I ran away
Through the white fluorescent halls
Down so many stairs
Ignoring all the calls
I sat in silence
And heard them whisper
I stayed in patience
As their patient shivered
“He won’t make it.”
All the doctors and nurses said
I almost stopped breathing
My heart was filled with dread
When they said it was over
And laughed about his headstone
It was then I realized
I wasn’t alone
It was an ordinary man
Stilling behind me
But his tongue was out all the while
Listening intently
He saw me look at him
And he darted away
Something didn’t feel right
So I ran back and I prayed
I was back in his room
The lights were all out
I heard a sickening crunch
And all I did was shout
I don’t remember much after that
There was an inhuman yell
The sound of broken glass
As far as I could tell
The doctors took me away
Said “You shouldn’t see this”
I should have listened
Ignorance is bliss
I snuck into the morgue
In the dead of the night
I just needed to see
So I turned on the light
He was on the table
Pale and alone
And I saw the bite marks
That went through his bones
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Paraduno entry in Myth Museum. Medina. 2015.
Paraduno Illustration by Leandro Geniston fromAklat ng mga Anito
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