Let me tell you what it’s like to get lost in these woods.
First, you think that you just took a wrong turn. The trees still seem familiar and you tell yourself that if you just turn back, everything will be fine and you’ll be back on the trail in no time.
Next, you start to wonder if that rock was the same one you saw five minutes ago. The trees are starting to look different, but you could swear they were the ones you knew you passed. You stop and tell yourself it’s time to think. You need to be rational about this.
Then the panic starts to set in. You don’t know how long you’ve been lost, and at this point it doesn’t matter. You check all your things for anything that might help: A cellphone, a flashlight, anything, but nothing seems to be working. You start to think about what would happen if no one found you. Your heart starts to beat ten times faster as your breath gets louder and louder.
Survival is your new goal. You start to go through your backpack and think about how your food and water are going to last until someone finds you. You make plans for the worst case, all the while denying that you’re right in the middle of it.
Then you see hope. Someone in the distance, you can’t make out who they are, but your heart gets lighter. You found your way home.
You shout at the person, but they don’t respond. You run towards them hoping they would stop, but you can never catch them.
Nothing else is important. You have to get to them so that you can go home.
So you chase.
And run.
Until the woods get darker, until the last sliver of sunlight vanishes from the distance.
You go after them. Hoping, praying.
They will lead you home.
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Tiyanak description in ‘Vicente Meets a Crowd of Tianac’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Tiyanal (Kapampangan) Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
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