OLYMPIANS' LOST PROGENIES

CHAPTER THREE - The Demigod Village at Mt. Banahaw

 

Bernardo didn't have to wake me up when he stopped walking. I already opened my eyes and looked down the ground and see where he was going to land me.

 

"Here we are. The Demigod Village." Bernardo said in his usual kind of cheery welcome.

 

"Thanks." I said truthfully as he was laying me down the ground. I could notice the people circling Bernardo's giant foot. Some of them were kids. Some of them, as I was getting closer, were kind of not-so-human or strange-looking. When my foot finally touched the solid earth, I gazed around and see almost everybody looking at me. The place where I was standing was the center of the place, a round rendezvouz of the eight pathway circling it like rays of sun. In every entrance of the pathways, there were signages numbered from 1 to 8. I felt my vision rotating and it was giving me a nauseous feeling.

 

"Oh, a lost demigod? Why the need of Bernardo?" One of them said, a tall boy with hair like rambutan. Just after when he said it, I turned my head up and found Bernardo already leaving.

 

One of the strange creatures walked to me. An old man which was an animal on the way halfdown. "I'm glad you are safe but as of now the Village Governor is out. If I may, I will escort you to one of our huts."

 

"Aren't we going to 'test' him?" One of the kids said, this time, a pretty girl holding a firm-looking, meter-length wooden rod.

 

"I doubt he is an enemy. I can feel it." The half-animal said. "Follow me, kid."

 

I reluctantly made my steps away from the piercing stares of the older kids around and began to follow the half-animal old man who paced towards the pathway with number 8 signage. Aside from him, I saw some pointed-ear folks which I recognized fairies and old dwarfish creatures which were the nuno. Everyone were freely roaming outside doing things that seemed very usual for them. My heart sank from thinking this would become my place, not a home but more of my jailing place for being special.

 

"Excuse me, but where am I?" I said eventually while I walked side by side with the half-animal.

 

"Demigod Village at Mt. Banahaw. We are in between the province of Quezon and Laguna." He explained between few pantings.

 

"My name is Jimuel Perez, Sir."

 

"Nice to meet you Jimuel. My name is Old Unyo, a Sigbin. But I am the fully evolved one, you won't like my ancestors. Just so you know, my half-down is from goat."

 

A Sigbin? So that's how you are called. I never learned about your kind. I actually had no knowledge about the mythical creatures of my country.

 

"I'll put you in the last hut on the right, the hut of the Unclaims. There are already some kids there. You may want to make friends because we don't tolerate fights and conflicts here."

 

The last hut on the right. I looked ahead and it was five huts away from where Bernardo had put me down. We already walked past the three and then after another more steps, we reached it.