South Drive in Baguio City

I will never forget to honk my horn on this part of Baguio City again the year 2000. I was just a neophyte Taxi Driver then making do with the occasional shift given to me back then Baguio was not busy and bustling tourist destination yet roads were long and adorned with trees not many houses were built.

"I loved it"

One night I had to cover for one of my fellows who called in sick at the last minute I just finished a 12-hour stint but was willing to get as many shifts because more shifts equals more money so I grabbed the opportunity thinking it . I was going to be just another normal duty this was my first time doing a 24-hour shift nothing could go wrong right?

Right?

Wrong!

10 PM a passenger has just delighted somewhere at military cutoff deciding where to go next I stepped on the pedal and made a quick second right to the Rotonda driving aimlessly into "South Drive" thinking luck may be on my side and I would be able to pick up passengers at Pacdal Circle Baguio City becomes a Silent Hill when the dead of the night unravels people went to bed early back then there were barely any houses there and you will barely come across cars passing by even in the morning

I knew full well there were slim chances I would get passengers at South Drive but a taxi driver has to try his luck anyway the first half of the drive was as smooth as it can be pine trees lining up the winding road windows down with chilly air on my skin I could as well be in my own music video

I drove past a waiting shed and was about to turn right when my engine started sputtering until it died completely I was half grateful that there was no one tailgating me but also confused about why my taxi died on me in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night

I went back out to open the hood trying to figure out which part of the engine caused the halt but it all seemed fine to me confused I went back to my seat and revved up the car again it started seamlessly so I hurriedly went out of there I didn't think too much about the incident and have forgotten about it until it happened again two weeks later this time I had just brought a passenger at Country Club Road and was making my way back to session Road via South Drive it was almost midnight then slowly turning left my engine started making weird sounds again before it went off

I tried starting the engine a few times with no luck scratching my head I went for my car door and was greeted with a chilly wind I lifted the hood to check on the parts and my confusion got worse before I left earlier today I made sure my taxi was in Tip-Top shape I didn't want my engine to die on me again my confusion soon became horror-stricken because as I began putting down the hood suddenly

I wasn't alone anymore they're in my passenger seat is a woman faceless which sent chills down my spine was realizing that I was in the same spot as two weeks ago beside a waiting shed with a dead engine but this time with a faceless woman with me

I could run

I could scream for help and no one would hear me

It was in the middle of the night at South Drive after all

I did what I knew best

I closed my eyes and prayed

I opened my eyes to see that the woman was gone though I was unwilling to go back to my taxi it was my only way out of the road mustering all the courage I have left I went back to my seat and started the engine the relief I felt when it started again was like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert

I drove as fast as I was praying still rattled by the nightmare I just got out of I went to an Eatery where taxi drivers frequently to get their coffee

I wasn't in the mood for coffee because

I was awake all right but perhaps being around living people would help me forget that experience upon arriving at the Eatery I immediately spotted one acquaintance who is also a fellow taxi driver and shakily told him about my encounter. He told me this wasn't the first time a taxi driver has experienced such I found out that the waiting shed fronted what used to be Hyatt Hotel one of the structures in Baguio City which sustained the most damages during the 1990 killer earthquake that shed that was where employees would usually wait to get a ride home after their duties hearing the story was spooky and sad at the same time

Perhaps the woman who boarded my taxi wasn't aware that she was one of the casualties in the quake and was just trying to get home after a shift I muttered another prayer for her my fellow Taxi Driver gave me advice that I would be used for the next two decades until present next time you pass by that part of Baguio slow down and honk your horn especially during the night.