In the bustling city of Quezon, the Philippines, the streets were alive with the vibrant colors of jeepneys, a common mode of transportation that painted the urban landscape with their flamboyant designs. Among the thousands who relied on these vehicles for their commutes was a young woman named Eliza. Little did she know that one fateful night would lead her into an eerie encounter that defied explanation.
Eliza, a diligent student, found herself wrapping up a late-night school project on the campus of U.P. Diliman. Living nearby, she opted for the convenience of a jeepney ride home. The clock had struck midnight as she stepped onto the jeepney, hoping for a peaceful journey back. However, the driver’s peculiar behavior soon cast a shadow over her usual route.
The driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror was unsettling – a series of glances, each more unnerving than the last. His eyes seemed fixed on Eliza, causing her discomfort. Adding to her unease, the driver took turns in directions that deviated from the typical route, steering the vehicle into unfamiliar corners of the city.
Fear tightened its grip on Eliza as the surroundings grew more unfamiliar. Stranded in an unknown part of the city, she decided to remain on the jeepney rather than venture out into the unknown. As the driver guided the vehicle back onto the intended path, a sense of relief swept over her. She had survived an unnerving experience, or so she thought.
The ride concluded, the driver turned to Eliza and offered an explanation for his strange behavior. “I apologize if I frightened you,” he began, his voice heavy with a mix of regret and urgency. “My intention was not to startle you, but to protect both of us from a malevolent presence.” He then made an odd request: “When you get home, burn all the clothes you’re wearing.”
Confused and shaken, Eliza inquired further. The driver revealed that as he glanced into his rearview mirror, he had witnessed something unimaginable – Eliza’s head had been detached from her body. He believed it to be a harbinger of ill fortune, a manifestation of negative energy that lingered nearby. To shield themselves, he had steered off course, hoping to escape its clutches.
Eliza’s heart raced as she reached her home. Her fear had transformed into a chilling realization that she was entangled in something beyond her understanding. Braving her trembling hands, she followed the driver’s words and set her clothes ablaze, hoping to sever any connection to the malevolent force he had sensed.
Days later, the truth behind the enigmatic encounter came to light. The news reported the jeepney driver’s untimely passing, a mere day after the incident. Eliza, though initially the intended recipient of the driver’s warning, had unknowingly played a role in his protection. The unsettling vision he had seen in the rearview mirror had been a premonition, a message from the other side urging him to evade the grasp of the malevolent entity.
In the end, the seemingly innocuous jeepney ride had been a convergence of fates, where the living and the supernatural intersected, reminding all that the veil between the two worlds was often thinner than one might believe.