Chapter 2: Chasing Souls

Murmurs, gossips, and trembling knees. What a way to welcome another bright day!

Harvey forcefully covers his ears with his gray pillow. He pulls his blanket over his head until he finally sighs in anger. There is obviously a commotion outside his dorm yet he doesn't care even a bit. His lack of sleep makes him angrier and angrier. All he wants to do is to let his single-spaced bed accompany him while he rests but seems to it that there's no way to be.

Last night, he was fascinated by the dancing lightning that continuously cascading with the heavy downpour of rain. It was colorful, as if it was the nature's way to convey a message to the human race--which only takes a vigilant special person to understand. It was scary yet beautiful. And he can't keep his eyes off them like there's a magnetic force that keeps on pulling his gaze towards them. He doesn't even remember how he slept and what time. Harvey shrugs.

He rises up in his bed, annoyed. He doesn't even bother to fix his bed before wearing the white shirt hanging on the back of his chair. His room is a total mess. It's not fancy, it's not grand. Harvey lives in a small rental rooms that only covers the bedroom with outlets where he can cook his meal with a rice cooker. He shares the bathroom at the corner of the floor with other tenants. There is no television or wifi or computers. All he has is a broken phone that he still uses for almost 5 years. After all, his priorities are paying the rent and providing for his family's needs.

Yawning, he walks in bare feet and walks out of his room. His hair is messy and the floor is silent. It's just 7 in the morning and the other tenants are already in their respective works or at school, wherever their appointments are.

He heads toward the bathroom and pees as a morning ritual. Still, the scene last night keeps on lingering in his minds as if it was the most beautiful phenomena that he ever encountered in his entire existence.

Harvey washes his face with a bar soap and brushes his teeth thoroughly. His hair is still messy but he doesn't care. He steps out of the bathroom, heads toward the exit, puts on his slippers and joins the crowd in the commotion. What he saw lost his appetite even though he loves food so much.

A corpse. A corpse of a man dripping in his own blood, with broken limbs, wide-opened eyes which may have seen terror before his death, and distorted face features as if the culprit have been holding a grudge for a long time and when given a chance, he killed him in the most brutal and cruel way he can. What's worst? The corpse seems to be looking at Harvey's core, and it gives him unbearable fear. He regrets stepping out to feed his curiosity. He regrets minding the commotion and get himself involved. He cannot do anything right now. His heart beats frantically, as if any moment, it will explode. His stomach suddenly becomes weak and he forces to prevent himself from vomiting.

He wants to leave the scene. He wants to be in his bed again and cover his whole body with his blanket. But his feet are glued to where they are standing.

And when he is finally able to turn his back from the crowd, there his eyes meet the most stoical face, the most emotionless eyes, and the most soulless being. She spells gloom all over her presence and from that moment, Harvey grows his desires to dig deeper into her life matter even though it has nothing to do with him. She seems new in this neighborhood.

Harvey, despite having to find the interest for further investigation, withdrew from the crowd and hurriedly finds a place to vomit. He cannot take what he had witnessed. He cannot rewind the past and make a new decision to prevent himself from seeing the corpse.

"Harv, you okay?" Sean asks.

Sean lives on the room across Harvey for almost 3 years and the rest is history. They became friends rather than neighbors.

Harvey beckons Sean to stop where he is standing. He shows him a thumbs up as a sign that he is fine even though he's obviously not.

Sean, of all people, knows how much Harvey despises the idea of pitying him. Thus, the moment the latter made him stop right where he is, he feels obliged to do so. Sean knows exactly that there are burdens Harvey wants to let go of but the thing is, he can't. Only Harvey knows the reasons why.

_____

Police Officers and Forensic Team eventually arrive. Three officers scan the area and interview people in the neighborhood in hopes of finding a clue about the culprit's identity. The Forensic Team collects the corpse to be examined and left the scene. There's a yellow sign that says 'Do Not Cross' surrounding the are where the corpse was found. With a lot of clicks and flashes, the media keeps on asking questions to the people just to do a scoop, any information they get will do.

Instantly, the headline on the newspaper says 'Corpse in Morris Village raises mysterious questions'. Morris Village is on the news, not a good news tho.

______

"Have you eaten yet?" Sean asks, trying so hard to ignore the commotion earlier.

"No. probably not after what I have seen," Harvey replies.

The corpse really bothers Harvey. The way it looked at him, its gaze piercing through his soul. His instincts tell him that it has something to do with the beautiful yet mysterious phenomena that happened last night. After all, there are dangers hiding behind the word beautiful.

Harvey was lost in trance for a moment but find courage to shake the scenario off his head.

Sean, on the other hand, rummages through Harvey's refrigerator to find something better to eat. Unfortunately, there's none. Sean sighs. He knows how much Harvey sacrifices his own well-being so he could continue to provide a better life for his family in the province.

"You haven't gone to the grocery store?" Sean asks, even though it is so obvious that Harvey haven't.

"No. I sent Mama my entire pay for this month. Trisha badly needs it for her hospital bills and vitamins. Actually, I'm planning to visit them this weekend," Harvey replies, bringing himself another joy for having a new member to his family.

Sean's eyes widened in excitement. He is already aware that there's a little life inside Trisha's womb but he never expected it to be born earlier. He always thought Trisha is in her 5th month of pregnancy. Her stomach didn't really grow into a huge melon in her 9th month. So its a bit surprising for Sean. He actually developed an infatuation towards Trisha, but he chose to keep it in silence for she already has her man.

"So, Is it a boy?" Sean asks casually, forcing to hide a pang of pain in his voice.

"No. a girl," Harvey says.

Then, there is a sudden silence. A heart that has been broken and a soul that yearns for rest.

"Ah, Sean,"

For a moment, Harvey hesitates to ask the question that is already running inside his mind since their gazes met.

Sean turns his head towards Harvey for a second, and then back to the 4 sunny side-up eggs in the cooking pan. Good thing, Sean stopped by to the store near the apartment before coming back home.

"hm?" Sean responds, still thinking of the 'what ifs' and possibilities that could've happened if ever Trish and her husband's paths did not cross.

"Have you heard anything about newcomers?"

Sean shakes his head as he put the cooked eggs neatly into the plate.

"Why?" Sean asks.

Harvey's mind seems to be clouded with confusion. That woman's aura is beyond mysterious; there's something sinister. Those eyes, those are the emptiest eyes he ever stared on. Her whole presence seems dark, at all.

Isn't odd when mysterious killings started when that woman appeared? Or isn't it strange to find a mysterious woman after the phenomena that happened last night?

Whatever may it be, Harvey has so much questions, so much conclusions, and so much theories.

"Nevermind," Harvey replies to Sean.

And deafening silence devours the atmosphere once more.