My Enchanted Story

Chapter Two: The Little People on the Mosquito Net

After that strange afternoon in the abandoned house, something changed.

I didn't realize it immediately.

At seven years old, I didn't have the words to explain what was happening to me. I only knew that sometimes I would see things that other people couldn't.

And the strangest part was that they weren't always the same.

Sometimes they looked like ordinary people.

Sometimes they were very small.

Sometimes they were creatures I couldn't even describe.

They came in different shapes, sizes, and appearances. Some seemed playful, some curious, and others simply watched from a distance.

At the time, I didn't know what they were.

I only knew that they were there.

And my first encounter with them after the abandoned house happened one ordinary night at home.

It had been a fun day.

Like most days during my childhood, I spent the afternoon playing until I was tired. By nighttime, everyone was beginning to settle down and prepare for bed.

Nothing seemed unusual.

Our house was quiet.

The sounds of the evening surrounded us—the insects outside, the occasional movement of people in the house, and the familiar noises of the province at night.

I went into our bedroom.

My sister Bellen was already in bed.

We shared the same room and, because there was only one bed, we shared that too.

In those days, having a mosquito net around the bed was normal for us. We lived in the province, where insects were everywhere, especially at night. The mosquito net protects us from mosquitoes and other unwanted visitors.

Bellen was already comfortably lying down, reading one of her comics.

She loved those kinds of comics where pictures and stories were combined. But unlike the ordinary comics children might read, she especially enjoyed horror stories.

Stories about the supernatural.

Stories about the creatures that were part of Filipino folklore.

There were stories about the Aswang, the terrifying man-eating creature.

The Tikbalang, a creature with the body of a human and the head and legs of a horse.

The Kapre, a huge, hairy being often described as a tobacco-smoking giant hiding in trees.

And many others.

She could spend hours reading those stories.

I climbed into bed beside her.

Then I lay down.

And that was when I saw them.

Above us.

On top of the mosquito net.

I froze.

There were little figures moving across the net.

At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

I blinked.

They were still there.

I blinked again.

Still there.

I looked at Bellen.

She was completely absorbed in her comic book.

I looked back up.

The little figures were still there.

They were tiny.

They looked like people.

Little people.

There seemed to be so many of them—perhaps twenty or thirty.

I stared in amazement.

Some were larger than the others. The biggest ones were probably about the size of my handspan, while the smallest ones were much tinier.

There were males and females.

Adults and children.

And they weren't just standing around.

They were playing.

I watched them carefully.

Some of the children were playing tumbang preso, running and chasing each other around the net.

Others were playing luksong baka, jumping over one another just as Filipino children did.

Some of the adults were sitting nearby, watching the children.

Others seemed to be looking after the smaller ones.

They looked like an entire little community.

And they were having the time of their lives.

I couldn't hear them speaking.

Not a single word.

They communicated through gestures and movements.

But somehow, even without hearing them, I could understand what they were doing.

I was fascinated.

They were so small.

And, to me, they were adorable.

I turned toward Bellen.

I wanted her to see them.

I tapped her.

She didn't respond.

I tapped her again.

Still nothing.

She was completely absorbed in her comic.

I tugged lightly on her dress.

Finally, she looked at me.

"What?"

I pointed upward.

"Look."

She glanced at me.

Then at the mosquito net.

Then back at me.

"What?"

"Look up there."

She looked again.

I waited.

Surely she could see them.

I thought maybe she had seen them already and simply didn't care.

"Can you see them?"

She frowned.

"See what?"

I pointed again.

"Them!"

She looked at the net.

There were dozens of little people moving around.

"They're playing!"

Bellen looked at me as though I had suddenly started speaking nonsense.

"Who?"

"The little people!"

"What little people?"

I couldn't believe it.

"They're right there!"

She sighed.

"Can't you just sleep already?"

"But they're there!"

She went back to reading.

I looked at the little people again.

They continued playing as if nothing had happened.

I couldn't understand why Bellen couldn't see them.

Then I had an idea.

If she couldn't see them...

Maybe I could show her.

I lifted my leg slightly and gently kicked the mosquito net beneath one of the little children.

The net moved.

The little creature lost its balance.

It tumbled over.

I laughed.

The little one immediately stood up.

It looked directly at me.

Even though I couldn't hear its voice, its expression was unmistakable.

It was annoyed.

Very annoyed.

I laughed even harder.

The little creature seemed to complain to the others.

Then it returned to the game.

I tugged Bellen's dress again.

"Bellen! Look! They're playing!"

She looked at me with obvious irritation.

I pointed.

"I'll show you."

I gently kicked the net again.

The same little creature stumbled.

It looked at me with what seemed like an angry expression.

I laughed.

"See?"

Bellen stared at me.

"See what?"

"That one!"

I pointed directly at the tiny creature.

"Can't you see it?"

She looked exactly where I was pointing.

"Where?"

"There!"

I was beginning to get frustrated.

"That little one! There are so many of them!"

Bellen shook her head.

"I don't see anything."

"There's like twenty or thirty!"

She sighed.

"You're imagining things."

I looked back at them.

I knew I wasn't imagining them.

They were right there.

I could see them clearly.

They were playing.

They were watching one another.

Some were caring for their young.

Some were laughing and chasing each other.

And some were simply watching me.

Then something unexpected happened.

The little creature I had been teasing apparently decided it had enough.

It found a tiny twig.

I watched as it picked it up.

Then it came toward me.

It raised the twig and tried to poke me through the mosquito net.

I burst out laughing.

"Bellen!"

She looked at me.

"They're trying to poke me!"

She stared.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look!"

I pointed at the tiny creature holding the twig.

"He's trying to get me!"

Bellen's expression changed from annoyance to disbelief.

"You're weird."

"But look!"

She couldn't see anything.

Not the little creature.

Not the twig.

Nothing.

The little creature tried again.

It couldn't reach me.

I laughed at it.

That seemed to make it even angrier.

Soon, several of the others gathered around it.

They were gesturing toward me.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked as though they were complaining about me.

The little one was pointing at me.

Then toward the twig.

Then toward the other creatures.

They appeared to be asking someone for help.

I followed their gestures.

An older figure was sitting nearby.

The others approached him.

He was larger than the rest.

He seemed to be the eldest among them.

They gestured toward me as if reporting everything I had done.

I expected him to become angry.

Instead...

He looked at me.

And smiled.

Then he raised his hand.

He made a small gesture.

A peace sign.

I stared at him.

I didn't know what to do.

So I smiled back.

And made the same gesture.

For some reason, that moment made me feel strangely comfortable.

There was something peaceful about him.

He didn't seem frightened of me.

And I wasn't frightened of them.

It was almost as though we had silently agreed that whatever strange little game we were playing was harmless.

I turned to Bellen one last time.

"Bellen..."

She groaned.

"What now?"

"Please look."

She finally put her comic book down.

She looked at me.

Then at the mosquito net.

Then at me again.

"I told you. I can't see anything."

She climbed out of the mosquito net.

Then she walked toward the light.

She turned it off.

"There."

She climbed back into bed.

"Now sleep."

She turned her back toward me.

I lay there quietly.

The room was now dark.

But the little people were still there.

I could still see them.

They continued moving across the mosquito net as though the darkness didn't matter.

I watched them for a while.

Eventually, I became tired.

I don't remember exactly when I fell asleep.

But I remember that night.

I remember the tiny people.

I remember the little one getting angry at me.

I remember the tiny twig.

And most of all, I remember the eldest one smiling at me and making a peace sign.

At seven years old, I thought it was simply another strange adventure.

I didn't know that this was only the beginning.

The beginning of seeing things hidden from ordinary eyes.

The beginning of encounters with creatures I would eventually learn were part of the unseen world.

And I certainly didn't know that some of them would become familiar to me.

Friends.

Playmates.

And sometimes...

something much more mysterious.

But that night, I simply closed my eyes.

And somewhere above the mosquito net, the little people continued their game.