Gloria runs away

Gloria could never bring her old zest back.  We tried "jumping for joy" but it did not last.  She has a hurt that she kept inside or perhaps an idea of pursuing something that she thinks will bring her lasting happiness, but could not.

I miss the way she put love in everything she did for me.  But lately, her food was no longer as colorful and as surprising as her flower arrangements.  She still worked like a maniac till the day I was told that her brother was dying after exploding with the dynamite he used for fishing.  She said she had to go to Mindanao to see him.  She cried a river telling me all this.  On her last day, she wandered in the kitchen looking past me.

There is something not discernible and I felt it from the day she came back from the province to work for me for the nth time.  She refused to eat on time.  She was happy to have several new sets of dainty uniforms I picked myself, the colors being that of rose, pink, lime and lemon I tried to match with what I remember was her laugh and elfin ways.  But the effervescence skipped me.  I never heard her laugh with the other maid.  She was getting strange every day.

I still wonder why she never got the money I told her I was saving for her.  She left (for Mindanao) as she said but actually was just somewhere in Manila.  She ran away with all her uniforms except for one set she perhaps was not keen about.  It was a bright pink that complemented the old Gloria I knew from the past. 

continuation of part I: Horror Story 1

I was assigned a room that night, deposited my luggages on the floor, then took a shower.  I took off my earrings and wrist clock, secured them in a pouch then slid the pouch into the inner pocket of my suitcase. Then we settled ourselves in the dining room to catch up on details of life before going to bed. 

I remember finding the house beagle on top of my suitcase sniffing something.  By the way, Snoopy is his pet name.  It was an uneventful night and our trip to the next destination occurred very early in the morning before the sun actually manifested in the sky.

We reached our destination early and while unpacking, I noticed that I was not wearing my earrings and the big watch and not a trace of the pouch either.  The rest of my accessories in a small bag, gone too!  My engagement ring was there.

I was quiet for awhile, not wanting to alarm people and embarrass myself for being "senile".  I began to doubt what I remember doing before I slept, and that was keeping my jewelry in a pouch.  I searched and literally turned my suitcase inside-out and upside-down.  Not a sign of my valuables.

I got a call from my sister-in-law where we stayed that night.  She found some pieces of my valuables under my bed.  Scattered and almost mutilated.

(20 minutes up.  sorry, this is taking long)

Horror Stories: a beginning of a compilation

I would like to write horror stories based on real life but that will be a different agenda from the serious Manual of Operations that I declared I will be starting as a project for 2011.  This will be a completely different take from the usual horror stories that you read about.  It will be a candid account of true to life events of people that I encounter on a day to day basis.  Since I am busy with other things as well, I plan to write something in 20 minutes.

To begin with, Horror Story 1.

This happened in my travel to US last September.  In search of a panacea against mental decay, I went on this trip to stimulate my neuron connections.  I hopped from San Francisco to Los Angeles to the East Coast, then LA,  then San Francisco.

In one of my visits to a relative and friend, a most surreal thing happened.

(to be continued- 20 minutes up because I ate a guava in between)