, asked me the same question with the same answer as I nodded my head to avoid talking to him.

It freaked the hell out of me when he actually headed the same stairway and passed through the wall once again. I swear I wasn't hallucinating because, unlike the last time, I watched him with my two wide eyes walking and passing through the wall.

I remember the charm necklace from the occult shop which my boss gave me, he said, I should be holding its pendant whenever I feel an uncanny sensation.

Upon holding the pendant, I turned back to him but I was horrified when his bloody face was just an inch away from my face!

His trembling voice whispered,

"Tulong. Ayoko pang mamatay.."

I closed my eyes as hard as I could and prayed for his soul. After a few minutes, his presence was finally gone.

-

I told the story to my workmates and it chills me out when they told me about the call centre agent who's been stabbed to death by a thief in that area.

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