n'ea was a goat-herder in the hinterlands of agusan del sur - a teenage member of manuvu tribe. he has about 20 goats, 5 were female - two of which were pregnant.
he was armed with a sharp dagà and a transistor radio, which he tied to a tree. he gathered dried wood when he was not sleeping, and started fire to ward off mosquitoes and other insects and to keep warm.
suddenly, he heard a distant bleat. alarmed, he pointed a good ear to the direction where he thought it came from, and hurried off. then, another faint meeeh from the part of a
densely vined slope, and nothing more.
this is not good, n'ea thought. he drew his daga and went down. nothing here but vines... and a clean portion of earth, like a path...
n'ea suspiciously cut off the vines. it was hollow. he cleared off a great part.
a cave?
there was faint light coming from inside. he uttered a short prayer to the anitos, and cautiously entered. there was enough headroom. then, there was a gleaming part of the cave and the python was there, the goat bulging in its stomach. n'ea learned from his elders that a python's strength was the claw in its tail.
sleeping in its fullness, the python was curled and its tail-end in a crevice. slowly, he tiptoed towards it because he must cut its tail off before he can kill the python.
his luck did not last. the python stirred and prepared to attack n'ea, who immediately took off his shirt and held it with the left hand, ready to defend.
each protagonist gauged the other. n'ea slightly moved to his left and feinted with his right hand which held the dagà. the python moved its head towards him. this was a wise serpent, thought n'ea, but we will see.
he moved his right foot back, and the python struck. n'ea was quick to ward off with the shirted left hand, and with an equally swift right-handed slice of the dagà to the python's neck, nearly severed its head. then, quickly n'ea jumped near the tail and cut off its tail-claw. the wounded python contorted on itself, blood oozing from its tail and the dangling head.
he must move fast. with a quick prayer, he cut on the bulge of python's belly, carefully avoiding the swallowed goat.
then, he sliced off and out came the goat's head. n'ea wiped off sticky fluid from its face using his shirt, and gently blew into the goat's nose through his cupped hand. he repeated it, and the goat stirred weakly. you must live, n'ea thought. then, he blew again.
the goat slightly opened its eyes. n'ea was overjoyed.
then, remembering the tail-claw, he placed it on a pocket-part of his loincloth before cradling the goat. it must live.
then, he went out of the cave.
he did not notice the gleam inside. or did not wonder what was it and why was it gleaming.
