“You have to believe me! I saw it here, I promise!”
Jia rolled her eyes. It had been 2 hours since Jaime saw ‘something’ in the trees and decided to drag her along.
“It was probably a deer. Look, I haven’t seen anything that resembles the ‘thing’ that you saw. Can we please go back?”
“C’mon, just give it a bit more time, we’ll find it, I know we will!”
Jia wondered what ‘it’ he was getting at.
They had known each other since elementary school, but they only started to be friends in the first year of high school. Ever since then, they spent the majority of their time together, talking about their families and friends, the meaning of the stars, and what they thought their futures would be like.
High school was soon to be a distant memory. Their parents encouraged them to go to universities away from the province, to have a better future, or so they thought. Jaime had passed most of the university entrance test and settled on a school in Manila while Jia decided to go to Silliman University in Dumaguete.
In less than a month, they would go their separate ways. Sure, they might chat from time to time and see each other on holidays when they visit their families. But this was the end, and maybe Jaime just wanted a bit more time with her.
Or maybe…
‘Oh no. Oh god no.’ Jia thought.
She remembered the way he looked at her. In the past month something about it changed. Jaime was always one to worry too much about the future. Everything was overthought to the point of overwhelming him (and everyone close to him). But recently he was different. Gone were the soliloquies that she had gotten used to. It was just silence when they were around each other.
He had this romantic view about love that reality couldn’t compete with and maybe that’s why he never had a girlfriend. When they talked about the future, the topic of who they’d end up with would always come up.
Jia had always said that she didn’t care enough to actively seek someone. Dating apps were useless, online chats would end with her ghosting; one day someone she could handle would find her. In the meantime, she had her life to live.
Jaime, true to his nature, would end up with an hour-long spiel about how one should seek love in all places. It was funny and a little bit cute how he was just so sure about finding true love (or as true as a teenage boy could find).
But maybe he already did.
It all added up.
They’ve been alone for hours.
They’ve talked about their plans for university.
This may be the last time they might see each other.
‘He’s going to tell me he loves me’ Jia’s mind raced.
She thought about what she was going to say. If she told him she didn’t feel the same way it would break his heart, and she still loved him as a friend. Maybe she would say that that might be an option in the future, they could revisit it when they both became more mature. There was also the option of saying that she’d known him for so long that she couldn’t think of him as anything else other than a brother figure.
‘Okay’ she thought. ‘I can do this.’
“J, can we please stop?”
“Why, are you tired? We can take a small rest, maybe the thing’s tired too. We might catch up to it.”
“I know what this is really about.”
“It’s not a deer! I know deer, I’ve seen many different kinds of deer. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a deer.”
“Stop okay, I know this isn’t easy for you.”
“Huh?”
“We’re going to be apart after this month. Our paths might not ever cross again. You’re sending me on this wild chase because you want to tell me something.”
“Yes, I’m telling you that the thing is there and we can catch it!”
Jia motioned to a large rock and they both sat down. She had trouble looking him in the eye, but better she rip the band aid off now.
“I know you’re going to say you’re in love with me.”
“Of course I love you J. We’ve known each other since forever, I can’t imagine a better friend like you.”
“No, I mean. ‘Love me’ love me.”
“What?”
A split second later, out of the trees, a wild creature dashed in front of them. It was about the size of a large goat, with legs like a goat complete with hooves, but it walked on its hind legs. It had hair all over its body and in the afternoon light its face looked almost human. The creature jumped in front of the two and let out a shrill scream before bounding away back into the forest.
It took a few minutes before the shellshocked teenagers were able to form words. Jaime stood up and enjoyed his triumph.
“I told you! I knew it! It was real and I told you! Yes! Yes!”
“Oh my god it was actually real.”
“Yes! See? I wouldn’t make something like that up!”
“Okay, okay, you were right. What was that thing?”
“I don’t know but it sure as hell wasn’t a deer.”
“You don’t have to be so smug about it.”
“Yes I do! You spent 3 hours with me saying you don’t believe me. Well who’s laughing now.”
Jia sighed. “You are.”
“Damn right I am. It went that way if we run maybe we can get to it before sundown. I think it left a trail, let me check the ground.”
“J, what about what I said?”
“Which part?”
“The— you being in love with me one.”
“Oh, hahahahaha that was a good one.”
“What?”
“You’re full of jokes J, you should really be a comedian.”
“So you’re not— uh—– romantically interested in me?”
Jaime laughed as loud as the creature screamed.
“You’re just not my type.”
=——————————————————————=
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Oguima description in Diccionario mitológico de Filipinas in Volume 2 of Retana, W.E. Archivo del bibliófilo filipino by Ferdinand Blumentritt (1895)
Oguima Illustration by Abe
