Philnensia

Me and my bud were chatting at around 3 am infront of his house in a condominium complex ground floor, enjoying the cool morning breeze while we’re munching on nachos and having ice-cold beer cans in our hands, but not at all drunk because we’re just enjoying the evening and were even getting ready to call it a night.

There was a playground situated some ten meters from where we sat on wrought iron garden chairs painted white, the moon was full and grey clouds scudded, as if they slided on a dark floor full of gems. I thought, the playground looked so desolate and gloomy at night as I recalled how vibrant it was when kids and parents would be out and around those slides, seesaws, and playbars.

That was when I saw a dark figure walking from the street towards the playground, coming from the left. We’ve never seen a soul for hours and here came this man, who had a burden slung over his shoulders as he made for the playground. It’s like seeing a shadow, all black, with no reflection of the lamp posts or the moon on him, just all black. And the thing he’s carrying looks like a body in a body bag. There’s no sound coming from him, footfalls, his exertions, or his breath.

I thought, heck, he’s just a guy on an errand, laughing it off. But then, when he reached the playground, he just went straight through the bars, slides, and whatever obstruction he should’ve went around of, but, he never paused, turned, or checked his pace ever. Going to the right, passing all the bars of the playground as something immaterial, he disappeared into the trees of a vacant lot on our right.

I asked Mick, “Did you see that?”

“Yes”, he was pale like paper. That’s when I ruled out hallucination or imagination because both of us saw it, how that phantom with his phantom burden stiff yet sagging across his shoulder, went through all that metal and plastic.

Both of us had to jostle each other as we made a dash for his front door.

Music Video: Thriller/Michael Jackson