Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2]

Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2]

by Ron Anahaw

a boodle fight table brimming with delicious treats

by Raymund Macaalay, CC BY 4.0

Manuel woke up in a cold sweat.

He was in his bed, safe. All of it-seeing José, being on the mountain, falling through the air-
had been a nightmare. "Nothing really happened," Manuel told himself, but he was still
unnerved when the lights in his room flickered right before he left for school.

After school on Monday, Manuel called his grandpa Claudio to ask him about José.

"Our family has always had bad luck, apo," Claudio told him, "and I say it goes back to José."

"We've had bad luck? Really?"

"Of course we have! You may have been too young to remember all the bad luck we've had at
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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2]

gatherings in the past... but think about this recent gathering! The broken karaoke machine at
the party? The fallen ube cookies? The burnt lechon? I'm telling you: it was all José."

Huh, Manuel thought. A ghost who brings bad luck? Sounds crazy... right?

Over the next few days, Manuel had the same nightmare every evening: He stood at the edge
of a cliff and a shadow (it had to be José!) slowly stepped toward him with a hand reaching
out. Every time, he woke up in bed, jolted out of sleep by the fall.

On Friday, Manuel finally told Jian about his nightmares, the shadow he saw at the party, and
everything his grandpa Claudio had said.

Jian gasped. "I saw that shadow at the party, too!"

Manuel felt a little bit relieved that someone else saw the mysterious shadow. "So... what
does it mean, though? Is José really haunting me and my family? And... why?"

"Maybe he's asking for help," Jian suggested as he bit into the homemade bao his mother
packed for him. "Maybe that's why he's reaching out to you. Isn't that a thing ghosts do?"

Ghosts. The word made Manuel shudder a little. "Help? But how could I help him?"

Jian shrugged and said, "Why don't you try asking?"

That night, Manuel visited the mountainside in his dream again. Just like before, José's
monochrome face gazed at him with that same pained expression and motioned to Manuel,
holding his shadowy hand out stiffly... and pointing. This time, though, Manuel didn't take a
step back from the shadow.

Gathering all his strength, Manuel asked, "Do you need help, José?"

José stopped moving and slowly nodded his head. For the first time, Manuel noticed three
pieces of rope tied around José-one around each wrist and one around his waist. All of the
ropes led deep into the ground, keeping him bound to that place.

Then, poof! The scene changed and Manuel wasn't on a mountain anymore, but rather in a
huge dining room. Looking down the length of the room, he saw José seated at the end of a
long table lined with plates... but with no other people and no food anywhere.

José looked terribly sad and lonely as he called out to the empty room, repeating a phrase

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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2]

that Manuel couldn't make out-except for one word: " boodle."

With a start, Manuel woke up.

At breakfast, he asked, "Mom, do you know the word 'boodle'?"

"Of course," she replied. "A boodle fight is a Filipino feast. You gather with friends and stand
around a table covered with food, then everyone eats with their hands until the feast is done!"

"Do you think José ever hosted a boodle fight?"

Imelda looked surprised by the question. "Great-great-great-great-grandpa José? Probably

not, because he was here by himself, without friends, and too busy working. Why do you
ask?"

Manuel remembered the sight of José all by himself at the table, without any food, looking
morose and lonely.

"Well, I want to throw a boodle fight," Manuel announced.

"What? Can you tell me what this is about, Manuel?"

"I can't really explain, Mom, but I think it's important. It came to me in a dream."

"In a dream, really? Hmm," she said with a smile. "Well, if you want to do a boodle fight right,
invite a bunch of friends for this weekend, and then you and I can cook some dishes together.
Does that sound good?"

It sounded perfect to Manuel. He invited a bunch of friends over to their house for the next
weekend. Meanwhile, throughout the week, he cooked in the kitchen with his mom to learn
and perfect a batch of recipes. If this boodle fight was really what José was asking for, Manuel
knew, it needed to be amazing.

Finally, the next Saturday arrived, and about 15 friends came to Manuel's backyard. They all
gasped when they saw a long table covered with banana leaves topped by a sea of rice and a
mountain of other Filipino foods, including chicken adobo, crispy fried bangus, and pancit
canton.

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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2]

"I'm in heaven!" Jian declared.

Manuel's friends raced to the table, and when some looked around for utensils, his mom
chuckled and said, "Today, you get to use your hands."

Jian and Manuel walked to the table more slowly, hanging a little behind the rest. Jian leaned
over to Manuel and whispered, "Is this about José?"

"Yeah," Manuel whispered back, "I think he wanted me to show him what it's like to not eat
alone." Manuel felt a pang of gratefulness to be surrounded by his friends at this giant meal...
something José hadn't had a chance to do.

Soon, Manuel and Jian joined everyone around the table, and then Manuel's mom
announced, "Dig in!"

The boodle fight began! Each person had to grab what they wanted to eat quickly before
someone else snagged it. Manuel eyed a longanisa sausage and reached for it, but Jian was
too quick and snatched it first. Even though these meals were called boodle "fights," everyone
was laughing and enjoying the food together.

The sun shone brightly on the group as they ate, and within an hour, the mountain of food had
been completely devoured. Many of Manuel's friends lay down on the grass, rubbing their full
bellies-Manuel and Jian included.

"Do you think it worked?" Manuel asked Jian.

Before Jian could answer, a shadow appeared behind a tree in the backyard, then stepped
into the light. Manuel thought, That must be José. The shadow looked over the group of
satiated boodle fighters, but it wasn't clear to Manuel if José was pleased or angry.

Then it disappeared.

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew, the sun vanished from the sky, and dark, menacing clouds
moved in. Moments later, rain poured down and a crackle of thunder boomed across the sky.

"Inside, everyone- now!" Manuel's mom called out as all the visitors let out yells of surprise,

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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2]

and he and all his friends rushed inside. As they did, winds battered the trees outside.

"It'll pass, folks-probably just a freak weather system! Quick to come, quick to go, that's how
these storms are," Manuel's mom reassured everyone as they dried off in the house.

But very soon, the wind began howling harder, shaking the windows of the house so violently
Manuel was worried they would shatter. Everyone backed away from the windows, crowding
together in the center of the room. "Is this because of me?" Manuel wondered aloud.

His mother overheard him and called out to her son, "What are you talking about Manuel? Is
this about your boodle fight dream? Did you do something dangerous in it?"

"I don't know, mom," he replied, half crying. "I don't know." At that moment, an earsplittingly
loud 'crack!' sounded out from a tree close to the house.

A moment later, the place was plunged into total darkness.

---

Ed. : The tale continues in Part 3, "The Second Task."

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 ReadWorks Vocabulary

Vocabulary
devour
verb
definition: to eat or swallow in a greedy way.
Our hike made us so hungry we devoured our lunch.
Spanish: devorar
forms: devoured, devouring, devours

expression
noun
definition: The expression on your face is what tells other people how you are feeling. If your eyes
look bright and you have a smile, your face has a happy expression.
When my father was talking on the telephone, I could tell something was wrong by the
worried expression on his face.
Spanish: expresión

reassure
verb
definition: When you reassure someone, you say things that make them feel that everything is
going to be OK. You stop them from worrying or help them to feel less worried.
Spanish: tranquilizar, dar seguridad, asegurar
forms: reassured, reassures, reassuring

unnerve
transitive verb
definition: to deprive of composure, courage, determination, or the like; disconcert; discourage.
The gory scene unnerved him.
forms: unnerved, unnerves, unnerving

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Definitions and sample sentences within definitions are provided by Wordsmyth. © 2025 Wordsmyth. All rights reserved.
 Name: __________________________________ Date: _______________

1. Before you start reading...

Here are the vocabulary words that will be in this reading. Let's see how well you already know them.

Check the box that shows how well you know each word. It's ok if you don't know them yet (this is not
graded)!

Have heard of it but

Know something
Don't know it not sure of its Know it well
about its meaning
meaning
expression
unnerve

2. Word Matcher
Every word has other words that have similar meanings or even the exact same meaning (these are
called synonyms!). Draw a line from each similar word or synonym to the vocabulary word that it
matches!

tone face look

expression unnerve

faze daunt dispirit

3. After reading and exploring the words through some activities...

Do you know these words better? Check the box that shows how well you know each word. It's ok if
you don't know them yet (this is not graded)!

Have heard of it but

Know something
Don't know it not sure of its Know it well
about its meaning
meaning
expression
unnerve

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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2] - Comprehension Questions

Name: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

1. Who does Manuel keep seeing in his nightmare every evening?

A. José
B. Imelda
C. Jian
D. Claudio

2. How does Manuel try to solve the nightmare he's having?

A. He invites Jian over to eat pancit canton.

B. He tries asking José if he needs help.
C. He asks his mom what his dream means.
D. He invites his grandpa Claudio over.

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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2] - Comprehension Questions

3. Read the following sentences from the text:

'Do you think José ever hosted a boodle fight?'

Imelda looked surprised by the question. 'Great-great-great-great-

grandpa José? Probably not, because he was here by himself, without
friends, and too busy working. Why do you ask?'

Manuel remembered the sight of José all by himself at the table,

without any food, looking morose and lonely....Finally, the next
Saturday arrived, and about 15 friends came to Manuel's
backyard....Jian and Manuel walked to the table more slowly, hanging
a little behind the rest. Jian leaned over to Manuel and whispered, 'Is
this about José?'

'Yeah,' Manuel whispered back, 'I think he wanted me to show him

what it's like to not eat alone.' Manuel felt a pang of gratefulness to be
surrounded by his friends at this giant meal... something José hadn't
had a chance to do."

What conclusion can you draw from this evidence?

A. Manuel is excited that he is going to teach all of his friends about his culture by
showing them a boodle fight.
B. Manuel has eaten a big meal before the boodle fight so he can leave more food for
his friends.
C. Manuel is worried that Jian will tell all of his friends that Manuel's family is haunted
and they will get scared.
D. Manuel can understand how José might have felt because he is enjoying being
surrounded by his friends.

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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2] - Comprehension Questions

4. How does the weather change the mood of the story?

A. The sun always shines but it gets brighter after Manuel and his friends finish eating.
B. The sun shines while Manuel and his friends eat and a storm starts once they are
done.
C. Everything is covered in snow but it starts to melt as Manuel and his friends are
eating.
D. It starts to rain when Manuel's friends arrive at his house and stops once they eat.

5. What is the main idea of this text?

A. After the boodle fight, the sun vanishes and a storm begins with rain, thunder, and
strong winds.
B. A boodle fight is a Filipino feast where many friends gather around a table covered
with food and eat with their hands.
C. Manuel keeps having a nightmare with José in it and tries having a boodle fight with
his friends to help him.
D. For the boodle fight, Imelda and Manuel prepare rice, chicken adobo, crispy fried
bangus, pancit canton, and much more.

6. Read the following sentences from the text.

"Before Jian could answer, a shadow appeared behind a tree in the backyard, then
stepped into the light. Manuel thought, That must be José. The shadow looked over
the group of satiated boodle fighters, but it wasn't clear to Manuel if José was
pleased or angry."

As used in this excerpt, what does the word "pleased" most closely mean?

A. confused at what happened

B. jealous of what happened
C. shocked at what happened
D. happy with what happened

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 Stalked by a Shadow [Our Family Ghost, #2] - Comprehension Questions

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

Manuel thought José wanted the boodle fight _________ questioned whether he had
upset José once the storm began out of nowhere.

A. but
B. third
C. like
D. finally

8. Where is José in Manuel's dream when Manuel hears him say "boodle"?

9. How can you tell that the storm is unexpected?

10. Do you think the boodle fight is what José wanted? Why or why not? Use evidence
from the text to support your answer.

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