Third World is a short story written by Reiu Somao-I and shared with The Ugly Writers for the new theme Contrition for the month of August
Third World
If living is a privilege, then is seeing the other side also a privilege?
“Suzie!” Angie Salazar, a friend of mine, called my attention. “You are spacing out again.”
“Sorry. I was too preoccupied.”
This is just another usual day I have, but maybe unusual for many.
“Angie, where did you go?” I asked my friend, then I just scraped off something on her shoulder.
“I just came back from the laboratory. I forgot our manuals earlier. Why?”
“Well, you just got something from your shoulder, a dirt, maybe.” I replied.
Angie is an angel but I don’t want to scare her if I told her that a bloody severed hand was clinging onto her shoulder.
This was a usual occurrence for me because seeing the dead or any elementals became part of my everyday life.
As a child, I was constantly living in fear because I saw unusual things that ordinary people couldn’t. When I grew up and learned how to overcome those fears and deal with them, I tried to live as normal as I could but sometimes, they don’t really want me to be normal at all.
It was our last class for the day and our room was located at the end of the hallway on the sixth floor of our college building. That room was the least I liked.
There were already students sitting in the chairs when Angie and I arrived. She wanted to sit at the back because she doesn’t want to be seen by the professor in case she falls asleep.
“Let’s take the front seat. I think the lesson for today would be very important for our exam.” I held her hand and dragged her to the front row.
“Aww. But the back seat is still empty.”
“It’s full.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Luckily the professor just came in and he started the lesson. The beginning of the class was quite nice until thirty minutes had passed. I could feel the whole room having a heavy aura. I tried to look around and saw some of my classmates massaging the neck and shoulders. Angie was doing the same.
I could tell that some of our classmates were playing around so I interrupted. “Professor, will you please tell us again what are the rules in your classroom? I think my classmates were not paying attention.”
All of my classmates glared at me but they were not the one I am referring to. It’s our unknown classmates at the back.
The professor looked at me and sighed. “I will immediately eject from my class those students who are just playing around.”
Everyone paid attention. Then, the heavy aura disappeared. I also noticed that the room became lighter and our lesson proceeded smoothly.
“Suzie, let me talk to you for a while.” The professor said after dismissing the class. Angie said she would wait for me outside.
“Yes Professor, what is it?”
“Did you…intentionally ask that earlier?”
I smiled at my old professor. “Yes sir. Sorry for that but everyone was feeling the weight of their presence.”
Professor Elmer Fidel was a close friend of my parents during their high school and university years. He also knew that my third eye was fully open.
“Good work. That’s all, be careful.”
Angie and I went our separate ways when we left the university. It was already seven in the evening and I was walking along the streets going to the dormitory I was staying at when I stopped in front of a store and looked behind me.
“Why are you following me?” I asked in a low tone voice.
I was actually scared that’s why I stopped in front of a store which had many lights. There was something following me since I left the school.
He was clearly a man but I could only see his silhouette. I don’t usually get scared because I am so used to seeing them but my instinct was telling me that the silhouette that was following me was powerful.
It obviously didn’t speak to me but I tried not to show him I was scared.
I was about to say something again but I heard a voice whispering in my ear. This made me scream in surprise as I covered my ears. Goosebumps run all throughout my body. It was cold.
When I recovered from the moment of panic, that’s when I felt the true horror. It was not only a man, there were hundreds of them behind him. All elementals, spirits and other kinds of worldly creatures were hiding behind that man but I could clearly see them.
“What do you want?” My voice is shaking. I am not brave enough to face so many of them.
“You.” The chilling voice echoed in my ears again.
I shrieked. Then, I felt something touching my hand. I did not dare to look at what it was but I knew I was losing my mind and finally, I blacked out.
Read previous entries from Ms. Reiu Somao-I at The Ugly Writers:
