"Hey, Dunggo, your grip is too tight! You're hurting me!" my older brother complained, and I started crying. It took a while before I calmed down, and the elder scolded my brother. What finally calmed me was when I pointed at the carabao and was placed on top of it. I was alone on the back of the carabao, just being guided by two people on either side of me.
"I'll tell you later," the elder said when some of our companions asked curiously. All the elder healers with us believed the same thing. They always agreed with the old woman who had been reminding us.
We left the village around six o'clock. That's my guess because six o'clock in Batangas feels like four o'clock with the yellow sunlight and the cool breeze. It was probably around nine o'clock then because it was very dark when we crossed the bridge made of train tracks and planks.
This is what I remember as really scary about that moment! The wind suddenly picked up, and our torches went out, except for the lamps. We were momentarily stunned by the strange wind. They surrounded the carabao I was riding. Everyone was shocked when I screamed and started crying! I could see figures in the pitch-black water of the creek!
I pointed at them while they took me off the carabao! The water seemed to have demonic faces, and it was truly terrifying! They were laughing, and their eyes were white without pupils!
I found out the next day that we had crossed the bridge, and I was like a wilted vegetable, vomiting after the journey! We stopped in a village deep in the forest. That's where the elders started their rituals. I saw various animals around. This was the first time I understood about aswangs and malignos!
They slaughtered all kinds of black animals. There was a wild boar, thirteen native chickens with black feet... all sorts. Everything was arranged beautifully on woven trays, with flowers and fruits. They were making offerings.
But in the middle of the offering, we were attacked by angry spirits or elementals, and who knows what else! Imagine, all the coconuts fell as if they were purposely trying to hit us! Would you believe that a rooster the same size as me appeared?!
After all the coconuts fell and were exhausted, they chased the giant rooster that was as big as me! I pointed at it while I went wild and cried!
The elder healers were frantic! "Catch it! If you can't catch it alive, finish it off!" some of them ordered with urgency. And the old woman spoke again. She said, "God, your child is being taken by the malignos, Iseng! That rooster earlier was an aswang! They only come around when they smell death!"
"We need to finish the healing of your child before it's too late!" the old woman added.
Almost all the men went in the direction where the giant rooster ran. And the strong wind from last night seemed to swirl around the tin roof. It was loud at noon, but the wind was as cold as midnight!
"Hey, the rooster is an aswang! The rooster is an aswang!" those who returned were shouting. When they calmed down, they recounted:
"It only got hurt when we hit its rear with bamboo sticks."
"Yeah, it was an aswang!" the elder exclaimed.
"Hey, where did the giant rooster go? Did you catch it? Did you kill it?" asked my father.
"Iseng, it's not easy to catch it. It's good that it was scared away from Dunggo," the elder replied to my father.
The air was thick and heavy, but everything had calmed down. Everyone who had driven away the aswang had returned. The elders continued their rituals, muttering what seemed to be prayers in Latin.
An old man who wasn't praying approached me. He said he would perform a "tawas" on me, but first, he sought permission and blessing from an old woman.
"Come here, child, and I will perform the tawas on you."
He applied oil to my stomach, then gently rubbed my body. He whispered something as he brought his mouth close to my forehead. Soon, the bowl appeared. He filled it with water and salt, then let drips of melted candle wax fall into it. After a while, a shape formed in the cluster of dried wax droplets. The old man seemed to read the shape formed in the bowl. Moments later, he spoke.
"Child, do you play with other children like you? Thin and dark-skinned ones?"
I stammered my response: "Pango, Lindo, Etong... We play stone-throwing."
"What do you play?"
"Stone-throwing."
"Throwing what?"
I wasn't very articulate, so I pointed to the ground. The old man picked up a pure white stone. His reaction suggested he had figured out what kind of spirit or demon was playing with me.
The ritual ended, and the old man went to the old woman, seemingly sharing his findings. As the two elders conversed, it felt like a council of healers was convening.
After their brief discussion, all the elders approached my father and me. They gave my father instructions about my mother, but I didn't understand. The only words I caught were, "If something happens to Belen..." which made my father cry again.
"...I hope you can accept it with an open heart," were the last words I heard from one of the elders speaking to my father.
"Child, where is your mother?" the elder asked again. I shook my head instead of pointing. They seemed to say I was healed and free from the spirits. Along with that, the strong wind vanished.
It felt like a festival once everything was over! People prepared roasted and grilled food, boiled and steamed fish! It was as if everyone forgot the terrible events that had happened!
So, it was over, and we were ready to leave that place and go home. But instead of taking the same path, we took a different route as advised by the elders. They also warned me not to point at anything but to speak instead. Otherwise, I might be cursed. It seemed like a scare tactic, but their reminders had substance.
On the way, I was silent, smiling at the small pleasures my companions gave me. Instead of riding a carabao, I was now on a horse. I was so happy that I began to forget about Pango, Lindo, and Etong, and even the big rooster, and my dreams. Everything! Even the outhouse and the jeep.
We passed by a stream on our way home. The elders said my father and I should bathe there. Besides us, some uncles, older brothers, and a few elders also bathed.
The stream was crystal clear, with small freshwater fish. I could see the bottom, different-colored stones that looked like synthetic ones for an aquarium.
After bathing, we continued walking. It felt like a leisurely stroll. We passed flat lands and the side of a mountain. The path led us to the lower part of a mine.
The mine was nestled between the surrounding mountains. We were on the path beside the mine, spiraling downward like rice terraces.
We spent an entire night walking, with occasional stops to rest, and were finally greeted by dawn. At last, we arrived back in our village!
My grandmother was overly excited to see me, holding and kissing me non-stop. I didn't get scolded or spanked by her at all.
The next day, my father went to Manila to take care of my mother. He was greeted with good news; my mother was conscious and able to eat a bit of porridge. I stayed with my grandmother, peaceful and happy. Slowly, I became more stubborn and mischievous.