Yell Of Whispers

YELL OF WHISPERS PART 2

A child.

A little girl.

I closed my eyes and prayed. Maybe it's like what happened earlier this afternoon.

"Hija, what are you doing here?"

I suddenly snapped out of it at the familiar voice. It was Manang Ekang.

"I heard a loud noise here. Then the food in the fridge got scattered---." I stopped as I looked at the scattered food. "W-wait! Where are they?" I exclaimed.

The mess suddenly disappeared, and when I looked back at the fridge, the items were neatly arranged.

Manang Ekang chuckled at my reaction. "You still remember. When you were a child, you used to come here to eat when everyone was asleep." Her words caught me off guard.

"Huh? Why can't I remember?" I asked in confusion.

"I thought you had changed that habit," she said with a smile.

I remained silent, staring at Manang Ekang, until the light in the living room flickered, causing me to look there. I took a slight step back, only to realize that Manang was already in front of me. The smile on her lips remained, slowly widening.

Fear gripped me in that moment. I tried to step back, but I couldn't move. I glanced at my waist, feeling as if something was holding me there.

My eyes widened as I saw two hands from there.

A child's hands.

I slowly saw its arms wrapping around my waist. I gasped. I wanted to scream out of fear and anxiety, but it's like my voice disappeared. Its embrace tightened, and that's when I could finally move. I struggled against its small arms, but it still didn't let go. It was tight, but it didn't hurt me. I was just really scared.

My eyes searched for Manang Ekang. She suddenly disappeared when the child appeared.

Tears streamed down my face. I didn't know what to do.

I felt the child release its embrace. I sat down and covered my face with my hands, crying uncontrollably.

"Can't you handle it anymore?" I paused my crying when someone whispered in my left ear. It was a familiar voice. A woman's voice. It wasn't Manang, I was sure. I just couldn't figure out whose voice it was.

"Are you just going to cry?" another whisper came from my right ear, sounding like the first one.

I covered both of my ears.

"I won't leave you."

"I'm always by your side."

"Because you are..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed to cut off whatever she was about to say.

She burst into loud laughter. It was chilling laughter.

"Enough. Enough. ENOUGH!" I repeated over and over again.

"You can't escape. Hahahaha."

"We're friends, right?"

She kept repeating those phrases to me like a broken record. Whispering but deafening.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed again. And I shut my eyes tightly.

"Hija! Hija! Kakai! Wake up!" I jolted awake as I felt someone shaking me.

"Manang?" I uttered.

I looked around. I was back in my room.

"What's happening, dear?" she asked with concern, gently stroking my head. "Did you have a bad dream?"

I just nodded at Manang Ekang in agreement.

I took a deep breath and released a sigh to calm myself down. Manang Ekang quickly left the room and returned with a glass of water.

Dream? It was just a dream. It felt so real though.

I've been here at our old house for three days now. I came back to distance myself from my current life, but it seems like things are even worse for me now. I still hear strange and contrary-to-reality things, especially when I'm alone. However, it's not like in my dream before. They're subtle sensations.

There are times when I feel like someone is stroking my hair, then suddenly it disappears. In the afternoon, I hear footsteps running outside the house, back and forth, until it stops. I just pray whenever I feel that way again.

I feel the soothing flow of water cascading over my body, luckily not too cold to require heating. I also brought my cellphone into the bathroom and placed it in a dry spot. I want to break the silence inside aside from the sound of water.

As soon as I opened my music playlist, "I'm OK" by iKON started playing.

"Oh great, Shekai! You're getting all sentimental in the bathroom," a part of my mind teased.

Even though I don't fully understand the exact meaning of every lyric in the song, I know it's a sad one. Especially the way iKON sings it. I've read the English translation before, and I think this song might just be for me too.

It's exhausting to keep saying that I'm okay in front of other people, even though deep down, I know I'm not. Trying to understand what's happening to me has become tiresome, so I don't hesitate to tell others. How can others understand me when I can't even understand myself?

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard a chuckle behind me. Despite the loud music playing on my cellphone, it was still audible. I couldn't move from where I stood. I was waiting to see if it would happen again. iKON's song continued to play in the background.

"s**t!" I cursed in my mind as a sudden chill ran down my spine. My hair stood on end with fear, as if it would suddenly spread throughout my entire body.

I'm OK,

don't worry

Don't try to analyze it

You'll be alone for a moment,

flftlxryyurqd~~~~

"The song glitched, s**t!"

I heard the chuckle again. It sounded like a child being tickled. It was another apparition. So, I decided it was best to close my eyes and pray earnestly. Slowly, the bathroom's presence returned to normal, as it was when I entered, and the song was nearing its end.

I thought it was over. I was surprised when the song suddenly played again. Its tempo accelerated, especially during the chorus, repeating over and over again, especially the words "I'm OK." I couldn't even wipe my hands when I suddenly grabbed my cellphone. I trembled as I held it, trying to stop the song, but it wouldn't. I ended up throwing it somewhere, replaced by loud giggles of a child. I quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself, then rushed out of the bathroom. It wasn't a long run, but I was panting heavily when I reached my room. Manang Ekang went to the market, so I'm alone here now.

What's going on with this house? Why do these occurrences happen? I've never believed in ghosts, perhaps because I've never experienced seeing one. When my friends tell stories about their "ghost encounters," I laugh at them because it's not real, right? Seeing is believing, after all. But with what's happening to me now, it seems like I'll have to break that belief. And I might go crazy.