“It was a bat! That’s the only thing it could be. I saw it through a window and it had huge wings, but I know a bat when I see it.”
“You’re crazy it was a lizard. I could see the red in its eyes from a mile away. It had the head of a lizard and it was probably one of those flying ones. There’s no way it could have been a bat, besides you only saw it from behind!”
“You’re both wrong, I saw its hands and I can definitely say it was a monkey.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Better than being wrong.”
“Guys it was someone playing a prank. I saw the thing’s feet and it was human, besides we all saw the tail anyway and it looked like a woman’s long hair. Probably one of the girls wanted to scare us or something.”
“I know what I saw and there’s no way someone could fly like that.”
“Maybe they pulled themselves up on a string or something.”
“You really don’t believe that do you?”
“This arguing is getting us nowhere!”
“Look we all saw what we saw, it could have been a bat, it could have been a lizard or a monkey or someone pranking us. What matters is that it’s gone.”
“Yeah I hope so. Whatever that thing was it gave me the creeps.”
“Guys?”
“You think we could all be right? Like the thing could be a weird lizard-bat-monkey hybrid?”
“That’s crazy, what makes you think that?”
“Look up.”
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Mansalauan description in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.
Mansalauan Illustration by Jowee Aguinaldo.
