31st of October…
Yuri and Angel woke up early. Yuri still wants to sleep more but then it was not like every day she will wake up with these girls in the same house. They brushed their teeth and cleaned themselves, then get ready to make some breakfast. But Yuri felt that it was unfair they were the only ones to wake up early she won't let the other two sleep until noon. And so, she pulled Angel and went outside to the connected balcony and discovered the door to the other room was not locked.
Yuri opened the sliding door softly, trying to be careful not to make any sound. When they went inside, they noticed the girls were bundled up in the thick duvet. Yuri went closer and took a peek inside, then her eyes widened. Angel noticed her action and thought that there was something wrong and went closer, but only to find that the two girls were only snuggling.
"They were still sleeping, let's leave them be. I don't think these two were morning people. It may affect their mood if we wake them up now. , "Angel said in a hushed voice, gentle, careful not to wake them up.
"Gel, do you know, my name means something else? I just discovered it recently, thanks to my cousin."
Angel looked at her. "What do you mean? "
"Well, it means something like a girl-to-girl relationship, you know, like in the manga."
"Wah-what?" Angel was totally confused. Manga?!
Yuri suddenly fumbled for her cell phone when she looked at the confused look of her friend. "never mind, if you don't know, it's something like a cute girl like me knows. But they were so cute together, I never thought I will ship them this hard." Yuri's voice was getting higher, but still in a hushed voice. She didn't know that she was creeping Angel out at that moment. Angel thought that Yuri, at that moment, sounds like a maniac.
Yuri takes some pictures. Angel was alarmed and grabbed her arms to stop her. "Hey, don't. Once they know it, you're done for."
"It's okay. This will be our little secret, okay?" Yuri said, acting cute.
Angel sighed helplessly and let her do whatever she wants and made her way to the door and down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Angel was thankful that the pantry was stocked to the brim and that they won't worry about food and need to go to the supermarket. It's a rest house for a rich girl, alright. It’s different from the retreat and camping she does in the youth ministry she belonged to. Here, everything was already settled before they came here.
She decided on a colorful breakfast; she made some pancakes, cut some fruits, make some smoothies, and baked some macaroons. She set up the table happily, although she had to do it all by herself. She also found some pretty sets of plates and cutlery. Halfway through setting the breakfast, she comes up with an idea.
Yuri, Raeven, and Hayley made their way down the bedroom and goes to the kitchen. They tried to find Angel, but she was not there, she was not in the dining area as well.
"Where could she be right now?" Raeven wondered.
"Hayley smelled the lingering smell of pancakes and macaroons. "Well, there's no way that our kind friend will leave after she cooks and baked for us, that's for sure."
Yuri wanted to laugh at Hayley's humor in the morning. "But where is she?" She asked.
"Girls, perfect timing, breakfast is ready, come outside," Angel said. She suddenly showed up, and the girls were a little startled.
"Geez, Angel, don't scare us," Yuri said while holding her chest, making herself calm down.
Angel looked bewildered and then smiled. "I'm sorry. Hurry, the sooner we had our breakfast, the sooner we can explore this place."
They made their way out of the house, and into the small garden in the backyard. Different flowers were to be seen, the trees and grass were so green and there was a wide wooden swing. It could fit three-person. The colorful breakfast was laid on a fancy table and four chairs. The sun shines down on them, on the garden makes the flowers sparkle, making it look like they were in a fairy tale.
"Wow, pretty!" Yuri exclaimed she almost jumps out of happiness.
"It looks delicious, gel. Thanks." Raeven said and sits down at the table. She really likes how Angel arranged the fruit slices and the colorful macaroons together.
"Girl, you are the definition of the nation's wife." Hayley teased Angel.
Yuri laughed. "Yeah, you won't have any problem getting married. You're wife material." Yuri goes along with Hayley's teasing.
Angel felt embarrassed by her friend's teasing. "guys, just eat. What nonsense are you talking about?"
Raeven looked at Angel, "gel, I want to learn how to cook, please teach me." She said, her voice full of sincerity.
"Of course," Angel said while smiling.
"Me too!" Yuri chimed in.
"How about you? You don't want to cook for your fiance?" Raeven teased Hayley.
"I don't need to cook. He has lots of girls who wanted to cook for him. If I'm one of them, then I'm no different from those lovesick girls."
"So, you admit he is your fiance?" Yuri said.
"Well, he's not that bad. If he will, then so be it." Hayley said nonchalantly, then she smiled and looked at Raeven. "how about you, ice beauty, you want to cook for your fiance?"
"Raeven choked from her smoothie. She coughed and glared at Hayley while wiping her mouth. "You're such a..."
"Why are you glaring at me? It's not wrong to cook for your man, after all the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach."
Yuri nodded her head vigorously. "That's true!"
Raeven turned to Yuri and glared at her as well. "You. You shouldn't be thinking of cooking for that young professor you had a crush on. He has a girlfriend."
"What's wrong with that? I already accepted my not standing a chance. I have already given up." Yuri said indignantly.
"Said no one ever," Hayley said while eating her pancake.
Yuri pouted. "But it's true."
Angel sighed helplessly. This girl said something with her mouth but then think something else. "Yuri, there are a lot of cute boys out there. You're still young. It's not wrong to have a crush on our professor, but chasing after a taken man is not appropriate. After all, you're adorable. You deserve more than that."
Yuri keeps on pouting. She knew she won't be able to hide what her heart desires. "How you guys know..."
The three girls looked at her. "Because you're easy to read," they said all together.
After a delicious meal in the beautiful weather, they went to a farm, not too far from the rest house. Yuri called her driver and drove them to the farm. It took them about fifteen minutes. When they arrived, they saw a few people queuing at the entrance.
"Not bad," Hayley said while looking at the entrance of the farm. She tried to survey whatever her eyes could reach.
"My cousin said that this farm also has a bird sanctuary. That is what I'm looking forward to," Yuri said excitedly.
When they made their way past the entrance, Yuri's excitement doubles up. She even became chipper than usual.
"My mom told me when I was young, I used to go to zoos and farms because I loved animals so much. I even asked for every animal I see to take them with me home!"
Hayley just shrugged and make herself busy looking around. Raeven rolled her eyes. Angel was the kindest and keep up with Yuri's enthusiasm.
They saw some peacocks, goats, cows, and other animals. They also tried to milk a cow and watched storing milk and making cheese.
For the finale, they go inside a big cage full of different birds. At first, Hayley was reluctant. She doesn't like the smell of the cage and those flying birds around. However, Angel insisted for all of them go inside, since they will return home after this. Hayley was dragged inside helplessly. It didn't last five minutes before a random flying bird flew above Hayley's head and gave her an unexpected gift.
Hayley looked down at her shoulder. "So, this is what it feels like when someone rains down on your parade?"
Yuri burst out laughing. "You pissed them off. You don't like them, so they don't like you in return." The three girls started laughing.
"It's my pleasure providing some entertainment for you ladies." She said with sarcasm.
After some picture-taking and loitering around; they went home. Yuri was thinking of bringing a bird to their rest house, but Hayley vetoed the idea, so the other girls followed Hayley. Yuri was disappointed, but what can she do?
That night, after a relaxing bath, the girls busied themselves in the kitchen. Yuri requested some roast beef and vegetable salad. Angel made an excuse that they have limited ingredients and tried to persuade her, for they have not tasted her best dish, Beef Caldereta and that they had enough ingredients for that. Yuri was curious since she does not know how to differentiate Menudo from Afritada, and now there was this Caldereta.
Though the preparation was a little complicated, with about an hour of softening the meat and adjusting the taste and its sauce, they finally get to eat another of Angel's cooking.
"Wow. I love the taste! So, this is Caldereta…. I know I tasted something similar to this… Oh, never mind. So good!" Yuri said and keep eating.
"I like this taste. You must teach me more recipes, gel." Raeven said.
Angel looked at Hayley and waited for her to say something.
Hayley stopped eating. "You are a great cook. My uncle knows how to make this dish as well, but yours is way more delicious," Hayley said. She remembered whenever she visits that young uncle of hers, he always prides himself on being a good cook.
That night, Hayley volunteered to do the dishes. Yuri watched how Hayley looked so used to washing the dishes. There was no reluctance and her hands were not clumsy. "Wow. Do you sometimes wash your dishes at home?"
Hayley laughed. As if twenty maids in their house would let her. "It's what I normally do at my uncle's house. He cooks, and I wash the dishes. Now that I know the difference between Angel's cooking to his, I will make him pay for making me wash his dishes for his amateur cooking." Hayley said with a grin.
"So, that explains how casually you talked with your uncle," Raeven said. "You're really close to him."
"Yeah, well, he was the least bright of all my dad's siblings, he was a historian, he lived a simple life, he turned down dad's proposal to help with our company," Hayley said, she unconsciously told them a story about her life.
"Wow, finally, our stone-hearted lady told us a bit about her life. That's progress." Raeven said, obviously teasing Hayley. Finally, she had her revenge for all of Hayley's teasing.
Hayley stopped abruptly at what Raeven said. "Hey, why am I saying all this right now? Am I being sensitive?
"You're yourself. I think you have more interesting stories to tell…." Angel said.
Hayley looked at her intently. Angel could not decode that stare from her.
"Oh, we totally forgot about Halloween!" Yuri said, suddenly bursting out.
"Yuri, stop yelling suddenly, please!" Raeven said, a little annoyed.
"But how about trick or treat..." Yuri pursued the topic.
"We are in the middle of nowhere. We don't have neighbors. Where are you going to go trick or treating? And are you going to be Elsa again?" Hayley said.
Yuri pouted but then she remembered that there was an attic here, and from the time she went here with her cousins they played dress up, there were a lot of costumes up there. "I know, we should go up to the attic, we can have our own Halloween!" Yuri said excitedly.
Angel smiled. "Okay, then trick or treat it is."
Yuri laughed. Hayley finished washing the dishes. The four girls were in their jammies, ready to go to bed after they played enough. They went up to the attic. And the three girls were all shocked to notice that the attic does not look like a typical dirty, dusty, and web-all-over-the-room attic. It looked like another room, clean and smelling fresh.
"Your attic looked weird," Hayley said.
Yuri laughed. "My auntie has OCD and is a clean freak. She does not like any corner of this house being dirty.
"Wow, this is unusual for a change," Hayley said and looked inside an old big wardrobe. Yuri was right. There were lots of dresses and costumes.
"Wow. Why do you have this stuff?"
"My auntie enjoys throwing a party. You know that kind where you can dress up..." Yuri said and rummaged through the wardrobe with Hayley.
"Your auntie sure is weird…."Raeven commented.
Angel joined in and found some nice costumes. She really liked white ballroom dresses. She feels like Juliet or some other Victorian-era heroine in Jane Austen's books.
Yuri saw a gypsy's outfit and tried it on, then sat on the carpet, then sang "a whole new world" as the girls laughed at her.
When they were done rummaging and making things messy in that clean attic, Hayley felt things get boring and suggested something else.
"You know what ladies, this kind of thing is hell boring…. There's nothing tricky here, no fun, no challenge..." she said, then nonchalantly dropped the sexy bunny outfit in her hands and then sat down on the sofa.
Yuri was still not done playing dress-up. She was adjusting her Victorian maid costume right at that moment. "This is fun… Lei, come on-"
Hayley glared at her. "Stop calling me that. It's disgusting. Your pet naming pretty sucks."
Yuri pouted. "Lei, Lei, Lei, what's wrong with you? That little name is cute. Okay!" She even became indignant and excitedly called her after being told off.
Hayley acted like running after her, and that's Yuri's queue. She runs out as fast as she can. After Yuri ran out of the attic, Hayley sat down again and looked at the remaining girls inside. "So, I have a great idea for our trick or treat. Would you like to know?"
"Well, go ahead… I want to know what weird idea are you thinking about." Raeven said and helped Angel tidy up the dresses they left lying on the floor.
Hayley grins and her eyes twinkled. "A test of courage." She said with excitement clear in her voice.
Raeven stops what she was doing and looked at her for a moment. Angel just looked for a second, then goes back to tidying up things. Yuri suddenly pops up. "Wow! Where are we going? Where are we going?" She yelled excitedly and jumps around like an excited bunny.
Hayley smiles, that evil smile of hers. And Raeven saw that kind of smile. She knows what this lady is up to and so she just rolled her eyes.
"On our way home, I saw a cemetery. It will be a good idea for a Halloween trick or treating."
"Scary!" Yuri exclaimed and takes her side beside Angel. "But who's going to be there, just us? Who's going to give us candy then?"
Hayley looked at Yuri. "Silly, I said test of courage. Or do you want to see dead people come alive?"
Yuri screamed, and Angel almost turned deaf. Raeven even winced even when she was a little distanced from her.
"Come on, woman up. The night is nigh, and the moon is full." Hayley said and goes out of the attic.
A few moments later…
Four teenage girls bravely go inside the cemetery…
"There should be grave caretakers here, right?" Yuri asked.
"You mean, gravediggers. There should be one around… Though, there's a story going on around the cemetery..." Hayley said halfway through her speech, her voice turning to whisper like she does not want anyone to hear her.
Yuri realized that type of voice and feels goosebumps. She sidled up more closely to Angel.
"You know, there was some hearsay that sometimes the one who patrols around the grave could be..." Hayley continued scaring Yuri. She closed in on the scared little girl. "he seemed to be not a human being..."
Yuri was ready to scream when she heard Hayley exclaim in pain. "Ouch! What's wrong with you, Raeven?"
Unconsciously, Raeven pinched Hayley's side.
"Chill, I was just scaring her… She keeps on calling me disgusting nicknames..."
"Just shut up, will you?" Raeven said a little seriously.
"I see, acting all serious, but deep inside, you're already scared. Don't worry, I'm here, I'll make sure nothing will happen to my pretty friends." Hayley said.
Angel does not approve of this thing, but the majority won, she just makes them promise not to cause trouble and that they should always ask or say ‘excuse me to the grave… And they only go by half an hour and that's that.
"Oh, I remember!" Hayley suddenly said.
The three girls were surprised, and they almost screamed. "What is it this time, Hayley?" Raeven was almost hissing at her.
Hayley can't help but chuckle. "Relax. I just remember when my uncle and I visited a cemetery. He said it is customary to play cards on top of a grave."
"Shut up!" Raeven said.
"No way in hell!" Yuri burst out.
"Hayley, how rude!" Angel sounded scandalized.
Hayley looked bewildered at the girls' reaction. She did not expect that mixed reaction from them. "Oh, we look lively in a place where dead people sleep…." Hayley said, then laughs. "Be careful. You don't want to wake them up, do you?"
The three girls suddenly fell quiet. Raeven saw something, in her peripheral vision, move in the dark corner. She can't help but feel a chill. She can't help but feel irritated with Hayley. This damn girl jinx it! "Guys…. Quiet." She whispered to them.
Yuri felt a sense of foreboding. Is it a ghost?!
"What is it, Rae?"
"I think I saw something move over there." She said, then pointed at a dark corner…
Angel held her hand abruptly and placed it down. "Don't point at something..."
Raeven looked at her, confused.
"Gel, we need to pray, to ward off the ghosts, right?" Yuri said, her voice already trembling.
"Shut up, you are only inviting them if you really started praying, the least we can do is just leave," Hayley said, she looks serious now, she also felt a stranger is watching them… "Our test of courage ends here, let's go back..." Hayley said then started leading them to the cemetery exit… The four girls were walking hastily when they heard a loud PSST…
Yuri almost screamed, fortunately. Angel was there, and she reflexively covered her mouth. "Shh…."
Hayley and Raeven looked in the direction where they heard the sound. It came from the dark corner where Raeven saw something. Angel was getting nervous as well. This day is the day before All Saints' Day. Are they being disrespectful coming here at night? But they didn't vandalize or create any noise, right? The girl at her side already started weeping silently while shaking. She comforted her. "It's okay, they won't hurt us. We did nothing." She said to her, it's like she's telling that to herself as well.
"Gel, I heard we should offer some prayers to them for their soul, right? Should we..." Raeven said. Her face, though full of seriousness, looked all pale now.
Hayley was staying silent. She was contemplating on something….
Angel took a deep breath and closed her eyes…. Some say that if you pray 'Our Father or any prayer that is commonly used in church the ghost and evil entity will end up praying along with you, and worse you will only provoke them, But this is a cemetery, they should offer some prayers for the dead, she prayed with her own words, she hopes they will forgive them for trespassing at night. The other girls followed suit; they closed their eyes and started praying as well. After a moment of silence, they heard a burst of low laughter, like a man's laugh….
The four girls looked at each other….
"Oh no, they don't want our prayers!" Yuri started crying again.
Raeven looked at Angel…
At that moment, Hayley grinned, then she ran in that direction out of nowhere. She was too fast for them to follow…. After that, they heard some ruckus and voices exclaiming surprise. That's when Raeven and Angel realized that somebody have been playing tricks on them. Raeven pulled the crying adorable girl named Yuri alongside Angel to where Hayley headed to.
Though those troublemakers were not ready to be discovered…
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Author's Note: Happy Halloween, guys! My favorite day of the year! New characters will appear, stay tuned!
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