The Tenant

This was an experience of my mother and all of the tenants of their previous home.

My mother believes that not all people who commit suicide are experiencing something difficult. She knew of two people who committed it that just did it for no apparent reason. Of these two people, one was given a second chance to live and the other unfortunately died.

The one who lived told my mother that he was just staring blankly into space when he "unknowingly" drank the chemical fertilizer beside him. He said that he's not depressed or is not into a situation that can make a person suicidal.

The other one, Ella, was a neighbor of my mother. She was pregnant when she did it.

My mother's family lived in an apartment before and they were close to their neighbors. My mother accounted that Ella and her husband were very nice people and that they don't seem to be into a a situation that would lead into Ella's demise. Ella did it while her husband was out for work.

Ella left everyone confused including her husband, who, because of the tragedy, decided to leave the apartment.

Eventually, a new tenant, an old woman, came in. The old woman had a daughter who visited her often. The daughter doesn't know how to speak the local dialect in the place which is "Cebuano".

One day, the daughter came out from the comfort room in an unusual stance speaking a straight Cebuano. The mother, freaked out of what just occurred and believing that her daughter was possessed, shouted "Go away demon! I know that you are not my daughter, get out from her body now!". The "daughter" then answered, still in Cebuano, "I am not a demon, I am Ella, please pray for me".

For the record, the lady and her daughter did not know of what happened to the previous tenants until that event. Aside that the daughter doesn't speak Cebuano, they also did not know of Ella. The old woman, already hysterical of what was happening caught the attention of all who were present in the building. The daughter, who was allegedly "possessed" by Ella had no idea of what just happened when she returned to her original self. Later on, upon knowing of Ella's fate, the daughter accounted that every time she visits her mother, she will always see a pregnant woman who would just wave and smile at her. Not familiar with the place, she assumed that it was one of the tenants of that building. Indeed, it was a tenant, it was Ella.

Prayers were then offered for Ella's soul. They believed that she really did not intend to take away her life and her baby's. My mother hopes until now that with all those prayers, she and her baby already entered the light. As to the apartment, it was demolished and converted into a commercial building.