Bat & Ongan

A long, long time ago, two lovers served as guardians among men.

Bat ---with his strength and prowess in hunting, has a soft spot and caring nature for humans. Lovely Ongan of siren beauty, in turn, also acted as a guardian on the island of Zapatos.It was a time when mortals and immortals lived with each other in perfect harmony.

Bat was a gentle giant. He resides in a cave that was once a fragment of the skies. Every day, he would help out the men by digging through the fields for their crops to flourish. The children liked being around him. The women offered their help to him by mending his clothes and cooking him large portions of meals. To Bat, the whole barangay is his family, and with this bond comes his protectiveness.

Bat is one happy giant.

Yet, the happiness that Bat receives in being one with humans is always short-lived. Because he is a giant, watching his family grow up and have families makes him wish that he has a family of his own. Like most young men, he is also looking forward to having someone to spend his eternal life with. He wanted to love that he started to pray to the heavens for him to find his beloved very soon.

One day, he met a siren while fishing by the river; she was the most beautiful creature he had ever met. She was as small as a petite human female but her heart was as big as her island home. Hair the color of a blushing sunset; she can sing as well as any of the sirens of the sea for she, herself, is a child of the sea. Ongan resides on her island and governs the seas.

She enjoys journeying to foreign waters in search of new friends. She only happens to be swimming by the river where he caught her by accident. Her name is Ongan and she fell in love with him at first sight.

It did not take long for the people to celebrate the union of the two guardians. It was a moment so sacred that a bond between immortals can never break by any means. They had a week-long feast complete with dancing and endless music.

To celebrate their love, Bat built a tunnel under the sea that led from the island to his humble abode for his new bride. It was also a gift to both of their people so they can be friends and be one big happy family all together.

Bat was finally happy for right beside him is the person whom he will spend his eternity with. The people began to celebrate their union and Ongan became popular with his people. As Bat offers them his protection, Ongan does the healing and sings the children to sleep every night.

Soon enough, the couple is finally expecting. Everybody was happy and living in the village became even more prosperous. It was a joyful day until the sounds of destruction broke the peace of their home. An unknown group of people wielding fire and deadly weapons emerged from the trees. The villagers rushed their women, children, and elderly into their homes. All the while, the men prepared to fight when necessary.

"But what can a village of farmers do to a group of violent invaders?" The women cried.

The villagers began to call out Bat's name and he emerges from his cave leaving his wife inside their home.

"There are many paths inside this cave. Should an enemy come in, I want you to take the closest one to home," he said to her before he went outside.