Halloween Special

October 31, 1999

Wan Household

Grant lazily sat on his bed, anticipating his favorite Halloween show. It was a once a year event, and all the kids in the Capital were glued to the tv screen for an hour of hair-raising stories about people who encountered things from the unknown.

He glanced at the clock adjacent to his bedroom door and read the time: six in the evening.

Grant pulled his duvet higher that it almost reached his neck when the introductory song played followed by a witch's cackle. With half an eye closed, Grant forced himself to watch the show.

Eek eek eek eek eek

"Good evening, citizens," the host said in his trademark opening.

"Let's look at the story about the wandering soul in the street called Balete Drive," the host didn't beat around the bush and started with his first story.

Grant's throat instantly parched. Of all the stories the show could open with, why choose the scariest one of them all.

Balete Drive... named after the gnarled Balete Trees that lined up along the two-way street. The Balete Trees are actually a relative of Banyan Trees, the latter having a bad reputation for being a dwelling of all things supernatural.

And at the end of Balete Drive was an illustrious all-girls school which is the reason why taxi drivers would frequently pass by because of a high probability of picking up a passenger, especially at night.

One day, the story of a taxi driver's harrowing experience spread - of how he left his cab and ran for his dear life after picking up a passenger in the middle of Balete Drive.

Why?

It was raining that night and the windshield wiper swooshed and chatter against the glass, somehow but not quite helping the driver from his obstructed view. He leaned closer, his chest almost touched the steering wheel as he drove by the ill-lit street. It was almost midnight, and the hi-beam of his car's headlights served as his northern light. Not far away, he saw a silhouette standing under a waiting shed, so he decided to pull over the curb and pick up a prospect passenger.

A lady with long jet black hair dressed in white entered his humble taxi and he instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror and asked the lady where her destination is but the lady didn't answer and kept her head down.

He shrugged it off and continued to drive straight ahead, adjusting the heater in the car when the temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees. The cab driver glanced in the rearview mirror again to check on his passenger, but Balete Drive was dimly lit, making it impossible for him to get a clear view.

They were halfway along the long stretch when the driver could no longer hold it. So he propped his arm on his seat's headrest and twisted his body to face the backseat.

"Where are we headed to, miss?"

WAAAAAAAAAAA!

The taxi driver ran out of his moneymaker in a flash, shouting incomprehensible words, soaking in the midnight rain...

On the backseat of his taxi…

Sat a lady…

She had long jet black hair…

And wore a pristine white dress...

When the driver asked her where she wanted to go, she lifted her head and smiled.

Her mouth oozed blood, her white dress served as the canvass.

Her face ash grey.

Her eyes bloodshot red.

"Doesn't matter where you go. I will follow you. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Grant's hand shook, reaching for the remote control on the bedside table. He quickly turned off the TV and surveyed his room. 'Wooh! My room is clear,' he thought to himself. He peeked on the floor and snatched his slipper, and when he finished wearing it, he long jumped away from his bed, afraid that a hand would creep up under the bed skirt and grab his legs.

He finally relaxed when he reached the main floor and saw his mom and dad by the pocket garden, talking about plants. Madam Wan caught sight of his shadow from the corner of her eye and called out to her youngest son, "Sweetie, Hugo dropped by and was looking for you. I thought you were in Zoey's place?"

His hands flew to his mouth, covering the unpleasant view when he realized he forgot their plans tonight. He ran back to his room and grabbed the paper lantern on the bedside table. He shuddered when he remembered the story of Balete Drive. His legs voluntarily raised itself, his knees almost touched his chest, afraid that a hand would creep out under the bed skirt.

'It's not true, Grant. That is a fabricated story to scare kids. And you! You are not a kid. You are a grown man. Yes, yes, you are a grown man,' he thought to himself. He did not want to voice it out and let other people know how terrified he was indeed. He skipped towards the Sai Household - their next-door neighbor but stood ice-cold in his tracks.

By the Sai's door stood a girl.

She had long, jet black hair…

And wore a pristine white dress...

"Where are we headed to, miss?" he whispered.

The girl lifted her head.

Her face ash grey.

Her eyes dark as the moonless sky.

And then… and then the girl smiled.

WAAAAAAAAAAA!

Madam Wan almost let go of the potted plant in her hands when she heard her son scream. She ran towards the main door and softly called out for him, "Grant? Sweetie?" She saw her son ran fast, the fastest she's ever seen him ran, actually. Behind him were Zoey and Hugo all dressed up for Halloween, heartily laughing over their friend's plight.

"Mommy, there's… there's a ghost!" he crouched on the floor, his face pale and his lungs, out of breath.

The spectators roared in laughter, even the helpers couldn't help but hide their smiles too. Grant stood from his position after regaining all his senses back and looked behind him. He dropped his shoulders when he saw his friends dressed as the Balete Drive ghost and the taxi driver.

"You didn't tell me we're dressing up!" he complained, completely forgetting how idiotic he looked like just a few minutes ago. These two always leave me out on purpose, he thought to himself.

Zoey moved forward, hooking her arms with Grant's and said, "It's ok. You have a lamp. You can be our medium." She smiled brightly at the lanky boy. And even with the horrendous make-up she has on, his heart pounded on his chest and he swears, they both could hear it.

"Ok, that's enough. Shake a leg and let's get going. I don't wanna be late to the party," Hugo said, clapping his hands in presto tempo.

"I don't remember a white lady wearing a scarf, Grant," Zoey complained when the giant surprisingly wrapped her with a pink rabbit fur neck warmer. "Jeez! Just wear it Zoey! You already scared me. That's your quota for tonight. Don't scare more people." Grant tied the scarf tighter and hid his hands inside his pocket.

It was mid-fall, and the temperature has significantly dropped that white smoke would come out of your mouth when you speak. The candles in their personalized lanterns dance, illuminating their paths as they playfully brought two fingers towards their mouths and pretended to inhale smoke and then puffing out whiffs of white clouds of breaths into the cold Halloween night.

Innocent and free. An arm's reach away from leaving their youth behind.

Edited by Swaning