Chapter 9: Anthony dela Vega

Anthony.

I will never forget this boy with the most beautiful eyes.

I first met him when we were eight.

His family moved into our subdivision, right in front of our house. I was looking through our window, curious of our new neighbors when I've seen a small cherubic boy get out of the car.

He looked around with curiousity in his angelic face. Soon enough, he caught me looking at him. He waved and smiled at me with a hint of recognition. I thought hard if I have seen him somewhere or on TV. He could have been a child actor I just could not remember. Feeling his intense stare at me and seeing his silly grin, I hid myself behind the curtains.

Something is otherworldly in him.

My sixth sense told me so.

As far as I could recall, I can see and feel things that are unusual for most. I kept telling them to my parents but they thought it was just child talk.

Once, I told my aunt that her philandering husband has a demon in him. Mama and Papa scolded and grounded me for a week and my brothers, except Benjamin, joked about it. Due to their continuous doubting and discouragement whenever I speak, I started to stammer. My classmates bullied me and worse, our Guidance Counsellor told me I had a very low IQ.

My self confidence dropped to a dangerously low level that at such a young age, I thought of jumping and drowning myself on the community's public swimming pool.

One day, my father was not able to fetch me from school on time. It was almost six o'clock in the afternoon and all the students have left. As the school guards and janitors had no plans to keep me company, I went to the playground and sat on a swing.

As I was already beginning to enjoy, I saw a black image pass by my side. I shuddered and closed my eyes, prayed that it was just hunger making me see things.

A few moments later, I felt a tap on my forehead.

And then, several more.

The wind was becoming chilly and the presence of supernatural entity tempted me to open my eyes.

There were bloody feet right in front of my eyes, tapping my forehead, over and over again.

I looked up and saw a black lady elevated from my sight. Her eyes were hollow and her cheek had a deep gash, exposing some of her rotten teeth.

I screamed hysterically and even though my legs went numb from fear, I did my best to get away as fast as I could. Too scared of the one who haunted me, I stumbled on the muddy ground. Even with my knees bleeding, I tried to get up yet the pain hindered me from doing so.

Two hands reached for me and assisted me to get up.

I screamed like it was the end of the world.

"Are you alright?" a boy asked. "Why are you still here?"

A pair of gentle light brown eyes with specks of silver looked at me with worry.

He was our new neighbor.

He led me to a seat and offered a handkerchief to clean myself. He took out a tissue paper, band aid, and a small yellow bottle.

"W-What is that bottle for?" I questioned him as he began to pour the antiseptic on the tissue.

"This one? First aid. Mama told me this cleans wounds well and makes healing faster. Cool invention." he told me as his eyes glittered, like it is the coolest stuff in the planet.

"That would sting!" I complained as tears flowed from my eyes.

"No. It's betadine, not alcohol. It won't hurt."

He proceeded to clean my wound and put two band aids to cover it.

"Y-You look like a nice p-person. Have we seen before?" I inquired.

"Yes!" he happily replied. "Do you remember?"

"Of course I do."

His countenance lit up and he immediately leaned towards me with only a few inches between our faces.

"You do?" he asked excitedly.

"You are our new neighbor, r-right? I saw you with your mom and dad." I candidly told him. "Are they your real parents? They don't look like you."

His expression was quick to shift to being sad as he moved away from me and sat beside me with his head bowed low.

"Don't you remember anything else?"

"Are you an a-actor?"

"No."

"I get it, a model!" I attempted to guess.

"No." he muttered in an exasperated tone. He looked away and sighed. "My name is Anthony by the way." he began to introduce himself. And you are Bianca..."

"How did you know my name?" I wondered as he was too quick to know.

"I heard...somewhere..." He diverted our conversation back to what I have seen earlier. "Have you seen a ghost?"

"Y-Yes..." I replied while trying to control my tears from flowing again. "I'm so scared. Please don't leave me. Can we wait for my father to come? By the way, what are you still doing here? Where are your parents?"

"I sneaked out of the house to return here."

"H-Huh? Why?"

"I'm into ghost hunting." he replied with no trace of fear within him. "And, aren't you relieved that I am here for you?"

"Wow! I got an instant angel!" I happily declared.

"I will always protect you, Bianca." he promised.

From them on he became my best friend.

Anthony always had this air of mystery.

I have noticed that he had this charisma that made people like him. Even though it turned out that he was really adopted, his parents treated him more than a real child. Almost every week, they would have something for him like toys, sweets and clothes delivered in the house just for him.

To my advantage, he is never selfish and would gladly share almost everything with me. There were times that we will eat all the imported candies until we felt that we can't swallow any more gummy bears.

His family's business grew impressively. They started with one branch of pastry shop in our subdivision and it quickly multiplied into hundreds of stalls.

His mother called him "The Good Luck Charm from Heaven".

Even his classmates and teachers liked him except for a few bullies who kept on asking where his real parents are.

He was unusually strong for his age. He got into trouble once for breaking a fifteen year old boy's arm. He was usually calm and pleasant yet he lost his cool when he caught the teen tripping me on a stair. He and his friends laughed as I landed facedown. My nose and lips bled from the impact.

Witnessing my predicament, he charged at the teen with unbelievable speed. With a quick twist of the bully's arm, he sent the young man to a hospital and rehabilitation for months. Even years have passed, I have learned that he could still not use his arm normally.

His company made me gain my confidence and was able to manage my stammering.

He was always glad and very affectionate. He would hug his parents like they were the best in the world. He attempted to embrace me once but my older brother, Benjamin, pulled him away from me and threatened never to do that again.

One summer, when we were about thirteen, his parents planned a month long vacation in Paris, France. He promised to buy gifts for me. When he came back at last, my mother called for me and said that Anthony was looking for me.

In haste, I ran downstairs and greeted him. I barely recognized the boy that was sitting on the sofa. Within a month he transformed from a beautiful boy to an extremely handsome young man. He stood up upon seeing me with a charming smile that made me blush.

"Hello, Bianca. I'm back." He handed me a pink box. "As promised."

I gestured for him to sit down. No matter how much I tried to stop myself from staring at him, my eyes still betrayed me. He became very uncomfortable with my penetrating stare.

"Open it." He pointed at the gift.

"Oh!" I uttered, finally coming back to my senses. I opened the box and saw a pink glittering watch.

And, a box of chocolates and cookies.

"Chocolates!" I squealed.

"Your favorite, as expected." He seemed to be very pleased that I liked his gift.

My best friend Anthony was almost perfect.

Except for one big flaw.

He had no talent for the arts.

He could not sing.

He could not dance.

He could not act.

He could not draw.

Even if he has to do it to save his life.

In the Art Class, the teacher would just scratch her head on his drawings. He just reasoned that "his work of art is abstract beyond words".

On school plays, as he hated being forced to be the main character, he would be quick to volunteer as the tree in the background. On one play, he was cast as a skunk whose role is to run around the stage.

"You could have been the lead role." I told him in dismay, too disappointed that the lead role was given to the principal's son. That kid is a brat and I must say with all honesty that his looks are nothing to Anthony. "Of all animal roles you must be given, why a skunk?"

"It's OK, I'm the most handsome skunk in the world." he declared proudly. "But I don't stink, do I?" He pulled his collar up to his nose and took a whiff of himself.

I laughed so hard that I swallowed the candy inside my mouth.

"Nope, silly skunk! Hahaha!"

Days with Anthony were happy and full of life.

Until someone or something took him away from me.

He was rushed to the hospital due to an illness the best doctors could not tell.

He was declared brain dead.

Then, his body mysteriously disappeared.

I lost him so quickly.

All my dreams of being with him forever disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Depression crept within me, making me suffer so many sleepless nights.

Everyday, I prayed for him to come back to me but God might have other plans and have decided to make me wait for too long.

Years passed and somehow, I tried to survive my loss.

One night, to my relief, I slept soundly.

I began dreaming about a man who lived from the 1900s.

He is as real as life to me.

Everything in him captivated me so much that every morning, I wrote all the events that I could remember from my slumber.

His similarity with my best friend made me more engrossed with this certain character. Writing about him made me so happy and fulfilled for unexplainable reasons.

I did not expect that his story would be a hit.

I knew him by the name of "Antoine Sta. Maria."