"I've been passing this way for decades, you think I've never even once looked up?" Chris answered without even looking at her
"Well, have you?" She curiously asked. To Cecilia, it was such a simple question, but to Chris, it was difficult to answer, since the truth was that not once did he look up at the stars. "Why don't you stay for a while and let's go stargazing?"
"I'm going back to my quarters. I suggest the rest of you do the same." Chris walked away from the three without saying another word.
Chief Murillo also bid farewell and headed to her quarters. Cecilia leaned on the rails, looking at the still waters of the Kasanaan. "Are you not going to rest, Miss Bermudez?" Chief Bustamante asked with concern
"Why is the captain so rude? I mean, I know why, Martinez told me. He's just so frustrating," Cecilia frowned, propping her chin above the rails.
"I apologize on behalf of the captain. But please believe me, he is kinder than he lets on," Bustamante explained cryptically.
Cecilia sighed, knowing it was true. "I know, but he's just so annoying!" she pushed with her questions.
Bustamante sighed as he leaned on the rails as well. "He just distances himself because he lost so many people through the years." He paused for a while. "That is why he is avoiding making meaningful connections with anyone."
"Isn't that unfair on his part?" She continued to watch the waters. "I don't know how he keeps his mind intact."
Chief Bustamante did not reply immediately. "You know, Miss Bermudez, the impossible yields...."
Cecilia's impression of the captain somewhat softened. "I think I heard this one before. If the heart dares, the impossible yields."
The Chief Officer raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did your father tell you that?" Bustamante courteously asked, but Cecilia shook her head. "Your grandfather, perhaps?"
Ceclia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't remember who told me that, I just do."
"That was a saying from my family." Bustamante straightened himself, smiled at Cecilia, and afterward sauntered away.
"Lived a very long life to experience nothing but loss," Cecilia repeated in her mind. "It's so sad, no wonder he's an asshole."
Cecilia's voice floated through the air, humming a poignant tune that reached the captain's dreaded cabin. Chris awoke as the portraits ceased their lamentations. He stood up from his chair and stepped outside, following the sound as if it were a siren's call. Leaning over the railing that overlooked the golden deck, he beheld Cecilia singing. Her enchanting voice enveloped him in tranquility, making his worries melt away. In that moment, the light returned to his eyes, and for the second time since her arrival, a smile appeared on his face.
Back in the Mortal Plane, the moon hung like a sickle in the inky sky, casting its pallid glow upon the looming concrete structures of Manila. Inside a small house, chaos reigned. Shadows danced against the walls, flickering in the dim light of candles that sputtered nervously as if they sensed the terror lurking within.
"Please, Apo Indang, my granddaughter is being haunted by a demon, possessed even!" Pablo's voice trembled, desperation woven into every syllable.
The old woman, a faith healer of repute, did not respond immediately. Her gnarled fingers moved deftly, pouring molten candle wax into a bowl of water. The wax hissed and bubbled, surrendering its form to the cool embrace of the liquid beneath. As she recited her incantations, her voice became a haunting melody, weaving through the air with an otherworldly resonance.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, she lifted the cooled wax from the water, her eyes narrowing in concentration. "You are correct, the child is being haunted, but not by a demon." The room fell silent, the air thick with dread as she turned the hardened wax in her hands.
Gasps erupted from the family as the visage of a woman materialized within the wax. "It's the child's mother that haunts her!" Apo Indang's voice was grave, each word a hammer striking the anvil of their fears.
"Why? Why would my wife haunt our child?" Pablo's voice cracked, a mixture of disbelief and horror.
Apo Indang shifted her gaze, her eyes falling on the sleeping girl bound to the bed, her innocence marred by fear. "Your wife is lonely; she wants someone to accompany her in death."
"I knew that woman was bad luck; her shaman heritage and the rituals she performs are bringing our family bad luck!" Pablo's sister interjected.
"Silence!" Apo Indang raised her finger, her gaze piercing into the dark corner of the room. "She is here!"
The family's breath caught in their throats as a pair of disembodied eyes glimmered back from the shadows. Emily, the young girl, began to stir, her body writhing against the ropes that bound her. "Leave! Things are about to be dangerous. I will exorcise that wretched soul!" Panic ignited, and the family fled the room, hearts racing, leaving only the brave healer behind.
Apo Indang locked the door, and she stood resolute. She turned to face the encroaching darkness, a black silhouette emerging from the shadows, tendrils of malevolence curling around it like smoke.
The room began to rumble. Emily groaned, her small body twisting in agony. "It hurts! Stop it, please!" Her cries echoed, a chilling dirge in the night.
With a sudden lunge, the dark entity pounced. "You will not harm the girl!" Apo Indang shouted defiantly, brandishing her amulets, her voice a barrier against the encroaching evil. As she wielded her 'buntot pagi' (a whip made from the tail of a stingray), it passed harmlessly through the wraith-like figure.
Panic flooded her heart as she turned, her eyes wide with horror. The old woman's scream pierced the air, a bone-chilling sound that reverberated through the apartment.
Outside, the family recoiled as a grotesque form was hurled out of the door. The body of Apo Indang lay twisted, her features dried and contorted like a twisted old tree, hollow eyes reflecting the darkness that had claimed her. Her mouth, frozen in an eternal scream, carved a deep mark of fear in the hearts of all who witnessed the horror unfold.