Curse of the Hidden Place

Episode 16

Mattheo

It's another day of battling in problems of life.

Everytime the situation sinks in to my mind, I can't stop thinking about the people I love. How will my life would be without them.

Who have thought that we will experience this kind of crisis. No one thinks that it will possible.

All my life, I never wish to experience all the things that is only happened in the horror movie. I never wish for it.

As I look at Collin. I know she's okay but I see her sadness in her eyes. I know she missed her family so much.

I know I always tell her that I'm always here for her. My intention was clean but how will I tell her that I'm doing this because I like her.

I chooses to leave my family even if they are not infected. Instead, I chooses to stay at Collin's side.

Am I that bad? That I choose to look for Collin even if my adopted family is worrying for me!

I like Collin. I really like her. But how long will I keep this? How long will I keep my feelings for her.

"I'm drowning because of you, Mattheo." said Collin while looking at me.

She's sitting down beside me and looking at me.

Everytime she looks at me, my heart melts.

"What do you mean? I did nothing." I said.

"I'm drowning because of lot of things you are thinking right now." She answered.

I rubbed her eyes and fix her messy hair. She's still beautiful.

"You're still beautiful even when you look so messed up." I whispered.

She smirk and I just look at her.

"I heard it." She said.

"You said that I'm still beautiful even when my hair is messy and I don't have anything to put in my face." she added.

I smiled.

He stands up after she fix her hair.

"Let's go!" said the old man who's waiting for me and Collin to wake up.

He is sitting at the root of the tree.

"Come on! Let's go, Matth! We have lot of things to do." said Collin.

She hold my hand and I look in it.

"Why? Is there any problem?" She asked while raising her eyebrows at me.

"Nothing!" I answered then I smiled.

She walked and she's holding my hands.

We started to walk and we are just following the old man.

"Where are we going, Sir?" I asked while wlking and following him.

"We were going to the place where they found the curse. We will face it. But please, promise me that no matter what happen, we will never hurt her." said the old man.

I began to get curious about what is happening.

"Wait, did I heard it right, Sir Manoy? You said, Her? So the curse started in a girl? And why are you still care about her? Or that girl? You know, and we all know that she's a monster. She is the reason why we lost everything. Even our own lives is possibly put into danger!" I said while looking at him.

"Is there something that we need to know, Sir? Why I feel that it looks like there's something that you don't want to tell us." I added.

He didn't answer but instead, he continue to walk.

"We are still near from the place." he answered.

"The area is so big, so, I'm curious if once in your life, are you already get lost in here and can't find your way home? Because this place was full of trees so it's not impossoble to get lost here." I said.

"Sometimes, I can't find the way but I didn't give up until I find it." he answered.

I heard his deep sigh.

"How long did you live here, Sir?" asked Collin.

The old man turn his look at Collin before she answers.

"Sixty years. I've been here for sixty years. In sickness and in health. Even if there's a lot of problem come in my life, I never left this place. This is my home. Here is my home so even if I die, I want to die here. Not in somewhere else." said the old man.

I don't know what I should feel about him. A man who really loves his place. A man who never leaved, and a man who always be here. I salute him for not leaving a place who'm he was born. A man who never his promise.

"Where's your family, Sir Manoy? Why you choose to be alone?" Collin asked.

We rest for a while. Sir Manolo sit near to us but Collin sit beside me.

"Do you really want to know my story?" asked the old man while looking at Collin and I.

I saw he took a deep breathe before he start the story telling.

"It was 10th of July, year 2000 when I was born. We're not rich nor poor. We're at the middle state. I live in a simple life with a big dream. I want to be a doctor because I want to give my father, a another to survive because he's suffering from stroke. He owns hectares of corn and rice. after he got stroke, that was the start of changes in my life. I was the one who take over my father. I became the head farmer in our own farm. Because of that, I can't focus on my studies. What should I do! I'm always tired because of the farm and I don't have time even just to attend my classes. I decided to dropped out instead." he said while looking from a far.

"There is no trees here, before. It is full of establishments and housing. The lot area of all the houses here are big. If you will ask me what we call this place? We are called this as, Cityland. A city where you can find the most huge land in Cavite." he added.

"So this place is Cavite, huh! I knew it, Collin. We entered the wrong boundary!" I said while looking at Collin.

"So what happened next, Sir?" said Collin.

When I look at her, she looked so serious and interested to Sir manoy's story.

"I spend the rest of my life in our farm. And I still remember that, that time. I met someone and I'm so deeply inlove with her. She's so beautiful and kind. I courted her and later on, she become my girlfriend. At our first month we're okay but after she told about me and my family, Her parents didn't like me. But we really love each other, so we always find time to see each other. Until one time, her father saw me and he didn't hesitate to punch my face and hurt me. I don't know what should I do that time. And after a few days, the big problem who will dig me into pieces had come. My mother died in an unknown sickness and next is my father. I don't know what will I do. Everything is already done to me. And then someone told me that The parents of my girlfriend is the one who killed my parents. I'm so hurt that time so I won't hesitate to break up with her." he said and I saw him wiping his tears.

"She didn't accepted it then after a week, this place turned into a dark days. Most of the people got sick and that zombie invasion that you said? I already experienced it last, 2025. We battle through it for about, two to three months and at the end, my friends and I, decided to just burn this hoping that it will end the curse and we decided to permanently close the place." he added.

" I didn't expect that tge curse will happen again and it already affects the lives of all people in the world." he said while in tears.

" Wait, Sir! You don't have to tell us the whole story then. I know it's hard to accept but you have to. It's for yourself. For you to move on." I said.

I saw she smiled at me. Even if it's already a decades, I know it's still hit him and hurt with his past.

I just hope that we will find the cure soon so we could go back to our lives again.