Leyon

XIII

Pathetic!

I promised myself that I will never lose again!

Is this the end?

Is death painful?

Will I be able to see Bathala after I die?

Will my father and mother forgive me when they saw me unconsciously lying on the floor?

I hope I was strong!

I hope I knew anything and everything!

I hope I did not run away!

I hope I listened!

If I just knew this would happen then I would never, ever do this!

Sorry!

I don't want to die!

A clap of thunder echoed. Bright yellow light flickered.

Huh? What is that? It's warm, so warm. Is this the one that will send me off?

I heard a voice screaming out of agony, over and over again, it echoed.

Is this my voice?

Am I screaming?

Wait.

It's not my voice!

The voice becomes clearer as the screams become louder and louder.

It's a woman's voice!

Is it the monster?

I opened my eyes and saw the monster screaming and trying to pull out the small spear with blazing fire on its edge that stuck on her belly.

"Bullseye!" shouted Tigri.

"Nope. You didn't hit her. That is another spear." shouted Beher.

"Huh? How? Then where is my spear?" said Tigri.

"No, no, no! A Manananggal!" shouted Jagar.

"I knew it, they were real!" shouted Engoy.

The monster twisted her head back, and said, "You brats! I will tear you apart! I will make you cry in front of your friends and families! Just like what your village did to ours!"

What really happened to her? I wondered.

Small and big stones fly through the sky and it hits the monster's wings, the scream becomes even louder. The monster twisted her head and looked at me, perhaps behind me, I gulped, and then glanced at my back, there were ten hunters riding their horses aiming their bows at the monster.

"I will come back and take my revenge! I will also take back the Princess that you took, Lalapupu!" said the monster and she flew away, slowly. She looked at me, "Hmph! A lucky one. You must thank her for saving your little life."

She is now looking like a normal bat flying across the moon.

"Wait! This is for the parting gift!" shouted Tigri. He pulls off the string of his slingshot and the garlic flies through the sky. "My name is Tigri! Must be remembered!"

The Manananggal repelled it with her snake-like tongue, then her shadow vanished in the thin clouds.

"Are you dead?" asked an enthusiastic familiar voice coming from the yellow light that slowly came towards me. "Am sure you are not, because you hate defeats, right!?" he said with a little laugh. It came closer and closer, getting away from the darkness of the forest, and when the moonlight shines upon him I noticed it was my dad holding a torch, with the 4 boys beside him.

I stand up; wipe the tears and dirt on my eyes and face with my dirty, sweaty reddish palm; fix my clothes and walk towards them. I open my mouth and ready the words that I will say but it did not happen when the hunters came to my dad and gave a salute, then they said "Capn'! The Manananggal is nowhere to be found, she must be one of the scouts of Biringan, so?"

"Ah. So be it. She's not a scout anyway. No use crying over spilled milk. Go back to the village and I will meet all of you there. We will have a meeting and make sure all of you are ready. Understand?" said my dad and he saluted back.

"Aye! Cap'n'!" then they fled away in haste.

"So those creatures were real, huh," said Tigri with a light on his eyes.

"I said many times that they were real, why don't you guys believe me?" said Engoy with sparkles in his eyes.

"Because you are a nerd, we thought you were just making it up," said Beher gesturing his hands.

"I could not believe those things were real!" said Jagar holding his face.

"Well, you asked your parents and the villagers before, right? We did not say that they were not real," said my father.

Engoy replied, "But the replies are always, 'maybe, who knows, perhaps, you better see it on your own'."

Jagar went to me and with both hands, he held my hands, and said, "I am glad that you are safe, Leyon!" There is sincerity in his voice.

The other three went over to me and they asked me about the monster and how I fought it. I told them the story. They looked interested and awed at the same time. We started walking out from the forest, going back to the village led by my father, sometimes he joins in our conversation to laugh, tease and scare us.