Chapter 3 3

I woke up in a very dark room. Where am I? I stood up from where I was lying down. Because it was so dark, I couldn't see anything around me and I bumped into something-or rather, someone. I screamed in surprise.

"Calm down," said a familiar voice. Shortly after, there was a bit of light. It came from a small candle on the side.

With a little light, I could make out the person speaking, it was Casper.

"W-wait, where am I? And why do you speak Tagalog now?"

"Don't worry, my love. I won't harm you. I accidentally bumped into you," he said, lifting me and bringing me back to the bed.

"W-wait, is this really Casper? Why can he speak Tagalog?"

"It's been days since our union, but we haven't been able to be close," he continued.

"What?! Stay away from me. You're the man from hell, right? The man from the church!" I said, realizing who he was.

"You're not mistaken, my love. That's me. But my memory recalls seeing you in the cemetery behind the church, not in hell." He sat beside me on the bed. I moved away a bit, but he pulled me closer.

"Who are you?"

"I believe you know my name, my love," he said, embracing my hands. After he spoke.

If he isn't Casper, then who is he? I broke free from his embrace. "Stop calling me 'my love!'"

He was surprised by my action. "Forgive me, my love. I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to hold you as my wife."

"What, your wife?" I asked, confused. "Are you talking about me?"

"Yes, you, my love. I've waited for years for us to meet again. And now that we have, I won't let you go."

I was confused by his words. "Are you okay, mister? Are you on drugs or drunk?"

He smiled at me, and I was amazed. "May I kiss you, my love? I want to taste your sweet lips again."

I remembered the kiss he gave me back in the church. It was just a dream, and I didn't remember much about it, but I was sure he had kissed me. The idea of our lips meeting sent shivers down my spine. I got off the bed and rushed towards the door. But the stranger was quick, and before I could get far, he lifted me back onto the bed. I struggled to ask for help.

"Stop, my love. No one will come to help you. Don't worry, nothing will happen to you as long as I'm by your side."

Instead of feeling safe, I felt even more scared. What was this man going to do to me? Would he assault me and then kill me afterwards?

"Calm down, my love," he said in a soothing voice. "I won't harm you or kill you."

Could he read my mind? "Wh-what are you g-going to do to me?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"I just want to be with you."

I don't know why, but I calmed down when he said he just wanted to be with me. The fear I felt seemed to disappear. I allowed him to hug me. Until I slowly felt drowsy and fell asleep beside him.

---

*Alarm ringing!* My alarm clock's sound effect echoed again, waking me up.

Dang it, I'm still sleepy.

I turned it off and went back to sleep.

I knew it, it was just another dream. Thank goodness it was just a dream. I thought it was real.

"My love, wake up," a voice said.

Who is that? I looked around the room, but there was no one else except me. I even checked under my bed, but there was no one there.

"Wake up, my love, you're going to be late for your class."

Hello! Where is that voice coming from? No way, is there a ghost in my room?

I jolted upright and pulled my blanket up for protection. "Wh-who are you? Where are you? Ghost, show yourself!" I commanded the air.

I heard a man's laughter. "My love, I'm not a ghost," the voice said. I was starting to get scared, so I covered myself even more with the blanket. "Don't be scared, my love. I just wanted to wake you up so you wouldn't be late for your class."

I screamed in fear. I covered my ears with my hands. I thought it was just a dream. Why is this happening? Why am I hearing his voice in real life too?!

"Kyaaaaah!" I pinched myself really hard to wake myself up, and I did.

The door to my room opened and I saw Mommy enter. "Rica! What's wrong with you, screaming so early in the morning! You're such a child, it's already noon and you're not even out of bed yet! Hurry up and get ready!"

I ran towards Mommy and hugged her tightly. "Mommy! Mommy, I hear a voice!" I complained. "Mommy, I don't want to, I'm scared!"

"What?" she asked, not believing me. "Just stop it. Rica, you're already grown up, so act like it."

"But Mommy, I'm really scared!"

"Well, what do you want? Do you want me to go with you to shower?"

I threw my blanket back onto my bed. "I said I'll shower, whispered to myself. I went to the bathroom to wash up. I looked at myself in the mirror first to see if I had any eye boogers. I saw one, so I wiped it off. When I raised my hand, I saw a golden ring on one of my fingers.

Wait, when did I get a gold ring? Is this a joke? I tried to take the ring off, but I couldn't, it seemed too tight.

"My love, please don't take off the ring symbolizing our love."

"You again! Stop talking to me, I feel like I'm going crazy! And now I'm even talking back to you! Damn this love!" I struggled to remove the ring, causing it to heat up and tighten even more. I almost cried from the pain.

"Please, my love, don't take off that ring from your finger. Don't make me angry, I don't want us to have a misunderstanding," he said in a pleading tone.

Despite his words, I still tried to take off the ring, and it heated up even more and tightened further. It felt like my skin was burning under the ring, and I ended up kneeling on the bathroom floor, crying.

"My love, stop it now. Whatever you do, you won't be able to remove that ring. Forgive me." I didn't listen to what he was saying. I just sat quietly on the bathroom floor. "My love, I know you're shocked by everything that's happening. I know it's hard to accept, but I believe that one day you'll understand everything."

What did I get myself into? I'm only seventeen years old. I'm not even of legal age to get married, but here I am now. Married to a man I don't even know.