• That Autumn Evening


    After I finished my study on the relationship of air, iron and water and my story called, “The Persistence of Memory”, I decided to take a trip to the province where I can see the beach and see the fields.

    Every day, I always go around here that everyone always smiles at me if I come back for a trip. My usual afternoon encounter is Aldrich who I met three years ago.

    He is a poor fisherman working two jobs though I don’t know what the other one is. He is also the son of the young English girl named Lieselotte who eloped with her lover from England and her bestial fiancé to all the way here. Even I was surprised that despite his foreign heritage, he enjoys living as a commoner!

    We usually go to the beach, the fields and the special place we call our own. When go to our very first destination, the kind married women on the beach usually calls our attention and the usual ‘lovebirds’ comment which always make Al blush. I can't believe they can say that even though I look like boy by the way I’m wearing and my short haircut.

    They always give me stories for inspiration on my novel and it also gives Al a good nap. He wakes up when he figured out that we buried him in the sand.

    Then we go to our special place, we see girls on the bridge, wishing for things that may or may not happen. As we walked on the only path through the fields, I was too mesmerized on the change of the fields after three years of absence. “You seem happy that you returned here,” he said. I smiled at him and said a simple ‘I am’. He smiled at me for no reason.

    Because of my clumsiness, I accidentally bumped to someone. “I’m sorry!” I quickly apologized. “Ah, who do we have here, son. How are you?” I accidentally bumped to Grandpa Mario or as we call him as the ‘man looking at the sun’ for his habit to stay outdoors from dawn till dusk.

    “Where are you going?” he asked. “We are going to the ‘Summer Steps’,” Al replied. “Ah, the place where this child named due to the summer plants living there, I can see why. I’m has been freezing for a while but be careful. I heard from folks that there is a haunted mansion there. They call it ‘the house of the hanged man’ because of there was a body of man who is hanged in that place,” he warned us which made me shivered to the bone.

    Al noticed me being uncomfortable so he said, “Gramps, I’m sure that stories you said are just stories and besides you scared Ray with one of your crazy stories.”

    “Well, see you then.” He walked ahead. He looked at me and smiled. “Don’t believe him. He just wanted to tell someone about that crazy tale.” I looked at him and his smile suddenly relieved him from my doubts. I smiled at him and suddenly I saw him blushed at me.

    Then, I asked him, “Are you okay?” He suddenly shook his head and replied, “It’s nothing.” Then, he quickly prepared his arm to escort me. “Shall we?” My face did it carefree smile and as placed my hand on his. “You have to try pleasing me, don’t you?” He wrapped our arms together as he replied, “Yes.”

    In the Summer Steps, “Ray, why didn’t you go here for the past few years?” he asked. “I was too busy in some work I have too,” I replied as I touched some of the flowers, then, I lay down.

    He sat near me and asked, “What can of work was it?” As I looked at the sky, I answered his question, “I never told you but I’m a writer …and also an artist, too.”

    “I see. Hey, did you hear about a young author in the age of fourteen came here is going to stay for the whole month?” He said. I smiled and stood up, “Well, I’m not surprised. I even know who she is.” “Eh? Who is she?” he asked. “You’re looking at her,” I replied. He suddenly panicked, “Eh? You’re that young author? But by the way you dress and the…?” I pulled his arms and told him, “Don’t mind the details!”

    After we saw the sunset, we were about to go back when a heavy rain suddenly poured on us. “This is the first time that it rained so hard this month,” Al said as his shield his head from the rain. “What an enigma of an autumn evening!” I shouted as wrapped my arms around myself. Al wrapped his arms around me and said, “Come on, Ray. Let’s go. We need to go and find shelter.” I try to look at him and I agreed.

    We were able to find an abandon house when the heavy rain turned into a storm and I was surprised that Al has a key to the place. Then, he dragged to me to a room and ordered to stay here no more what I do. I have no choice but to follow and then, he left me. I tried to stay calm but after a while, I really want to see Al already.

    I slowed crept away from my room towards another. As a loud thunder clasped, I subconsciously entered to another room. I slowly entered in the room and bumped something.

    “I’m so sorry. I ’m a bit clumsy…,” I quickly apologized but when the lighting flashed, I realized I was apologizing to a…no, twenty nude bodies, hanging from the ceiling. I would have screamed but instead, I walked over and fell backwards.

    As I heard the door opened, I saw Al carrying a rope. “Al?” I looked at the back. Before I knew it, he grabbed my wrists and pinned me to a wall. He suddenly spoke to me, “You know, Ray, you weren’t supposed to leave the room.” I shivered as I felt his breath on my skin of my neck.

    He was different. He wasn’t the Al I once knew. He wasn’t the warm, friendly, helpful and kind person I meet when I was eleven or when I arrived here. He“s cold and frightening. This Al was scaring me.

    I couldn’t look at him at the eye for the fear that he might hurt me or to do the worst of what I can imagine. I swallowed before I could say something. “Is this the second job you were doing? If it is then, why did these people did to you?”

    He lifted my chin so I can look at him directly at the face. “They were saying ‘bad’ things about you while you were away for the past three years and I couldn’t them let go with a fight….” “But you have no right take their lives...even if they said bad things about me” I pleaded. He let go off one of my wrist and wrapped it around my waist. He pulled me closer and started nipping my skin.

    “And now that you know what I do, what do you think am I going to do to you?” he asked. “I don’t know. Kill me?” I had a lot of doubt in my voice. “That’s crazy. I’m doing this all of you unless if you tell. Maybe not kill but something like that,” he answered as his attacked my neck and the storm isn’t helping me.

    “Just don’t say the word,” he whispered to my nearest ear, “but I will leave permanent mark on you just for you to remember that you are mine and mine alone.”

    To what happened next in this story of mine, I became caged bird because that one autumn night.