Katitikan - June 2012

Page 30

school‘s previous presidents. Ryan walked towards the stairs and stared at the portrait. Its piercing eyes and thinning hair reminded him of the elderly teacher whose round head and stout body made students laugh. Perhaps, it was eerie because of the atmosphere. He sighed and carefully climbed down the stairs. As he approached the last few steps, he wondered what he ought to cook for dinner. The can of coffee Chief gave him kept him awake just as he hoped. He wasn‘t that hungry, but he needed the energy to study more. Then he noticed something….odd. He had landed in the second floor! He saw the portrait again. He looked at the balcony. He was sure he was going down. He could not have made a mistake! After all, he never made a mistake in his life. So he went down the stairs again. As he approached the base, he saw the same painting and knew he was going to end up in the same place. This was getting scary. It was as if the school didn‘t want him to leave. He decided to try the stairs near the hotel. The moment he stepped on the last step, he had landed in the second floor again. Ryan was frantic. For the first time, he was frantic and scared. He began to look for Chief. ―Chief…CHIEF!‖ He called out but there was no reply. Over and over, he went down the stairs only to land in the same second floor. He went back to the library and decided to try the main stairs. Fearful of the possible outcome, Ryan closed his eyes, placed his hand on the stair‘s railing and stepped down. As he stepped down, he breathed heavily , hoping that he would be able to go home. He thought of so many possible causes for this. But he could not conclude at all. He was too afraid. He felt his feet touch the ground floor. He opened his eyes. He had landed on the first floor. He had arrived at the lobby. He could see the big bible in the center and the framed documents on the walls. He let out a sigh of relief. At last it was over. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Chief, holding a flashlight up to his face. ―Oh, you‘re done? I was about to get you.‖ He noticed the beads of sweat on Ryan‘s face. ―What‘s wrong with you? You look as if you‘ve seen a ghost.‖ Ryan relayed his story. ―I was going down from the second floor…only to land on the second floor again. I kept going down over and over again. I just kept going in a crazy circle. I swear I was going down.‖ Chief chuckled and said ―You were just having a nightmare. Come on, I‘m tak-

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