Since hapit naman kalag-kalag, share lang nako ako experience sa Oriente few years ago. After work sa BPO nya gauwan, that's when I saw her sa Colon Oriente. It was 1 AM, and the streets were unusually quiet, just sounds of jeepneys and the shuffle of vendors packing up. Pero lahi ang hangin that night. The cold air, heavy kaayo, and the streetlights flickered erratically, murag naay distorted shadows on the wet pavement.

As I neared the old cinema, I felt it before I saw her, something cold, unsettling. My skin prickled, mura’g dunay mata nga nagtan-aw sa akong likod. And then, under the last working streetlight, I saw her. She stood there, motionless, a frail, old woman. Her dress was worn thin, hanging limply from her niwang na frame, and her disheveled hair swayed ever so slightly in the breeze, though there was no wind.

Walay ni tagad niya. But her black, hollow eyes were staring right at me. Diritso gyud. I felt like I was being pulled into something deep, tugging at my chest, making it hard to breathe. I wanted to look away, pero mura’g gi force akong mga mata sa iyang nawong. The longer I looked, the more I felt nga dili ni normal.

I tried to move, to step away, but my legs wouldn’t respond. A sharp, icy coldness crept up from the pavement, gripping my feet. The street seemed to stretch, the distance between me and that old woman growing, bisan pa nga naa ra siya sa atubangan. Her lips didn’t move, pero murag naa ko’y nadungog, a faint whisper, raspy, like the wind dragging through dead leaves. But it wasn’t her voice, more like something all around me.

Nya kalit, loud nga tingog echoed as a motorcycle sped past, its engine, naguba ang eerie silence. My heart jumped, the sound breaking the spell. I blinked hard, my body jerking back into reality. In that instant, I glanced toward where she stood, pero wala na siya. She was gone. Not a trace. Not even a shadow.

Since that night, Colon Oriente has never felt the same. Every time I walk past that old cinema, ang akong mga tiil mulihok gyud, bisan pa wala koy plano nga mudagan. Murag naa pa gihapon siya diha, waiting, just beyond the light.

What's your stories?