Star-tling Mall

Who has been to StarMall Alabang, aka Metropolis Mall? For years we’d pass by it on our way to Tagaytay or Laguna but we never bothered to stop by there. I’ve always wondered what the inside of that mall looked like. I’ve also heard the ghost stories; they whisper of movie houses jam-packed with audience, but the ticket sales only show less than half of the capacity sold. You see, there used to be a cemetery where the mall is standing right now. I always wondered what happened to it.

Yesterday I got to visit the mall for the first time ever.

The moment I saw the winding driveway leading to the parking area, I knew this was a mall that had seen better times. The formerly white walls were dirty with soot and grime, and despite the fact that the parking area faces the outside, the atmosphere there was dark and dreary. Some mall entrances welcome you with open arms; here, the side entrances looked uninviting.

Inside I saw lots of space. The mall looked busy enough, with a noticeable size of foot traffic. I didn’t see the usual shops one sees inside an SM or an Ayala mall; maybe they were situated nearer to the front entrance, I supposed.

My two other officemates and I (we were there for work) went up to the 4th level, where we were greeted with a surprise. Actually it was the warm, sticky heat of the afternoon that greeted us. What, no aircon? Then we saw a full-sized, covered basketball court; I guess to save on electricity, the management decided that the sports area would be air-cooled. Also in the sports area were a gym, a billiard hall, and—whoa, this was the punchline—a boxing ring. So what if SM’s Mall of Asia has the biggest indoor ice skating rink—who cares about ice-skating, anyway? In the Philippines the three most popular sport are the three Bs: basketball, boxing and billiards. Bingo!

We attended our meeting. Afterwards I found the nerve to ask our host if she knew what happened to the cemetery. She was silent for a few seconds before blurting out embarrassed, “Now, how do I answer that question?” She eventually insisted that she doesn’t know what happened, but I don’t believe her.

Before we left StarMall, my female officemate decided to go to the toilet. Before she entered the ladies comfort room I warned her, “Check first if the woman standing beside you in front of the vanity area is actually alive.” She yelped and smacked my shoulder.

As we piled into my car, my art director looked around one last time and said, “You know, even if you didn’t tell me that there was a cemetery here on this lot before, I’d still feel there’s something off with this mall. The atmosphere here is sad, dark…” and here he groped for words, “…hindi maaliwalas.”

“Well,” I said, “SM only has a Mall of Asia. This one’s StarMall of Asia… and the Beyond.”

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, I thought I saw a man sanding in the shadows inside one of the abandoned stall spaces of the mall. He looked like he was staring at me.