$20

Years ago when I was a teen I would go visit my relatives during the summer break to spend time with my cousins. It was a rural town surrounded mostly by rice fields and forests. On rainy days, you'd hear the wind and rain rustle both the grains on the field and the leaves of the trees and the cold air would have that pleasant damp smell after the rain ends. It was one of the best places to just sit back and relax.

During one of those rainy days, heavy rain fell around the afternoon. My cousins and I were watching Tom and Jerry on the TV to pass the time in the living room while we waited for my Uncle and Aunt to come home from work. Evening came and both my Uncle and Aunt came home in their car. They honked at the gate signaling anyone to open it for them.

"I'll do it." I said to my cousins as we heard the honk.

"Aight." said my oldest cousin.

"Put a raincoat on and don't slip, the road’s gonna be muddy." she added.

Only the driveway from the garage to the gate was concrete, there was only a dirt trail from the front door to the gate.

I took a red raincoat from the coat hanger and put it on and went on my way to the front door.

It was already dark out at around 8PM. There were no streetlights around that part of town so the car's headlights and the outdoor front lights were the only ones lighting the way to the gate.

As I opened the front door, a gust of wind and cold rain splashed my face, as well as the car's headlights shining at me.

I carefully walked to the front gate making sure not to slip and opened it for the car. After the car passed me and drove into the garage, I looked down the street and it was completely dark. The combination of fog and heavy rain obscured how far I could see.

I was able to faintly see the outdoor lights of distant houses but the long road connecting the house to the main street was pitch black.

It gave me the chills. I thought it was just the cold weather that made me shiver and quickly closed the gate. But in the back of my head I was hoping that whatever is hiding in that pitch black road wouldn't be able to come inside.

After coming here so many times, that was the first time that I felt scared. but maybe I was just overly imagining things.

I quickly made my way back inside the house through the garage instead of the front door. I glanced back past the gate one last time before going in, trying to convince myself that I was just imagining things. It felt like I was staring into the void with how dark it was. It sent another shiver down my spine. Nonetheless, I ignored the chills and went inside.

I took off the raincoat and started making my way to the living room to continue watching TV. I could hear my aunt calling my cousins to the kitchen to help prepare dinner. I sat down on the couch and started watching Tom and Jerry again. After a few minutes, I saw my uncle come into the living room and sit on the accent chair next to the couch I was sitting on.

"Pass me the remote. Now it's my turn." he said.

With a slump on my shoulders and a disappointed face, I handed him the remote.

He quickly changed the channel to the local news.

I wasn't interested in news at the time and got up to leave. As I was about to run to the kitchen to see what Aunt was cooking, my Uncle noticed his motorcycle was still outside of the garage.

It was an old Honda TMX125 that he bought way back. still well maintained but has problems starting.

"Hey Nephew, can you bring the motorcycle in?" he asked.

"To the garage? Really? Shouldn't you be doing that yourself?" I replied.

Definitely didn't want to be outside after I opened that front gate and he definitely couldn't convince me.

"I'm too lazy, I'll give you $20." as he holds out the $20 bill in his hand.

"Deal." I said with a straight face. What can I say? I was short on cash and $20 is $20.

"Thanks Nephew. Bring a flashlight and get the key in the garage and turn the headlight on it so you can see better when you bring it in." as he smiled, sat back, and gazed into the TV.

With a slight grin on my face, I walked to the garage door and picked up the red raincoat again. Thinking nothing of it, I opened the door and was met by the same cold air and heavy rainfall. as well as the eerie pitch darkness of the driveway. It gave me shivers again. I thought to myself I'm probably just overthinking and started looking for the motorcycle. I barely spotted the motorcycle near the front gate with the help of the outdoor lights from the front door. Due to the fog and heavy rain, I picked up a flashlight nearby and turned it on to see better. as well as the key to the motorcycle.

"$20 is $20" I said to myself under my breath and walked to the motorcycle, carefully shining the flashlight in front of me to see where I was walking.

I wanted to get this over with quickly, The eerily pitch black surrounding me was freaking me out. so I put the flashlight on my mouth and put the key in the motorcycle and quickly started the bike using the quick-start button on the handle.

Didn't work.

"Really?" I said frustratingly.

I tried it again.

Didn't work.

I quickly got on the bike and pulled out the starter pedal.

I kicked the pedal and pulled down on the throttle.

The bike finally started.

Feeling a sense of relief I turned on the switch to the headlight.

Didn't work.

The sense of panic set in again.

"God damn it." I sighed.

I tried smacking the headlight itself.

Didn't work.

"fuck." I said.

The rain was not getting lighter, the air felt more colder, and the fog was not getting thinner.

I turned the switch off and on again.

Didn't. Work.

"son of a-" as I try to utter the last word of that phrase, the flashlight fell off my mouth and into the muddy road with the lens facing on the ground.

The deafening noise of the heavy rain and the howl of the cold wind gets drowned out by my own heavy breathing.

I tried to look around for the flashlight but I couldn't see clearly.

While I was in a state of panic, suddenly, I heard a faint sound.

"psst..."

The hair on the back of my head rose up, it sent shivers down my spine. I don't know if it was the loud noise of the heavy rain and my mind playing tricks on me while I was panicking.

But I couldn't move for a few seconds. i couldnt take it anymore, I needed to get the fuck away from there.

With the dim glow of the far outdoor light as my only light source, I stumbled off the motorcycle and tripped due to the mud.

I fell down to my knees, and the motorcycle fell to its side next to me.

Suddenly, the motorcycle's headlight turned on. pointed at the long road that led to the main street.

It was there that I saw the most disturbing thing I've ever seen.

I saw a person's pale white feet FLOATING in the air right in front of the motorcycle.

As my brain tried to process what the FUCK i was looking at, my ears started ringing, the noise of the heavy rain and wind became silent.

All I could hear were the sound of my breathing and the heavy beating of my heart. But my eyes were glued to the floating feet in front of me.

I couldn’t look away.

Why is it so pale?

Why isn’t it wet?

Why doesn't it have any nails?

Why is it floating?

These were questions that were firing in my head each millisecond I looked at it. I wanted to close my eyes, look down, look at the complete darkness around me. But I couldn't. I was scared, but my morbid curiosity was consuming me. I wanted to know more, I wanted to process more, I wanted to UNDERSTAND what I was looking at. My brain needed to know what it was dealing with.

I. NEEDED. TO. LOOK. UP.

I slowly moved my eyes up. A millimeter at a time.

Still breathing heavily, still ringing in my ears.

The hood of my raincoat was blocking the view.

I couldn't see past the knees. I wondered if this was enough, if it would be better to NOT see whatever the rest of it at all.

It didn’t matter.

I needed to see what it was.

As I tried to move my head instead to see what the rest of it was, the motorcycle turned off and the headlight along with it.

I couldn't see anything. It was pitch black again.

The dim glow of the outdoor light behind me seemingly disappeared.

I was in a state of shock. Shaking, hyperventilating.

Is it over?

Where did it go?

Is it still in front of me?

I felt like I was passing out.

Next thing I knew, I woke up in the morning. In bed with new set of clothes and my knees patched up.

I had a fever for the next few days. Probably because I was in the rain for too long.

Apparently, my Uncle noticed that it was taking me too long to move the motorcycle into the garage so he went outside to check. Only to find me passed out next to the fallen motorcycle.

I tried telling them what happened and they said they believed me but It felt like they were just worried about me. And just agreed to what I was saying.

My Aunt got mad at my Uncle for sending me outside to do his responsibilities and I was given $40 instead. Lucky me I guess.

After I got better, I went back home to the city.

It was an experience that always gives me chills every time I remember it even to this very day. I don't know what it was, what it was trying to do, why did it show up.

The One thing I know is that whatever that was, thank God I never saw the rest of it. There are just things that are better off not known.

I still visited there during summer break. But when the heavy rain fell during the night and the outside became pitch black. I never left my room again.

Was that really worth $40? No, I don't think it was.