Yeah, here it is. Just read. Haha.

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Chapter Five

It was her seventh birthday. Her mom's head was already hot when they left the house, she was already being cranky. They were very late for the party at McDonald's. Her Aunt Amor called and said that the visitors were already there. The visitors were only waiting for them so her mom drove the car very fast.

"Mom, Grandma said we should be careful!"

"Jesus Christ, Ivy! How many times do I have to tell you that your grandma is gone? She died two years ago."

"But, Mommy! It' true I talked to her a while ago…"

"My G.o.d, Ivy! I can't understand. You're not telling me that you can talk to ghost, right? I left your dad because of his craziness, because of his obsession to this kind of things. I don't want you to be involved and yet you are ending up just like him. I don' know. I should have believed my friends that mental illness is hereditary. And now my own child is turning into a psycho."

Her mommy was not that bad. She can actually be categorized as a caring person when factored how her mother raised Ivy by herself. But when the talk was about this - her ability to see and sometimes converse with deceased people - her mom will excessively freak out. Then her mom will be verbally, and sometimes, physically abusive.

"Mommy, grandma said you should not drive very fast because - "

Her mom looked at her. "Ivy, I told you to stop!"

It was only for a moment but because their speed was over the top, it proved lethal. A truck that didn't stop for the red line collided with their car's side. The car spin for some time before it stopped on the sidewalk and flipped over. Something lit up inside the car and then there was a sudden explosion. The vehicle was on fire!

She screamed.

Someone shattered the gla.s.s beside her and pulled her out of the burning car. But the fire grew bigger after it was fanned by the air from the outside.

"Mommy!" She was calling for her mother.

That was when she only noticed that her mom was still inside. She almost ran to her mother's side but someone grabbed her hand and stopped her from doing so. Those hands saved her.

Jeff heard a low scream from the four-poster bed where Ivy was sleeping alone. He immediately got up from the divan where he was lying, approached her and lit up the light and lampshade beside the bed. He brushed off the curtain which hid the bedding.

Ivy was tossing in bed, calling for her mom.

He acted instinctively and held her hands. "Ivy." He called.

She opened her eyes but there's disorientation in there. She grabbed him firmly.

He sat to the side and then helped her get up. She's like a child when she hugged his shoulder and buried her face into his chest. She's still holding on to his hand.

Using his free hand, he caressed the maiden's back. It was drenched in sweat even when the room was air-conditioned. For a long while, she was holding on to him. Her one hand was tightly latch on the right chest of his t-shirt. She's crying like a child.

He felt an unfamiliar rush of protectiveness for her, like what he experienced last night. Jeff was no longer familiar to this feeling. It  has been long since he felt something like this to someone.

He gently tried to release his hand from her grip but she only tightened her hold on him.

"If I was not stubborn, my Mom should still be alive," he heard her sob.

"Ivy!"

"If only I didn't speak, she wouldn't be distracted in driving. We wouldn't be in an accident."

He could feel her shaking like a leaf.

"Ivy, look at me."

"I killed my mom."

"Ivy, wake up." He raised her head and made her faced him using his hand which was not locked by her.

She looked at him with the same gla.s.sy look which told him she really can't see him.

"Ivy, d.a.m.n it, I said look at me!"

It seems she was startled by his voice. Her eyes slowly started to regain focus before she totally woke up.

Ivy woke up from the nightmare. Some of the scenes were familiar from that dream - the big truck, the burning car, and the screams. She frequently dreamed about those scenarios. However, she can't understand what those things mean until this eve.

Finally, she understood the nightmare which haunted her whenever she sleeps with no light. She was just actually remembering the death of her mother.

She woke up with a deep pain in her heart. The first thing her eyes laid upon after she regained consciousness was the worrying eyes of Jeff. That was only when she realized her fingernails were almost engraved on his palm. She let go of his hand.

"I'm sorry." Her voice sounded weak.

"What happened?" he asked.

Ivy fixed her hair and  eyes to clear her thoughts. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I just had a real bad dream. I forgot to tell you that I should not be sleeping when it's very dark because I always got nightmare."

"Sorry. I turned off my lamp. I thought you just forgot about it and then went to sleep."

"It's okay. You are not aware of it, eh."

He studied her face. "Ivy, you were calling for your mom and you were crying."

She first pondered if she can tell him about what she dreamed. Then she decided to trust him. "I told you that I couldn't remember about the accident which killed my mom, right? What I didn't realize, I was always dreaming what happened before but when I did, I keep seeing disjointed images and impressions."

"This time, I saw everything. I remember everything - my last conversation with my mom… her last look at me right before… before we were crashed by the truck…" She wiped the tears which continuously streamed down her cheeks. "If only I didn't keep on pestering her about my deceased grandma, maybe my mom would still be alive."

His voice was calm when he spoke, "Ivy, don't do that to yourself. What happened back then was not your fault. Whatever it was, you were just a kid."

Somehow, she felt peace because of what he said.

"Thanks, Jeff."

"Yeah, sleep. Let's keep your light on." He touched her hair. "Will you be okay?"

She didn't answer immediately because she was embarra.s.sed to say that it's safer for her if he won't leave her.

"Ivy?"

"I'm afraid," she admitted weakly. "Please stay beside me."

It has been long before Jeff managed to sleep. He doesn't know how his simple arrangement unfolded this way. When he proposed to Ivy to act like a couple, he didn't imagine the two of them would end up sharing the same bed where he guarded her until she fell asleep.

The maiden was clutching on the edge of his t-shirt. She's sleeping sideways and her forehead was slightly touching his arm wearing the sleeve she's holding on.

He only closed his eyes after ensuring she's peacefully slumbering. The last thing he remembered before he fell asleep was the smell of Ivy's hair.

She smelled like vanilla and lavender.

Ivy was awaken by the sun light pa.s.sing through the window curtains. Jeff is no longer by her side. She carefully get herself up and then she went to the bathroom for a shower. She also wore a dress and made sure she looks presentable before she went out to look for that man.

There were only few people outside. There were children playing at the living room and two pairs of elders chatting at the verandah.

With the sun's lighting, it could be seen that the house didn't match well with the stuffs because the tables and chairs were only brought by the caterer. Even the sofas and other furnitures were rented so that something can fill up this unfurnished house.

She heard the commotion downstairs followed by the footsteps climbing the stairs. She waited for them to know the people who arrived.

Joan appeared before her. "Ate Ivy, good morning! It's good that you're already up. I'll introduce you to my Kuya Jerome."

That was when she noticed the person following the girl. Her relation to Joan couldn't be refuted. The siblings' eyes were similar, but the man was taller and his good physique made it obvious that it was taken care by the gym.

Clinging on his arm was a woman with a very angelic face. Ivy already knew her even before she was introduced.

"Ate Noelle, Kuya Jerome. This is Ate Ivy."

"h.e.l.lo," Noelle said simply. She became more beautiful after she smiled and her perfect teeth came into view.

"Hi, Ivy!" Jerome greeted with joy. "Are we relatives?"

Joan laughed at her brother. "No, Kuya! Ate Ivy will be the wife of Kuya Jeff."

"Oh, wow!" he exclaimed. "Welcome to the family then." He embraced her.

Ivy saw how Noelle's smile disappeared. It was replaced by judging eyes. She suddenly looked like a bratty little kid.

"Oh, really?" she said.

Ivy can't say if she's just crazy or if Noelle's tone was mixed by malice.

"Yup!" answered by the naive Joan. "They really suit each other, right?"

"Yes, they do." Jerome agreed.

"Where's Jeff?" Noelle asked.

"Right here." A voice replied.

Suddenly, something leaped from Ivy's heart when she heard Jeff's voice from behind. And it became louder when he wrapped his arms around her shoulder.

"Cousin, Joan had just introduced your Ivy to us."

Ivy tried hard to read the cousins' reaction after she learned that a woman came in between them. It seemed there's no tension between them. If there is, it came from Noelle and not from the two men who even shook hands with each other.

"Jeff, I'm tired. Where's our room?" asked by the woman who looks to be a child throwing tantrum.

Jeff only smiled as if he's already used to the att.i.tude of his ex-lover. "Come, we'll lead you there." His hands went down from her shoulder to grasp her hand.

It's only an act, Ivy knew. But she clasped her hand to his. She saw that Noelle gave her an unkind look after she hold hands with him.

After leaving the couple to their room, Jeff gently released her hand. "You want to have a breakfast with me? I'm starving."

"Yeah," she answered, wishing he'd never let go of her hand.

They went to the dining area where a buffet was prepared for those individuals who want to eat early. They are the only ones there. They picked her plate and then filled it with the food they will eat before sitting on a table.

"How are you?"

Ivy stopped from scooping a ripe papaya when Jeff questioned her. She almost forgot what happened last eve. It seems she's already used to have nightmare that's why she can forget them when sun rises.

"I'm okay. Thank you." She no longer wants him to worry about every little thing she's feeling.

"Do you always have bad dreams like that?

"Yeah, though unlike last eve. But I have learned  the nightmares won't be that frequent if there's light to where I sleep. By the way, thank you for being there last night. Did I make you stay up the whole eve?"

Without a warning, Jerome sat in front of them. "I'm sure my cousin doesn't mind staying up all night for you. Even if it's every night." He even winked at her. He probably heard her last sentence with a different meaning.

Jeff creased his brows. "Are you part of the conversation?"

His cousin only laughed. "I am now."

"How are you, Jerome?" he asked seriously.

"Good! I think it helped us when we went to US. Noelle's depression over our baby's lost lessened."

"It's a relief." Jeff replied.

Ivy can't still understand the two's dynamics. She expected them to be angry with each other. But instead, they were acting like best friends.

Jerome's cellphone rung. He glanced on it and then he smiled while shaking head. "Oh, wait. I have to leave the two of you. Noelle's looking for me."

She accompanied the leaving man with her stare before turning to Jeff. "I'm sorry but there'something I couldn't understand on you and your cousin's relationship," she began. "Didn't he marry your girlfriend? Don't you feel any anger to Jerome because of what happened?"

She saw the change in the expression of the person beside her. The Jeff who had taken good care of her yesterday and last night disappeared. He's no longer the Jeff who greeted her earlier. He's replaced by the Jeff she had just known, detached and a bit hostile.

"Why did you know that?" he interrogated.

"I – "

He didn't let her finish her talk. "You don't need to understand all things, Ivy. And don't forget that I don't have any responsibility to explain to you."

Ouch. If he wants to put her in her place, he already succeeded. She was put to shame but in her opinion, she deserved it. It's because she's so meddlesome.

"I'm sorry. I won't ask again." She returned her attention to her food in order to avoid his stares.

They finished their breakfast in silence.

"I see. So Jeff's taste for women has changed." Said by Noelle. She's the one who approached her at the terrace while she's waiting for Jeff who came out with Jerome.

She stared at her face. She didn't know how someone who looked as angelic as her could be so b.i.t.c.hy. She only rode on the conversation the woman has started.

"Really?"

"Well, look at you. Don't you think  you are the exact opposite of me?"

Ivy realized that what she said is true. Noelle was pet.i.te whereas she was tall base on the standard Filipina height. She's morena while the woman was fair. Ivy's countenance is very Filipina-like. On the other hand, the one she’s conversing with has a Spanish feature which made obvious her mestiza traits. Noelle was cla.s.sically beautiful. In contrast, Ivy's beauty is exotic.

"You're right." She confessed. Is this the reason why Jeffrey chose her for this role?

"Well, people change. Fact is, I never even thought that Jeffrey would still be able to love another woman."

Ivy can't help herself but be frank. "Why so? Did you think you would be the only one he would love forever? Isn't that being very a.s.suming of you?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Oh, the cat finally bares her claws. I'm correct when I thought you also have hidden naughtiness. But for your information, I didn't only think that. He said that to me."

She smiled. Unlike Noelle, she can still smile even when being b.i.t.c.hy. "And yet, here we are. You have a different husband and I am the one he will marry."

If only stares could kill, she would have died already because of her sharp glares. "Don't be so sure about his feelings for you, Ivy. You don't know him as well as I do." After saying that, Noelle left her.

She should have laughed at this talk. Noelle argued about Jeff's feeling for her? As if her phony fiancé feels something for her! She's the one who feels something for the man they were quarreling over.

With no warning she felt her hairs on the back rising. She looked for where the sensation came from and she found it at the front to where she's standing. The man with the good built and old fashioned clothing has his back on her and is facing the outside.

She was still young when this mysterious man first appeared before her eyes and now he showed himself once again. Because she's the only one who can see him, she's sure he needed something from her. She breathed deeply then she approached him.

"I waited for you for so long," he said when she neared him.

"I don't know why you are showing yourself to me. I don't know how to help you."

The man looked at her. She was surprised when she saw how mysteriously beautiful his eyes are from that distance. At the same time though, his sadness was mirrored by them.

"My name is Luis," his introduction.

She repeated his name. "Luis, what do you need from me?" She said afterwards.

"People said that I can read the heart of anyone. The first time I saw you, I already knew that you even though you're afraid, you would still do what you think is right in accordance to your beliefs and feelings. For example, you're scared of me right now, am I right? But instead of turning your back on me, you approached me."

"Why are you here? And why are you depressed?"

"This house was ours before it was owned by the Domingos. I grew up here."

"But you should no longer be here. They said that when a person dies, he would have to leave this world and cross the other world."

Luis had once again stared at her. "This place was where I first met Cecilia."

"Who is she?"

Luis shifted his eyes to the faraway lands, as if he is watching a scene in his mind.

"Cecilia was a cla.s.smate of my sister, Nemesia, at La Concordia," he began his story telling, "She once brought Cecilia to this house because there was no one to accompany her on their dormitory. Cecilia couldn't go back to her province that time because she's quite lacking in finance."

He looked at her again. Probably this time, he's confirming if she's still listening to his narration. After that, he continued.

It was 1937. Luis came home from Ateneo, the university he's attending for college. When he got home, the first thing he heard was the gentle laughter from their house's second floor. It came from the azotea.

He recognized the voice of Nemesia but not the other one. He reckoned that it was from someone he doesn't know.

He went up the staircases and when he peeked to know what's happening there, the first one seen by his eyes was Cecilia. She's like the omen of beauty. Her makeup was very simple and her get up was not up to the trends, but it seems that her being out of fashion had only accentuated her beauty which no longer needed any artificial stuffs.

The woman was laughing with her sister and painted on her face was a real depiction of joy.

At the age of twenty-one, he still remained girlfriendless so some of his friends ridiculed him for being picky. However at that time, he knew with full of conviction and certainty, he fell in love with Cecilia.

He almost couldn't breathe. His chest was being drummed by something. That was when he was noticed by his sister.

"Kuya Luis!" She greeted with great enthusiasm.

His sister introduced him to her friends - to Victoria who he had seen before in a gathering, to Helena and Cecilia. The latter gave him a small smile. Then her deep dimples became visible from both of her cheeks.

"Good afternoon," she modestly greeted. There's a different shine from her very beautiful eyes while staring at him.

That was their first meeting which had been followed by more. Since that time, he always pestered Nemesia to bring her to their home whenever there's no cla.s.s.

He later on learned that Cecilia Descardin's study at La Concordia is free. The only requirement was for the maiden to play the piano when there are ma.s.ses and player meetings for the nuns of the school. He heard from many people that she's very good in music.

Once, he attended the ma.s.s in La Concordia's chapel just to witness her piano playing. And after that, he fell for her again for the second time.

At first, Nemesia and his parents were pleased by Cecilia's presence at home. However, Luis discovered that they only liked her because she's their family's intelligent beneficiary. But they said that they will never accept her as a wife candidate for a Noveno because she doesn't belong to their social cla.s.s.

"Mama, I love Cecilia!" He said to his mother.

"I won't acknowledge that, Luis," replied by the older woman. "We don't know where that woman's family came from. You know that I'm not someone who looks down on the poor. I'm not forbidding you to befriend people like her, but I won't allow someone like her to be part of our family."

He still pursued the matter. "I will be finishing college next year while Cecilia only has two more years to go. I will wait for that time and after that, you won't be able to stop me anymore. I will prove that Cecilia is a decent woman and that we can have our own stable lives."

That very evening, Cecilia and him met each other. And for the very first time, they made love for the whole night, at the same room where Ivy is currently residing. However, that was the last time that they got together.

When tomorrow came, he couldn't find her anymore.

"I don't know what happened to her, Genevieve. For many years, I spent my days searching for her. Until the war came. Until it ended. Then I lost all hope," he stated after telling me what took place on 1937.

"That was when Victoria and I encountered each other again. And then I married her. But I know that I only brought pain to her because I keep on loving a memory. Not long after, we parted ways. She went abroad and lived there together with our only son. Probably they had a better life there, since they were not affected by my melancholy anymore. But I was left at Manila, alone."

"How did you…" Ivy found continuing her sentence difficult.

"Die?"

She nodded.

"I couldn't clearly remember. I only know that my health deteriorated. I caught a severe illness. The last thing I could recall is when I was confined to the hospital and then when I woke up again, I was here at this house. Maybe I appeared here because this is the place where I learned true happiness," he explained.

"You'd been here for so long," she said.

"Maybe? The pa.s.sage of time is no longer important for someone like me. It pa.s.ses by without me noticing. I only saw how the people living here aged and changed. But I still remain like this, the same."

"And no one aside from me noticed your presence?"

"Probably there were some. There were times when I heard some house tenants talking that there's a ghost in this house and I know they're pertaining to me. However, I had never conversed to anyone and I'm sure it's because they couldn't see me. Until you arrived here. I mistook you for an angel because I saw you differently. And you can also see me. I felt that I could talk to you even though you were still young," said by the one next to her.

"I can't understand why I can see ghosts now. I also had seen my deceased grandmother before but after the accident, I didn't see spirits anymore. Not until I laid eyes on you again yesterday."

"Cecilia mentioned to me before that there are people who have that gift. She said, even her grandmother can talk to the deceased."

He studied her face while she slowly formed a smile for him.

"Do you know that you and Cecilia have the same smile?"

Weird but it seems that she blushed when the ghost said that.

"And you're also more beautiful than the woman you had conversed with a while ago."

"You mean, Noelle?"

Luis nodded. "You're more outwardly beautiful because your inside is also being reflected into it. It's a very huge loss for Jeff if he would fail to see that."

"Jeff and I are not related to each other. Our current set up is only for business. For business only."

"But you have a thing for him." He stated. It's not a question.

What is happening to her? Is she having a counselling session with a ghost? Moreover, why is it that even this lost spirit knows what she feels for Jeff? If so, does it mean even the other people are aware?

No wonder why Noelle is declaring war with her.