I’ve never shared this online before.
A few close friends know about it, but we didn’t really dive into it. Maybe writing it down will help me untangle the mystery...or maybe not. At least I tried.
This happened 27 years ago when I was in first grade at Lipata Central School. It’s one of the reasons I believe in the paranormal even if it doesn't make any sense.
It was lunch break
...and my yaya (nanny) had just bought me a slice of chiffon cake. I’ve always been a sentimental kid, so instead of eating it right away, I decided to save it. I tied the cellophane-wrapped cake to my bag, thinking it would remind me of her for the rest of the day. I waved goodbye as she left, then went off to play with my classmates.
Our school was spacious back then, with classrooms scattered across open grounds instead of being in a single building. My classroom was part of a newer JICA block donated by Japan. Across from it were older classrooms, where we decided to hang out that day.
One of my friends found a strange spot behind one of those old classrooms. The ground there was “bouncy.” It looked like regular dirt, but when we jumped on it, it felt like a trampoline. Naturally, we were intrigued. I even sat down to inspect it, wondering if something like a buried basketball was making it springy.
Eventually, we got bored with it and parted ways. I started heading back to my classroom, but then everything shifted.
Suddenly, it was like I was in a dream...
People started running in my direction, their faces filled with panic. It was as if some disaster had struck behind me, and I was the only one standing still.
I froze, trying to make sense of it.
The chaos was overwhelming... students gasping, some boys yelling, feet pounding the ground. I thought I heard someone shout something about a lion and a dog “boxing.” Yes, boxing. It made no sense, but I still can remember clearly the exact words.
What made it even more surreal
...was how everyone I looked at would go from acting normal... walking, chatting... to suddenly sprinting in my direction in panic the moment my eyes laid on them.
It was like my gaze triggered their fear. It felt like a lucid dream where things change when I focus on them. I started crying, overwhelmed and terrified, as older kids pushed past me. My tiny frame was no match for the stampede.
Except for that day, I've never experienced a stampede in my entire life. To this day, I can still feel the weight of those shoulders pushing against mine.
I stumbled forward, running against the crowd, desperate for help. That’s when I saw her, a girl heading in the same direction as me, the only one not running away.
In my panic, I grabbed her skirt and clung to it like my life depended on it.
I even got dragged a few steps, scraping my arms on the ground.
She stopped, startled, sat down trying to help me up. "What happened?" she asked, alarmed.
Through tears, I remember blurting out, "Ana sila naay lion ug iro na nag-boxing!" (They said a lion and a dog were boxing!)
She looked at me, clearly confused, but she crouched down and tried to calm me. "No, there’s no lion and dog boxing," she said trying to convince me, putting my arm over her shoulder to help me stand.
"Where are they running to?"
"Nobody's running"
And then—everything went black.
When I came to, my eyes still closed, I heard voices. "She passed out," the girl whispered. It was the first time I heard the word. Kuyapan (fainting) was not yet a familiar word to me..
When I opened my eyes, I was in a dark classroom with no lights on.
It was one of those old classrooms right across mine. The door was open and I could make sense of the time from the afternoon hues. There were three students sitting on the front row seats, waiting for me to wake up.
Three kids sat in the front row, near the door: two girls and a boy. They watched me intently, waiting for me to wake up. Their uniforms were neat and they looked at me in silence, as if waiting for me to tell them what the heck happened.
I sat up, disoriented. My first thought was that I was late for class. Mrs. Medida, my teacher, had a reputation for being strict, and I dreaded the scolding I was sure to get. Without saying a word to the three kids (who had waited for me the entire afternoon!) I jumped off the teacher's table (it was quite high) and I bolted out of the classroom.
I didn't even get the chance to thank them. They waited for me the entire afternoon on that dark Grade 3 classroom, probably excited to hear my story, looking after me until I woke up.
As I ran across the open space to my room, I glanced at the sky. I remember the orange-pink hues that reminded me how late I was.
When I walked in, bracing for some scolding, my teacher continued with her lesson as if she hadn't seen me. It was unusual, but I sighed in relief as I got to my seat. She continued her lesson like nobody just came in without explanation.
I sank into my seat, heart pounding. I looked at my bag, and remembered feeling a bit sad when my chiffon cake was no longer there. Glancing at the clock, I realized it was almost 5 p.m. I’d been unconscious for nearly four hours. I waited until the rest of the class for anyone to mention something significant happened that day, the day went on as usual.
A strange silence in me.
There was a strange silence in me that afternoon that I couldn't even share what happened to anyone because it was too huge for my tiny mind to grasp. I felt that I didn't even know where to start or what to make of it.
Over the years, I've grown more attuned to signs. In certain places, I instinctively feel the need to be cautious, even without a clear reason. It's almost as if I can sense when a large tree or a particular spot in nature is home to something unseen.
I haven’t developed any paranormal abilities or “gifts,” but this experience has led me to believe there’s more to the world than what meets the eye.
For years, I didn’t think much about the details.
It was just a bizarre memory I rarely revisited.
I went back to the school 10 years ago hoping to find answers, but a lot has changed. The old classrooms were no longer there and it also was too late in the afternoon that I didn't take the risk to search around for that bouncy spot.
I know it's been 27 years but this was a very vivid memory. Trust me that I was so sure that this wasn't a false memory of a dream, I was there and the surreal happened.
I didn't try to recall it that much over the years to spot for loose ends, it's just how far my memory went. However, it was only until recently that I realized that something was off with my story.
Who are those 3 kids, why were they not in their classes?
How were they able to lift me up to the teacher's table and waited for me as I slept, sitting in a dark classroom with no lights and fans on? How were they able to guard me for roughly 4 hours without telling my teacher about it (my classroom was just right across that old room and I had an ID)?
The more I think about it, the stranger it feels. They looked perfectly normal... just kids in uniforms. But the longer I dwell on it, the more I’m convinced there was something... not quite human about them.
Even now, as I write this, it sends chills down my spine.
What happened to me?
*Power Lines Photo