Flash Fiction: My Unusual Scarred Friend

By: Caitlyn Rose R. Apuntar and Ryza Mae P. Angeles

On a drizzling cloudy day, I drink hot chocolate as I feel the cold breeze on the balcony. I was watching the rain drops fall until the rain fully stopped and a rainbow appeared. The birds flew and went in the direction of the cemetery, where I could clearly see it from our balcony. My time and motion stopped as I realized that today was the day my deceased mother was born and that same day was the day that I first met a friend. While I am lighting the candle and placing the bouquet of flowers on my mother’s grave, I get flashbacks about my unusual and mysterious experience.

My mother died due to a heart attack on October 25, 2018, a day before her 70th birthday. I was just 12 years old at the moment she died. Everytime time her birthday comes, I visit her grave with my cousins. It was the year 2020 and the birthday of my mother, which is October 26th. I was calmly putting lit candles and flowers on her grave when suddenly, a boy tapped my shoulders and asked if I could play with him for a while. I was stunned because it was so

sudden and I don’t remember a boy my age wandering around except for my cousins who go somewhere to find something to eat. We played for a while, and I asked him what his name was. He then answered, "I am Gabriel Salvador." I felt that the name was kind of familiar, but then we continued to play and talk. We talked about different things, like my mom. I talked to him about my mother and my mother’s birthday. I then asked him if his birthday was to get to know him more. He then responded and said that his birthday is on December 4, 2007. He added that I can call him "Gab" as his friends used to call him. He has scars around his body, and he said that he got them from climbing trees.

After talking for a while, I saw that my cousins were back and they were kind of curious about

what was happening to me, as if they saw me talking to myself or to space. I showed them my friend Gab but they said that there was nothing. They didn’t believe me and thought that I was only doing it for pranks or to scare them, so they ignored it. I then looked at Gab and said that maybe my cousins are dizzy or have blurry vision. After that, I said goodbye since the dark was rising and we were going home. I added that I was going to meet him again tomorrow at the same place and time that we met. He smiled and went in the opposite direction.

The next day, a sunny day rose, and I waited for the clock to tick at the same time as yesterday and went to the cemetery, alone. I was passing through on my way to my mother’s grave with a cold breeze and quiet surroundings. The atmosphere was kind of weird, but then I continued walking until I saw Gab and played again. We continued that for a week. During that week, every time I went to the cemetery, I always felt weird, but when I played with my friend, the feelings suddenly disappeared.

After that week, November 1 came, All-Saint’s Day. I was buying food and beverages from the stall for my family members that were with me when I met him again. He asked if I wanted to follow him for a bit. I agreed. It was near my mother's grave, but there weren't a lot of people there. As we moved around, he smiled and sang a song, "I fell from a high tree with maniacs at the foot." I stood there frozen, the song's tune gloomy, and it reminded me of Gab and his scars. Everything that was moving suddenly halted, and my thoughts went blank as the voice became louder and louder. I covered my ears and closed my eyes till it stopped completely. I was speechless seeing my friend’s name, Gab's name, engraved on a grave. The grave contains his entire name, Gabriel Salvador, and a birthdate that was quite familiar to me: December 4, 2007, his birthday. The person passed away on September 23, 2020. I became puzzled by such things, leaned in, shook my head, and rubbed my eyes, but it was all reality. He vanished when I looked beside me. I looked all around the place for his presence, but he was nowhere to be seen. That's when I discovered he'd been a non-living thing all those days, and that day was his 40th day after death. I became friends with a ghost.

I ran with fear to my family and tried to explain why I was breathing heavily and so scared, but they didn’t believe me again. After that day, I always go to church and I barely trust people, especially in the cemetery. It was a traumatizing experience that made me think that I would never go to the cemetery again when alone.

Up until now, in these sixteen years of existence, I am still looking for my “unusual” friend

named Gabriel, the boy with scars.

CHARACTERS:

Mica Gonzales: The main character that tells the story

Gabriel Salvador: The character’s friend name and the “ghost”

Fiction Story Written by:

Ryza Mae P. Angeles (8-LOCSIN)

Characters, time, and dates made by:

Caitlyn Rose R. Apuntar (8-OLIVARES)