Forget Me Not

Chapter Seven

RICO put down the last bottle of Strong Ice he was drinking as he began to feel drowsy. He was alone in their house because his entire family, including the maid, went to their resthouse in Zambales to visit his sick grandmother. They would be coming back tomorrow. He felt frustrated because he invited the boys to drink with him, but they declined his invitation. Perhaps everyone was tired from the long journey back from Melissa's place.

He let out a deep sigh as the realization once again hit him that Melissa was really gone.

"I'm sorry, Melissa..." he said sadly, unable to hold back his tears. Everyone was taken aback and hurt by what happened.

He stumbled as he stood up from the minibar. Making sure the entire house was securely locked, he proceeded to his room upstairs.

However, he was slightly startled on the stairs when he noticed someone on the landing at the top of the second floor. If he hadn't held onto the banister, he would have surely fallen in surprise. He knew his vision wasn't clear anymore because he had already consumed four bottles of beer. But he was certain of what he saw on the landing.

A woman in a white dress passed by swiftly. It was quick, but he caught a glimpse of her long, jet-black hair.

He felt as if he was splashed with cold water, and it seemed to sober him up. Being alone in the house intensified his fear.

Who did he see?

He doesn't know if he will continue to go up. He seemed to be frozen in his position. He felt the sudden beads of cold sweat on his forehead.

But he couldn't just stay there. He gathered his courage and continued to step forward. However, he stumbled downwards when suddenly, three consecutive honks came from outside. Fortunately, he had only climbed three steps because if he had climbed more, he would have surely rolled down the stairs in surprise.

He tried to stand up. The fear he felt earlier was replaced with anticipation. Rico thought that perhaps his family had come home early.

The car outside honked three times again.

Despite his unsteady walk, he hurriedly reached for the key on top of the fridge and quickly went out to the front of the house to open the gate.

However, what greeted him was not the familiar black Montero he remembered.

But a black hearse instead!

A wave of nausea hit him as he felt his knees buckle. He wanted to believe it was just his imagination—maybe the alcohol was playing tricks on his mind—but the coldness in the air and the eerie stillness outside made everything feel too real. Dugal, the neighbor’s dog, barked incessantly as if trying to warn him, its growls mixing with the eerie silence of the night.

He took a cautious step back, his hand trembling as he clutched the key. The hearse was parked there as if it had been waiting for him all along. Its windows were dark, and yet he felt as though a hundred eyes were staring at him from within. A shiver crawled down his spine as the engine idled, purring like a predator waiting to pounce.

Rico’s breath came in ragged, uneven gasps. He remembered Melissa’s lifeless face in her coffin and the weight of grief that clung to their circle of friends. “Melissa... is that you?” he whispered, his voice barely rising above the sound of his own heartbeat. The question hung in the air, unanswered and trembling.

Suddenly, the driver’s window slowly rolled down. A cold breeze wafted through, carrying with it the scent of decaying flowers and something else—something that made his stomach churn. In the darkness, he could just make out a figure in the driver’s seat, but the shadows obscured any details. He tried to call out, but no words came; his voice seemed caught in his throat, paralyzed by a fear he’d never known.

Before he could react, the hearse’s engine roared to life, and with an agonizing slowness, it began to drive away. Rico’s legs finally gave out, and he fell to his knees, the key slipping from his grasp. He watched helplessly as the vehicle disappeared into the darkness, the air still thick with dread and the sense that something far worse than grief had been unleashed upon them.