I think it was 2005 when our family last had a vacation. Mom wanted somewhere to relax and dad always agreed with whatever mom chose. So we went off to Samar to have fun by the beaches. We were entertaining my Filipino-American cousins who came from the Midwest and wanted to shake the cold off and enjoy what the Philippines had to offer. I enjoyed the trip, at least until the Saturday we were supposed to leave
.
My cousins were all younger than me, in their twilight years between adolescence and childhood, so it fell to me to take care of them when the adults wanted to have their alone time. It was me, my cousin Marissa, who was about 12 at that time, Marlon, 13, but thinking he was 30, Mavic, 11 years old and glued to her cellphone and Michael, the know it all at 14 years of age.

We got along for the most part, but everyone had such different personalities it was a wonder we were all related.
That Saturday we had all our bags packed and we were killing time in between checking out and boarding the van to the airport. Looking back, I don’t remember what I was doing, probably telling my cousins to behave.

I distinctly remember getting bored of waiting and looking around the hotel lobby, that’s when I first saw the woman.
There wasn’t anything special about her, other than her wearing black in the oppressive sunlight. Apart from that I noticed that her eyes were red, as if she had been crying recently. Marlon bumped me and I lost sight of the woman for a second and when I looked back, she wasn’t there.

I didn’t think much of it, not until Mavic wouldn’t answer her phone. Tita was inconsolable, Mavic was just going to the bathroom, and she never came back. I tried to tell the adults about the woman I saw, but they all ignored me. They went straight to the police and I was left with my cousins.

We extended our stay. Tita didn’t want to leave unless the police could find Mavic. She said that they had to be the most corrupt or most inept police force in the world. She said those kinds of things to make the situation seem more bearable.
I shared a room with the rest of my cousins, Marlon was busy thinking of scenarios that could have happened to Mavic and Michael was humoring him. Marissa was quiet then, she was closest to Mavic among all us cousins and her disappearance made her scared.

I remember her taking me aside before we slept and asking me if I saw her too. I thought she was talking about Mavic, but I now know I was wrong.

The next morning we woke up and Marissa was gone. Our titos and titas were frantic. Two missing children in the span of a few days was too much for them. They made arrangements for the rest of us to go back home while some of them would stay and help with the search for Mavic and Marissa.

I didn’t tell them that morning that I saw the woman again. She was just standing in the lobby wearing all black that covered everything except for her eyes. She wasn’t doing anything, just standing there, looking around the lobby.

I looked at her and our eyes met.

They were red, a more crimson shade than what I remembered the last time I saw her. It was only a moment, but it sent chills down to my very core. My heart wouldn’t stop beating, my breath became shallow, even my hands began to shake. I couldn’t explain why, but I was completely terrified.

As soon as the moment ended I rushed into my hotel room and began to cry.

I knew the woman had something to do with the disappearances of my cousins, but the adults wouldn’t listen to me. But, no, that was what I told myself. The truth was I was scared, scared that I would be next if I talked about her.

I never told anybody about what happened to me that day and I tried my best to forget about that whole experience. Tita stayed the longest still searching for her missing daughter, but days turned into months that turned into years.

I’m in my thirties now, I have a house and a job, even a girlfriend that means the world to me. I still keep in touch with my cousins in the states, the ones that are left. I Skyped Marlon recently and we talked about things we could to if I ever visited them in the Midwest. He told me we could try some new restaurants in their area and go look at the farmlands. But something kept nagging at me, some thought that my mind had tried so hard to keep locked.

I tried to bring up what happened in 2005 as subtly as I could. It was taboo to talk about that trip with any member of my family. He still wouldn’t get the hint so I asked him point blank if he remembered anything from that trip.

“No, why do you ask?” His tone signaled that there was something he wanted to say, but he couldn’t articulate it.
“There was just something I remembered.” I had to be honest. I told him about the woman and how, just looking in her eyes was enough to terrify me.

“You saw her too?” My heart sank. I started remembering more details about that trip. I was awake the night Marissa disappeared and I saw her walk towards the window of our room. We were on the third floor and I thought she just wanted to get some fresh air.

But I remember her walking towards something red, then I went back to sleep.

So now, here I am, preparing for a trip back to that resort. Marlon and Michael will meet me there and we all know what we saw. The woman, if she was one, took our cousins. We will find out what happened to them.

God help us.

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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Awok description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Awok Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen

Color by Alexa Garde
Website: Lexa.us