Chapter 3 (First Tale Of Terror) The Boarder

• She jolted awake as her alarm went off, her heart pounding rapidly.
• Was last night just a dream?
• She winced slightly as she felt a sting in her wrists. She froze when she noticed scratches on both of them—the very spots where something had gripped her tightly the night before. She knew she hadn’t caused them herself; her nails weren’t even long.
• Still shaken, she quickly got up to prepare for work, her mind swirling in confusion.
• As she walked toward the tricycle station near her boarding house, her thoughts kept drifting back to the scratches on her hands. She kept rubbing and looking at them, unable to shake the eerie feeling. Suddenly, a man, about her age—she was 25—stepped in her path.
• "Miss," he said.
• She looked up, confused.
• "Are you the new boarder staying with Mang Roger and his wife?" he asked.
• "Yes, why?"
• "Do you know their previous boarder, Joy?" he continued.
• She frowned at the man.
• "I didn’t know they had a previous boarder. They told me the room I’m renting was their daughter’s."
• The man went quiet for a moment.
• "Joy was also their boarder. I was the one who helped my girlfriend move in. She’s been missing for two months now. The couple said she left suddenly without any notice and didn’t pay three months' worth of rent. But I know my girlfriend. She always paid on time because I helped her out—she was still in school," the man explained.
• Her interest was piqued by his story.
• "Do you have a picture of your girlfriend?" she asked suddenly.
• "Yes, I do," he answered quickly, pulling out his wallet from his pocket.
• He handed her a photo of a young woman smiling. The woman was wearing a white long-sleeved blouse and a pink skirt with a school logo—the same uniform as the girl in her dream.
• She gasped. Despite the mutilated face of the woman in her nightmare, she was sure this was the bloodied girl who had appeared to her.
• Her hands trembled as she returned the photo to him.
• "Have you seen her, miss?" he asked hopefully.
• She shook her head and hurriedly walked away. She knew he didn’t believe her, given her reaction earlier.
• "Miss, here’s my number. If you hear anything about Joy, please call me," he said, pressing a slip of paper into her hand before she could leave.
• She shoved the paper into her bag without looking back.
• Her unease grew after the encounter. She hadn’t told the man about seeing his girlfriend in her dream—it sounded too unbelievable. She decided she would ask the couple about Joy later.
• At dinner, she kept glancing at Mang Roger and Aling Margie, looking for the right moment to bring up the topic.
• "Did you have a boarder before me?" she asked hesitantly, watching their reactions.
• The couple froze and exchanged glances.
• "Did that nosy boyfriend of hers, Mark, talk to you?" Mang Roger asked, his tone angry.
• So, the man’s name was Mark.
• "Y-yes," she admitted softly.
• "You know, that guy just can’t accept that his tramp of a girlfriend ran off with someone else!" Aling Margie snapped, emphasizing the word "tramp" with disdain.
• The woman in the photo didn’t look like the type to be unfaithful.
• "Don’t talk to that guy anymore. We already reported him to the police for harassing us. His girlfriend ran off without paying rent, so we gave away her belongings and burned the rest," Mang Roger added, resuming his meal.
• Josie didn’t ask further questions, seeing the anger on their faces.
• Despite her fear of sleeping in the room again, she had no choice. She decided she would find a new place to stay soon.
• While organizing her things, her bag suddenly fell off the table, spilling its contents onto the floor. She watched as her lipstick rolled under the bed. Confused—she had placed the bag securely in the middle of the table—she quickly picked up her scattered belongings and put them back in her bag.
• She knelt down to retrieve the lipstick, reaching her hand under the bed. When she couldn’t feel it, she leaned closer to see where it had rolled.
• She froze in terror and stumbled backward when a face appeared on the other side of the bed, staring directly at her. It was the same mutilated woman from her dream. Her mangled face and piercing gaze sent chills down Josie’s spine. She covered her mouth with her hands, stifling a scream.
• The figure began crawling out from under the bed, moving toward her.
• Her eyes widened in horror as the woman got closer. When the figure reached out a hand to grab her, Josie squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the touch. She kept her mouth covered, unable to make a sound.
• She didn’t know how long she stayed frozen like that, holding her breath. When nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes.
• "Ahhhhhhhh!"
• The horrifying face was inches from her own, letting out a deafening scream. Josie tried to scream back, but no sound came out of her open mouth. Overwhelmed with fear, she blacked out.
• She woke to the sensation of someone stroking her face. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking to clear her vision. Sitting up from the floor, she found herself face-to-face with Joy, her ghostly hand still resting on Josie’s cheek.