The Veil of Shadows

Chapter Two

When my alarm clock rang, I immediately got up. I took a shower and got dressed, then I went to Uncle Joseph's house. I met our other cousins who were also going hiking. I was especially excited because we are almost complete cousins.

We only traveled for a few minutes before we arrived at the mouth of the mountain. We got out of the car one by one and took our bags from the back of the car.

"Where's Amara?" Uncle Joseph asked when the tour guides were currently ordering us to Mount Puhon.

I raised my hand. "Here, Uncle!"

"Grandma Lourdes advised me to take care of you. Don't go away from me so come here, I don't want to upset your Grandma and maybe later she won't cook me my favorite chicken adobo," Uncle Joseph uttered.

I laughed because he even remembered his favorite dish of Grandma. Well, Grandma is a really good cook so they often eat at home.

"Hey, Ryan! Keep your distance from Claire. We know she's your girlfriend, but have mercy on us. Seriously? Right in front of me? Is everything by partner?" complained James, one of our cousins.

"If you're jealous, close your eyes. It’s just that easy," Ryan said.

We all laughed.

We started climbing the mountain. The soil on the mountain is good, it is not slippery, so hikers like us are safe. Our path is also clean, the overgrown weeds have been removed from the path. You won't see any plastic littering around either, which amazes me. This means that every hiker who comes here is well-disciplined. They don't let the mountain get dirty. We saw signs on our way, some were reminders not to throw garbage and others were directions on which way we should go. This mountain is very wide, so the posted directions are really helpful. We were satisfied that we would not get lost because we were accompanied by a tour guide to Mount Puhon. We will be with him all the way to the top and even back home.

"Wait, what kind of bird is that?"

We stopped walking when James spoke. We looked up in the same direction he was looking..

A big black bird was flying in the air.

I was nervous when my eyes met the bird. Am I the only one who noticed that the bird seemed to be staring at me? It's also surprising that it hasn't moved away from where it is. It just flies around us.

"I can't even figure out what kind of bird that is." The old man's tour guide spoke. "In the long time I've been a tour guide, I've only seen this now."

I still can't take my eyes off the bird.

I feel strange about this bird. It's like it's not just an ordinary bird. The look it gave us was terrifying. The appearance and actions seem like there’s a message behind that.

"Maybe it came from another country and got lost here. That's what often happens. I've seen many cases like that."

Uncle Joseph was right.

If it's not a Philippine bird, it means it's from a neighboring country. It traveled to get here.

We just ignore it. We saw many other wild animals. The mountain is also rich in tall trees. The trees give fresh air whenever they dance.

We did not continue climbing. We stop for a few minutes to rest. And every time we rest, my eyes catch the black bird we saw earlier.

Weird. It has been following us for a while.

I'm the only one who notices. My other cousins didn't care about that strange bird. To me, it was not just an ordinary bird.

We also spent some time walking and, finally, we reached the top. Darkness overtook us before arriving. That wasn't a problem because we had a rechargeable flashlight in our pocket. The surroundings were still bright.

My cousin, Ryan, was busy making a bonfire. Uncle Joseph was the one who built the tents for us to sleep in. My other female cousins and I were assigned to prepare the food. We laid down the mat in the middle of the tents that were standing and then took out the bags of food one by one.

We surrounded the dishes and then started to eat dinner.

While my cousins were talking and laughing, I couldn't sit comfortably. I feel like someone is watching me. I was looking around until I saw a tree. The black bird was on the branch of that tree. Until now, does it still follow us? This is no longer a coincidence. I feel bad for that bird. It has been watching me secretly for a while now.

"Wait, where are you going, Amara?"

In the middle of my cousins' conversation, I stood up.

“I'm just looking for a signal, Uncle. I'm just going to call Grandma to let her know that we're at the top of the mountain," I excused myself.

Uncle Joseph nodded. "Alright, but don't go away."

I walked to the tree where I saw the black bird. I am not afraid of such things, so I have the courage to find out what that strange bird really is.

I have passed many trees. I am now surrounded by huge trees. The surroundings are dark and only a little light reaches where I am. I forgot to bring my own flashlight. I only use the flashlight on my cell phone.

I'm on the opposite side of the tree. I surrounded the tree, but the black bird was gone. Where is that now?

I still haven't left the side of the tree, I’m observing the surroundings. It seems like many eyes are watching me now, coming from the woods. I tried to look for them, but it was very dark all around.

My feelings are not normal anymore. I guess Chandria was right, that there are many inexplicable things in this mountain.

I was about to return to where my cousins were when I was surprised by the sudden appearance of a black bird in front of me. Because of this, I didn't balance my stance and that's why I fell on the rock in front of the tree.

I just felt my body fall to the ground.

“Ouch!”

My elbow aches because of the scratch and wound I got.

Even though I fell badly, I still tried to get up. I need to get back to my cousins and see what other wonders I can get out of it.

I first shook my dirty knees and removed the dry leaves that stuck to my pants and shirt.

I sighed before standing up straight.

I was about to leave but before I could take a step, I seemed to be frozen in place when I saw the whole surroundings. I couldn't move my legs because of a mixture of nervousness and fear. I'm trying to find out if what I'm seeing now is real, if it's really happening to me?

I'm out of the woods. I am no longer on the mountain. I can no longer see my cousins.

It was an unfamiliar place that I had just seen.

Now, I see only people walking on the road wearing plain black outfits. Not only are their clothes arrogant, even their faces and actions, a sign that they are not just ordinary citizens. Do they belong to a feared group?

It's late and only a few streetlights are working.

It's so dark. It's scary.

I'm crying because I have no idea where this is.

"W-Where am I?"