The air was slick with the smell of bullets and sweat. The soldier didn’t know why he could not reach his commander or any of his regiment, but he knew he had to be steadfast in the face of danger. He would not abandon his mission by the emperor to claim these islands.
The cave he was hiding in was fetid with the smell of filth but there was nothing he could do about that. The Americans came in and stopped all line of supply, he did not know what happened to the rest of his comrades, they may have been killed, or worse captured.
Night after night he felt the creeping sense of something that was watching him. He had laid out traps for food, and he always made sure to check them every day. He did not know what lurked in the mountains during the night, but he was a soldier and he would face it with bravery in his heart.
He missed the coast that was his childhood home, he missed having food that he did not have to hunt, but most of all he missed the safety of his old home.
The people of these mountains told tales that reminded him of his boyhood, tales of spirit women with long hair. Part of him did not believe such silly superstition, but another part called out to his soul. The soldier’s nights were filled with waiting for the long haired woman to claim him.
In this land the spirit was called Manlalayog, but whatever the name he knew what she could do to him. The long hair draining his youth until nothing would be left but a husk.
It was a hot afternoon when the soldier found the strands of hair in his cave. He did not know where they came from, but he knew they were not his.
Panic surged though his body, he knew there would be an American patrol nearby, and he could throw himself on their mercy, for what mercy could he expect from a ghost? All the bravery he thought he could possess melted away in that instant.
He ran, faster than he thought he ever could, he ran from the danger of his temporary home and into the arms of his most hated enemies.
All because of a few strands of long hair.
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*The manlalayog resembles myths of long-haired ghost women in Japanese folklore. American and Filipino soldiers used to tell these stories in hopes of scaring Japanese soldiers hiding in the mountains.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by a tale told by the grandmother of Ian Quirante
Manlalayog Illustration by Maku Felix
FB: Art of Maku Felix
Watercolor by Yanna Gemora
FB: Yannami