Lia had recently visited the funeral with her parents a few hours ago for the passing of a loved one, her grandpa, who died of old age. The whole family was in despair about his death. During the funeral, the entire family said their last words to their loved one before going back to their seats. And that’s where the readings began.
During the readings, Lia whispered something to her mom,
“Mom, I don’t want Grandpa to be buried.” She said with a sad tone, and her mom could feel it. She responded with a pat and a caress on her back to comfort her. After that, it was time to bury the coffin, and the family watched as it slowly came to rest on the ground.
Soil began to drop on the coffin until it was fully covered, while Lia just watched, tears flowing from her eyes. They all went home and started to try moving on on but they can’t. They were too hurt to let go of their loved one, especially Lia, who loved her grandpa so much.
And then, the mom approached Lia to soften her aching heart, “Lia, I know this is hard for you, and I understand that you love your grandpa too, but we have to let go of your grandpa. He’s in our hearts now.” She said softly to Lia, whose eyes were red from crying too much.
That night, she suddenly left the house. Her mom was worried that she might get herself in danger. On the other hand, Lia’s family members thought she just wanted to get some fresh air. Or is she? Little did they know, she’s going to revisit her grandpa’s grave.
Lia, who was so naughty, went to the cemetery to see her grandpa’s grave, and stayed there for a minute, saying her thoughts out just to communicate with him, even though he’s not in the world anymore. She started off with, “Hi, Grandpa, I miss you.” And then she continued talking to him, with Lia acting like her grandpa was actually communicating with her. After that, she bid her grandpa farewell before she stood up and walked away. Suddenly, she heard a weird noise behind her, and that noise was coming from the bushes.
“What was that…?” She said quietly, and the rustling noises continued.
She felt both cold and fear crawl up inside her. Still, she decided to check out what it is…When she got closer, she used her hands to cut the bush in half to see what was making the noise. When she did, she saw that nothing was inside it. Then, she noticed a handmade object made out of leaves. She reached out her hand to touch it, thinking it was just a craft somebody left. But she was wrong. A scary-looking creature popped up from the bushes. She jumped in fear and screamed.
“AHHH!!!” She screamed in fear and shock and ran away like a scaredy cat.
She ran back to the house. When Lia reached it, she opened the door fast and slammed it shut in fear. She turned her body around only to see that all the lights were turned off. It seems like her family is asleep now. She also went to bed and thought about what had happened earlier in the cemetery. She couldn’t see the creature’s face clearly either, as it was covered with leaves from the bushes, just like its body.
“Oh well, I’ll just sleep it off.”She said quietly and began to sleep, resting and clearing her mind.
One and a half hour later, Lia felt dehydrated, so she decided to get a glass of water to drink, and then…As she was gulping down the water, she heard a thud. And the noise was coming from her room. She decided to check and see what was in the room. She slowly opened the door and…Nothing. She saw nothing, making her think that maybe it was just the wind. Suddenly, her door to her room closed, thinking it was just the wind once again, but that’s where she’s wrong. She turned around only to see…
The same creature she saw back at the cemetery.
It lunged at her and screamed, and then everything stopped when she woke up. Her heart raced so badly she couldn’t breathe properly. She calmed herself down, telling herself that it was just a dream. But then, a few seconds later,
*gasp*
“You thought you’re safe from me…?” The Leafy Creature said in a low, deep raspy voice that almost sounded like a growl, and lunged at her. Lia’s scream was worse than she had in the dream, and then…
She opened her eyes again and stood up fast, her eyes full of fright and shock, breathing heavily while her heart was beating fast,
*hah…hah…hah…hah…hah…*
with her clock on the bedside alarming at the same time.
*Beep beep…beep beep…beep beep…*
And then, she checked the window beside her and realized that it was already morning as the sun began to rise and shine on the trees and other structures in the neighborhood. She sighed, glad that it was all over.
“Great heavens…thought I was going to die today.” She said, and laughed at herself a little. It was not a hilarious laugh, but a nervous one. Whatever she saw that night in the cemetery will forever remain a mystery.
Author…
Paris Miguel T. Competente
Paris is a 15-year-old teenager. A grade 9 student who loves gaming, especially online, anime sketching, and Korean food. He was a taekwondo trainee and a blue belter. He is friendly, though he can be a bit unruly sometimes. He joined BUBOTS (Ben Button Online Tutorial Services) in 2023 to improve his skills in comprehension, writing, and reading. At first, he didn’t like it. But now he started to get a hang of it throughout the day.