Why I Can't Forget that Cavite Trip in 1993 [3]

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"You see the church?" he asked pointing to the roof of the old Catholic church which was partly visible in the dark. "Old folks say there's a tunnel there built by priests to escape from the Japanese army."

Carlo confirmed it. "Yes, and in fact, I've seen the entry to the tunnel. Some of my friends told me they tried going down there and saw how it led to the river!"

I suggested we check it out, and Eddie said yes, one day when we re-visit Indang and have more free time.

Then Eddie and Carlo told me that sometimes, at 12 midnight, the ghost of a lady in all white appeared at the foot of the stairs of their ancestral home, right below the veranda. Eddie pointed to the exact spot. "They say the mysterious white lady is guarding a buried treasure at the foot of this stairs, buried there by the some folks in the 1600s," Eddie said.

Carlo agreed. "Grampa had been telling that story when I was a kid!"

After some more stories and laughter, we called it a day. We each occupied a room to sleep in. 

At around 12 midnight, I woke up feeling an urgent call of nature--I had to urinate asap! Again, the flapping sound came just outside my window as it did during our first trip in January, and Eddie was again snoring terribly. But I had to ignore it all. The flapping sound was probably a big bat, too. When I got out of bed, I felt the terrible cold breeze, more so when I got out to the sala and veranda. I paused there and stared at the dark recesses at the foot of the stairs where the white lady was supposed to appear at 12 midnight.

Then I went down--not caring about the white lady because my bladder was about to explode. As I urinated by a coconut tree, I kept looking back to the foot of the stairs. I felt as if the white lade was just behind me, waiting for me to turn around. But nothing happened. Zero. I tried to control my imagination, and claimed my relationship with Jesus Christ as a son of God. I prayed.

And I prayed especially when I was about to go up the stairs and pass by the foot of the stairs again. Will she appear and climb the stairs with me, making her hair fly and touch my face? But I claimed, "Greater is HE (Jesus) who is in me than he who is in the world!"

I went back to bed. Eddie was still snoring terribly. Everything was peaceful.

The next day, after breakfast, I asked permission to use the toilet in the master bedroom at the other side of the ancestral house. There, while seated on the throne, I discovered a stack of old Filipino comics and started reading. I love good old comics like that, reading about Ang Kambal (Ping at Pong), Max and Jess, Smaolbateribols, and the love stories and adventures also found there.

After about 3 comic booklets, I was done with the throne and went down to the kitchen to help Eddie cook our lunch--Nilagang Baka! After cooking and the rice, we proceeded to the property. We had some fresh sweet pineapple at the house of a farmer who would guide us though the property. He warned us about the huge and violent bees in most forests in Indang which stung trespassers and the sting could cause high fever. he also warned us of big snakes.

So, when we were in the forested property, I and Carlo carried knives (to protect ourselves from snakes) and sticks (to protect us from bees). Eddie had a stick and the farmer had a bolo and also a stick. The farmer led the team. As we went deeper into the forest (and our surroundings got a bit dark), the farmer pointed to where the beehives were and the holes in the ground where snakes possibly hid. Then we started measuring the property. Carlo and the farmer had to take the lead and take the tip of the line and measuring tape with them, while Eddie and I recorded the bearings and measurements. We even had to cross a small dried up river. Eddie's makeshift surveying instrument told us what direction to take to make out the shape of each lot that we subdivided.

After some hours, we finally finished everything and rested at a clearing in the middle of the forest. We were glad no bees or snakes showed up to go after us. Then Eddie fetched lunch while I, Carlo and the farmer waited at the clearing. Eddie heated the rice and Nilagang Baka and brought them all to the site using his old red Volkaswagen. We had a hearty lunch! The stewed beef was tasty and tender and the vegetables crunchy!

After some more rest, we left for the ancestral house. Later, a friend of Eddie's who passed by the property and the clearing where we had eaten lunch and rested said that right after we had left, two huge and deadly snakes passed through it and slept there!

The afternoon went by peacefully, with each of us doing what pleased us--and as usual, I preferred reading my books on mysteries and wrote on my diary (I still hadn't any blog then). We had a pleasant dinner and chats in the evening and early the next day, we left for Manila.

You see now why this trip is unforgettable to me? Can you guess what about it struck me the most? The white lady? The old church? The ancestral house? The forested property? The deadly bees and snakes? Eddie's Nilagang Baka? The pretty young girls in Indang?

Nope, none of the above. It was the old stack of comics while seated on the throne...

For more mystery stories in e-book form, visit my friend's MTrackers Blog through this link!