“Please stop! Why are you doing this to me!”
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID
“I don’t! I promise! Whatever I did to you I’m sorry!”
YOUR APOLOGIES DON’T MATTER PITIFUL HUMAN
“Get off me! I can’t breathe!”
THIS IS PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS
“I don’t know what I did! Please just get off me!”
But no one could hear Enrico, not in the real world, at least. The entire conversation echoed endlessly through the dreamscape.
All he did was buy a new bed frame from some local artisans, nothing out of the ordinary. But the moment he slept on it she was there.
It started out innocently at first, he would see the woman in his dreams. Sometimes she would be the nurse in a hospital, other times she would cook a nice meal that his dream self would savor.
He never noticed the glint in her eye, a small, but not insignificant glimmer of rage.
This carried on for months, until the dreams became more violent.
Most of the time when something shocking happens in the dream world, you immediately get jolted awake. It’s the subconscious sparing you from having to experience the horror.
But Enrico couldn’t wake up.
The first time he was walking through a haunted house, there were screams covering the entire area, but he wasn’t scared. He thought that it was a lucid dream and that nothing could hurt him.
Walking through the tight corridors he saw what he assumed was the serial killer, a large man complete with a giant bolo knife. He tried to run away but Enrico tripped on something and he went spiraling down the stairs.
Unable to move his legs, he was at the mercy of the man with the knife. He tried to change his dream, still hoping that this was a lucid experience, but nothing worked. There was no rescue to be had. The man with the knife raised his bolo.
Enrico screamed. His right leg had been cut off below the knee. Shouts of help fell on deaf ears as the man with the knife prepared a second slash.
It took five slashes before Enrico returned to the safety of the waking world.
And all he could remember were the blood and the screams, and, of course, her.
The large woman was whispering to the man with the knife and was there for every single slash.
Enrico couldn’t forget the look in her eyes. She wanted to see him suffer.
And still, he did not know why.
The next few months were a series of nightmares and caffeine. Enrico tried to keep himself awake by any means necessary. He couldn’t handle the torture of his dreams, especially now that they were slowly becoming worse.
It didn’t even matter if he wasn’t sleeping on the bed frame anymore. No matter where he was the woman would follow him, infecting his dreams like a giant bacterium.
He was desperate for an answer so he tried asking for help.
The albularyo wasn’t what he had expected. He imagined someone older, not a skinny boy barely out of his teens. Assurances were given that Paeng (the young albularyo) was genuine enough for his needs.
As they entered the house Paeng froze. His eyes glazed over and it looked to be like he was caught in a trance.
“Where did you get that?” Paeng pointed to the bed, which could easily be seen from the corridor.
“That thing? I bought it from a woodworker,” replied Enrico.
“You have let the infestation spread,” Paeng stared into Enrico’s eyes. Jolts of electricity ran down his spine as the steely gaze peeled back the tiredness.
“What do you mean?” Enrico managed to blurt out.
“Everything has to live somewhere and all are angered when their homes are ripped from them. The tree that this bed was made from was the abode of a spirit, great and vengeful. She has since moved on from occupying this bed to permeating your entire home——”
At that moment Paeng’s legs buckled. He fell to the floor and gasped for air.
“You will not win this one, spirit,” Paeng shouted to the ceiling. He started to mutter in some unintelligible language and pointed to the bed.
“Enrico,” Paeng said. “You must sleep.”
“What! What do you mean?! Are you even alright?! It looks like you’re barely breathing,” was Enrico’s reply.
“Listen to me, this spirit brings madness through dreams, and it is only there that we can face it. Trust me. You must fall asleep on the bed, as you have many times before and face her.”
“What do you mean face her? That’s what you’re here for. I can’t do this by myself.”
“You will not be alone. Trust in me. We will face her together.”
The room was still with expectation. Enrico noticed that Paeng would clutch his chest from time to time. “Probably from the spirit,” he thought.
“And you’re certain this is the only way to be rid of her?” Enrico asked.
“Yes.” Paeng took his place by the side of the bed.
“Alright. I trust you.” After all that had happened, Enrico thought that it would be difficult getting to sleep, but months of tiredness had come to claim their due. The instant he laid his head on the pillow the jaws of sleep engulfed him.
Enrico found himself in a small room, but not alone. There she was, a corpulent mass of flesh standing in front of a door.
HUMAN THAT YOU ARE YOU THINK YOU CAN CHALLENGE ME IN MY PLACE OF POWER
His skin tensed as the vibration of her voice attacked his senses. What had he been thinking? There was no way he would be able to face this thing even with Paeng’s help. Paeng didn’t even tell him what to do, now it was just him and a very angry spirit.
“Look, can we reason this out?”
THERE IS NO REASON TO BE HAD HERE, HUMAN
“I’m sorry that they tore down your home, but I had nothing to do with that, believe me.”
YOU THINK THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE, BUT YOU BOUGHT THE CORPSE OF MY HOME AND LAID YOUR HEAD DOWN UPON IT
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know—-”
AND IT MATTERS NOT WHAT YOU KNEW THEN, MY HOME IS BROKEN AND I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE
“Please—–”
His words were engulfed by the sprawling spirit. In an all too familiar move, the giant woman lunged forward and pressed herself against Enrico, depriving him of life-giving breath.
“So, this is how it ends,” thought Enrico. “Crushed to death in my dreams by the fattest spirit in the world.” Moments of his life flashed before him, some he now regretted and others he wished he could savor one more time.
“Bite your thumb.”
A familiar voice echoed in his ear. He couldn’t remember who it belonged to, but it was strong and imperative.
“BITE YOUR THUMB.”
Enrico did as he was told and the moment he did, he could feel the air rushing to his lungs.
He could breathe again.
It was Paeng’s voice that he heard! Young Paeng, the albularyo. Enrico awoke to find his new friend standing by the bedside with a look of relief upon his face.
“Thank you!” Was all Enrico could think to say before jumping towards Paeng and giving him a hug.
Joy overtook Enrico and if he had thought to be more mindful, he would have seen a forlorn look upon Paeng’s face.
But maybe it wouldn’t have mattered to Enrico, the spirit was gone and he would finally have a good night’s rest.
For the first time in what felt like forever things were looking bright.
Until Paeng spoke.
“Naluganan.”
“Excuse me?” Enrico was still excited by the thought of being free from his spirit tormentor.
“That is what you are now,” Paeng said.
“What do you mean, what is ‘Naluganan’?”
“It means that you can see what others cannot.”
Enrico didn’t understand what he meant.
“Look outside,” said Paeng.
In that moment the tapestry of the invisible world that surrounded all things was open to him. He saw not only the spirits of the forest, but also of those he thought long gone.
“What— How—-”
“You are now as I am,” Paeng answered.
“Is this because of the batibat?” Enrico didn’t understand how he knew the spirit’s name, the thought just came flooding to his mind.
Paeng nodded.
Enrico tried to say he wasn’t ready, that this responsibility was not for him, but the words died in his throat.
He knew fate had chosen him for some unknown reason.
And he would do his best to meet the challenge.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Ilocano Batibat myths
Illustration by likhatsining
Deviant Art: https://likhatsining.deviantart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/likhatsining/
