Lord Of The Manor 2022

 We were a big family, which meant seven families in one large two-story home. In each room lived a family of three of four.

Everyone pooled their money together so that when one family was able to move out on their own, three families went with them, and so on and so forth, until each family could finally live in a place of their own by themselves. It seemed to be a long route to take just for one family to obtain independence, but it worked. The house on Kahuamaka Street was known for those kinds of homes, so it was not unusual to see several different types of cars parked in the extended garage. The patriarch of the home who housed at least ten families at one time was a generous and kind man who always tended to the occupants' needs. Joaquin De Rego was always there, whether it be food, money for the children's school supplies, a good mechanic, or a needed mediator in a domestic dispute. His constant companions were his two Doberman pinchers. They were well-trained and only responded to his commands in Filipino. They listened to no one else. The dogs were kind and playful among the children.

The two bared their fangs to strangers and stayed vigilant if they needed to attack. With their owner, they were like little children. The two Dobermans were mainstays at the market because people had become used to seeing the dogs sitting in the car with the windows down while Joaquin was shopping inside. A sad day came when Joaquin took the dogs to walk through the big field at August Ahren's elementary school. The Dobermans were off their leash and running about and frolicking. It just so happened that a stray cat wandered by, and the dogs caught sight of it. They immediately went after it. The cat scaled the fence with nimble steps, ran down the embankment, and crossed Waipahu depot road. The Dobermans were not far behind. Joaquin screamed and yelled after his dogs, and when he realized that they were not paying attention, he ran after them. He managed to scale the fence just in time to call out a command, and the two dogs stopped right in the middle of the road. A large delivery truck was barreling down toward them, Joaquin made it just in time to shove his beloved pets out of the way, but he paid the price for his act of bravery with his life. 

It was a sad day for everyone who lived in the Kahuamaka Street home and a significant loss for the community. After the services for Joaquin were completed, it was agreed that the two Dobermans would go with each outgoing family who managed to find a new place of their own. The arrangement seemed to go well for a little while, but each family that the Dobermans went with began to notice something strange. During certain times of the day or night, the dogs would suddenly stop whatever they were doing, walk to the front door, and sit there as if they were waiting for someone. The door would slowly peel back, but no one was there. Then, the dogs would turn around and walk toward the living room and through the house with their noses in the air, whimpering as if they were following someone. Finally, they would stop at a chair near the kitchen table and sit. All the while looking up at something that wasn't there. Eventually, they would lay their heads down and sleep for a time. Everyone speculated that it might have been Joaquin's ghost, coming to look after his beloved pets, but no one would say it outright, much less in a loud voice. The dogs Jax and Comber finally ended up with the last family, who got their own house in Waipio acres. It was a nice three-bedroom place near the golf course.

The Marco family noted that the Jax and Comber didn't exhibit the same unusual behavior as before in the other previously lived places. For example, one evening, Freylan Marcos sat on his recliner while his wife sat next to him. The children were on the couch, playing on their devices. Jax and Comber sat on Freylan's lap, quiet and reserved. The couple was watching television when something caught Freylan's eye. Standing just to the right of the twenty-two-inch screen was the apparition of Joaquin De Rego. "Halika dito!" He commanded. "Halika dito!"

Jax and Comber snapped up to a sitting position, jumped off Freyland's lap, and went directly to where Joaquin's apparition stood. Freyland screamed bloody murder. He gave his wife and children such a fright until they, too, saw what Freyland saw. Then they screamed too.