Casa Del Unificado

Part III

The Casa took interest in the orphaned. They took them in as tools. Fire in the empty lot. Ritual. Burning. He knew he wasn’t the same person he was when he first entered the damned school. Panic consumed him and the school had turned into a labyrinth before his weary eyes. As he aimlessly searched for the exits of the school, his paranoia made him sense that someone was approaching him from behind. He quickly opened the door and locked himself in.

He grew even more restless. He trotted around the room, his hands couldn’t be put to place, fumbling as he stepped around the dim space. As he anxiously anticipated the outcome of his foolish investigations, he couldn't put himself to silence, especially that he had seen it all, heard it all, felt it all. Before he knew it, his ears began hearing the sounds of his disquieted mind, eerie melodies finally bursting out, as illusions came out in surreal details, deceiving his tearful restless eyes. No, he began to put both hands on his temples as his fingers fiercely pulled every strand of his once-was-neat hair. As if struggling for air, he began to breathe uncontrollably, his heart nearly drumming out of his chest, his uniform soaked in running sweat. He dropped on the floor like a paralyzed man.

“You,” the illusion said, its form began to change to something he thought was familiar. As his tired eyes refused to blink, he shook his head. He tried to speak, but his lips cowered in fear of the presence of a transformed illusion. Himself.

“You needn’t be afraid,” it continued.

“I-I want this to stop,” he said, stuttering between words. “P-please, help me.”

“Well then,” the illusion replied. “There’s one thing you need to do.”

What is it? He thought. His words couldn’t escape from his shaking mouth anymore.

“Tell me,” the illusory figure calmly walked toward his shaking body.

“What is your name?”

“W-what?”

“I believe you heard that one quite well,” the figure chuckled, tilting his head at him.

“I-,” he began speaking. He thought that it was an easy task for him. It was something that had long been his. But when he tried to utter them, he couldn’t put his words. My mind has failed me. For a while, he stopped to think for a moment. What was it? His eyes widened as he thought it out. For every second that passed by he became more hopeless. The deafening melodies that screams out inaudible words in his ears finally were clear. Where we all live in sync. Where we all live in sync. Where we all live in sync.

And it kept on repeating, without falter.

“I don’t, I-I don’t remember.”

The illusory figure stood there in front of him for a moment. A hint of grimness appeared on its face. From what he knew, the figure was standing there nearly a lifetime now.

“Again,” the illusory figure spoke once more. This time, its voice becoming louder, the screaming melodies in his mind began echoing illusion’s words. Again. Again. Again.

“Does the name Hugo Guevarra mean something to you?”

The troubled student sprawled on the floor, trying to get what the figure was trying to say. Who is it referring to? Whose name was it? I haven’t met that person in my life.

“No,” he said.

“Congratulations,” the figure said, its voice going back to a normal one, but his face grim.

“You are now a certified member of the Casa.”

The illusion disappeared in an instant, but the screaming mantra remained in his head, unwavering.

As the illusion left the scene, the student remained quiet, his whimpers barely heard from the room. He heard quiet footsteps dwindling from the door, as if someone was watching him the whole time. A silhouette that formed the shape of a young girl walked away from the scene. How dare you? As he tried to move his restless eyes to have a last glance, his surroundings had blurred. The last thought he had before closing his eyes was a feeling everyone feared. Regret.