"Make sure you don't go in the jungle Doria Rose, you know they like you!" My mom yells at me as I'm heading out the door. I've been hearing this warning since I was in elementary. And I always disregard it and get pinched. Here on Guam we have spirits we call taotaomonas (which means ancient people) and they leave bruises on your body. If its black and blue but doesn't hurt that means they like you. If its red and burns that means you've angered them. I usually got the first one.

I remember being in elementary playing on the swing set with my classmates and all of a sudden I seemed to wake up I guess to all my friends yelling at me from a few yards away. They started freaking out saying that I just kept staring into the jungle and not answering them and then I started to turn my head as if watching someone walking towards me and then the swing next to mine started swinging on its own. It could have been the wind yeah, but I remember really hot and sticky that day and all of us complaining how there was no wind.

Even now when I go to places I'd just get this feeling that someone was watching me and pinpoint an area and just keep staring and all of a sudden I'd get this cold chill and go home and find bruises on my body that weren't there earlier.

Once a couple of my friends and I decided to take a ride down to Gun Beach. Well it was actually 3am at the time and no one was there and my friends started driving through the jungle to an area that no one goes. As we were driving in I could feel a thousand eyes on me and I started to feel a bit uneasy and when my friend parked I felt this feeling of hate towards me that I didn't even try to get out of the car. My friends laughed at me of course saying I was silly and its all in my head. One of my guy friends saw how serious I was and volunteered to stay with me.

As we were in the car the feeling of hate grew stronger it was as if this thing wanted to hurt me and if I put even one foot out the car it would take me into the jungle and kill me.
My other friends went looking around and playing in the sand and me and my guy friend started talking and he told me that he believes me and told me that while he was working at the Micronesian Mall as cleaning crew at night he would hear little kids running around and laughing. And when they'd mop the floors and come back to an area they already mopped there'd be little tiny footprints walking behind them. SCARY!

The feeling of dread finally left and I felt calm as if someone was there with me and my friend telling me that whatever wanted to hurt me was gone and that they'd keep me safe.

The next day I had a big red mark on my leg and showed one of my friends saying "TOLD YOU!" Needless to say she freaked out!

Another incident happened at my friends apartment. My friend is half Native American and I guess really receptive to spirits. Anyway's one night we all went out and my friend stayed behind because she was tired. When we came back to the apartment all the lights were on and the radio was blasting and she came out asking us if we came home anytime that night. Assuring her we didn't she started telling us that she heard people in the living room and the hallway and she showed us scratches on her body that just appeared. She was pretty freaked out so while my friends went out because our other friend had an emergency I stayed with her in her room. I told her all about my experiences and stuff and while I was in her room I felt like we were being watched.

That morning when I finally went home I had bruises all over my legs. I didn't really freak out cause I was used to it already. But what really freaked me out was that day I was having lunch with my family and telling them about it and showing them my bruises and my uncle freaks out and tells me to turn my arm around and there on the back of my arm was a bruise in the shape of a hand, as if someone really grabbed my arm. But it didn't hurt.

Anyway's after that I didn't really get bruises I guess they got tired of me. They never meant me any harm, they just wanted to show me some love I guess. Exception to the one a the beach which I will never go to even during the day.