It looks a nice place to stay--and it is. It's cheap but quality, costing you just P4K a month. And by the way, it's rent-to-own, so sooner or later, you'd have it as your very own property. It's a townhouse somewhere along Alley H, in Project 8, QC. If you've never heard of Alley H, it's a narrow path inserted somewhere in Project 8, and just to give you hint (because I cannot disclose the location) it's near a small eatery, car wash, and a trendy grocery store.
Alam mo na kung saan?
The townhouse has 3 bedrooms, a sala, kitchen, dining area, 3 toilets and baths, guestroom, and a one-car garage. Ideal house for a small family, right? Ang OK pa, one ride lang ito from Mercury, Save More and ilang schools and clinics. There are still 2 units available, so start looking for it. The owners call it Three Doors. Siguro kasi three doors and townhouses na dikit-dikit. The first unit is now occupied by Tommy.
Tommy is not one of the Ocho Boys or Mtrackers. He's originally from Abra but transferred to QC because his work is based here. So after two years of rent, this townhouse became his, with big help from his company's housing plan. O nga pala, Tommy is a marketing director. Malaki sweldo, so he got his loan application approved by the company.
The first one and 10 months of staying in the townhouse were okay, until the eleventh month. That was when the mystery started. His neighbors started reporting strange things to him happening while he was away at work. Meron daw kumakanta sa loob. E alam nila, walang tao dun, dahil Tommy was at work from 8 am to 6 pm. They knew that.
He asked them what particular time of day it happened. They said 6 pm. That's when he leaves the office and starts walking to Ayala to catch a bus to the Ayala Carousel station and then to Monumento, getting off at Munoz. He'd be home by 8pm. His neighbors said the singing went on till 7:30 pm. Whoever it is, the singing is timed to stop about 30 minutes before he arrived home. The mystery started about a week ago, the neighbors added.
So one Wednesday, Tommy called in sick at the office so he can be at home all day and check the mystery, and be there at 6 pm to 7:30 pm to personally hear the singing. The townhouse was peaceful all morning and he enjoyed cooking sinigang na baboy for lunch, his favorite dish. He had a swell meal. Then he dozed off in the early afternoon, thankful that his bedroom was airconditioned and unaffected by the severe summer heat. But he napped too long. Next thing he knew, he woke up at 7 pm, while the singing was in progress.
There it was! A female voice was singing some classic song he had heard somewhere on Youtube and the voice seemed to be coming from one of the two bedrooms. Because he wanted the mystery solved asap, he went straight inside the rooms to find out who it was. Empty. Both rooms were empty, and the singing now transferred to his bedroom. That can be downright scary for anybody, but not to Tommy. He believed it was some kind of a prank by a human being, not a ghost or spiritual entity or anything like that.
So he went back to his bedroom quietly and abruptly opened the door to catch the prankster by surprise. Nothing. The singing now seemed to come from the living room. That was when Tommy changed his mind. He felt a bit scared now with the prospect of a probable ghost haunting the house. Momentarily, his phone rang. It was George, his neighbor. George knew that he was home all day trying to solve the mystery. He asked Tommy if he heard the singing. He said he did. Then both of them noted that the singing stopped. They looked at their clocks, and each said 7:30 pm.
George went over to his house and tried to help out, whatever way possible. Tommy offered him beer and they sat down on the sofa to discuss about possibilities, especially things that happened in the past at the place where Tommy's townhouse was sitting. Some terrible and scary history. Probably a woman was murdered and buried in the lot at around 6 to 7:30 pm and the woman was a singer. Or perhaps, it was where the bodies of victims of summary execution (salvaged) were thrown. Maybe, the area was once a cemetery? Things like that.
Finally they agreed that the property owner owed them an explanation. Even George, his family and nearby neighbors were already affected. So they called in their neighbors and together they went to the owner's residence which was just on the other block. Mr. Gonzaga, the owner, was shocked by their sudden visit and obviously alarmed by their complaint. He couldn't believe a ghost haunted his newly constructed townhouse unit.
He said as far as he was concerned, he bought a clean title and the place was formerly a part of a rice field. The owners were migrating to the US so they sold the land to a developer and the developer turned the area into a subdivision in Project 8. And Mr. Gonzaga bought a 700 square meter property and divided it into three where he put up three new townhouse units. That was all he knew. He couldn't understand how the property could be haunted.
George suggested trying to contact the original owners in the US, but the others thought it was far out. So, Tommy had two options--leave the townhouse unit or stay and get used to the singing. Mr. Gonzaga asked how the singing was, and Tommy said it was kind of good but spooky. George and the others agreed. So, nagisip si Mr. Gonzaga. He liked classical songs and music and loved how the songs were sung by archaic singers in the 1920s or 30s. A bright idea came to him.
Today, you will see Tommy living in a big bungalow house near a public school in GSIS Village, and Mr. Gonzaga living in a small townhouse unit. The other two units are still available, so in case you're interested...
