THE UNTAMED

TAGI'S SICKNESS

Auntie Linda explained everything slowly, as if each word scraped her throat raw before it escaped. Her hands trembled around the cup of coffee she hadn’t touched, and her eyes.. usually so warm, were clouded with something I had never seen before.

But it's unhidden fear.

Tagi had fallen ill. Not a simple fever. Not exhaustion. Not something that rest or medicine could cure. A strange sickness. An unnamed one.

“No one understands it,” Auntie Linda whispered, her voice cracking. “The doctors… they argue with each other. Some say it’s asthma. Some say anxiety. Others say it’s neurological. But none of their medicines stop the pain.”

My chest tightened with every sentence. It felt as if something invisible was wrapping around my ribs and squeezing harder the more she spoke.

“She wakes up gasping for air,” Auntie Linda continued. “Like she’s drowning… but there’s no water. She clutches her chest and screams your name, Abby. Over and over. Even when she’s unconscious.”

Fear truly sank into me like a claws.

“Okay, Auntie,” I said softly, forcing my voice to stay steady though my hands were shaking. “I’ll go home now and talk to Mom and Dad. Please… please keep me updated about her, okay?”

She nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks.

It had been almost two months since my family left Surigao City. Two months of silence. Two months where I thought distance was the only thing growing between me and my childhood best friend.

And now I learned she had been suffering the entire time. And she never told me.

Auntie Linda said Tagi missed me terribly. That during her worst episodes, she would reach out into empty air and whisper my name as if calling for something she couldn’t see.

I missed her too. More than words could say.

But deep inside me, a cold question formed. Why hasn’t she been honest to me?

According to Auntie Linda, they had taken her from one hospital to another. Each time, the same story: brief improvement… then unbearable pain. It came in waves, violent, merciless... leaving Tagi screaming one moment and lifeless the next.

“It was torture,” Auntie Linda said. “So I decided to bring her to Davao City. I heard there are doctors here who specialize in… rare cases.”

Rare.. that word echoed ominously in my mind.

I knew my parents were struggling financially. Every peso coin was counted. Every decision weighed heavily. Still, I hoped and prayed, that somehow, they would find a way to help Tagi.

When I returned home. I told Mom and Dad everything. Every detail Auntie Linda shared. Every terrifying symptom. Every unanswered question.

“How was she?” Mom asked, her voice trembling.

“Auntie Linda didn’t give full details,” I admitted. “She only said Tagi has difficulty breathing. Like something is crushing her lungs from the inside.”

Mom went silent.

I could tell she was thinking about me. About my own condition. About the dangers of travel. But I could also see the worry in her eyes...for Tagi.

“Honey,” Dad finally said, his voice was low and serious, “this isn’t normal. This isn’t something we can take lightly. This affects everyone.”

He nodded toward Mom, who pressed her lips together.

“But sweetie,” Mom said gently, “you’re not fully well either. Being away from home… from your treatment… it could make things worse.”

“I know, Mom,” I said, my voice is breaking in. “But this is about Tagi. You know how important she is to me. She was my only childhood friend. She’s not just my best friend… she’s like my sister.”

Silence stretched between the three of us.

An hour passed.

Finally, they agreed.

Before I left, Mom pressed tablets into my hand.

“Take these regularly,” she warned. “And you come back to Zamboanga immediately after seeing her. No excuses.”

She called Jolina to explain my absence. Then Alpha Marvin. I didn’t hear the conversation, but something in her tone told me she was trying to soften a truth she couldn’t fully explain.

At the hospital in Davao, the air felt wrong;

The hallway lights, humming like restless insects. The smell of antiseptic burned my nose. When I reached Tagi’s room, Auntie Linda rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

“She hasn’t woken up since morning,” she whispered.

Tagi lay on the bed, pale and fragile. Tubes snaked around her like silent predators. Her chest rose and fell unevenly.

My heart shattered, watching her like that...

Auntie Linda leaned close and told me what happened earlier, how Tagi had screamed in her sleep, how her body arched unnaturally, how she whispered words that didn’t make sense.

Then suddenly...

“Mom… Abby Jezz?” Tagi’s eyes fluttered open.

I rushed to her side and hugged her carefully.

“You’re here,” she whispered, shocked. “I thought I was dreaming.”

“From now on,” I said, tears slipping down my cheeks, “you have to take care of yourself. No more hiding things from me.”

She tried to smile... but fear crept into her eyes.

“Me? Why?” she asked weakly. “Mom… what did the doctor say? Am I going to die?”

“No!” Auntie Linda said quickly. “The doctor’s on his way. He’ll explain everything.”

A knock echoed against the door.

A tall man entered with a serious face. His presence is strangely heavy to me. He bowed his head politely.

“Miss Albaya,” he said, “I’ve reviewed your records. There is only a minor issue. Nothing to worry about.”

A wave of relief swept through the room, almost like a fake ray of sunshine. I stepped out first, giving the three of them a chance to talk privately. As I waited outside, I felt something inside me screaming..

My stomach obviously started to react, my gaze is now turning, looking for a comfort room to take my medicine. But when I turned to leave, I accidentally bumped into him.

“Oh..sorry, Doc,” I stammered.

He looked at me, and froze. His eyes darkened, studying me with unsettling intensity.

“May I speak with you Miss...?” he asked quietly.

“My name is Abby Jezz,” I replied nervously.

“Abby Jezz,” he repeated slowly. “I would like to speak with you… and Madam Linda. Privately.”

“Where?” Auntie Linda asked.

“The rooftop.”

My stomach dropped. Why is it we need to talk at the rooftop? When hospitals doctors had offices. Consultation rooms. Why in someplace open?

Still, we both followed him. He is the doctor, better to know what's really happening here.

The rooftop was eerily quiet. The city stretched below us, lights flickering like dying stars. The wind howled, carrying a strange scent, of iron and rain. Like something wild.

“I’ve been a doctor in this city for many years,” he said calmly. “But tonight… I believe I have met a very special patient.”

My heart pounded.

“Linda,” he continued, turning to Auntie Linda. “Can you tell me… if I am right?”

Auntie Linda’s face drained of color. Her lips trembled.

“I was afraid this day would come,” she whispered.

I felt the terror rise in my throat.

“Doc,” I asked shakily, “what are you talking about?”

He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with something ancient.

“Tell me, Abby Jezz,” he said softly, “has Tagi ever complained of pain during the full moon?”

The world tilted.

“Has she ever screamed… not in fear,” he continued, “but in rage?”

A distant howl echoed in my memory.

“And have you,” he added, his gaze locking onto mine, “ever felt drawn to the forest… without knowing why?”

The wind howled louder. And at that moment.. I understood. Whatever was haunting Tagi…

Whatever sickness.. no doctor could name…

Her sickness was not for humans.

And neither, perhaps… were we...

"I know, but please don't tell them, for the sake of my daughter. I'm begging you, Doc!"

Auntie Linda's plea, and she knelt down in front of the doctor to beg for mercy. I was totally shocky on her actions and behaviors.

"Why? What's wrong, Auntie...?" I asked her as far as I'm concerned.

"Abby Jezz, since you were her closest friend, I will tell you this, but promise me you will never tell this to anyone." She begged. So I made a promise to her, not to tell anyone.

"Tagi is not normal like you. There is something in her."

Now finally she admitted.

"What about her?"