*The thought of it was too much for Hannah to bear. It was a Saturday morning, so she knew that, if she hurried, she could make it to her on time. She threw on her clothes, along with her black jacket, and made her way down stairs. She hurriedly made her way out the door, unable to hear Drew ask her how she slept and if she had any plans today, as he sat back down in his chair to read the paper.*
*Hannah was unsure if she would end up at Wendy’s house simply because of a dream, but she had to make sure. The dream seemed so realistic, in a sense. As soon as Hannah saw the house in her dream, she could already feel chills across her body. She took a step forward, and gave the white door a light knock. The door creaked open and a woman with kama hair and tired eyes looked at Hannah*
Woman: Yes, can I help you?
Hannah: Oh. Good morning. Uh, I’m sorry to be here so early, but does a girl named Wendy live here?
Woman: Wendy? My daughter? Yes, she lives here. Why? Are you a friend of hers
Hannah: Not necessarily. I saw her looking a little down at school yesterday and I thought I could help.
Woman: Is that so. Well, come on in. Make yourself at home.
*Hannah stepped into the house. The walls were all white, with a few pictures of Wendy and her mother, as well as another man in the picture. Probably her father. As Hannah walked into the house, she could see a stack of letters on the mesa near the front door, all addressed to Wendy with the names of different universities on them. But something about them didn’t seem right. They gave off a sort of negative feeling. Hannah was snapped out of her thought when Wendy’s mother spoke to her again.*
Woman: Wendy’s room is just upstairs. She should be awake at this time. She’s such a busy girl
Hannah: Thank you
*Hannah made her way upstairs. At first, her steps were quick and ready to go into a full sprint up the stairs to check on Wendy. But as she got passed the first half of the staircase, and saw the light of the sun through the cracks in Wendy’s door, Hannah’s pace slowed down to a crawl, as she made her way up the stairs slowly. As soon as Hannah made it to the tuktok of the stairs, she was contemplating on going back down the stairs, not wanting to see what was on the other side of the door. Hannah had to reassure herself that everything that happened was a dream and that Wendy was safe. She gave the door a quiet knock. No answer. She gave it a slightly louder knock. Once again, no answer. Hannah reached for the door, finding it unlocked, as she turned the knob and pushed the door open. The door creaked slowly and ominously as the sunlight began to hit Hannah’s eyes, causing her to squint. Once she was able to adjust to the light, she could see something in front of the sunlight and the window with open curtains. The sight caused Hannah’s eyes to widen in shock and fear. There, in front of Hannah, was Wendy, dangling from a noose, dead. Just like in Hannah’s dreams, she killed herself. Hannah could now see that this was madami than just a dream, and the thought of it mortified her. As Hannah continued to stare in horror, Wendy’s mother to greet the two. Hannah didn’t listen to a word she sinabi as she looked at the body of Wendy. As soon as Wendy’s mother came susunod to Hannah, she could see Wendy too, and could only break down in tears and screams of anguish at the sight. Hannah didn’t know what else to say, and she knew that something else had to be going on.
*A week after Wendy’s death. The school had been a little gloomy for only a week, before going back to the usual feeling, with students discussing new topics and gossip everyday. Hannah was in Mr. Franklin’s room, sitting in her chair, but throughout his lecture, she couldn’t help but look back at Wendy’s chair, and how empty and cold it was now. Hannah felt somewhat responsible for what happened to Wendy. If Hannah had spoken out, she may still be alive. As Hannah remained silent in thought, the kampanilya rang, startling her as the class got up and walked out. As Hannah got up to head to her susunod class, Mr. Franklin stopped her*
Mr. Franklin: Ms. Asher, could I speak with you for a moment.
*Hannah turned slowly to him and spoke*
Hannah: Yes, Mr. Franklin?
Mr. Franklin: I’ve noticed that you have been distracted all month. I know that it must have been hard for you when you were there at Wendy’s house that day. You two may not have been close, but it is still something no one should see
Hannah: I just wish that I could have done more
Mr. Franklin: There is nothing madami you could have done, Hannah. You didn’t know, but I know that you would’ve helped if you could
*For some reason, Hannah couldn’t help but feel worse about that comment. She knew she could’ve done more, but she chose not to. And now, Wendy was dead*
Mr. Franklin: You should rest when you get home, Hannah. Maybe spend time with mga kaibigan and family. It may help you
*Hannah nodded silently and made her way out of the class, unsure of what she could do to feel better*
*As Hannah was walking tahanan in the rain, she couldn’t help but think about different things. Would things have been different if Hannah helped. And how did Hannah know that Wendy would die in a similar way. And what was with the monsters in her dreams. They were unlike anything she had seen before, yet they appeared to be so real. As Hannah was walking, holding her umbrella over her head, a light came from inside an alleyway. She looked into the alleyway to see the purple glow of the neon sign for The Engima. Something was clearly off now. The bar was in a completely different alleyway from this one. Hannah felt that something was off, but the glow of the sign was almost luring to her. She stepped pasulong towards the door and, without thought, opened the door. Inside was a fancy bar, the tables made of a dark brown wood and the chairs with leather on it. Pool tables, dart boards, and a record player were around the bar. There was even a stripper pole, much to Hannah’s disgust. But the the that surprised her the most were the three gentleman sitting at the front. They were all sharply dressed, almost from a different era of time, and were all sitting silently, except for one, who seemed to be talking amongst the others, ignorant to their clear disinterest of his words. As soon as the door slammed shut behind Hannah, the three men turned back to her. One of them was an incredibly thin man with short black hair, his skin sunken down to the bone, with a very saddened expression. The other was a tall man with a bald head, looking at her with a clear disgust and hate in his eyes. The other man seemed madami surprised to see Hannah, his left eye covered sa pamamagitan ng an eyepatch as he looked back at her, as his ang nagboboling hat covered his blonde hair. The man with the eyepatch smiled to Hannah
Eyepatch Man: Ah, Hannah, it’s so good you could finally come
Hannah: How do you know my name?
Eyepatch Man: Oh, we know everything about you, Hannah.
Thin Man: We know what depresses you
Bald Man: We know what you despise
Eyepatch Man: We know what things you fear
Hannah: Wait, just who the hell are you three
Eyepatch Man: We are your inner mind. Your very own Hell, in a sense: I am Fear
Thin Man: I am Sorrow
Bald Man: And I am Hate
*Hannah was both annoyed and confused at the trio in front of her. She tried her best to understand what was going on, but there was clearly madami in front of her than she thought*
Hannah: Alright, so, why are you here
Fear: Simple. We are here so you can relive the things you are guilty for
Sorrow: We are here to see what causes your guilt
Hate: Why you did what you did
Fear: And how it makes you feel. And, if you can handle it
Hannah: So, what is all this. Are you going to judge me or something
Fear: No, of course not. Only God can perform judgement. We just bring up facts, that’s all. We cannot harm you, but you can harm yourself. We are simply a part of the nightmares
Hannah: Nightmares?
Fear: The dreams you’ve had of mysterious monsters and others that are in your town? Yes, we are a part of it.
Hannah: So there is madami to those dreams that I thought. And just what do I do to stop it
Fear: When you find out, let us know. We’re as clueless as you, dear. We are only here to bring your own guilt. The Nightmares finds guilt in those that have been marked sa pamamagitan ng the Scarlet Butterfly
Hannah: Scarlet Butterfly?
Fear: You really like to repeat me, don’t you. You were touched sa pamamagitan ng a red butterfly, were you not?
*Hannah remembered a paruparo touching her. She looked down at her hand to see the image of a butterfly, its wings floating off of it likes shards of glass as they moved gracefully*
Fear: that’s the one. Looks like you do have some guilt in you
Hannah: That can’t be. I can’t be guilty. I haven’t done anything wrong
Fear: Tsk, tsk, young Hannah. I believe that you were the one who thought about all the wrong you did. How you couldn’t save that girl
Hannah: Wendy…
Fear: Is that her name? Yes, her. Such a shame you couldn’t save her. Such a shame you let her die.
*As Hannah’s thoughts were filled with fear, she began to feel a strange pain in her hand. The paruparo image on her hand began to ilipat slightly, almost like it was alive*
Fear: Would you look at that. It’s midnight, and you seemed to have fallen asleep.
Hannah: What? But I’m awake right now
Fear: Is that what you believe.
*Fear outstretched his hands, and Hannah was suddenly sucked into another location. She was in her bedroom, but she saw her sleeping in the bed, even though she was looking at herself right now. She was immediately brought back to The Enigma*
Fear: When you stepped into this bar, you moved from a conscious body to a subconscious one. Your real one is out there, but now, you, yourself, are in the Nightmares once again. And as for the pain, it seems another one is going to be experiencing the nightmares tonight
Hannah: What? There’s another one? Where?
Fear: I can’t tell you that. But, if you really want to find him, just let your paruparo lead you to him. I assure you, though, you don’t want to go back out there
Hannah: Why not?
Fear: Your guilt has only gotten worse since you came here last month. For starters, we have manifested within your dreams. We may seem human, but we are far from it. But if we don’t seem like monsters, what is out there now truly are monsters. You can choose to stay here, and maybe play a game of darts, or you can be foolish, and go outside. Perhaps die out there. But if you die in your nightmares, you will die in your own world as well, so don’t think you can kill yourself here and get to safety that way.
*Hannah wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. If what these men sinabi was true, then another person could easily be in danger right now. But Hannah would only put herself in madami danger if she went outside, and who knows what new monsters are waiting for her. She had to make a decision right now*
*Now is the time for you, the readers, to decide what Hannah must do. Should she risk her life to help a person she doesn’t even know, or should she stay in the safety of The Enigma and leave the person to their fate?*
*Hannah was unsure if she would end up at Wendy’s house simply because of a dream, but she had to make sure. The dream seemed so realistic, in a sense. As soon as Hannah saw the house in her dream, she could already feel chills across her body. She took a step forward, and gave the white door a light knock. The door creaked open and a woman with kama hair and tired eyes looked at Hannah*
Woman: Yes, can I help you?
Hannah: Oh. Good morning. Uh, I’m sorry to be here so early, but does a girl named Wendy live here?
Woman: Wendy? My daughter? Yes, she lives here. Why? Are you a friend of hers
Hannah: Not necessarily. I saw her looking a little down at school yesterday and I thought I could help.
Woman: Is that so. Well, come on in. Make yourself at home.
*Hannah stepped into the house. The walls were all white, with a few pictures of Wendy and her mother, as well as another man in the picture. Probably her father. As Hannah walked into the house, she could see a stack of letters on the mesa near the front door, all addressed to Wendy with the names of different universities on them. But something about them didn’t seem right. They gave off a sort of negative feeling. Hannah was snapped out of her thought when Wendy’s mother spoke to her again.*
Woman: Wendy’s room is just upstairs. She should be awake at this time. She’s such a busy girl
Hannah: Thank you
*Hannah made her way upstairs. At first, her steps were quick and ready to go into a full sprint up the stairs to check on Wendy. But as she got passed the first half of the staircase, and saw the light of the sun through the cracks in Wendy’s door, Hannah’s pace slowed down to a crawl, as she made her way up the stairs slowly. As soon as Hannah made it to the tuktok of the stairs, she was contemplating on going back down the stairs, not wanting to see what was on the other side of the door. Hannah had to reassure herself that everything that happened was a dream and that Wendy was safe. She gave the door a quiet knock. No answer. She gave it a slightly louder knock. Once again, no answer. Hannah reached for the door, finding it unlocked, as she turned the knob and pushed the door open. The door creaked slowly and ominously as the sunlight began to hit Hannah’s eyes, causing her to squint. Once she was able to adjust to the light, she could see something in front of the sunlight and the window with open curtains. The sight caused Hannah’s eyes to widen in shock and fear. There, in front of Hannah, was Wendy, dangling from a noose, dead. Just like in Hannah’s dreams, she killed herself. Hannah could now see that this was madami than just a dream, and the thought of it mortified her. As Hannah continued to stare in horror, Wendy’s mother to greet the two. Hannah didn’t listen to a word she sinabi as she looked at the body of Wendy. As soon as Wendy’s mother came susunod to Hannah, she could see Wendy too, and could only break down in tears and screams of anguish at the sight. Hannah didn’t know what else to say, and she knew that something else had to be going on.
*A week after Wendy’s death. The school had been a little gloomy for only a week, before going back to the usual feeling, with students discussing new topics and gossip everyday. Hannah was in Mr. Franklin’s room, sitting in her chair, but throughout his lecture, she couldn’t help but look back at Wendy’s chair, and how empty and cold it was now. Hannah felt somewhat responsible for what happened to Wendy. If Hannah had spoken out, she may still be alive. As Hannah remained silent in thought, the kampanilya rang, startling her as the class got up and walked out. As Hannah got up to head to her susunod class, Mr. Franklin stopped her*
Mr. Franklin: Ms. Asher, could I speak with you for a moment.
*Hannah turned slowly to him and spoke*
Hannah: Yes, Mr. Franklin?
Mr. Franklin: I’ve noticed that you have been distracted all month. I know that it must have been hard for you when you were there at Wendy’s house that day. You two may not have been close, but it is still something no one should see
Hannah: I just wish that I could have done more
Mr. Franklin: There is nothing madami you could have done, Hannah. You didn’t know, but I know that you would’ve helped if you could
*For some reason, Hannah couldn’t help but feel worse about that comment. She knew she could’ve done more, but she chose not to. And now, Wendy was dead*
Mr. Franklin: You should rest when you get home, Hannah. Maybe spend time with mga kaibigan and family. It may help you
*Hannah nodded silently and made her way out of the class, unsure of what she could do to feel better*
*As Hannah was walking tahanan in the rain, she couldn’t help but think about different things. Would things have been different if Hannah helped. And how did Hannah know that Wendy would die in a similar way. And what was with the monsters in her dreams. They were unlike anything she had seen before, yet they appeared to be so real. As Hannah was walking, holding her umbrella over her head, a light came from inside an alleyway. She looked into the alleyway to see the purple glow of the neon sign for The Engima. Something was clearly off now. The bar was in a completely different alleyway from this one. Hannah felt that something was off, but the glow of the sign was almost luring to her. She stepped pasulong towards the door and, without thought, opened the door. Inside was a fancy bar, the tables made of a dark brown wood and the chairs with leather on it. Pool tables, dart boards, and a record player were around the bar. There was even a stripper pole, much to Hannah’s disgust. But the the that surprised her the most were the three gentleman sitting at the front. They were all sharply dressed, almost from a different era of time, and were all sitting silently, except for one, who seemed to be talking amongst the others, ignorant to their clear disinterest of his words. As soon as the door slammed shut behind Hannah, the three men turned back to her. One of them was an incredibly thin man with short black hair, his skin sunken down to the bone, with a very saddened expression. The other was a tall man with a bald head, looking at her with a clear disgust and hate in his eyes. The other man seemed madami surprised to see Hannah, his left eye covered sa pamamagitan ng an eyepatch as he looked back at her, as his ang nagboboling hat covered his blonde hair. The man with the eyepatch smiled to Hannah
Eyepatch Man: Ah, Hannah, it’s so good you could finally come
Hannah: How do you know my name?
Eyepatch Man: Oh, we know everything about you, Hannah.
Thin Man: We know what depresses you
Bald Man: We know what you despise
Eyepatch Man: We know what things you fear
Hannah: Wait, just who the hell are you three
Eyepatch Man: We are your inner mind. Your very own Hell, in a sense: I am Fear
Thin Man: I am Sorrow
Bald Man: And I am Hate
*Hannah was both annoyed and confused at the trio in front of her. She tried her best to understand what was going on, but there was clearly madami in front of her than she thought*
Hannah: Alright, so, why are you here
Fear: Simple. We are here so you can relive the things you are guilty for
Sorrow: We are here to see what causes your guilt
Hate: Why you did what you did
Fear: And how it makes you feel. And, if you can handle it
Hannah: So, what is all this. Are you going to judge me or something
Fear: No, of course not. Only God can perform judgement. We just bring up facts, that’s all. We cannot harm you, but you can harm yourself. We are simply a part of the nightmares
Hannah: Nightmares?
Fear: The dreams you’ve had of mysterious monsters and others that are in your town? Yes, we are a part of it.
Hannah: So there is madami to those dreams that I thought. And just what do I do to stop it
Fear: When you find out, let us know. We’re as clueless as you, dear. We are only here to bring your own guilt. The Nightmares finds guilt in those that have been marked sa pamamagitan ng the Scarlet Butterfly
Hannah: Scarlet Butterfly?
Fear: You really like to repeat me, don’t you. You were touched sa pamamagitan ng a red butterfly, were you not?
*Hannah remembered a paruparo touching her. She looked down at her hand to see the image of a butterfly, its wings floating off of it likes shards of glass as they moved gracefully*
Fear: that’s the one. Looks like you do have some guilt in you
Hannah: That can’t be. I can’t be guilty. I haven’t done anything wrong
Fear: Tsk, tsk, young Hannah. I believe that you were the one who thought about all the wrong you did. How you couldn’t save that girl
Hannah: Wendy…
Fear: Is that her name? Yes, her. Such a shame you couldn’t save her. Such a shame you let her die.
*As Hannah’s thoughts were filled with fear, she began to feel a strange pain in her hand. The paruparo image on her hand began to ilipat slightly, almost like it was alive*
Fear: Would you look at that. It’s midnight, and you seemed to have fallen asleep.
Hannah: What? But I’m awake right now
Fear: Is that what you believe.
*Fear outstretched his hands, and Hannah was suddenly sucked into another location. She was in her bedroom, but she saw her sleeping in the bed, even though she was looking at herself right now. She was immediately brought back to The Enigma*
Fear: When you stepped into this bar, you moved from a conscious body to a subconscious one. Your real one is out there, but now, you, yourself, are in the Nightmares once again. And as for the pain, it seems another one is going to be experiencing the nightmares tonight
Hannah: What? There’s another one? Where?
Fear: I can’t tell you that. But, if you really want to find him, just let your paruparo lead you to him. I assure you, though, you don’t want to go back out there
Hannah: Why not?
Fear: Your guilt has only gotten worse since you came here last month. For starters, we have manifested within your dreams. We may seem human, but we are far from it. But if we don’t seem like monsters, what is out there now truly are monsters. You can choose to stay here, and maybe play a game of darts, or you can be foolish, and go outside. Perhaps die out there. But if you die in your nightmares, you will die in your own world as well, so don’t think you can kill yourself here and get to safety that way.
*Hannah wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. If what these men sinabi was true, then another person could easily be in danger right now. But Hannah would only put herself in madami danger if she went outside, and who knows what new monsters are waiting for her. She had to make a decision right now*
*Now is the time for you, the readers, to decide what Hannah must do. Should she risk her life to help a person she doesn’t even know, or should she stay in the safety of The Enigma and leave the person to their fate?*
