Tikbalang, Makahiya, and Balete Tree
"A makahiya leaf, the one with only three mini branches and a palm-size bark from a balete tree?" Fidel repeated what Uncle Basyang told him to get as a payment for treating him. Yesterday's dinner was kind of a mess but it was resolved immediately before everybody went to bed.
Franchesca explained to the couple she had no plans on having the kids compete for the position but instead, she was planning on making Chuck the official successor. Ginny apologized as well for her sudden outburst and promised she'll control herself. She was usually respectful towards elderly but her postpartum depression was getting the best of her.
It all started when her baby, Chuck, was rushed to the emergency room early in the morning at the Lucena General Hospital. Since that day, her fear that she is never going to be a good mother worsens. She had feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt, inadequacy… There's also the intense irritability and anger like what happened at the dinner. It usually lasts for months if untreated but since Bennet was there, tending to all her needs, she should be fine.
All is good except for Fidel. He really wondered why but whenever he was away from his parents, his mother in particular, he would only feel guilt and lingering regret about how he couldn't bring himself to just forgive her upfront. But the thing is, he was always on edge, always irritable whenever he came near her. As if there was a switch inside his head that automatically flips in reaction to his mother's presence. And it's not even something he has control over.
"Lad! Hey! Yer listening? Stop spacing out." Uncle Basyang asked, accompanied by the flick on Fidel's forehead.
"Huh? Uhh, yeah, I'm listening. I'm sorry. Where were we again? Tree barks?"
"No. Yer not listening, lad. Anyway, I was saying you should raise the sapling you bought yesterday but enough of that. Go. Get me what I told you to get before noon. I'll prepare us some lunch when you get back."
And just like that, Fidel headed into the woods.
Lucena Snake River was surrounded by lots and lots of woods and since nobody manages it, it wasn't surprising that the grasses reached Fidel's knees.
The trees were at least a couple hundred years old, spanning between thirty to fifty feet in height, vines covered their grayish barks completely save for the few that had been cut off by albularyos who came there to find ingredients for their medicine like Uncle Basyang.
It didn't really help that it was summer all year long in Straestin with the exception of the few rainy seasons that sometimes lasted for months. A perfect condition for plants to grow.
Fidel would sometimes stop to cut the grass with the machete Uncle Basyang lent him—cautious for snakes.
Then he would continue to walk some more and the more he got further into the center, the darker it gets. There were more trees in the middle and the leaves and branches were preventing the sun from coming in, but not too dark that he couldn't see anything.
He was humming as he swept his eyes from left to right looking for makahiya leaves, a type of leaves that closes when touched. And there were a lot of superstitions about this specific plant.
It was said that if you keep one inside your pocket, you won't get cursed, or at least the result won't be as severe as intended. Some also say that if you tie it to a thread and wear it as a belt then you won't fold under any type of pressure but hardly anyone practices it anymore. It just doesn't look cool and makes the person look stupid somehow.
Not only that, the culture itself was dying too. Not a lot of people believe in superstition anymore. Fidel was one of them until a few days ago. He wholeheartedly believes in it now. He was even considering Uncle Basyang's offer of apprenticeship not that he knew what made the albularyo be interested in him all of a sudden. 'Might as well ask him later,' he noted inwardly.
He decided to get the job done as quickly as possible so he quickened his pace. However, Fidel suddenly stopped. He looked around him, confusion lacing his face.
"I'm sure I've been here before." He muttered to himself. He was certain because he had been cutting away the grasses of the path he went through, and just in front of him was the same exact spot he had been no more than two minutes ago. "That's odd. Did I go in circles unknowingly?"
He didn't think too much about it and continued to move forwards—more attentive to his surroundings this time.
He went back to humming his favorite song as he continued to hack away at the grasses. It has been going pretty fine for a while until he noticed he was back to the same spot again.
"What the heck? Do I have early signs of dementia or something?" He was confused to say the least.
He stayed there for a while, thinking which turn he lost focus and unconsciously took the path he already went through, but nothing came to mind. And he was certain that he was only going on a straight line so far, so ending up at the same spot should be close to impossible.
He started to get the chills but he had an idea about what was going on. He knew exactly what to do in cases like this but to make sure he wasn't just jumping to conclusions, he took his handkerchief from his pocket and tied it to the protruding root on the ground. Then for the third time, he continued to walk. He made sure to go in a straight line. He didn't lose focus even once but not even thirty seconds later, he was back again. He saw the exact same handkerchief on the root.
"I knew it!" he exclaimed. Instead of being afraid, he became excited somehow. "There's a tikbalang nearby, isn't there? And you're playing a prank on me, aren't you?" Fidel was grinning as he said this. For some reason, he felt like he was meeting an old friend. Only that he didn't know why he felt that way either.
Certain that it was indeed a tikbalang's doing, he removed his tee shirt, turned it upside down, and wore it inside out. He did this to his jogger pants, boxers, and socks as well.
"Uhh, mister or miss tikbalang, whichever you are, I understand you wanna play around but I really have to go now. There are still things I needed to find so please let me go. And if I ever disturbed you then I'm sorry." Though Fidel was saying that, a misplaced excitement rose in his heart. It was weird to say the least. Then he went on his way. Exactly one minute had passed when he was finally greeted by a completely different view.
A few feet to his front was a really large balete tree.
Even at a distance, its haunting appearance really stood out. It was massively tall and its branches stretched wide. Its gnarled roots that instead of underground were hanging on its branches.
Like many other things in Straestin, balete trees have superstitions about them too.
Balete Trees are known to be the house for mysterious and mythical creatures at night. Some folk stories say that these creatures do their rituals in front of the trees as a sign of worship or thanksgiving for home and protection. Creatures like (dwende) elves, (tikbalang) horse demons, and (diwata) fairies are some of the said mythical creatures that live within the Balete Trees. Others also said that balete trees are the portal to the 'other side'.
Fidel didn't waste any more time and approached the tree.
"Uhh, excuse me. I'll be taking a small bark for an errand. I hope you don't mind." Fidel whispered to the tree. It's a weird culture but apparently, you had to do this to avoid the wrath of otherworldly creatures. "Also, please, don't be angry," he added.
He had the bark. The only thing missing was the makahiya leaves.
It was already 10:20 according to his watch. And it was at that moment…
"Fidel," a woman called out to him. It was Helena. Uncle Basyang's wife. "Here. That kid wants to give it to you," she said while showing Fidel the makahiya leaves with three mini branches, exactly what he needed, while pointing to the thickets behind her. Fidel could see a little boy hiding behind the bushes.
"Thank you? But boy, why don't you come? Are you shy?" Fidel asked but sadly, it made the boy run.
"Auntie—" he was about to ask what she was doing in the woods but she was no longer there.
***
Meanwhile, the boy who gave him the makahiya leaves headed to the place where Fidel left his handkerchief. He untied it from root, patted some dirt off of it, then he tied it around his forehead like a bandanna.
He smiled before saying, "Papa! Papa! Papa, look what I've got!"