Did you ever have a friend that lived a double life?
There are secrets that people hide, some you would never expect and when you find out you have to make a choice.
Does the secret change anything?
I still can’t answer that question. When I found out what he was… well things haven’t really been the same between us. Now I don’t think I ever knew him.
I found out while we were on our way home. It was past midnight and when we reached the shore of the river we found that there was no boatman to bring us across.
I wanted to go back to the barrio, find someplace to stay the night, but my friend insisted that we cross the river.
When I asked how he just said “I’ll carry you.”
I laughed. I thought he was joking.
But he wasn’t and before I knew it we were flying through the air like a pair of birds. Part of me was scared out of my mind, while another enjoyed the freedom that only soaring through the winds could give.
We almost fell out of the sky because I had lemons in my pocket. The elders told me that they were an effective weapon against their kind. The lemons would feel like heavy weights to them.
My friend is an aswang.
I let the lemons fall and he dropped me off on the other side of the river. We haven’t spoken since, but I know my friend trusted me enough to keep his secret.
I decided not to tell anyone, he had earned my trust by being my friend and won’t betray that for anything.
But sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder.
Am I really his friend or his next meal?
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Based on “The Aswang of Baco’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Aswang (Tagalog) Illustration by Ysa Peñas
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