May 14, 2011
03:17:51
New Beginning
The skies are veiled. Feather-like clouds descend like blankets of smoke over the horizon… as if the zonei had touched the earth. The winds were surprisingly elusive, yet, it was cold. So cold. Empty. Lonely. It was as if Death had caught me in a tight embrace.
The earth succumbed to darkness. For days the heavens cried of heavy downpours, wetting the earth. The sun and stars were cloaked in gloom while the leaves bowed to carry the weight of its tears. Flowers remain in buds concealing its color and scent; for these days were filled with gloom. Sigh! Even the guardians mourn with me…
My grandmother had just passed away a week ago and it never stopped raining ever since. She was my pillar of strength; a kind and loving parent who raised me like her own. She was practically my mother. I was the middle child in a brood of three. My mother thought she would never be pregnant again. But I came 10 years late. She can’t afford having a second daughter so she didn’t want anything to do with me. A year after I was born, she was blest with a son. And I was totally forgotten.
I was left under the care of my grandmother. She was a great family cook. I remember her manning the kitchen effortlessly as she turns each dish into great masterpiece. She said spices were gifts from Gods for men to wield wonders.
She lived through the war; and so, she never had education confined in classrooms. But she was full of wisdom; A wisdom that came with age. She often spoke in riddles with a soft smile. She told me that there were spirits guiding us everywhere... that they were bound to guide and protect our family, generations after generations.
My grandmother would make food offerings intricately wrapped in leaves on a ring of salt with each bountiful harvest. She would sit by the fire and make weird symbols by the hearth, humming a message on the smoke as it rose heavenward. I never really understood what it meant. Nonetheless, I was fascinated by its mystic.
She always told me that I was special… that I existed for a higher purpose and was meant for great things. Although I don’t really know for what purpose that was, those words comforted through the years…
When I was growing up, I would see moving shadows lurking in the dark. Spirits, creatures and beings I couldn't fathom or even name often visit my room. The things I saw were often overwhelming. There was a time I tried telling these encounters to my parents but they never believed me. I was “the girl who cried wolf,” they said. It was then I realized that whatever encounters I’ve had were best kept in silence for they will never understand. And I guess they never will.
My grandmother was the only one I can talk to about those encounters. She would listen to all of my stories with a faint smile on her face and pat my head lightly telling me it was okay.Now that she is gone I felt like a lost child in the abyss. The thought of losing her forever made me scared and alone all the more.
The skies are still dark. I looked at the old clock that was hanging on my bedroom wall that was screaming for a new paint. It was mid-day. Mid-day and yet it was dark. The sun hid itself among the clouds again, and these rainclouds are close to rapture… another mournful day.
I tried getting up. There’s much work to be done. I opened my windows hoping to get some sunlight but the whole place was covered in mist.
“Mist at mid-day?” I said in disbelief.
A wisp of smoke came in by my window. Slowly, it filled my room... I suddenly felt cold. I rushed back to my bed for cover. There were shadows in the mist. Then a man appeared by the shadows. He had grayish blue skin that glimmer in smoothness. His eyes were the blackest of black. He wore a golden band on his forehead and had angelic markings on his skin. The man was clothed in white shawl.
Were my eyes playing tricks on me again? I closed them tightly hoping to shake off the image before me. I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes. He was still there!
I was close to panic. The man looked at me with fondness. A smile formed from his lips. He didn’t say anything. But he spoke to me in my mind.
“Don’t be sad, child. We’ll take care of you. From now on, I’ll watch over you. I’ll be in your dreams tonight,” he said.
I blinked and he was gone. The fogs slowly faded away. I felt a shiver ran down my spine. Could I have just imagined him? I might be losing my mind and I just don’t it. I suddenly felt suffocated in my room. I picked up my jacket and hurriedly went downstairs.
I ran like mad with nowhere to go. I found myself panting in front of Blue Tango. The chimes chinked as I rushed inside the coffee shop. Addie, who was wiping the table counter, stopped halfway as I hurriedly walked towards him. His thick brows furrowed as I slumped on the stool by the bar.
“What’s up with you? You’re shaken,” he said as he handed me the menu.
I shooed his hand away. He knows my usual order.
“You wouldn’t believe what I’ve just been through,” I snapped back, blowing the unruly tangle of hair off my face.
“Obviously, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Try me,” he urged further.
I looked at him for a while, trying to check if he was making fun of me. Should I tell him? I searched his eyes to check if he was trying to make fun of me. But all I saw was his smug expression. The guy was a complete poker face. Our twelve years of friendship will now be put to a test.
I took a deep breath and decided to tell him what happened this morning: the mist, the apparition, his words and how he vanished into thin air when I blinked. Everything. I waited for his guffaw or nasty joke or anything but none came. He gave out a sigh and continued wiping the metal counters.
“That’s it? No nasty comments today. No devil antics?”I said.
He gave me a brief smile.
“I said I wouldn’t laugh. A promise is a promise.” He turned around and made my brew. He was holding my cappuccino when he got back.
“So what are you going to do now?” he said as he handed me my cup.
The scent of cinnamon assailed my senses.
“About what?”
“Well, that thing you just saw. Are you going to confront them?”
“NO! Nothing. What am I supposed to do? Dress in grass and dance like kali-kali just because I saw crazy things?!”
“Yomz, there’s no escaping being a witch. Might as well face it,” Addie whispered.
“What?! I didn’t say anything about being a witch. And I’m not. You’re even crazier than I am.”
“Five years ago, my mother told me before she died that someone would come to me for aid and I’d tell her the answers she seeks,” he said coldly. I was agape.
“I’m not asking for your help!”
“She said the Priestess will come and it is my task to guide her. That day has come,” he continued as if he never heard me.
“That is preposterous! I’m not a witch. I’m as normal as you do,” I snapped and pounded my fist, sending the coffee cup to bounce and roll off the counter. It fell. I looked away, expecting a crashing sound of broken porcelain that Addie will definitely offset to my bill. But none came. Nothing hit the floor. Instead, the cup floated in space then zoomed backward towards Addie’s hand in lightning speed.
”Who says I am? Well, I’m not!”
His eyes glowed like black marbles. A ball of flame formed in his hands. He was grinning like the devil. I’ve known him since forever. This can’t be him. This is not happening.
“Änd neither are you!”
Addie threw the ball of fire at me. Its burning flames were upon me. I’m going to burn and die. I buried my face in my hand on the counter while raising my left hand telling him to stop. I felt the heat of the flame on my face and my hand. Am I burning?
I looked at my left hand and the flame was floating in it. It was dancing in graceful swirl and it turned into bright white light. I held it in my palm, glimmering like diamonds. And poof, it was gone before I can even blink. I was left dumbfounded. When I looked at Addie, he was grinning like an idiot.
“You caught it, Priestess…tell me again about being normal.”
“What was that all about?”
“That, my dear, is just the beginning.”
