The Last Days of the Wind Part 2
She missed the mountains most.
The wind was pressed against the cold rock of the cave. She made the mistake of opening her eyes once and saw the frozen spirits of human, engkanto and even aswang suspended in the stone. That image would haunt her for the rest of her days, however long that would be.
Her first mistake was leaving home. No, she corrected herself. That was her choice. She wantedto see more of what the middleworld had to offer, and even if her journey were to end here, in the company of trapped monsters and tortured souls, it still would have been worth it.
Her fellow spirits had warned her of mad gods and strange beasts, of humans waging endless war with their spears and axes. They told her to remain and do her duty, and she did for a time. But her winds were made for much more than punishing humans who did not pay her respect.
If her adventures were all she had left, then her last moments would be spent with their memory.
She remembered the time she met the dragon trapped in the sky, how he was slowly waiting until the day he was free to rain fire from the heavens.
She remembered how she had paid her respects at the grave of the ruler of the clouds and sought solace under the coconut tree.
She remembered the smile of the human child she had saved from becoming a bugsok and the conversations she had with the god Ginton about how closely the spirits must work with the humans.
But through all the memories of danger and peace, she only wished to see her home one last time, to be able to fly amongst the terraces, bending each stalk of rice gently enough to make them dance. She even missed her duties, becoming an agent of vengeance against the humans that would not respect the rituals.
That was all in the past now. She could feel Tan Mulong’s power constricting even her thoughts. It would only be a matter of time before she would be one of the nameless spirits floating through his cave.
She said a goodbye to the mountains she had called home, and waited for the inevitable.
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Story continued from Tan Mulong’s tale
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Story inspired by the Puok description in ‘Philippine Mythology’. Jocano. 1969.
Puok Illustration by Erika Gana
