Jo was eight when she first saw the ocean.

It was a family vacation. They all boarded boats to go island hopping and her mother took Jo to the front of the boat so they could see the ocean better. It only took a moment for her mother to be distracted before Jo fell overboard.

She could remember the rush of the water as it consumed her whole body. The life vest she was wearing didn’t seem to work. Water rushed into her lungs and darkness overtook her.

————————–————————–————————–———–

“Where am I?”

“The deep.”

“Where is my mommy?”

“She is not here.”

“I think I lost her.”

“That you did, dear child.”

“What are you?”

“A goddess.”

“A goddess of what?”

“The depths and the underworld.”

“Can you bring me back?”

“I can, but I will require something in return.”

“What is it?”

“A favor.”

“And you can bring me back to my mommy?”

“Yes.”

“What is your favor?”

“When the time comes, make the people embrace the darkness and the silence.”

“How will I know when the time comes?”

“You will know.”

“….”

“Do you accept my offer?”

“Yes.”
————————–————————–————————–————

Jo could feel her skin tingle. Her nightmares were getting more vivid. She couldn’t remember what it was she was talking to in her dream, but the voices became louder with each passing week. She told her therapist about it, of course, but Dr. Jalbuena just changed her medication and told her to avoid her stressors.

She couldn’t make him understand this was something unavoidable.

Jo didn’t go home that night. Instead, she bought a one way ticket to Virac and didn’t look back.

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“The time is near.”

“Please, just leave me alone.”

“Remember our bargain, child. I returned you to the surface world and now you must do as I ask.”

“I don’t want to do this.”

“You must! The time is at hand.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Make them embrace the silence and the darkness. I must not be disturbed.”

“Why is this so important to you? I thought you were a goddess. Don’t you have your own power to do what you want?!”

“There are rivals that I have to fight against, child. Beings as powerful as I. They must be kept in the dark.”

“Please, I can’t do what you’re asking.”

“But you must, child. You swore an oath when you accepted my bargain. There are old laws that govern the universe, decrees that not even gods can break. You will do as you swore.”

“Do they have to die?”

“Make them embrace the darkness.”

————————–————————–————————–————

The gun felt heavy in Jo’s hands. She didn’t know where it came from, she just awoke to find it by her bedside.

No amount of tears could stop what was set in motion. Twenty years of nightmares saw to that. She took her pills and tossed them in the trash. There was no more the medicine of man could do for her.

She looked at herself in the mirror and knew what she needed to do.

————————–————————–————————–————

“We meet again, little girl.”

“You can keep your laws. I won’t hurt them.”

“No matter, there are always other humans to bargain with, those that would rather not lose themselves.

“I won’t play your games.”

“I’m sure you won’t. You know, there were others that took the same path you did.”

“What happened to them?”

“They joined me in my realm, what did you expect?”

“You’re evil.”

“If you say so, dear child, if you say so.”

————————–————————–———————-

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Bakunawa description in the The Aswang Project https://www.aswangproject.com/ancient-bikolano-deities-in-philippine-mythology/

Bakunawa Illustration by Kim Santiago
FB: Art of Kim Santiago
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimsanti_/

“Don’t fall in love with me.”

Mabel’s eyes widened in surprise, it wasn’t what she expected Tonio to say, but she would play along.

“That may be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.” She looked at him and they both knew that they were leaving the past behind. What was important now was what they did in this moment.

She didn’t care what their parents would say. She didn’t care that people didn’t like his family. The stories and rumors could throw themselves off a cliff.

She was happy. With him she was finally happy.

And that was all that mattered.

The birds stared as mute witnesses at the two lovers as they kissed passionately in the starlight. They dared not disturb the sanctity of the moment. Their time would come soon enough.

All they had to do was wait.

The couple stared into each other’s eyes and wanted so desperately for the moon to keep still, but time has no master. The first slivers of sunlight danced past the dense forest and found their place on Mabel’s shoulders.

“It’s too late now.” Tears were filling her eyes. “My heart’s already yours.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of—“ Tonio started

“I’m scared too.” Mabel took Tonio’s hands and pressed them against her heart. “You don’t think I hear them talk? Yesterday Lola Lena told me that your whole family was cursed and if I was going to be with you then that meant that I would be cursed too. But I just want the chance to love you.”

Tonio wiped the tears away from Mabel’s cheek.

“Please.” Her eyes were weapons he was powerless against.
He kissed her again in the morning sunlight and she knew she had her answer.

————————–————————–————————–————-

Tonio still remembered her taste, no matter how hard he tried to banish the memory from his mind.

It was so intoxicating, so exhilarating.

So delicious.

“No,” he thought “I can do this for her. Nothing is more important to me than her.”

He repeated the words in his head until it became something that resembled truth.

The birds were perched on a nearby balete tree. He could feel the weight of their stares bearing down on his soul.

He breathed in deep and chose to ignore the voices in his head that told him this was a mistake.

Today would change things, today would be the day he would run away with Mabel and they would begin a new life away from their families, away from this town.

“Away from the hunger.” He so desperately wished that would be true, but he had to accept that it would be part of his new life, a life that he chose willingly.

Tonio stood by the river and waited for his future bride. Everything in him told him to tell her that he was Malain it ginhawa – of a different breath, but she would never understand.

“My heart’s already yours.” He thought back to her words, when he could feel her heartbeat through her chest.

Already his mouth began to water, but he fought it off. He hoped she would get here soon.
————————–————————–————————–———————

“I keep telling that boy not to play with his food.”

Mabel didn’t know where she was, there was something covering her eyes. The voices around her sounded familiar but she couldn’t remember where she had heard them before.

“She’s too thin, barely enough for one meal.”

“Oh hush, you could stand to lose a few pounds.”

“Now sisters, remember why we’re here, the food can wait, what we need to do is to teach that boy a lesson.”

Mabel could feel something sharp press against her neck.

“Now which part would be best?”

“Remember what she said, sister?”

“Oh yes, that would be perfect.”

The only ones that heard Mabel’s final screams didn’t care, they had a job to do.
————————–————————–————————–————————–
The sun was setting as Tonio awoke from his nap.

The birds were gone from their perch and he knew that it only meant one thing. He ran back to his house praying he would find nothing.

There was a box waiting at his front door, on it was a card that read “We knew you were hungry.”

Tonio opened the box and wasn’t surprised at its contents. What surprised him was how quickly his mouth began to water.

His stomach rumbled and he realized he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Oh well,” he thought “No sense in letting this go to waste.”

————————–————————–—————–

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Aswang description in Amburukay. 2015. Sugidanon (Epics) of Panay. Caballero & Caballero-Castor trans Magos.

Aswang (Kinaray-a) Illustration by Kim Santiago
FB: Art of Kim Santiago
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimsanti_/