The House Of The Unholy

The stone house used to host several occasion back in the day. During summer days, at the turn of harvests season, the marble bricked lower ground floor called the zaguan, used to house hundreds of sacks of rice considered as the most number harvested in the region. While the back portion used to store jars of wine; from rice wines to fermented sugar canes and coconut juices; all of which used to intoxicate several guests that flocked the stone house. In the rainy seasons, several guests who originally came in for the summer feasts would reside in the empty spacious rooms on the wooden second floor adjacent to the dining area, having the guests frequent the stone house all year round. The mestizos, il.u.s.trados, and even the curate – Fray Luciano; testified to the generosity of the old Don in hosting them

The front lawn where the tiled staircase is situated, used to cradle several outdoor feasts for harvesting. The Captain would let his farmers celebrate by feeding them with beef dish, pochero; or a roasted pig in burning coal supervised by the head cocinera Ditas. As it was a feast celebrating the bountiful harvests, Ditas would also serve utan bisaya or a soup from boiled varieties of vegetables topped with fish or prawns best served still boiling. For dessert, the generous Don instructed Ditas to only serve the freshest fruits harvested; varieties of ripe mangoes, ripe papaya and pineapples were the most favored. The old Don completed the feasts with wines even giving the guests the privilege of choosing between rice wine pangasi, sugarcane wine basi or coconut juice wine lambanog. Indeed, it was the only season of the year when the farmers could overeat on such grandeur festivity.

The next day after Teo's arrival in the stone house, he is standing in the balcony watching two male servants; one about his age and the other a lot younger; doing the rounds lighting the lamps across the dining area. Intrigued by the servants, Teo leaps toward the wooden table;

"How long have you been working here?" Teo asks as he makes his way to the long wooden dining table

Startled, the eldest of the two looks behind them to find their Segnor approaching, with his sight locks on one of the lamps above the dining table

"About eight and half months, Segnor" he replies;

"Tatang Chuy is a distant relative" the other boy answers, stout and fat.

"Teo," he pauses, "You can call me Teo. Besides, we are almost just the same age I suppose" he says to the tall servant

"Diego, Segnor," the tall boy replies hesitantly, "And this is my brother Utoy"

"Our father works as a farmer and the Captain was kind enough to let us work in his house" Utoy adds

The two servants have to excuse themselves to make way for the incoming maids who are about to prepare the table for dinner. Teo follows them back in the balcony where he was just standing earlier. He silently watches as the boys begin to light the lamps in the asotea.

"I never remembered this house this quiet" Teo interrupts

The boys look around them curiously confirming their Segnor's claim. They find their validation with the croaking frogs and chirping crickets in the nearby fields;

The life that used to inhabit the stone house is now laced with dullness and somberness as if the Don brought it with him to his death. The bricks are stained with dark brown moss almost devouring the whole ground floor dwelling; while the porch that holds the asotea are eaten by stray vines. The tiled staircase is now broken as two of its lower steps are sunken in thick mud. The mud extends unto the back lawn as it was believed that the stone house is being eaten by the ground inch by inch every year.

"It was never this muddy the last summer I was here" Teo makes another claim while looking down the balcony, "four years did make a big change!"

As if magnetized by their Segnor, the boys follow him and hurry to the edge of the asotea to look down the muddy front porch;

"The mud can be severe even in the summer since the mud from months that it had rained hard would stay liquefied" Diego replies

"Tatang Chuy was unsure where the waters could be coming from. It could be from leaks of a broken aqueduct in a nearby rice field" Utoy adds

"But no farmers have stepped forward to report any;" Diego retorts,

"Or it could also be because of the land where the stone house stands siphons the waters down the mountains from afar which dissolves the ground" Teo looks far to the nearby rice fields and onto its mountainous backdrop in the horizon

"During the rainy seasons this condition only gets worse as the mud could extend in claiming up to the fourth and fifth steps of the front staircase," claims Diego

Teo still has his sight locks into the muddy ground down the front porch when one of the boys waves his right hand at him to finally catch his attention;

"We are going downstairs, Segnor" Utoy pauses, "if you would like to come…"

The lamp boys lead the way passing through the large hall with Teo trailing behind them silently. It is the younger boy, Utoy, who periodically has to stop from walking to look back at their Segnor as if waiting for him to keep up his pace with them. They pass through several maids who all give them a curious look once they see Teo following the lamp boys, with some of the maids stopping to throw them back a second look.

Diego is the first to reach the stairs with his younger brother coming in from a distance. When Utoy finally reaches the stairs, he and his older brother silently wait until Teo reaches the stairs eventually. Their collective steps down the staircase tear down the silence of the stone house as the creaking sounds of the wooden stairs are amplified through the hall until the boys reach the zaguan.

"People still secretly believes in superstitions in this town" Utoy interrupts their silence upon setting foot on the lower ground;

Teo stares blankly at the stout boy as if anticipating him to finish his claim. His gaze causes the stout boy to reluctantly looks back at his big brother who obviously gets surprised at what his younger brother muses;

"Vengeful ghosts!," Utoy stutters while staring at his brother; "It has been claimed that the land and its extending lawn used to be a mass grave yard. They say thousands of dead bodies of the natives were dumped during the first bout of the Spanish inquisition. These men, who they claimed to be warriors of the tribe which originally settled in the region were the first to drive off the inquisition; but had failed miserably" he continues as his eyes widens.

"Apologies, Segnor" Diego interrupts, his voice is tensed, "Utoy grew up with a wild imagination which must have resulted from listening to our grandfather's stories while growing up," he finishes with his head down

Teo still appears dumbfounded with the young boy's claim. Growing up with the Don, he was made to be obedient in following the doctrines of the church, and in observing the teachings of Fray Luciano who he served as an altar boy years ago. Though he descended from the bloodline of the natives, his growing up in the church under the tutelage of the friar made him faithful to the him and his beliefs which only seeped deeper into his veins when he was adopted by the Don.

"Diego?"

One maid shouts from the hall, her thin voice echoing through the staircase.

"Tatang Chuy needs you upstairs," the maid continues

Teo and Utoy is left in the front lawn both silent. The boy is equally uncomfortable standing next to his Segnor as he brushes through his story in his mind, trying to criticize himself to find anything he said that might have made his Segnor uncomfortable

"What did the tribesmen want again?!" Teo finally breaks the silence

His unexpected interest with the topic makes the stout boy equally enthusiastic and reluctant for he knows that his Segnor is an educated man let alone very well versed with the teachings of the church

"Diego is right" Utoy pauses, "these are only stories told by our late grandfather" he continues

"I am listening," Teo says warmly

Utoy looks around assuring them to be alone, and after getting his confirmation, his eyes bulges again when he proceeds in claiming;

"The corpses from beneath the lands where the stone house was built are pulling the stone house down the mud as an act of vengeance," he pauses as he draws air in, "These spirits; it was also believed; can only be appeased with raw live stocks meat – two pairs of goats; one whole carabao, three pairs of chicken; and that the mixture of these animals blood would have to be scattered at the back lawn"

"They surely got an appetite!," Teo interrupts

Despite his Segnor's remarks, the stout boy nonchalantly continues his story;

"The Don strongly opposed to these suggestions; would laugh it off and quickly dismissed the idea" he pauses again, "Only the Lord would have to be appeased, and none else!" Utoy continues with his voice deep, imitating the Don

The Captain was an accomplice of the friar in leading the indios toward the new religion and strictly forbid his men forming small group discussions about anything related to their pagan beliefs. The Don prohibit traditional healings; curing of sick against witch craft or pagtatawas or even circulation of stories related to spirits and other inhuman beings. The Don believed he had succeeded in keeping his people against their animism. Obviously, the Don was oblivious to the fact that some of his people still talked about their pagan past in secret and in fact, stories connected to these animist beliefs are still passed down to their progenies, defeating the Don's efforts in leading them against it.

Utoy becomes silent again looking at Teo as he appears to be assessing how he would react to his story.

"Segnor,.." he pauses, "not only this house was surrounded by superstitions,"

Teo is still not uttering a word quietly staring at the boy

"On the eve before the Don's passing, it was claimed that some unknown creature was seen roaming the rice fields and made its way to the stone house's front lawn," he pauses

"Even the death of the Captain?" Teo asks softly concealing his disappointment through the subtlety of his response

"It was believed, by the townsmen, that its skin was mostly dark, like that of a burned pig in a flaming coal while its body was covered with scabs with a dirty cloak covering its burned face. Those who said to have seen the creature roaming the lawn said that the creature claimed the soul of the old Don, and that after which, his soul was ensnared by it. For eternity, the Don's soul have been roaming the woods along with the other souls that the creature claimed before the Don's," Utoy finishes as he grasps again for air

Teo releases his disbelief through an audible sigh which the boy easily senses;

"Apologies,Segnor, if that drove you in discomfort" Utoy bows his head after

"I prefer to believe that my foster father is now at peace," Teo softly muses holding Utoy by his shoulder, "and the Lord is always watching over us so there is no need to be scared of any vengeful ghosts," he continues with a smile

Silence then overcomes them as night begins to engulf the lawn bringing with it cool mid- September wind. From the stairs Diego descends to be where his Segnor and his brother are standing;

"Segnor, your dinner is ready" he claims while catching his breath

Utoy steps back to make way for his brother still looking at the ground feeling embarrassed.

"Come, join me upstairs" Teo offers smiling at the two

"It was kind of you Segnor, but we still have to go home," Diego pauses as he notices the unusual silence in his brother, "it's getting dark too, Utoy sometimes mistake the rice fields for some creatures and he might end up wetting our sheets tonight" Diego teases while his brother still has his head down.

"It was fun talking to you, Utoy" Teo smiles nodding at them

The two boys walk through the gate only to be interrupted by their Segnor;

"Just say the Lord's prayer tonight before you go to sleep, Utoy" he says

The two boys stopped to listen to him;

"Ghosts, or dark creatures are manifestations of evil. As the bible says, Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, I always pray each night to ask for the armor of God to shield me" he pauses, "and to not pee on my trousers while sleeping," he finishes and nods for the last time

Teo turns his back and walks through the staircase and onto the stone house for the supper.