“Aren’t you tired yet? I’ve never met humans as stubborn as you,” The beautiful woman said to Cirilo and me. “Why it could already be a hundred years since you’ve been here. Everyone you’ve ever loved could be gone by now.”
“If that was true then you’d show us,” Cirilo snapped back.
“Ahh the half-breed, always racing for a fight. You know we told your father to stop playing around with that girl but in the end it didn’t even matter. We found the place where your mother died. It made for such a good party.”
Cirilo spat at the woman.
“Now, now, what a useless display of bravado. I’ll tell the aswang to make your punishments extra harsh this time.” She laughed as she exited into the hallway.
“That wasn’t a smart thing to do,” I told Cirilo.
“I know,” he replied, “but I was just so angry.”
“Don’t let her get to you.” I put my hand on Cirilio’s shoulder. “Besides I heard that she can’t even lure humans to her realm.”
“Who’s been telling you that?” All the other slaves barely had enough energy to build the castle and after a few days all vestiges of humanity left them.
“I overheard it from the other dalaketnon,” I smiled. It was nice to know that even in this situation their captors weren’t all friends.
“What did she do?” Cirilo asked.
“It’s more like what she didn’t do. She told a girl called Julia that she would love to have her as a friend and playmate and invited her inside the balete tree that was her house. She spent weeks trying to convince Julia to eat , until eventually she gave up and brought Julia back to her home. No matter how beautiful the house was Julia didn’t want to live there.”
“She was a smart girl.”
We both sat there in silence, two victims of the dalaketnon’s greed. One tricked by lust and power and the other, taken from the only person who ever loved him.
And I asked out loud, “How are we still talking?”
“With our voices?” Cirilo replied sarcastically.
“No I mean really, look at all the other slaves they have here. Not a single one of them can hold a conversation, at least not after a few days. You’re half engkanto so that must be what makes you special but where does that leave me? I’m just human.”
“Maybe more than just human.”
Cirilo took my hands in his and closed his eyes. He breathed in deep and stood in silence for what felt like an eternity.
“Someone likes you,” Cirilo smiled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I can feel it in your aura, there’s an engkanto that has a strong emotional bond with you.
“You mean one of those monsters loves me?!”
“Maybe not one of the bad ones, but one powerful enough to fight through their magic.”
I take time to process what Cirilio just said. What could like me enough that I would be protected. I think back to when I first met them. The beautiful people. There was a woman in a black dress, a boy in a leather jacket and a girl wearing white.
They lead him to the back part of the house and fed him what he thought was drugs. It turned out to be far worse. Once it touched his lips he could never return to the life he lead before.
But there was something in the girl’s eyes that gave a measure of reassurance. He was scared of the woman and the boy, but someone as beautiful as her wouldn’t lead him down the wrong path.
He was mistaken, of course, now trapped in the dalaketnon’s realm, building a castle for god-knows-what-reason. But things just didn’t add up. Why was he able to remain relatively normal compared to the other victims. Why did they send the aswang to torture only Cirilo and himself?
There were too many questions that needed answering.
I turned to Cirilo and asked, “There’s more to this than I know isn’t there.”
Cirilo could only nod.
“Are you going to tell me?”
He shook his head.
“You’ll know soon enough,” he looked me in the eye and for that moment I felt reassured.
“Something’s going to happen, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Will I be a part of it?”
“Yes”
“Does it have to do with your father?”
Cirilo didn’t answer.
“Come on, we still need to move those stones to the other end of the staircase,” he finally said
I nod and silently walk with him to our work with newfound knowledge and resolve.
At least I know I have a guardian angel somewhere.
Continued from the Engkantada’s Tale
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by Julia in Fairyland in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Illustration by Armie Loraine Corpuz
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