Supernatural Writing Contest entry - Shake, Rattle & Roll

Hello steemians!

Do you really believe that we are not the only creatures living in this world? Or maybe we are arrogant enough to think that we are the only one in existence? If you will ask me, my answer is a big YES, I believe in supernatural. Having said that, I am about to share three (3) stories to you that I had experienced firsthand.

Let me tell you first a little about my childhood. I grew up in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. It is a typical rural area where you wake up in the morning with fresh air, birds chirping, and no hustle and bustle, simple living…

Back in the days, our house looks like the image below. Built with Nipa Hut. I thought of adding photos so you will be able to have glimpses of my story.

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When I was about 12 ½ years old, my aunt (“Tita” in tagalog) who has a 1 year old baby visited us. They lived from another village, about one hour away from our house. Every weekend, they come to visit us and stay for two to three days, because her husband was working in the City, and goes home only once every month. One day, my mom and aunt decided to visit their friends which were just a few blocks away. My aunt decided not to bring her baby as she was sleeping that time. She wasn’t breast feeding so, no problem at all; sure I can take care of her. The baby was sleeping in a “hammock”, this is popular in the Philippines, equivalent to baby “crib” you can say. It was same as the image below.

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At 12, I was still a kid in my mind…but I took care of the baby for awhile; fed her (formula bottled milk), made sure she was sleeping, and then I went outside to play with the other kids. I totally forgot about the baby. After 45 minutes, our neighbor was shouting asking why the baby was outside the balcony already. She was literally shocked. I'll tell you, it would take an adult for the baby to be at the spot where she was found.

Everyone was in a panic thinking that the baby was hurt or maybe she’s already dead. But you know what??? There was nothing, no bruises, nothing. The baby was fine, smiling and as if somebody put her in there carefully. There was no one in the house when I stepped out. And who will do that in purpose? What we think happened was, the baby fell down from the hammock and maybe her guardian angel held her in the arms, so there were no bruises and she was totally fine. She got tested and the doctor said she was totally okay, healthy. It was a miracle… I thought, maybe it was her guardian angels or good spirits, and they are real, we just don’t see them. Whatever happened back then, whoever intervened… for me it was a moment of magnificence.

Although, my aunt was so angry with me back then. Can’t blame her. LOL.

My second…

The second story of mine happened about 15 years ago. My siblings were all married so they moved to the City of Manila. I had to finish my studies as well, so I too moved to Manila and lived with my brother who helped me finish college. My sister’s house was 2 hours away from where we live. It was in Caloocan, City.

One day, she called me and invited me to go with them to attend church activities, however after few hours she changed her mind and told me that she’s not feeling well so she couldn’t come to the church anymore. I couldn’t join them also because it was very early and I had to attend classes in the morning. So, we agreed that I will come visit her anyways in the afternoon, since she will be the one left at home, while the whole family will be attending church and go back probably late. At least, she has my company. The plan went well the next day, I went to school to attend my morning class, and after which I went straight to my sister’s house and arrived around 5PM. As expected, the house was quite, (I have my own keys by the way). I was calling my sister (“Ate” in tagalog), I said Ate, Ate, where are you? I’m already here… she wasn’t answering so I looked for her at the master’s bedroom, finally… there… she was sleeping sideways, facing the wall and wrapped in blanket. I can only see her hair, not her face. Below is the closest image I can get you. Just imagine I was at the back, looking at her but I cannot see her face, just hair.

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I know she wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t bother to wake her up as I want her to rest. While waiting for her to wake up, I watched television and was having fun. Then I heard people coming in, very noisy, which obviously my brother-in-law and my nieces and nephews from the church. So, I continued watching, but suddenly I heard a very familiar voice…….I know that voice… it was my sister’s voice… then I didn’t know what to say… you know why??? She wasn’t sleeping… she was with them at the church all along…. Then who was the lady in the room???? A lot of scary questions came into my mind.

What if I lay down beside her, whom I thought was my sister? What if I grabbed her blanket and asked her to wake up? Who and what would be her face like? We were all scared and nobody wants to check the room. Eventually, after an hour or so, we decided to go check the room together, but… the bed was clean and the blanket was folded neatly. Oh my geee!!

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My sister told me that she joined them because she didn’t want to be alone; she knew that I will be coming late also. Oh my gosh!!! Until now, this is the story that haunted me from time to time, every time I remember it. And as I write the story, I am having goose bumps.

Yeah… this was my ghost story… but I'm sure she wasn't a bad spirit, maybe she just dropped by to rest in my sister's bed.

The last one, but the most recent one…

My dad passed away last January 6, 2018, yes still fresh and it’s hard. My mom and dad are in the province while I am here in Manila because of my work. I came to visit them last Christmas, December 2017. I usually spend my holidays with them in the province. Never thought that was the last time I will be seeing my dad alive. He suffered from stroke and due to his age (82), he didn’t really recover that well.

After Christmas 2017, I went back to Manila to work; however ever since I came back, I got this very cold feeling. I felt very cold, as if I was sleeping in a Jacuzzi full of ice. I thought, I was having a fever or flu, but I didn’t. I was feeling that way for 4 days straight, before he died. Old folks in the province say that my father was already travelling with me; his spirit was starting to visit us. Do you believe in that? Even before a dying man truly died? At first, I didn’t want to believe, but a lot of unexplained things happened to me.

Me and my dad... photo was taken 2 years before he died. I am very close to my dad by the way...

My dad’s final hours came; we were told already that he was gone. My dad died at 5AM. The night before that, I had a dream that he woke up then he wore his favorite hat, (it was my gift to him in Dec.2017), so when my brother called me that he was gone, I told him to let my dad wear his hat in the coffin. That’s exactly what my brother did. So, my dad was wearing his hat, and brought it with him in heaven. I believed that my dad came in my dreams to mirror what he wants. Below looks exactly the same hat, I gave him as a gift.

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Not only that, during his wake which lasted for more than a week, there was a brown grasshopper near his coffin, it was the same color of my father’s hat. It stayed the entire wake; and only left when I went back to Manila, as I needed to report back to work. Even after his burial, that brown grasshopper stayed. Then my mother told me that when I left, she never saw the grasshopper again. For me, I think it was my fathers’ spirit; maybe he was still here on earth guiding us. Maybe he is now my guardian angel.

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To continue my experience, here in the Philippines after burial, we have what we call “PA SIYAM” or 9 days of prayers for the eternal repose of his soul, prayers are done by the group of people including my mom every afternoon for 9 days, then on the 9th day, there will be a huge preparation, festive foods are served, as you are expecting a lot of people joining the 9th day/last day of prayers.

On the 9th day of prayers, I was here in Manila; I couldn’t go back in the province because I already maximized my vacation leaves. I just prayed for him. However, when I was eating at a restaurant, if you are familiar with “Chowking” that’s where I ate, there was a butterfly flying around me for like few minutes, then suddenly, it was gone. Never saw where it came from or where did it go. It was my first time encountering a butterfly inside the restaurant. I would accept it maybe if there are trees surrounding the resto or maybe it is in the province, but I was here in Manila. This is City. No more trees, no more nature, all buildings. The butterfly was white and there were two dots of black color on his wings, which was the same color of my dad’s barong (my dad was wearing barong tagalog, considered the national dress of the Philippines. It is lightweight and worn un-tucked over an undershirt).

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I believe that he will be forever guiding us and he is now my guardian angel.

His 40th day after death will be on February 14, 2018, Valentines day. It is a traditional memorial service here in the Philippines. We will have family gathering, ceremonies and rituals in memory of him. They said that the soul of the departed remains wandering on Earth during the 40-day period, visiting places the departed has lived in, this includes coming back home, looking after their loved ones, especially those they are closest with.

This is true, until now I have this feeling from time to time that he is just one step away from me. There are times where his memories pop up in my mind, and then I start crying. I know he is just around because, I can feel it in my heart. I love him so much.

Maybe you are thinking now that all of these are coincidences… I respect your opinion. But unless you experience it firsthand, you tell me…

I want to thank you all for reading my stories.

To sir @jerrybanfield, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you also for believing that somewhere out there, there are other forces; supernatural. Also, thank you for the support in this community. Through this... we will be able to share our stories that have been hidden for few years. LOL.

Thank you also to sir @gmichelbkk, for helping sir @jerrybanfield to make this happen. As I read @jerrybanfield article about this contest, he mentioned you several times, how amazing you are in helping him. Thank you.

To sir @surpassinggoogle, I will never get tired of thanking you, for helping us and supporting this community. I have changed the way I look the world now, because of you. Substance it is...Thank you.

To all steemians, thank you! Steem on... keep believing in yourself.

See you all soon!

Love,