Tobacco was introduced to the Philippines in 1592.
The first seeds were planted in Cagayan valley.
It was a luxury item, saved for the upper echelons of society.
Well, the cigars were at least.
Sandro Agpaoa sighed as he loaded the truck for another delivery.
30 boxes of cigars for 10 deliveries.
He reflected on his family’s business.
The business could not attract new customers in the last 20 years.
He blamed the new vaping culture, more and more young folk were turning away from tobacco.
But not Agpaoa’s clientele, that would remain even after generations.
The stories surrounded him.
The first customer was local, a neighbor in fact.
It was stealing tobacco and rolling its own cigars.
To stop the theft his great great grandfather struck a deal.
Cigars for gold.
The kapre was more than willing to part with its treasures for the convenience.
The quality of cigars from Agpaoa’s was unmatched.
It was strange that more kapre would approach his family.
They family always thought the kapre were isolated individuals.
But they welcomed the business.
He double checked the inventory thoroughly. The farthest delivery was in a town three hours away.
He didn’t have to rush, there was plenty of time, though the deliveries had to be done while it was still dark.
It would be hard to explain why he was leaving boxes of cigars in front of Balete trees.
Sandro planned his route carefully. He did these deliveries once per week. He didn’t ask why they went through the boxes so fast and was scared to find out the answer.
30 boxes for 10 kapres.
The trees were in varying places, some close to civilization while others were a substantial walk from the main road.
Sandro hated nature but he loved money more.
The payments were always wrapped in leaves, gold ingots of varying shapes and sizes.
There were tales of these creatures giving false treasures. That, after giving their precious metals and spiriting away, what was left was manure.
But as long as the cigars were in prime condition the Kapre would honor their end of the deal.
As he loaded the truck after the final inspection, Sandro thought to the future.
He would need to pass down this part of the business but he had no heirs, no male ones at least.
The kapre were easy to read and there were enough stories shared to know what they would do when dealing with these situations.
Affection.
Abduction.
Sandro would not let his daughters so much as touch the boxes for fear that the kapre would remember their scent.
He had three happy girls at home and there would be hell to pay if any harm came to them.
He started the truck and went to the first tree, the neighbor by their factory.
3 boxes were left by the roots of the balete. It usually took around 30 minutes for the kapre to descend and inspect, this time it grabbed the box and haphazardly threw the gold.
The kapre had been there at least 200 years and he didn’t know if the kapre was immortal or just long lived.
It was time for the next delivery a town over and the Balete was near the highway. He parked the truck and, with his flashlight, took the ten-minute walk.
There were no special considerations depending on the Kapre, they all enjoyed the regular cigars.
It took a total of 7 hours to fulfill all the orders,
As the sun was rising he laughed.
It was a ridiculous situation, being the provider for a myth.
But at least the money was good.
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the tikbalang description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971
Kapre Illustration by Benedict Jose Villarante
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