Another Terrifiying Dream

"Poor kid. He just had his birthday, but his illnesses already took his life," Nana said, while stirring her coffee.

"Who died?" Juliana stepped out, pretending she had just woken up. She even yawned and stretched her arms.

"Mang Tino's son, Ryleigh... he died last night," Maribeth answered.

"How did he die?" she asked. Her heart drummed in her chest. It was deafening. She remained calm despite the chaos she was feeling inside. It wanted to explode.

"He was found cold and stiff by his mother when she woke up this morning. I'm not sure if they'll have the body autopsied since there was no foul play. He died of natural causes."

Juliana slowly released the nervousness she felt. "Life is so unfair. Are you sure he died of natural causes? No puncture wounds? Blood loss? Missing entrails and other internal organs?" Her tone, though she sounded worried that her identity would be discovered, had a different register for Maribeth.

"And what are you implying?" she asked, holding her temper. "Something rabid killed the kid?"

"No. But let's be real. We're living in the province. Heartless nocturnal beings like an aswang love hanging around sick people, isn't that right, Nana?" 

"Yes, those creatures loved feeding on babies and the sickly," Nana said. "But I don't think they're still existing in this modern time. I can't feel their presence anymore. Remember, I used to be an albularyo."

"See? There's no need for you to be paranoid," Maribeth said, emphasizing the last word. She gave Juliana a hint that she wasn't happy with the tone she had used earlier. Her accusing tone. "Besides, you're the one from the city. Why are you so fixated with creatures that no longer exist?"

Juliana took the sarcasm and responded with a bitter facial expression. She simpered. "I'm curious, not paranoid." She hid her annoyance when Maribeth smirked at her when Nana wasn't looking. She walked back to her room and decided to sleep without eating.

In her room, she observed their neighbor from the window. An ambulance was already parked outside the house as the boy's body was carried outside. The boy's father silently sobbed while his mother passed out due to being hysterical. 

"Good thing I had my fill last night," someone said. "I'm not that hungry."

"Who said that?!" Julian asked. The voice was loud enough to distract her. She scanned her room, checking if Maribeth had entered and teased her. No one was there!

"I can still remember the taste of... hmmm! Delicious!" That statement was followed by maniacal laughter.

"Who are you?!" Juliana yelled. She stared at every corner of her room and shivered at the sight of  her hideous reflection in the full-body mirror. It moved like it had a life of its own, frog-sitting on the floor while licking its bloody, hairy hands and arms.

"Hmm... Yum! Not bad for my first human bite." It didn't seem to care although Juliana had been shouting at it.

"Ate Maribeth! Nana! Help! There's a monster in my mirror!"

That was when the hairy creature stopped cleaning itself. It stood and glared at her. Its fiery red eyes threw a dagger-like stare at her. It smirked. "Are you for real? Me? A monster? Look who's talking!" It snarled like a wild beast. "You have the audacity to call me a monster when you feasted on that kid!"

"No! I don't know what you're talking about! Leave me alone!"

The creature stepped out of the mirror and paced slowly towards her. "Really?" It chuckled. "Have you already forgotten how you reached out for the poor boy and..."

"Stop! I didn't do anything to him!"

After screaming, Juliana jumped out of the open window and ran as fast as she could just to get away. Their house was a typical native one with an elevated floor. It wasn't that high from the grassy lawn of her Nana's flower garden, so she didn't feel any pain when she landed.

She ran past the mourning family, who didn't notice her. They didn't even glance in her direction despite her cries for help.

Pebbles and some sharp stones pricked the soles of her feet. She even felt specks of sand entering her wounds. she could only wince at the slight pangs of pain she had to endure.

The urge to wash her feet pushed her towards the direction of the lake. Though her throat was desert dry, she didn't stop running until she reached the body of water.

Icy, damp soil sent shivers down her spine when her bare soles touched it. However, once she stood by the lakeside, the water gradually drained. When it dried up, another lifeless corpse petrified her...

Nana!