Source: Unsplash
In my family, being a spirit seer is a normal thing. My great-grandfather was a healer who helped people with their sickness and even chased away evil spirits. My grandmother can see things normal people don't see and a few of my cousins were given the same gift.
I did not have such a gift. And to be honest, it made me a little jealous.
Children in my family tend to talk about a friend that lives in large canopies of trees, or perhaps in a small mound in the ground. Sometimes they'd even point out their friend sitting next to them or even change the location of something (well that one was creepy), or worse, lock the door of a room or the house.
There was this one time when I was still a teenager, my cousins from the city visited us in the countryside. One particular cousin of mine, Allison, had a special small friend that was always with him.
One day, he and our cousins that were his age were playing in the kitchen. The kitchen was a separate building from the main house and had to be locked to make sure the dogs wouldn't go in. After playing there, my father reminded them to close the kitchen doors before they left.
"Okay Uncle!" replied the kids.
I was about to prepare dinner and was heading to the kitchen when I found out that all doors were locked. I immediately reported it to my father who just said that he asked Allison and the kids to close the kitchen doors.
"Allison, did you lock the doors in the kitchen?" I asked my younger cousin.
"I didn't! It was my friend!"
"And you asked this... friend of yours to lock it?"
"No! But uncle said to close it, so my friend probably thought we had to lock it!"
In the end, we had to pick the lock of the kitchen door. Perhaps that's where I got my talent at picking locks.
Other than such incidences, having a connection with... well spirits were being spirited away. It's probably the most concerning one yet.
During one of the weekends when there are no classes and I can chill at home, my father suddenly called me with concern lacing his voice.
"Marii, where is she?"
I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his question. "Where is who dad?"
"Opal. I can't find her."
"I thought she was playing in the master's bedroom?"
"I just got back from there, she wasn't. Help me find her."
With a nod of my head, I immediately started searching around the house. I checked the rooms, the attic, and even the basement and I was pretty sure something was living there. I also took a look around the front lawn and the backyard where this big molave tree was located.
The sun was already setting, and I still hadn't found my cousin. I stood frozen the longer I stayed at that place. The darkness was starting to creep in, and the shadows were as if coming to life. I couldn't help but be worried and afraid. I returned inside the house not finding anything outside.
"Did you find her?" asked my mom who helped us look for Opal.
"No." I took a deep breath. "Mom, what if Opal got spirited away?"
My mother looked at me as if I grew two heads. "Stop saying ridiculous things."
"It's not ridiculous! Opal has a special friend just like Allison, and it's not like nobody has been spirited away in this family!"
There had been stories about my ancestors and distant relatives getting spirited away throughout the years as if the spirits liked us very much.
Except for me apparently.
They had been chalked up as unsolved missing cases and to be honest, my ancestors probably stopped reporting it to the authorities since it kept happening.
"Just keep looking for Opal, Marii. We're bound to find her sooner or later." my mother said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
With a sigh, I headed upstairs and looked around the rooms again, thinking I probably missed something.
I was inside my parents' room, checking the cabinets, under the bed, and behind the curtains. I was about to leave when the room suddenly got colder. I looked around and I saw the curtain in the south side window was lifted. And from there my younger cousin Opal stepped out from it.
"Opal!"
'I swear I already checked that place.' I thought.
"Big sister Marii!"
"Where were you!" I exclaimed, hugging my five-year-old cousin.
"I was playing with my friend!" she said with a smile.
"Where?"
"In her house!"
I swallowed the nonexistent lump in my throat. 'She really was spirited away. But thankfully she returned.'
"Don't ever do that again!"
"I don't think she'll like that."
I sighed. It was useless to argue with a five-year-old.
"At least tell us first before you go somewhere, okay?" she smiled and gave an enthusiastic nod. "And remember to return home before sunset!"
"Okay!"
That was years ago. It continued happening to Opal but one day, it just stopped. She stopped mentioning the special friend and has been living her life like every other teenage girl.
Right now, it's my younger sisters that I keep an eye on. One of them has a special friend as well and I'm afraid what happened to Opal might happen to her. And I'm even more afraid they'd get spirited away and this time, they might never return.
~The End