Chapter 11: The Manananggal: half-bodied creature

Abundance can be described to the village. Sea foods are abundant since they now have fishing ships. Businesses are also lively throughout the village from the mountain to the seashore.

"Hey wait for me, bro." A beautiful woman who dresses expensively shouts to her older brother as she runs to him. This woman is probably a daughter of a maharlika. From her dress to the shoes, everything is expensive. While running, she bumped into Dodong; she tripped her foot and she is about to fall. Dodong wanted to catch her. The wind became cold; the surroundings became slower. He can see her falling slowly and her beauty dazes him. It feels like a goddess bumping into her. He put his arm around her waist and caught her from falling. Their position is like after dancing, the woman is bent then he is looking at her.

<< ---- chuckles, so dramatic --- >>

"I'm sorry." The woman apologizes to him. Dodong is surprised that she doesn't know him at all. If she is a villager, she would know him. He is certain that this woman is a foreigner. The older brother quickly approached them and apologized to him.

"lab-dub" His heart is beating so fast the moment she saw the woman. He likes her that even after the woman leaves, his heart is still beating fast. This might be love at first.

In the distance, Amaya and her best friend Mahalia are walking together; looking for a place to eat. They usually go shopping first before eating however, Amaya has not eaten yet before going out that's why they are looking for a restaurant. She is a dessert lover but they usually eat dessert at three in the afternoon and it is still morning.

"How about we eat here? I know you love vegetables." She really is her best; she knows her likes and dislikes. Amaya agrees and they are about to enter when they heard a woman shouting to her brother. It is unusual to hear someone shouting in a public place. Amaya and Mahalia take a look then suddenly the girl tripped herself and was about to fall. Dodong caught her and the people around goes "uuuyy" as they are teasing Dodong.

A jealous face is all over Mahalia's when she witnesses the dramatic fall of the girl and the princely act of Dodong catching her.

"She is not that beautiful, is she Amaya?" She is jealous that the people around are shipping Dodong and that girl.

"She is beautiful. You are beautiful too in your own way." Amaya told her in a way assuring her best friend that she is also beautiful.

"Are you saying that I am ugly?" She misunderstood her statement.

"What I meant was that she is beautiful and you are beautiful too. However, you two have different beauties. It is up to my brother whom he likes though but I hope it will be you." She assures her friend that she is on her side. Amaya knows that Mahalia likes her brother since childhood. However, Dodong does not see her in the same way. He treats her as his sister.

Amaya wants to tease her friend however, her stomach cannot stand her hunger; she is starving since she has not eaten anything before going out. They entered the restaurant to have their early lunch. After this, they will go shopping.

"Bro, how about we eat here?"The woman wants to eat at the same restaurant as Amaya and Mahalia. They are seated at the table next to the table of Amaya and Mahalia. The two siblings ordered.

"Bro, I heard that their omelet here is delicious. It was introduced by the Datu's son." She is referring to Dodong.

"And their fried chicken is out of this world. There are many feedbacks I heard from the people passing by." Her brother agrees to all the food she ordered. Then when everything is served, they started eating and they are filled with satisfaction in every bite.

"Oh! Look at her, Mahalia. Is she not elegant? Her dress is beautiful; her bracelets and necklace exude wealth. Look at her eating, she is graceful." She murmurs as she teases her. She wants to see her friend's annoyed facial expression. As they continue eating their food, they heard that the girl will be shopping at a dress store. Mahalia got intrigued about this girl's choice of dress so she told Amaya that they will be shopping for dresses first.

At the store, Amaya is busy looking for dresses that fit her style. She is in a dilemma about whether to choose the blue one or the pink one. She is about to ask Mahalia when she noticed that she is watching the girl. She thought to herself if this is what rival feel like. The girl picks a pink one and then goes inside the fitting room to check if it suits her. Seeing this, Mahalia also takes a pink dress and wears it. She asks Amaya if it suits her.

"How do I look?" She is expecting that Amaya will complement her. However, she hears a different response.

"I guess blue fits you perfectly," Amaya answers honestly.

"Wow! Pink really suits her. She is pretty." Amaya complimented the girl.

Mahalia realizes that she does not need to compare herself to the girl because she fits something else. She accepts that everyone has their own style and they are beautiful the way they are. After picking the dress they like, Amaya and Mahalia went to Dodong's dessert store. Coincidentally, the siblings are there too.

"Hi! We met each other earlier. Thank you once again." The girl once again thanked him as they bumped into each other in the store. David said that it is okay. Anyone will save her too in that situation. At that moment, David asked them what dessert will they order. He told them that he runs this store. The siblings let David pick for them since they are new to the village and they wanted to try the best dessert in the store. He served them leche flan first and then halo-halo.

The siblings savor the taste of the desserts. They are totally convinced that these are the best dessert they have eaten their whole life. They did not regret their decision in visiting this village.

Mahalia and Amaya talked to David before they went out.

"You like her, right? Do not hurt my best friend's feelings." Amaya whispered to Dodong before leaving the store.

Later that night, Dodong leaves the store late because he thinks of some desserts he will be introducing. He put off the candle and then closed the door. He is admiring the moon while walking; thinking that it is not as bright as the sun yet it lights his way like the sun does. The breeze is cold and the night is deep. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise of wings flapping. He thought that it is a huge eagle that passed by.

"Aah!" someone screamed near him. It is a dark place and a narrow one. He called the soldiers patrolling and told them to light the place where he heard the scream.

Everyone is surprised when they see a body lying on the ground. The body is already pale and the pulse can no longer be felt. It is already dead. They noticed that there is a bite on the neck part of the victim. Some body parts were also eaten.

"What kind of beast attacked her?" the soldiers are panicking.

"Is this some kind of aswang attack again?" some of the soldiers ask when suddenly something flew above their heads. Thankfully, the moon was not covered by the clouds and it lights the alley. They saw a half-body of a human that has wings flying above them. Its blood is dripping. Everyone is frozen in fear as they saw it but not David. He shoots a ball of clay on it and he hit it.

The half-bodied creature flew away knowing that she cannot defeat all the soldiers.

"That is a manananggal." Everyone shouted at the same time like having a speech choir. David is thinking of how to kill that thing. He remembered that he almost got killed by the aswang due to his lack of fighting skills or magic skills.

At that time, Lihangin visited the village. He witnessed the appearance of the manananggal and the reaction of David.

"Hahaha! I guess I arrived at the right time. Surely, David will appreciate my gift to him." Lihangin uttered.