STORIES FROM THE BOONDOCKS: Spirits wandering in the farm

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 06 May) — There’s a clump of bamboo trees outside my house. Behind it is a short  slope with  huge trees  that protects several “tubuds” (springs) at its base.

One cloudless night, with a full moon shining brightly, some relatives wanted to stay for the night in my bamboo farm house. Others slept on the loft while the older ones decided to spread mats and mattresses on my living room . The younger ones preferred to spend the night in the balcony, to watch the full moon and experience the cool weather hereabouts. I  joined them and slept on the edge which  is a few meters away from the clump of bamboo trees.

^{The author, Susan Palad, and the cluster of bamboo trees. Contributed photo}

It was a night filled with laughter and stories of a bygone era. Auntie Inding  regaled us  with stories of the past…

I did not have any electricity .Just lamps. We hit the sack by 10 which was already  late by farm standard.

I woke up almost midnight from a dream. In my dream, I saw this lanky, dark figure who looked like an American Indian man dressed in the “katcha” or faded whites worn by the early Katipuneros. He was sauntering towards my house.

Strangely, I knew where he was heading: the spring water below.

He was about to pass the balcony where we were asleep when  my niece beside me coughed. It caught his attention and came near, eyes glowing. He was looking at me intently when I woke up. I heaved a big sigh of relief upon knowing that it was just a dream. I went back to sleep but just as I was about to drift off, I felt  his hands grabbing me. He was aiming for my heart! I woke up and heaved another sigh of relief. Oh,what a dream! It felt so real! Then I realized that the full moon was now hidden by heavy  clouds and the whole place was no longer bathed in silvery light but eerily dark.

Nevertheless, I decided to go back to sleep but every time I am on a brink, the man stares at me and starts grabbing my front. On the fourth attempt, I decided to get the cross from my altar, grounded some native garlic, went back to my space and  placed them beside me. I  started praying the Lord’s Prayer and repeatedly declared  “With the power  of Jesus, Get out from my house !” 

Within minutes, the clouds uncovered a bright moon and I went back to a sound dreamless sleep.

To this day, there has been a number of sightings of spirits wandering around the farm.

One time, I was busy sweeping dead leaves around the clump of bamboo trees with a broomstick when I saw a pair of small feet in front of me. Thinking it was one of my grandnieces from a nearby farm who would sometimes come for a visit, I raised my head  acknowledging him with a bright smile and  found myself staring at an empty space.

Another time, Edna noticed a young man wearing a black shirt joining us on the same area, pretending to help when the figure just disappeared .She asked me where the young man was, but I didn’t see a soul.

(Susan Palad used to be in the government service and later ventured into the travel business. She has retired from both and spends more time at her farm. She is still on denial stage though by refusing to call herself a senior citizen. She still wants to maintain a busy lifestyle)