Tales from the Inn in the Middle of Nowhere

Chapter 4: The Little Man from Down Under

The subject of their conversation was sitting on the floor with one knee bent close to his chin while the other leg was curved slightly, touching the floor. Running back to the room, he sat in the middle of the bedroom directly above his abode. He kept an eye on the opened door in case someone would check on the child. He quickly turned himself invisible when the boy's mother came rushing to see if her son had awakened; only to reappear once more when Kat left. Barely two-feet tall, he was much like a one-year-old. His skin was gray, a bit wrinkly and slightly covered with dirt. His short, bow-shaped legs toddled as he wandered around the room whenever it was empty or when the mother and child were asleep. When the once pregnant Kat came and eventually gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, the lamang lupa grew fond of the intruders.

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It was not long ago when everything around him was covered densely with wild shrubs and trees. The humans who owned the land before did not care enough to do anything with it. They rarely visited the place and afterwards, they stopped coming. The nuno used to roam around the thicket, habitually appearing above the ground at twelve noon or after sundown when the place would be pitch dark. He would mingle with the beautiful dayamdams or lambanas (winged sprites who abound the forest eons ago) who would appear to humans as fireflies fluttering around trees at night. The lambanas, among other spirits of their kind, had long been the protectors of trees in the forest. The insect-like sprites and other fairy folks, however, attributed the ownership of the land to the nuno sa punso or laman lupa. He had been in existence even before anything else appeared from the land. This laman lupa resided on the eastern part of the house near a langka (jackfruit) tree inhabited by three palasekans. These were invisible tree-dwellers who loved listening to a magical music box while drinking basi, a wine made from sugarcane. Often, palasekans would help farmers look after their crops. And being clairvoyants, they would warn people, whom they became fond of, about impending danger.

When the human Mateo came to claim ownership of the land, the palasekans used to appear in his dreams to warn him of dishonest workers whom he entrusted to clear the land and plant new trees. Also, in dreams, they spoke to him on behalf of the fairy folks so Mateo might spare their homes from the ongoing clearing. Mateo on his part brought a modern day may-galing or soothsayer who stood as a negotiator between the spirits and himself. Carrying a small gong, a large white chicken and a gallon of basi, the two men stood under the langka tree. The may-galing opened his tattered pocket-sized book and began to read a passage. According to the soothsayer, the incantation would open the communication between the two worlds. And for the first time, Mateo beheld the palasekans. They looked like twigs perched on the lowest branch of the tree just the level of the men's eyes. The tallest, about eight-inches tall, had dark green leaves on top. It had smaller stems branching from each side. Even smaller were three wiry stalks that closed and opened just like fingers. Below the leaves were two yellow gelatinous round things like dew-drops. They stared at the two men with glassy expressions. The small node underneath the eyes had an opening that moved from time to time. It produced a sound that resembled a cross between the chirping of a bird and the ticking of a lizard. It was talking to the soothsayer while its companions looked on. The second palasekan was an inch shorter and slimmer but it had more leaves which were a slightly lighter shade of green. Behind the second one was the smallest of the three. It had greener body and fewer young leaves. It was seated on top of an opened golden music box. The melodious tune added to the magic of the encounter. The two men asked permission to cut the langka tree so Mateo could build his house. The tree-dwellers refused vehemently having been attached to the tree for a long time. The soothsayer offered the basi and asked if the tree-dwellers may be relocated to the avocado tree that stood at the southern part of the would-be house but the creatures still refused. Mateo entreated further and promised that the avocado will not be harmed since it's one of his wife's favorite tree. Upon the mention of his wife's name, the three beings stood transfixed and unmoving for a while. When the moment had passed, they became animated and talked to each other while the two men looked on. The palasekans finally agreed on the condition that they'd be given an offering of lamabanog every full moon. And in turn, they promised that they would help and protect the family and everyone who would stay in Mateo's home.