The behemoth roared.
It had been eons since the incident, but her bones felt weak until now.
There had been rumblings on her back, there was something happening with the humans.
She summoned her soul with another roar.
It coalesced into a being of bird and serpent, ready to follow her will.
In normal times she would have sent him to the heavens, to battle with the celestial orbs and usher in famine if it won.
But these were not normal times.
In fact, this was not the time at all. The soul-self knew there was a certain… cadence to his summoning. It would be around two decades, give or take, in the space between his being called.
Her soul-self heeded the orders and went to the realm of humans.
———————————————————————–=
It was a tsunami that swept everything in its path.
Today Janika had to be the one to turn people away, some of them already showing advanced symptoms, all of them scared.
But there was nothing she and the hospital could do for them. The facilities were so stretched that there were those who should have been in intensive care had breathing tubes attached to them just to keep them alive.
In med school one of her professors told her class that they shouldn’t be afraid of seeing death, that it was a part of the profession and that they should treat it as a companion. She nodded and calmly accepted that it had to be.
Then her friends started getting sick. Nurses, technicians and fellow doctors who she had exchanged smiles with were now fighting for their lives attached to the same tubes that had held their patients. Even other, exceptional doctors in the top of their fields, succumbed to the disease, people Janika had idolized since she took her first steps into the medical profession.
She looked at the clock and it was the end of her shift. She took off her protective equipment, said goodbye to her friends and boarded the shuttle that would take her near to the dorm she was staying in.
As she sat down, Janika closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind on other things.
But all she kept seeing was
The beds.
The scared faces.
The tears.
The tubes.
She walked from the shuttle and staggered towards her room.
She crumpled on her bed and looked outside her window.
The moon was out and bright that night.
And Janika was thankful at that small hint that the universe might care.
And she slept.
And let the tiredness take her.
=—————————————-=
The soul-self soared through the skies, peeking through the minds of humans and watching the scenario that unfolded below him.
He had always assumed that should a situation like this arise, the humans would tear themselves apart.
The world was full of surprises.
As he prepared to return back to the mother-crocodile, he spied the moon, shining brighter than usual.
Instinct took over the soul-self, how dare its enemy shine its light on him!?
He expanded to titanic proportions and let loose his gaping maw, swallowing the brilliant orb, and preparing for battle.
In normal times it would be a brawl to see where the sphere would exit. If the wretched moon proved victorious and escaped through his mouth then a bountiful harvest would take place. If it lost, the soul-self would rejoice in the total eclipse, waiting for famine to take her place.
The thrill of the fight electrified the soul-self.
But it would be sorely disappointed.
He had never felt such resistance in ages past. In an instant the moon burst from its jaws and took its place back in the night sky.
He stared in disbelief at his would-be quarry.
This would not stand.
Again and again he tried to consume the moon.
And again and again, he would fail.
The celestial sphere stayed, unmoving, as if letting the soul-self know that at least tonight of all nights, he would never win.
His pride ruined, he retreated back to the primordial waters.
=——————————————————————=
She faced her soul as soon as he returned, in an instant they melded together and she was complete.
Through his eyes she experienced the journey to the human realm and all the suffering he had witnessed.
And she thought about the humans.
And the moon.
These were strange times indeed.
=—————————————————————————-=
The alarm jolted Janika awake. It was time for her next shift.
She prepared her things and walked to the shuttle.
She knew there were more deaths to come.
But it would eventually end.
And she would go home.
To the people she loved.
That were waiting.
She would not forget.
That no matter how terrible things were.
She would remember to love.
=——————————————————————-=
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Láwû myths told by Mike Pangilinan of the Sínúpan Singsing: Center for Kapampángan Cultural Heritage
Illustration by Art of EDOY
