We shared some breakfast together. Ate Martha was making the atmosphere lively. I just rode it, to ignore Kuya Tonyo's gaze.
Or much more like, his suspicions.
The rest of the day, I helped them out and dropped the poking. Don't want to push it when he's already avoiding some of the topics.
And Ate Martha was oblivious about everything.
By afternoon, we finished harvesting. Their cucumber patch wasn't that big. But still took us all day to harvest everything.
Ate Martha gave me a plastic full of cucumbers. Not rejects but the best ones we got.
"Thanks a lot Ate. Lola will be so happy with this." I bid my goodbye, while Ate Martha kept thanking me repeatedly.
Then out of nowhere.
After taking a few steps away from them, Kuya Tonyo spoke.
"Till when are you staying in your Lola's house, Anthony?"
His question made me stop. But I'm not showing how fast my heartbeat was at the moment. Not even showing, I'm freaking out.
Oh crap. Oh crap.
Am I the next target? But he's straight right? No way I'm gonna be one of those lists.
I turned around and smiled.
"On the third week of May Kuya. To give me time to prepare for the upcoming school year. Thanks for this again. See you around."
I turned back immediately. I was sweating. Because Kuya Tonyo was glaring at me. And this time. His eyes...
His eyes....were red.
That's the demon asking right?
Is he gonna crawl into my bed? Oh please. Don't be like that.
I said was no longer a coward, but my bad... Things don't just change like that ASAP.
My steps were quicker, and it's just a matter of time I'll start sprinting away.
But can't. Gotta keep my cool while my whole face was looking constipated.
When I reached Lola's house. I out the cucumbers on the table and slumped on the chair.
Lola saw me, and gave me water.
"Did everything work out alright?" She asked worriedly.
"Yes Lola. Nothing to worry about. I didn't do anything dangerous. I just helped them with the harvest and I got cucumbers in return." I said after gulping down the glass of water she gave me.
Lola doesn't know about the system. All I told her about was that, I can see and communicate with spirits.
I rested for a while and took a quick bath. All six of them followed me back.
"Anthony, did you feel that? There's some dangerous being inside Tonyo." Sharon said, finally talking after being silent since last night.
"Kuya Tonyo is possessed by a Demon. All those brutal killings he did? I think they're the demon's doing. But that doesn't mean he's innocent." I said firmly.
And let's not skip the part, that the small bathroom was so crowded. Six ghosts an a teenage human, bathing while having an audience.
Not your usual bathroom routine but gotta start getting used to it.
I looked at them again and turned off my passive skill Uplifting Soul.
And their gruesome, disfigured faces were back. But I'm not going to puke. I plan not to...
I really...did...
"Bleegh!" But I did anyways.
"Why turn it off if you can't still handle looking at us like this?" Paula asked, frowning.
Her frown made the wide wound across her face widen even more. I could see the bone on how deep it was.
But I composed myself. And looked at them again.
"If I'll be doing this moving forward. I'll be seeing more than just this. I need to get use to it."
That might have been taken a bit too seriously by Paula.
Why?
When I woke up the next day, always at 4 am. My internal alarm clock.
Her face was inches from me. Blood dripping towards my face. It's not there, but I can feel it dripping.
"YAWAAAAAA! PAULA!" I screamed my hearts out that Lola panicked and went to my room.
"Anthony! Why are you screaming?" She asked angrily.
Then she saw six blurry figures inside my room and exactly knew what happened.
"Coward. Tsk tsk tsk." She shook her head and I was looking at her in disbelief.
"Lola... If you can only see their faces, you'll know why I screamed." I exclaimed.
"No thanks. I'm glad I can't see their faces. Since you're up, and wide awake, go fetch some water."
Lola Aurora went outside to start cooking. Our dirty kitchen and dining table are outside the house. Like an extension.
I put on my shirt and glared at Paula.
"Do it again and I'll call you ugly, repeatedly." I threatened her. With a flimsy one. Not even hitting a wound.
It was just what I could think of.
I went to my routines and... pisteng yawa this ghost!
On my way back with two water filled pails in each hand...
Paula and the headless one just did a prank on me. A combo.
Paula appeared in front of me, while on of them tossed the head on the ground hitting my feet.
And like always....
"Yawaaaaaa!"
The two pails dropped to the ground, spilled empty. While Paula's laugh was loud.
Out of anger... Well... More of annoyance. I kicked the head away, letting it roll down deeper towards the woods.
Sharon shook her head like a mother, who's tired scolding her children.
Yanna's body followed her head, that didn't even stopped rolling. Even ghosts have their dumb times too.
She looked... pitiful. That kicking her head away made me feel bad.
But Paula's laugh just yeeted that thought out of me. I grumbled as I picked up the pail, and went back to the well.
"That was fun." Paula said, after calming down.
"It wasn't." I refuted.
"It was. Poor Yanna's still chasing her head." She said while looking at the body trying to reach out the head that's finally stopped.
Guess, these pranks are helping me, somehow.