Book Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Starting from December12, 2021, I will be writing book reviews on books that I have read and offer some insights on them. I strongly believe that to read is to expand one’s knowledge. And as an aspiring writer, reading helps me gather more ideas and insights on other writers that will help me with my future endeavors.

As a person dealing with a lot of mental issues lately, Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar hits a lot close to home. The book was a semi-biographical novel set in the 1950’s and was narrated by Esther, a young college student who was overwhelmed with society, family, and herself that she was constantly depressed and eventually attempted suicide.

The book was a lovely, yet disturbing read for me because Sylvia Plath’s wrote in such a way that I picture myself romanticizing death and suicide. More unsettlingly, Plath committed suicide a month after The Bell Jar was written. The novel was beautifully written and I feel that I felt all the pain, joys, and experiences inside Esther’s (and by way, Plath’s) mind.

One of the main themes of the novel was expectations, both personal and societal. Esther was an English major in a large university and was an honor student. She always keeps herself in a very high regard; throughout the novel, she portrays a sense of superiority in her academic achievements. This had unfortunately caused a lot of undue stress and anxiety in her life. In the novel, there was an excerpt of a story of “the fig tree” that best exemplifies the major themes of the novel:

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

As one of her former boss, AC put it, Ester wanted to be everything. She’s a smart young girl with all the talents of the world. But in the end, she still has to choose what she wanted to be. This passage in the novel resonates with me dearly, we all have dreams and ambitions; we all wanted to be someone, albeit all in the same time. At the same time, times just keeps passing us by. The only thing constant is that time only moves forward. When we were young, we were taught that we can be anything. in hindsight, it seems hypocritical for us to be brought up in that manner. While we are indeed the lead conductor of our life, it is all for naught if all our fig trees decay before our very eyes.

The role of women has been a major theme in the novel. Esther, who already loathes the conformist nature of how someone like her should behave, uses her apparent talents as an avenue to eventually break from the shackles of society’s expectations for women at that era. She never had a great relationship with her mother, who wanted Esther to marry and settle down. Esther’s mother herself was a product of her time; she married young to her professor and became a teacher (a similar path as his husband) at a small college. Esther believes that she can do great things, throughout her life (until it all came crashing down) she had achieved great things. This is probably the reason why he is appalled by her former love, Buddy Willard who seemed to fit the stereotypical chauvinist archetype.

Esther’s life took a dark turn when she found out that she was not accepted in her application to be an author’s apprentice. Esther at that point was already at a crossroads on what she wanted to do with her life, her mind was very fragile at the point that she was doubting if she can really make it in life. Was she pretty enough? Was she smart enough? Can she achieve all her dreams? All her doubts crept in one by one when she got home to this news like a pandora’s box, leading to her eventual suicide attempt.

I’ll end this review, with the message of the title and its significance. In my understanding, the Bell Jar represents the constraint that Esther feels in her mind. She feels constraint by society, family, and her own mind. She feels a sense of self-pity and overall angst with her situation that everything fell apart once a domino fell. In a way, the bell jar kind of represents the Shadow as popularly coined by Carl Jung. At the end of the Novel, Esther was able to make peace with her “shadow” as the book ended with her interview for her release from the mental institution.

“Wherever I sat—on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok—I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.”

“To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream.”

We all deal with our own Bell Jars in our life. I think this is one of the main messages of the story. Our mind is a powerful tool, and yet the most fragile. While the novel ended on a positive note, Sylvia Plath lost her own battle with depression and ended her own life. In the Philippines, there is always a stigma on talking about mental health that leads to a lot of strain to one’s mind. My last key takeaway from this novel is that we really should take care of our mental state and get much needed support when needed. Even though we think that we can handle things, we will never know when the bell jar will descend again.

“How did I know that someday—at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere—the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, wouldn’t descend again?“

– Sedric Chua 12/12/2021

Welcome to the New Era

I had never fit in anywhere, everyday I live my life as an outcast. High school is trash, the older humans claim that these are the best 4 years of one’s life; Biggest bullshit in life. High school years are the time where one’s true humanity is in full display; before the real world and society helps us cast a veil of how vile we truly are. I look around my graduating class and it is hard to believe that these will be the next leaders of our society. Apparently, studying in a prestigious Chinese high school doesn’t teach you manners.

Pain, torment, despair. You see, no one asks if you are fine unless it is too late. Mental health, my ass. This “advocacy,” if that is what you call it, only serves those who are fortunate. Those….”brave” ones who open up to people and have them applaud from a half circle of chairs. Telling people your feelings as though they care and would help.

In high school, most specially here in the Philippines, that is just called being gay, As a teenage male, it is either you are a bully or you are bullied. Guess where I fall to? It is hypocritical…and somewhat paradoxical that the most of the things they are proud to have are from properties of their parents. Filthy spoiled pigs. In this hell, the meek are harmed.

I always thought that everyone is born….equal. Isn’t this after-all, what was taught in the bible? Everyone was a sinner so God sacrificed his son to save all of us? You see, everybody shares this burden. Everyone must pay, everyone is a sinner. I see myself as a cleanser, the antidote, the way. Humans need to be cleansed of this sin as all these heathens are sinned.

Jesus was only half right. Yes, humans are filth. But sacrificing yourself to send a message, will NOT cleanse the world of sin. What resulted was 2 centuries worth of bullcrap that became grounds for wars and conflicts all around the world. Instead of a unifying tool, religion became an avenue for contempt and despair. I am a firm believer in God, and I have no doubt that he frowns upon his greatest creation each day.

God’s first messenger was a failure. As with all his succeeding vessel, no one has rid of this world of this disease. The world is still plagued with prejudice, anger, and chaos. Or perhaps we were just fooled by false prophets; false prophets with their own motives, tricksters sent by the devil to sow false promises of salvation and nirvana.

Welcome to the New Era.

God has chosen me as the Savior to send a another message; a reminder that we are all under the mandate of the heavens. We are all equal under God’s eyes and we are all sinners. God is disappointed, we were created as superior being but we were too smart for our own damn good. God sent me to witness first hand how horrible human beings are. I understand my role as a Soldier of God.

God made this filthy high school a representation of the world. These filthy parasites, from these pompous assholes who have the power to get away from anything, to the teachers who are easily “influenced,” to the silent majority who maintain their neutrality despite the weak getting exploited, will need to be eliminated in the name of God. The former messengers were wrong, we can’t change people. Like in selective breeding, the bad cells would need to be…..removed.

As this world’s savior, I will usher in a new era of peace of tranquility. Judgement day is now upon us, and God has sent his Holy Angels to purify us. He who has not sin shall cast the first stone. This is the first of many wars to bring a peaceful balance of this world. Holy angels are among us. To God’s chosen angels: let what will happen tomorrow serve as an inspiration to carry out God’s mission of purifying the world of sin.

We shall not fail. One by one, the demons and heretics will fall. and we shall recreate a world in God’s image.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

The First Saviour,

Bradley Tu

-Sedric Chua 06/26/2021

Freak Part 1.5

This is a continuation of the Freak series. Please visit the following link to read Part 1 of this series.

It was 2 weeks since that encounter. I’m no less pissed with what that fucking clown disturbing my piece of mind. I tried gathering information from the guards and building admin and even my neighbors who I bumped into the elevator. No one has heard of the Freak or even seen it.

I would always ask, “Hey Mrs. ________ Good morning. How are you? I am fine thank you. Say have you seen a person…a little kid….around 5Ft tall. Malnourished and looking like a ghost? Wearing some tacky jacket and a stupid mask?”

I always get strange looks, as though they think I am crazy or stressed out. It was 1:00AM, maybe I was tired. I don’t know. Am I getting enough sleep? I know I have. Maybe I need to get a normal job with normal working hours.

Or am I part of an elaborate joke? Truman Show anyone?

I know I saw…. I saw fucking Quasimodo.

But did I?

Why the fuck is Quasimodo doing in my condominium?

But he did try to destroy my gate. Or was it just the wind?

Why was he wearing a mask? Is it really a mask or is it his face?

Maybe I am crazy…..

To be continued.

– Sedric Chua 11/20/2020

Balete Drive

Chapter 1

Dedmon and Derrick are two amateur paranormal vloggers. They are the hosts (editors/directors/all-purpose utility guys) of a YouTube channel called D&D Declassified, an exploration channel where the two brothers visit allegedly haunted sites throughout the Philippines and try to disprove the paranormal as mere superstitions or hoaxes. The channel is fairly new with a few thousand subscribers and a nice modest following of about 1500 views per video.

The brothers were driving through Quezon City in their Mitsubishi Mirage G4 on their way to the fabled Balete Drive. Before they left, they double checked their equipment for the shoot. As they would mostly be using they car, they made sure their front dash cam and internal mini-cam have enough memory. Most of the time they only use their smartphones for shooting, which adds to the authenticity of their videos.

This is crazy, Derrick thought while Dedmon was driving. There has been news reports of actual people going missing in Balete Drive. Being the more rational of the two, Derrick did not want to visit the Drive during these dangerous times. They are paranormal investigators not detectives. However, Dedmon was in it for the thrill. Dedmon did not believe that they were actual disappearances. No bodies were ever discovered. He was convinced that the people simply used the lore that came with Balete Drive to run away from home.

“Listen if you read the reports, these are depressed people or people with problems that wanted to get away from it all. Don’t worry about it! There is next to zero chances that we have a killer on the loose… not here in Metro Manila. These are modern times. Chill!”

“Didn’t we watch a movie with a similar plot before?” Derrick asked in a condescending tone.

Dedmon scoffed at this idea. “Look tell you what, if we see anything wrong. We can bolt. Just like that.” He snapped his finger. “Think about all the views we will get from shooting this story. Nothing is too scary for the D&D Unclassified Brothers!”

“As you wish, Big brother….”

The brothers were unusually silent as they drove towards the drive. Dedmon did not want to admit but he was also a bit uneasy with this project. But no, this was too good to pass up. If we catch something paranormal (which, more often than not, is not the case) we will be famous. If we actually catch a killer on camera, we can still be famous. The air is tense in the car as the infamous street draws near.

“Okay, this is it.” Dedmon turned on the camera on his smart phone that is hanging on the phone holder held on by suction cups. The front camera is directed at Derrick’s face as he tries to regain his composure.

“Hello, paranormal peeps. Welcome to D&D Declassified! As mentioned in our filler week video, we will cover a site-visit to one of the most haunted places in Metro Manila. The Balete Drive!”

On cue Dedmon added, “And of course, this was chosen through a poll that we asked you, our fateful viewers, to vote. We are deeply thankful for your votes and suggestions. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you so much for your support. If you are new to our channel, welcome! I hope you will enjoy our content and we would really appreciate it if you subscribe and add a comment below that you are new.”

“Before we start with this program, we want to say thank you to everyone who supports our videos and we would not be where we are if it weren’t for you. Please do not forget to like share and subscribe as it helps our channel grow! Let’s push for 5K subscribers and 600 likes! Now let’s get on with the video.

“Straying away from our previous concepts, we will be driving a car instead of walking. Our resident ghost is a hitchhiker and we will give ourselves a better chance of taking some meaningful footage by driving idly back and forth along the street. Hopefully we catch something interesting”

From months of experience, they have perfected their spiel. Derrick, who is currently studying Mass Communication, feels every word they say and clearly believes that they have a certain connection with the audience. Unlike Dedmon, who is mostly in it for the fame and glamour as a mini-celebrity, Derrick aspires to be a director someday.

While Derrick is still pretty much skeptical of this video project, Dedmon was right. We might not have another chance like this.

Chapter 2

“Okay guys. A little back story as we drive through Balete. This street was called as such because…well it is full of Balete trees. See, there is a forest out there.” Derrick points the camera outside the window to show the trees. “According to local legends, balete trees are the homes of dead spirits and mythical creatures.”

“Dead spirits and mythical creatures? That covers a lot of ground,” interjected Dedmon as the camera points back to them.

“Well, yeah. It is always one or the other anyway. It just happened that, in this case, they are living as one happy family.”

“I, for one, would love to see a Christmas dinner in their house. It must be a lot of fun.”

Both brothers laugh.

“Ahh, here we are in Balete Drive.” Dedmon declared as he drove past the street sign while directing his brother to take this vital piece of footage. “As a background to those who are not familiar, Balete Drive is home to the White Lady that haunts the street as a hitchhiker where she spooks her unsuspecting driver by disappearing or kills him by snapping his neck…..depending on the sources. Well, that escalated quickly.” Dedmon said kill with a lot more enthusiasm than he should.

“So does she fall under dead spirit or mystical beast?”

“I have no fucking clue. These Clever Men never really think this through. According to the story, she was run over by some drunk taxi driver and instead of taking her to a nearby hospital, he raped and murdered her. He buried her body in one of those trees….. Gee those houses are rather old, If I was a ghost I’d probably live in one of these instead of some tree.”

“Well if follow the lore, the trees might actually be the one that gives the these beings an enchanted…. or cursed life.” Derrick interjected rather point-blankly.

The brother deliberately did not include the missing people news as they didn’t want to include anything that was not proven. There are about 3 cases of disappearance in the street this past 2 months. But strange disappearances are not an uncommon thing in the present Duterte administration, Balete Drive might not even been the actual scene of the crime. Metro Manila, in general, is voted in as one of the most unsafe cities in the world. Though the administration vehemently denies it, the “executions” are mostly conducted by corrupt police officers. Their family has close contacts with the Philippine National Police and some valuable politicians, so this issue shouldn’t be a problem. It is this fact that Dedmon clings to; this plot immunity has given him a somewhat unreasonable sense of courageousness.

Derrick is not too keen. While the odds are seemingly stacked in their favor, all these can go wrong in a matter of moments. He did not have good feeling at all about this. Without his brother’s knowledge, he brought one of their father’s guns as a precaution. These maniacs are unpredictable, it is better safe than sorry.

Chapter 3

The brothers have been driving for 3 rounds around Balete Drive while exchanging their signature slap-stick dialogues and giving a witty and informative commentary about the surrounds and the nature of this paranormal investigation. They decided to wrap up their investigation/tour after the 4th cycle and debunk the legend as a hoax. This was probably their most uneventful and, to an extent, boring video to date. But given the gravity of the current events, this is bound to receive a nice healthy amount of views.

Then at the corner of their eye they saw a figure in white that stands out amongst the darkness. At around 20 meters away, the two brothers look at each other and are uncertain at what to do.

While Derrick rechecks the cameras to make sure that film is still there, Dedmon directs the smart phone to his face and said in an obviously startled voice. “So uhm…. there is a lady in a white dress standing on the road, head- down, looking at the floor, and long, dark hair that would make Sadako proud. So what do we do? Do we leave this possible benevolent spirit alone? Not a fucking chance!”

Derrick shrugged off-camera.

Dedmon drove as slow as possible to get a better view of the woman. She looked up and shielded her eyes from the light. At a very blank expression, she lifted her eyes to get a good look at our car while being impaired by our loud headlights. The boys realized that she didn’t look at all like a malevolent spirit. Yes she looked pale, but this looked more like a person petrified by fright. She looked more like someone who had seen a ghost than someone who is one. The lady had a pretty, East-Asian face with a nice, fair complexion. She was gorgeous in a damsel-in-distress sort of way that drawn the two brothers like how mermaids lure sailors with their soft, soothing voice.

As the Mirage reached the woman, Dedmon rolled down his window with his best Good Samaritan impression so the woman would see that they meant no harm. “Hi Miss. Are you okay? Can we offer you some help?”

I do not like this. Derrick thought while displaying a courteous smile. Get a hold of yourself. You are a paranormal investigator. Either we found actual footage of this White Lady that owns this place or that this is our good deed for the day. Besides…..she is definitely my type.

“Hey… So sorry, I just couldn’t help it.” She said in a weak voice came about from long periods of crying. “I am not always like this. I feel embarassed.”

“Are you okay? Why are you out her all by yourself? It is dangerous in these parts of the city. There is a killer/ghost on the loose, and….” Derrick inquired from the passenger seat.

“I know….I know.” She starts bawling again. ” My boyfriend…. he…..he left me here….. I confronted him for cheating on me….he hit me….. and left me here in the middle of the road!”

“Have you called anyone? The police? Your family? Friends?”

“There is no signal here…. I have been walking around and I can’t find anything….”

Dedmon checked his phone, “Hmmm….she’s right, both my sims have no signal!”

“You were the….first person who stopped.”

“Huh?”

“Everyone just….drove away….. It probably doesn’t help that…I am wearing white.” She said in a dejected tone.

“Miss….if there is anything we can…..”

The lady’s eyes brighten, “Can you take me to the nearest police station? My boyfriend will NOT get away with this.” She said with clenched fists and as if ready to pounce.

The brothers looked at each other for a about 2 seconds uncertain on what to do now. Dedmon is couldn’t hide his disheartened face as he wanted to see some adrenaline-rushing action. But through his stern face, he knows this is serious. A true crime has been committed, not the one that they hoped to discover, but domestic violence is no joke.

Derrick was glad this is all over. Enough ghost hunting in the middle of crime town, we did not find anything and that’s it for the video. We’ll add on a commentary in the end about reaching a dead-end and removing all sensitive details. He turned-off his camera out of respect, and gave a gentle nod to his brother. “Alright Miss, let’s go get this bastard.”

Chapter 4

They went to the police station with the woman at the back. They honestly have no idea what’s going on, but the brothers felt this sudden obligation to help her. They turned on the radio and Rockstar by Smash Mouth was playing.

“I love this song,” remarked Dedmon as Derrick was about to change the station.

“Oh come on, I hate this song. It reminds me of Shrek.”

“Shrek is love, Shrek is life,” laughed Dedmon. “Uhm….Miss? I didn’t get your name.”

He looked up to the rear-view mirror and saw that she was staring with her dark, ferocious eyes. Her face became pale with anger and her enraged demeanor looked as if she is ready to pounce. Her arms are in a semi-curl as if a vulture stalking her prey.

Derrick turned towards the lady, “Don’t worry miss, we’ll get him. When we go to the cops, they’ll know what to do.”

“Fucking bastard. All men are alike….. Monsters…..monsters…. all of you….” She said in a half scream with emphasis on the word monsters that startled Dedmon so much that stepped on the breaks harder than he should. The fuck is wrong with this chick?

She then crouched, buried her face in her hands and began to cry. Derrick really felt sorry for her, we wanted to hug her tight and make it all go away. She hit a soft spot in Derrick as he was a stern advocate of social justice, and domestic abuse really tears him apart. Dedmon was more apathetic and just wanted to get it over with it, he had his fair share of crazy chicks.

The air was tense and hollow even with the AC at high gear. Then suddenly the lady in white let out a painful scream that made Derrick think of a banshee. The brothers simultaneously looked at the back to a horrific scene straight out of slasher flick. The lady was petrified in shock, looking at her hands that was once covered in tears is now covered in blood. Blood pouring from her hands to her elbow to her once saintly white dress. Her crotch was now dark red, looking like miscarriage. Whatever was causing her pain, was coming from her ovaries. Drugs? Two days ago, they saw from the news that drug cartels used capsules that contains drugs and stuffed to border-jumpers as some sort of mules. The red ink was also flowing from her eyes in a grotesque scene covering her panic-stricken face.

She let out another blood-curling scream.

The brothers didn’t know what to do. Is it a ghost? a monster? this looks all too real to them. The woman was in pain…in a lot of pain.

“Help…..me…..Kill me….” The woman said in a dejected voice who just wanted to end her suffering. She vomited more blood with huge force that blood splashed all over the floor and to the brother’s faces like shrapnel in a war-zone.

Dedmon screamed, “Quick! Call 117 emergency!” Dedmon is now driving on auto-pilot, driving really fast but doesn’t know to where. Where the hell are the people? Stupid superstitious assholes!

“There is no signal!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS NO SIGNAL?”

“THERE IS NO FUCKING SIGNAL!! wait….. stop the car! There is a first-aid kit in the trunk!”

“WHAT IS THAT GONNA DO?? SHE IS BLEEDING TO DEATH!”

She was now in tremors. Her head now laid back on the chair. Conscious, but probably not sure for long.

“GOT A BETTER IDEA??? We can give her an aspirin or something and some hot compress on her stomach. You can go to the neighbors to ask for help.”

“Okay….okay,” Dedmon was also trembling in fear. He parked the car on the earliest opportunity and Derrick immediately went to trunk to get the kit.

The first-aid kit was under all their trash and equipment. They probably only used it once so far. After a few minutes of treasure hunting, he has found the item. He also realized that his brother has not left the car. Derrick was irate that his brother is still fooling around and not talking things seriously. With the kit at hand, he went over to his side of the door to reprimand his brother.

When he went over the door, he dropped the kit and fell to the floor in shocked. He wanted to yell but he couldn’t. The women was biting on Dedmon’s neck. His eyes clawed out of his sockets, presumable from her sharp fingers. Her face is well inside the flesh of his brother’s neck…she was eating him! The car is now full of blood, both from the lady and Dedmon’s lifeless body.

In a surge of adrenaline rush, he reached out for the glove compartment to retrieve the gun be brought. The creature saw this and grabbed his arm and twisted it with brute force that it might have ripped it out of it’s sockets. He screamed so hard that he hoped the neighborhood hears him and calls the police. The lady howled back while ejected blood from her month that spluttered all over his face.

Her face is now unrecognizable; Blood covers her dark demon like eyes and her once charming face now looked like a greyhound’s looking on pouncing it’s prey with it’s incisor. She then took a a bite on his arm, a heavy bite that seem to have crushed his bones. With a free hand, Derrick tried so hard to hit her head but as he hit the harder she bit and clawed on his arm. He envied Dedmon, he looked like he died instantly, while Derrick had to be tortured like a pig. He couldn’t scream anymore, the pain was too unbearable, he was about to pass out.

Then he remembered the gun he brought. He awkwardly reached for the glove compartment and opened it. He can see the gun, but he didn’t have the strength to reach for it anymore. Come on you, asshole. With all his remaining strength, he managed to grab the gun, aimed it directly on the creature’s head and shot it.

The creature let go of his arm and yelled in pain. She fell back on her seat. But she was far from dead (or already dead). Derrick had incurred her displeasure, her terrifying shrill voice filled the car and shattering the windows. She charged towards him from her seat. Running on pure adrenaline, he was able to raise his gun first and fired twice. The creature finally fell to the chair. Derrick wasn’t sure if she was still alive or dead, but he emptied his entire round anyway.

Derrick has now lost a lot of blood at this point, he tried to get out of the car to call for help but lost consciousness as the sound of police sirens rings from afar.

Chapter 5

Nine months have passed from the incident and there are still a lot more questions than answers that night. Dedmon was pronounced dead on the scene, while Derrick was rushed to the hospital and had a successful surgery. He is now recuperating and goes to therapy twice a week. Derrick has become a mini-celebrity as of late. Everybody in school knows him and his deceased brother. He has been invited by numerous school organizations to talk about his experiences and to give motivational speeches. This was all what Dedmon wanted and more. It was a shame that Dedmon isn’t there to see it.

Derrick thinks about him everyday. Always.

After months of putting it of, Derrick finally decided upload a video:

“Hi guy. I am really sorry that I was not able to post anything. It has been rough. It really has. Thank you so much for all your support, kind messages, and love. Reading your messages and words of encouragement really helps. As an update since….that night, well the culprit is still at large. To answer one of your questions, yes I shot the creature in the face (Derrick laughs). Dedmon would really be proud of me…… but yeah after I woke up from a coma, I was informed that….there was no body. No trace no anything. The blood trail dictates that she fled the scene after I shot her, which should be unlikely since I emptied my gun on her. She fled as fast as she could and without a trace.

“That…..thing wasn’t human. I don’t know what it was….but it killed my brother. The police are still skeptical of my side of the story, but I know what I saw and I know what I did. The police thinks that my memory was a bit jumbled up probably through hysteria. But I know what I saw. What is in Balete Drive is pure evil. Please….for the sake of Dedmon, do not go there.”

Derrick paused to regain his composure.

“Pardon my being too emotional. Uhm….I have actually have a video evidence up to the point of when she got into our car….creature which I have shared to the police. I’ll upload it after my little speech. If you have any information please contact the police. As of now, everything is still up in the air. I’ll let you know if more information arise.

“Once again, thank you all for all your support. As for this channel, I’ll keep everything up as a tribute to my brother; a time where we are all carefree and happy. Please cherish the day God has given you, you will never know when the good things come to an end. In memory of my brother, the best thing I can do is live the best life, this is what Dedmon would have wanted. I will certainly make more content soon, not now but soon. Uhm….. I don’t know yet but I will figure it out soon. Thank you all so much, you guys have been amazing. Farewell and I hope to see you all again when happy days are here again.”

Derrick smiled and saved the recording. He did some video editing and uploaded both his update video and the un-edited Balete Drive video. After it finished uploading, he closed his laptop and departed for his therapy session.

– Sedric Chua 6/14/2020

Flash Fiction 2: Boyhood

The loss of a loved one has a devastating effect on an individual. At age 7, Andrew has his first taste of despair and misery. His grandmother was 94 years old when she passed away. The old lady has led a blissful life with 2 beautiful daughters and a son. Before her passing, she had lived with his son and family. Andrew’s Nana died peacefully in her sleep and he wasn’t able to say goodbye.

Andrew was particularly very close to his grandmother. As both his parents are working, Andrew spends countless hours after school just hanging out with Nana. He would do his homework in Nana’s room, watch TV together, and share stories and wisdom about life. Poor Andrew had always thought that Nana would live forever, would be in his graduation, feed him cookies whenever he he is hungry, and take care of him when he is sick. Nana’s lost was a devastating blow to his little heart.

On the day of Nana’s cremation, the undertakers work on extracting the body from the coffin to be placed on the incinerator as part of the routine. Andrew, who has been dead silent since the first day of the funeral, finally released the long suppressed cry as he realized this would be the very last time he will be able to see Nana.

His father, whose eyes were also wet in tears, picked up his young child and hugged him tightly. The father can see the mixture of sadness, confusion, and fear in Andrews face. He knows all too well what is going through Andrew’s mind and just pats his son’s back in a comforting manner. When Andrew started to calm down, he kissed the young one on the cheeks and stroked his hair.

“Son, as you grow old you will realize how wonderful life is.”

-Sedric Chua 12/21/2019