Three O'clock

May 2006.

It happened on the night of my last day at EYP. After talking to my mom about what happened at the office while we are having dinner, I went straight to my room and tried to sleep. Pero ‘di ako makatulog agad kaya nagbasa muna ako. Nakatulugan ko na ‘yung binabasa ko sa sobrang pagod siguro – kaiisip. I was a little depressed because of losing my job, but I felt “free”.

Mahimbing ang tulog ko, as usual. Pero bigla akong nagising. Gising talaga. I felt like someone woke me up. I reached for my cellphone to check the time, it was 3:00 AM. After reading an SMS, I tried to sleep again. Tumagilid ako, nakatalikod sa pinto, nakaharap sa pader. Had this strange feeling that someone’s watching me from behind. Hindi lang pala nakatingin. Parang papalapit sa ’kin. Parang “Ayan na! Ayan na!”, ganun ang nararamdaman ko. And I smell something…strange. It smells like something is burning. Then I felt something really cold passed thru my back. It was rockin’ me literally and I can’t move. My eyes are open but I can’t see anything aside from the wall – it’s like it’s swaying. I tried to shout and call for help but I can’t. Hindi ako makapagsalita. Then, I prayed. Hard. After a few seconds, it stopped. I was in shock. I didn’t know what to do. Tumayo ako agad, mabilis. Then turned on the lights. I looked at my bed but didn’t see anything. Bubuksan ko na sana ‘yung pinto to wake up anyone I can talk to, pero natakot ako na baka kung ano ang makita ko sa labas ng kwarto. Good thing, my aunt’s room and my room has wood division. Kaya kinatok ko siya ‘dun. Sabi ko “Tita, buksan mo ‘yung pinto mo!”. When I heard her open her door, saka lang ako lumabas ng kwarto. She said “Bakit anung nangyari? Bakit ang putla mo?” I remember that I can’t even say a word. I’m shakin’ and I feel really cold. We went to my mom’s room because my aunt didn’t know what to do. Then I told them what happened. My mom went to my room to check. I didn’t want to go with her – that’s how scared I was. When she get back to me, she found the crucifix (that hangs at my bedroom wall) on the floor. It was broken. My mom is very religious. Kumuha siya ng holy water and nagpray habang winiwisikan ang kwarto ko.

After a few minutes, I fell asleep in my Ate’s room. Nagising ulit ako. Pero this time, someone grabbed my feet. Whatever it is, it is really cold. Nagulat sila lahat. Sabi ko sa kanila ayoko muna matulog. I looked at the clock and it was around 3:30AM.

I didn’t sleep in my room for a week. And since then, I always keep the lights on when sleeping. Kasi everytime na patay ang ilaw, nagigising ako ng 3AM. Sakto 'yun. And ‘di na ko makakatulog ulit. I didn’t understand everything that happened until I saw the movie “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”. The smell, and the time. Now I know. And I remember na hindi ako nakapagdasal before sleeping nung night na ‘yun.

What a coincidence. Before I started writing this, I looked at the clock in my computer - guess what time was it?