Chapter 7: The Revelation

I can't believe it. Bryan, my intelligent, rich, Manila-raised Filipino-Chinese friend, called me in the middle of the day saying that the "Aswang" was true! "Noel, are you still there?", asked Bryan. I replied, "Oh, yes Bryan. I'm listening.".

Bryan continued, "Noel, I am here with a friend of mine who sells security gadgets like alarm systems, metal detectors and those kind of stuff. He also supplies at Tablas, Romblon!".  Okay, so he went to Rombln as well. I was waiting for Bryan to say that his friend too got a visit from those creepy creatures in that island. "Noel, my friend said HE KNOWS THEM. He knows the Aswangs", saying it with emphasis. "Oh? How does he know them?", I asked. "He actually knows the entire family, Noel.  It is an Aswang family!".

Chapter 6: Close for comfort

I have never allowed myself to be left alone in our house in Calatrava.  I even had to use my authority to ensure that at times. That incident in February 2008 was unforgettable and up until we left to transfer to Odiongan, that I felt safe.  We were in the capital city of Tablas where there were a lot more people activity. We were there early March to set up another mill and Calatrava, as far as I was concerned, was history.

Chapter 5: My staff investigates

I woke up in my room feeling the lack of good sleep. Work should be starting in one hour and I felt that I wanted to get straight back to bed.  I went out to the yard and immediately looked to the roof that sustained that hard landing last night.  It was then that I noticed Lina going around the perimeter of the staff-house.  "Lina, what's up?", I asked.  Lina had that smile and stopped, placed her hands on her hips saying, "Sir, did you hear that sound last night?".  I immediately responded, "Yes! What was that?!",  Lina turned to her side seemingly looking for footprints of some sort. "There are no trees nearby our roof. Not even branches where a large animal would have hopped from to get to our roof!", Lina added. 

Chapter 4: We have a visitor!

The night was pitch dark. The shadows of distant trees create moving figures on my window pane. Some “Thing” was up on the roof. It was slowly crawling from the far end of our staff house going to the other end – the same area where my room was. Folklore of real? Okay. It could have been a cat. Yes, but a cat that weighed at least a hundred pounds. I didn’t know. I was caught between the exact sciences I have been brought up and educated with and was now faced with the mystery of the creature that was only defined to me by stories in the past. Was this it? Was this the “Aswang” that haunted people at night wanting to feed on children? If it ddin’t find a child to feed on, would it resort to other creatures? Will it choose me instead?

Chapter 3: Mystery in our backyard

Rod came in at 7:15pm together with two of his friends. Our staff house was suddenly filled with laughter after days of silence. Rod came not on the night he said he will be joining us but two days later. He surprised us and was kind enough to bring a bottle of brandy.

We started talking about our company's purpose. I told him about the benefits it will bring to the people in terms of employment and additional earnings. It was all about business for half an hour or so. We drank the brandy with some fried fish Pepito prepared.

Chapter 2: The Town of Calatrava

It was a cool morning in Calatrava, Tablas Island, Romblon. My staff were still preparing for breakfast and I was at the porch of our staff house. The area where I was was dominated by coconut trees. The very reason that I was in Romblon - to set up a virgin coconut mill. It was your usual provincial atmosphere. There were just a few people passing by. There were goats, dogs and other domestic animals moving around. The air was so clean. So sweet. You can take a deep breath and savor that health intake of natural gas into your system.

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins

I was born and raised in Manila. My parents have spent their hard-earned money to bring us to exclusive schools. I went to La Salle Greenhills, an all-boy school in the middle of the metropolis. Up until today, La Salle Greenhills is known to be one of the best schools for Primary and Secondary Level education.

Since I was young, I heard many horror stories. Some from my grandparents. Some from friends and relatives. But as I grew older, I found them all entertaining. Some stories told to me by my brother, Neil, were the only ones that really got my hair standing. Though they were actual accounts by my brother, I still considered them entertaining.