TJ looked up from his conversation with his girlfriend Jamie to his female best friend, Kristy, whose voice seemed sigher and speech a bit slurrier than usual. Her eyes were wide with panic, and she had jumped up on her chair so her feet would not be on the grass.

“What is it?” TJ asked, standing up slightly to see what was making Kristy freak out. They were at the backyard of his cousin’s house for his birthday party, and they were enjoying the night with good conversation and lots of drinks.

Lei, Kristy’s best friend, laughed. “Kristy, it’s just a frog.”

“But you know I am afraid of frogs!” Kristy whined. “Oh my gosh, it’s jumping towards meeeee!”

Richard, TJ’s best friend, stood up and shooed the frog away until it jumped all the way out of the gate. “There, it’s gone.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, don’t worry Kristy. Richard got rid of the big, bad frog,” Gabby, Richard’s girlfriend, said with a high pitched giggle followed by a hiccup.

“Is Gabby drunk?” Jamie asked.

“No, I’m not,” Gabby replied, blinking. Then she giggled again.

Lei looked at her closely. “You are drunk. How many glasses of margarita did you drink, anyway?”

“Uh…” Gabby said, blinking twice. “Three? Four?”

Before anyone else could say a word, Kristy jumped up from her seat. “I’m going to get more cake.”

“More cake? Kristy, you already ate three slices, including the half you shared with me,” Lei said. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am,” Kristy said, grinning. She took a few zigzag steps towards the buffet table but before she even reached it, her knees gave and she started to fall.

TJ was beside her in a flash, ignoring Jamie’s surprised look. He caught Kristy before her knees hit the ground. “Kristy!”

Lei stood up and helped TJ with their friend, whose eyes were now closed and she was murmuring unintelligible words. Lei leaned closer to smell her breath and she got a whiff of the sweet scent of the drink. “She’s drunk too,” she informed TJ.

“Too much champagne for this one,” TJ said.

“See, I’m not drunk, Kwisty is,” Gabby said with another giggle. She then put her head on the table and fell asleep.

“She’s cute when she’s drunk,” Richard said. Lei threw him a sharp look. He raised his hands up and added, “Kidding, kidding. I’ll drive her home. I should go home too, it’s getting late and I still have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Can you bring Kristy too?” Lei asked. Richard hesitated, but before he could answer, TJ spoke up.

“I’ll drive her home,” he said. “Kristy’s out of the way for Richard and Gabby. I’ll drop you off too if you want to go home, or if you want to accompany Kristy for a while.”

Lei glanced at TJ and then back at the table, where Jamie sat, listening to their conversation. Richard took up Gabby in his arms and bid goodbye to them, oblivious to the growing tension between TJ and Jamie. Lei looked back at TJ with a question in her eyes, which took a while for TJ to figure out. Then realization dawned in his eyes.

“Jamie,” TJ said, looking at his girlfriend, who wore a weird expression on her face. “I have to bring Kristy home.”

“Okay,” Jamie said slowly. “I’ll wait for you here.”

TJ paused. “Are you sure you don’t want to go home yet? It’s getting pretty late…”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you have to go home, it’s okay. I’ll just ride with Vera on the way home, she brought her car anyway.”

“It’s okay?”

Jamie nodded without a word. TJ leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and then took Kristy’s other arm and swung it over his shoulder, where Lei was having difficulty keeping her upright. Lei bid goodbye to Jamie and the two of them started walking out to the parking lot.

* * *

“Are you sure you’ll be okay with her? You don’t need me to help you anymore?” Lei asked as TJ stopped in front of her house.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” TJ said, rubbing the back of his neck. Kristy lay at the backseat, asleep, but murmuring some words occasionally. Lei’s mom had called her while they were on the way to Kristy’s house, demanding that she goes home at that moment since it was already late. As much as Lei hated to leave Kristy, she knew she had to obey her mom or else face a month of grounding from her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring her home.”

“Thanks, Teej,” Lei said. “Take care.” She got out of the car and closed the door gently. TJ waited for Lei to get inside the house before driving off.

A few minutes later, he was at Kristy’s house. He stopped the car, got out and woke Kristy up from the backseat. She came to, albeit a bit groggily and TJ helped her get out of the car and walk towards their gate. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked, her eyes shut but with a small smile on her face as if she was dreaming of something good.

“Almost there,” TJ whispered as they neared their gate. “Kristy, I need your keys so I can open your gate.”

He felt her raise her head a little, and thankfully, she heard what TJ said. Kristy started rummaging inside her small bag and pulled out a set of keys, which TJ got from her hand. She leaned on his shoulder again and they continued walking.

“Thanks, TJ,” she said softly, as if talking in her sleep. “Have I ever told you?”

They reached the gate and he shifted a bit so he could reach over to open the padlock. “What? Have you ever told me what?”

“That…” Kristy’s voice trailed and moved her head a bit on TJ’s shoulder. “That I love you?”

Click. The key slid in the padlock and it opened. TJ stopped and looked at the top of his friend’s head. Her eyes were closed and she wore that smile again.

“What? Kristy, are you awake?”

“I love you TJ. I really do.” Kristy said again, her eyes still closed.

TJ looked at her, wondering how to react to what Kristy said. Is she drunk or is she already sober? Was she just talking in her sleep, or is she serious?

Before he could think anything else, Kristy’s eyes flew wide open and she took a couple of steps toward the shrub beside their gate. She fell on fours, her face hidden by the plant and threw up.

Reaching the kitchen, Abby readied the pan, got the oil from the cupboard, and took out some hotdogs, noting that the noise outside was gone, replaced by a heavy, ominous silence. It was horribly discomfitting. Oh, why am I thinking such things, Abby hurriedly thought, trying to calm herself. She involuntarily looked behind her, her heart beating just a little higher than normal. After slicing the hotdogs, she placed them on the now heated pan, making a crackling sound that broke the silence. It was a refreshing noise, something to distract her from her suddenly unfounded fears. She placed the knife on the countertop and replaced it with a spatula, rolling the hotdogs with it. Though she was in front of a flame, she was getting unnaturally cold. Abby concentrated on the hotdogs, blocking off anything else. After seeing it done, she promptly turned off the flame, took a plate from the holder, and set the hotdogs there. She was just about to place the plate on the countertop when the phone suddenly rang. Her heart jumped.

Now what? Abby thought irritatedly, thinking that there seems to be an awful lot of phone calls tonight. She crossed the kitchen to the living room, wanting to end the ring immediately. She picked the phone up at its 4th ring,  calling out “Hello?” to whoever was at the end of the line. She waited for seconds.

There was only silence.

“Hello? Who is this?” She tried again, trying to add a cheerful gait in her voice. She wasn’t so sure if it was the right emotion to feel but there was a slow dread creeping inside her, and keeping it at bay seemed better. Seconds passed, no answer still. Abby’s eyes narrowed, a prank? what is this, a prank? She was feeling a bit pissed off now. The slight dread that was building up a while ago was completely gone, erased by a mounting annoyance. “Okay whoever is this, whoever you are, well you bette-” Heavy breathing suddenly cut her off. A heavy, raspy breathing at the other end. A choked sound escaped from Abby’s mouth. The fear came back, feeling a sudden gush of goosebumps all over her body. It was an unreal moment and her heart pounded intensely.  She didn’t want to speak, she wanted to put down the phone now, but a strange fascination and helplessness made her stay rooted on the ground, holding the phone on her ear, hearing the creepiest sound she has ever heard in her life. And that’s when the lights went off.

It took a second for Abby to realize in relief it was a familiar voice.

“Are you still coming to join us here at the party? Nena asked me to call you. She’s currently carving the ham up for the guests who are already here.” It was Alex. Abby found herself realizing she was actually disappointed that it was someone she did know. A part of her, perhaps a part she was denying to exist, was actually still curious about the creepy gift-giving kuya. “She mentioned you were feeling sick, but I was kind of hoping you could drop by. She really misses hanging out with you.”

And it was then that Abby hated herself.

Hated herself for the sudden rush of vignettes of the time she spent with Philip. Though the horror of their tragically pathetic break-up was fresh in her mind, the sudden urge to be with someone at the turning of the year reminded her of how good she and Philip were when they were actually still working out being together. Even Diana, Abby’s young sister, once admitted feeling envious of her Ate’s relationship back then. Flashes of their time at Cebu, trying out everything from wall-climbing to jet-skiing, to their long drives to Makiling and their ninuno hunting. They were strange, unpredictable and crazy for each other. At least, until Abby realized Philip was far enough crazy for them both on his own. She never forgave him for the thing he had did that shattered her trust in him. And she never will.

Not even on New Year’s eve.

But still, his absence was an undeniable presence in her life that moment. And with the still rising clatter of fireworks and light, Abby realized the new year was upon her as well.

“I’m not sure,” Abby replied but found herself losing the words halfway through. She realized the sounds of fireworks were getting far too loud to maintain the conversation. “I.. I’ll call you back.”

“Okay, HAPPY NEW YEAR!” Alex yelled and brought the call to an end, leaving Abby holding a now quiet phone in a world that was raging with the noise of festivity.

“Happy new year,” Abby told herself as she cradled the phone and forced a smile to grow on her face as she sighed.

The voice cut through the phone line so suddenly that it took a while for Abby to realize that the call she was making had been answered. It wasn’t until she heard loud shrieks from the other line accompanied with firecracker explosions that she realized it was.

“Hello?”

The voice was male. Not young and way past adolescence, as it sounded deep and has none of the squeaky “growing up” note.

“Is anyone there? Hello?”

Abby finally found her voice. “Um hello?”

“Yes?”

It occurred to Abby that she forgot to do one thing in doing her call — she did not prepare anything to say. All she could think of was to ask who the person on the other line is, and so she did.

“Who is this?”

A few more pops and shrieks was heard from the other line, and the guy said, “What? Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Abby barely heard him as well, as a particularly loud explosion resounded from outside and through the phone. She raised her voice, “I said, who is this?”

“Huh?” The voice on the other line sounded confused. “Who is this? I’m supposed to be the one to ask that.”

Abby’s eyebrow rose, even if she knew no one could see it. “Well someone sent me a weird ransom-note like package to my house today and it has your number, so I have the right to ask that. Who is this? And what’s the big idea with the package?”

“What package?” The voice not only sounded confused, but annoyed. “And it’s common courtesy for people to say who they are first when they are calling someone so I have no obligation to say anything to you. You could be a killer for all I know.”

Now Abby was definitely annoyed. “Excuse me, I’m the one who received a creepy package, how could that be me?”

“How would I know if you’re not lying about that?”

“Just tell me who this is and why I got that package and I will be off your case!”

Before the guy could answer, a female voice was heard from the background. “Kuya, let’s go! It’s almost midnight!” Abby heard some scuffling at the other end of the line, and then the line went dead.

The guy hung up on her.

“The nerve!” Abby exclaimed, slamming the phone back on the cradle. Somewhere in the nearby houses, she heard a group of people counting down to the New Year:

“Five, four, three, two, one! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

I will not be angry at the start of the year, Abby thought to herself, pushing the annoyed feelings from the phone call away. I’ve had enough bad times the last year, no more this year. Go away bad vibes. She tossed the card with the number back into the box, and decided to attend to her forgotten dinner.

But before she could take another step, the phone rang.

The phone rang, over and over and over again. Abby sighed for the nth time telling herself mentally, over and over, that she should just hang up and go on with the rest of her life. Sheer curiosity kept her glued to the phone, even as her voices (yes, voices) of reason screamed at her that this was insane and would only lead to heaps more trouble than she was capable of handling right now.

But Abby was remarkably stubborn, even to her ‘inner voices’.

Okay freak who sent me a pane of glass, I’ll give you ten more seconds to answer this call. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…

Okay, a bit longer. Fine. Abby flexed the fingers of her free hand and managed not to scream in utter irritation as the phone droned on and on and on and on. Finally, she gave up, throwing down the phone in disgust.

“Make that freak who sends me a pane of glass and decides to prank me with a lame phone number!” she said between gritted teeth. Abby picked up the glass pane and turned it over in her hands. It was cold, the weight of it substantial…not fragile as a piece of glass should feel, at least to her mind. The number too, with its kidnapping-style use of random numbers from random newsprint and magazines…all creative and different.

All absolutely engrossing…so much so that she wanted very badly to know who in the world would send her this…this…thing.

Mentally calling herself an absolute fool, Abby picked up the phone number and dialed again. Okay, I’m giving you another chance. You better answer this time.

Five rings.

Ten.

Twenty-three.

And then…

Abby sighed and thought irritably to herself. Perfect.For the past two weeks her best friend Nena had been trying to convince her to attend a New Year’s party that Nena’s boyfriend Alex was throwing – but Abby did the math – she knew she would be the only person without a date. Rather than spend the turn of midnight awkwardly alone and with no one to kiss, she told Nena that she wasn’t feeling well and that she thought it best to stay in. Abby knew that Nena could tell she was lying, but Nena didn’t let on. That’s why Abby loved Nena like a sister.

Abby’s thoughts turned to Nena and the party as she picked up the strange object in the box.  My best friend is probably holding hands with her adoring boyfriend right now, and I am holding a hunk of glass from some weirdo.  Abby lifted the flap of the card and read the phone number again.

Part of Abby wanted to simply throw out the package.  Honestly, what normal person sends someone a random object and a cryptic note that looks like it was fashioned by a serial killer?  Instead of worrying that some stalker had personally delivered a package to her front door, Abby started to get more and more irritable.

It had been a bad year - what with that horrible breakup from Philip in the summer; her younger sister Diana announcing her engagement (leaving Abby the lone unmarried Marquez daughter); and her best friend Nena finding her “true love” - it was simply bad timing for whoever this guy was to send her this odd and creepy package.

Abby picked up the phone and began to dial.

She reached forward, hands taking opposite sides of the while parcel, before taking one deep breath and tearing it open.

While her imagination had taken flight fearing the contents of the gift to be that of clockwork bombs, anthrax-powdered terrors and even a severed head of a seahorse, reality was far simpler but no less intriguing in its own right.

It was empty save for two things:

There was a small panel of glass, barely a millimeter thick, which was laid flat on the bottom and nicely matched the box’s girth. The glass pane gave the gift the strange weight of a filled package.

And there was a small card on the glass, barely larger than a calling card. It was plain and slightly off-white, with a folded crease to conceal its contents. On its face, glued upon the board paper, were carefully spliced letters from what seemed to be various magazine articles, giving it a kidnapper-esque appearance with its different colors and choice of fonts.

“To Abby,” Abby read the card and was absolutely certain now whoever had sent this intended for her to receive it. She reached inside and flipped the card open. Written inside, in the same manner of collected cut-outs, were a list of numbers.

A phone number.

“Interesting,” Abby smirked, “I have to admit, whoever sent this has some style,” a pause of realization, “…in a creepy kind of way.”