Sa Likod ng Hamog- Behind the Fog

 

Photo: Kristine Kozaka of Unsplash

Walang nagsasalita sa gubat na ito.
Hindi dahil tahimik—kundi dahil may nakikinig.

Maria stepped onto the boardwalk, each plank groaning like it remembered something it shouldn’t. The mist was thick, but not soft. It clung. It watched. The trees leaned closer, their branches like fingers, their roots like veins pulsing beneath the soil.

She had heard the stories.
Ang hamog dito ay hindi ulan—ito’y hininga ng mga nawala.

A child once vanished here.
A man walked in and came out speaking in tongues.
A woman followed a voice and was never found—only her shoes, neatly placed at the edge of the path.

Maria walked anyway.

The fog whispered her name.
Not in greeting.
In accusation.

“Bakit ka bumalik?”

She didn’t answer. Her breath was shallow. Her shadow didn’t follow.

Ahead, the path curved.
A figure stood there—barefoot, soaked, head tilted.
It looked like her.
But it didn’t blink.

Maria stepped closer.
The figure stepped back.
Then vanished.

She ran.
The boardwalk groaned louder.
The trees closed in.

And somewhere behind her, the fog whispered again—
“Hindi lahat ng bumabalik ay makakaalis.”


© 2025 Amee  Tala at Dilim Writes

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