Chapter 2: Reclining man
Year 2011, My work is in the field of traveling and cinema. On the first month of the year,I am assigned in one of the city of Panay region. The cinema where I assigned in is one of the oldest cinema that still operating that time.
6 o'clock in the evening, My work is done but I want to watch this movie titled Gulliver's travel. So I ask my friend who handle that film if there are customers inside her cinema as that movie house is kinda lacking in customers that day. I am scared to be alone inside the cinema. But who wouldn't?
She said," yes , there are four customers inside. The movie already started just few minutes ago ",she is laughing at me cause she knows I don't want to be alone inside and she understands too how it is with this cinema. I bought a ticket and go inside the cinema happily. As I said, the movie house is old, so the hallways are lacking in dim light or any lights at all, you just have to rely on the huge screen light.
First , I look where the customers are, There is one on the side of lower case and one in the middle. I thought maybe the other two is in the upper case. I decided to sit in the lower case , on the upper left side of the cinema . Half an hour or so, I heard some footsteps from the upper case. It is going down and walking towards the exit. I told to myself, I'll leave when the last customer leave. I continue watching the movie.
Few minutes later, the man on the other side stands and leave the cinema too. I looked at the man in the middle. He is tall and thin, I can't see his face as it is too dark and he is reclining, almost lying on his seat with a hat on his head . I told to myself, if this person leave, I'll just leave too. So I continue enjoying the movie.
The movie is already in its climax when my friend enter the cinema and walk towards me and ask .
" Hindi ka ba natatakot? Ikaw na Lang magisa dito sa loob." ( Aren't you afraid ? You're the only one left here .)
I am aghast with her " ha? Meron pa Naman along kasama, iyon o, nasa gitna",(ha?, There is still someone,right there in the middle)
She laughed at me and said "saan? Wala na, ikaw na Lang mag Isa, lumabas na lahat Ng apat na customers,"( where?, There's no one with you here, the four customers already left)
" Hindi ah, ayun I, nasa gitna,halos humiga na nga SA upuan", ( no, there he is, in the middle, almost lying on his seat) I said, Then I look at the man who is unmoving, staring at the screen. I stand up and walk in the lane he is seating.then ask my friend.
"Hindi mo nakikita?, ( Can't you see?), My friend smile at me and shake her head , I can see uncertainty in her eyes. Like she too realized something.
That's the time I knew I saw something I'm not supposed to see. I looked again at the man ,his face is blurry and this time his body seems like a balloon out of air. Too thin, too bony, his legs are long and thin. And I can see him thinning even more by the moment. I can feel my head feels like it is swollen, my feets is too heavy ,the thudding in my chest is deafening! . I take a big gulp, looked at my friend, then bolt out from there !!!
My friend is just on my back , she run too!. When we are in the lobby, she ask me Again what I saw, I told her and in the end we both just laugh in shaky manner. And I pray so hard ,that that entity won't follow me.