Another one for the pile.
I didn’t know what I expected, having just been initiated in the order.
I could see the decapitated bodies, all out for display.
“WHY ARE YOU HERE?” The booming voice rattled my bones.
“I am here as everyone is. For the tikbalang.”
“And what did they do to you?”
“My mother. She was sick for a long time. We tried everything to make her better, but nothing the doctors or the albularyos could do worked.”
“And?”
“I can still hear the tikbalang’s laugh when she passed. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”
“COME CLOSER.”
I was surprised that the voice came from such a small woman.
I realized that she was blind then, her eyes milky white.
Then I remembered what the tikbalang could do.
“Your eyes.”
“Yes?”
“The tikbalang?”
“Yes.”
Even as an initiate I know what the tikbalang is capable of.
If one gets stepped on by these creatures, well, the most benign one is a simple headache or fever. But it takes a certain malice for it to approach blindness.
“Come with me,” The old woman said.
We walked to a stable filled with horses.
Juanita, come here.
As she said that a mare walked forward.
The old woman stretched out her hand and petted the horse.
“Do you know who these are?”
“Horses? Are they because of the Tikbalang?”
“They were human once; we call them the cursed.”
I had never heard of this power of the tikbalang. I could see the sadness and frustration in their eyes.
“How did this happen?”
“Only the strongest and most cruel tikbalang could do something like this. We keep the cursed close to us, so if we ever find a cure we could use it on them.”
As I looked back another tikbalang corpse joined the pile.
“What is your story then?” I asked the old woman.
“The same as yours. I had a sickness that could not be cured, though at that time I had a babaylan intercede for me. She did all she could, it was enough and but not without cost.”
“Your eyes.”
“Yes.”
“So what do I do now?”
“You will be equipped with the weapons of our order.”
Another initiate appeared, carrying a parcel.
“A sword?”
“It has been blessed by the priests of our order.”
“And this cross?”
“Truth be told I do not believe in the gods of these people. But it has served the order well, so we use it to keep the tikbalang at bay.”
“I understand.”
It was almost time for my first mission.
“Where do I go, elder?”
“Pilar, Sorsogon. There have been sightings of multiple tikbalangs. Children have also begun missing.”
“I understand.”
“Then go, every second cannot go to waste.”
I took my weapons and headed to Sorsogon.
This is for you, mother.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the tikbalang description in The Tikbalang. Fansler (1922) in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Tikbalang Illustration by Benedict Jose Villarante
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