Um! Pak! Tok! Tugush! Ka-blog!

Two nights ago, I went to bed ahead of my husband, who’s still busy playing a PC game. Appa followed me to the bedroom. I called him to join me on the bed and my even-tempered shih tzu obediently hopped on the mattress.

I turned my face on the wall, as it is customary for me to fall asleep that way. Then I felt Appa sniffing furiously at my nape. Then he didn’t stop at just that. He then began to frantically scratch at it with his two front paws, like he’s digging.

I bolted up right, irritated. “APPA, NO!” I shouted. Like a scolded child, he ran and jumped out of the bed. But then, he sat and started barking angrily at the point just above my head. He wasn’t even looking at me but…at something above my head.

In frenzy, he ran out of the room, then with the same pace, ran back inside and barked, not taking his eyes off from that space above my head. He did this running back and forth and barking several times until my angry reprimands finally made him stop.

I didn’t think about it much and slept. Mabaho kaya ang anit ko?

But last night, it happened again.

I was in the living room, sitting on the carpet surfing the Net, my back against the sofa. Appa purposefully climbed on the couch and again, began sniffing my nape furiously. And then, he started to bark incessantly, never averting his eyes off the space between my head and my right shoulder.

I finally freaked out.

Armin was telling him to stop but at the same time, the bastard was laughing and teasing me about the ghost sitting on the lead guy’s shoulders in Shutter.

He was still doing this even if he could already see that I was crying.

And then Appa climbed down and sat a few feet away from me, but was still staring over my head before he put his own head down between his two front paws and went back looking like the lazy dog that he is.

And then I Googled “Can dogs see spirits/ghosts?” and the results were a resounding YES.

And everytime I happen to have a view of myself on any reflective surface, such as pans and mirrors, and even my shadow on the floor, I would always sheepishly check if there’s a creature perched on my back.

And then I remember, for the past few days, my head and my nape were feeling heavy even after a good night’s sleep…praning.

I thought maybe Appa was just protecting me from whatever it is he’s seeing (or smelling). Poor doggie, to think he’s gonna be demoted to “just the family dog” in a few months…