PATER UNITATIS: The last light

CHAPTER 2

Kael looked out of the window of his room. From where he stood, he saw a crowd of people gathered outside. Curious about what was happening, he left his room and walked toward the group of people gathered in front of their house.

Because of his curiosity, Kael tried to see what they were looking at. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the reason behind the crowd. Lying on the grass was a woman covered in wounds. Her body was lifeless, and it was clear that she was already dead.

A few minutes later, the barangay officials arrived. They took the woman’s body and brought it to the barangay hall so that her family could claim her remains.

After the officials left carrying the woman’s body, Kael returned home. The people who gathered out of curiosity also slowly went back to their own houses.

When Kael arrived home, his mother greeted him while carrying a broom, looking as though she had just finished sweeping the back part of their yard.

“Kael, stop wandering around at night. You saw what happened to that woman, didn’t you?” his mother said.

Kael simply nodded and entered their house. He went to the bathroom to take a bath, then headed straight to the kitchen. There, he saw his father talking with his friend, Lanas.

“Oh, Lanas, you’re here early today. Do you need something? Don’t tell me you came here again just to eat because you got scolded at home for waking up late. You should stop that habit of yours of always waking up at noon so that Aling Kora won’t get mad at you,” Kael teased his friend.

“Listen to this Kael. You’re talking as if you never wake up late yourself,” Lanas replied.

“Hey, Kael, stop teasing Lanas. At least he has already finished many chores this morning, unlike you. You just woke up, and the first thing you did was go to the crowd outside. You didn’t even help me earlier with sweeping the backyard, not even a simple greeting of ‘good morning’ to me,” his mother scolded him, answering his teasing.

Kael could only sit down and help his mother peel the boiled bananas while his friend Lanas laughed at him.

“By the way, Kael, I’m here because my mother ordered me again to invite you to gather some medicinal herbs from the mountain. Many people have been coming to our house lately to seek treatment. You know my mother is a healer, so I have no choice but to follow her orders,” the young man said while scratching his head.

Kael agreed and asked permission from his parents, who immediately allowed him to go.

Carrying two large baskets, the two friends began their journey toward the mountain. It was several meters away from their settlement. It was already noon when they reached the foot of the mountain. The sun was high and its heat was painful against their skin. Because of the intense heat, they decided to rest under a large balete tree not far from the path they were taking.

They were already halfway through their rest when they suddenly heard a scream coming from somewhere nearby.

The two immediately stood up. They looked around cautiously. After hearing several more screams, both of them became alert. Because of what had happened earlier, they carefully observed their surroundings until their eyes stopped on a horrifying sight.

A wounded woman, her body covered in blood, was being attacked by three creatures.

Lanas immediately dropped the basket he was carrying and threw a rock at the creatures. The three beings stepped back. When they saw the two men approaching, they immediately ran away.

Lanas quickly rushed toward the woman and helped her stand, while Kael stood frozen in fear. His entire body trembled when he saw the appearance of the three creatures.

“Ah—what kind of creatures were those? Why did they look like that? They were terrifying,” Kael asked, his voice shaking uncontrollably.

“Those were Busaw. They are known as ancient predators. They have the bodies of giant beasts, the fangs of savage animals, and strength powerful enough to crush trees and stones. Their appearance resembles monsters, and they also have the ability to take human form and blend among people even during the day.

“They usually hide in dark forests, caves, or isolated places. One of their main sources of food is human blood and flesh,” Lanas explained.

Because of what happened, they were unable to continue gathering medicinal herbs at the top of the mountain. Instead, they carried the unconscious woman back home.

Lanas carried the injured woman on his back while Kael walked beside him, holding his chest as his heart continued to pound from fear.

It was already afternoon when they finally reached their settlement. Along the way, people stared at them until they arrived at Kael’s house.

“What happened? Why are you carrying a woman? Where did you find her? Why is she covered in blood?” Aling Siling asked in surprise.

Lanas carefully placed the woman inside Kael’s house before approaching the older woman and respectfully taking her hand to his forehead in greeting.

“I will explain everything later, Aling Siling. For now, Kael and I need to bring her to our house. Please come with us because my mother also needs to tell you something important,” the young man said.

Kael then carried the unconscious woman toward Lanas’ house. When they arrived, they were immediately greeted by Lanas’ mother, Aling Kora.

She helped them lay the woman down in the living room. Without saying a word, she immediately treated the woman’s wounds and applied medicine before returning to the kitchen, where Aling Siling and Kael were waiting.

Meanwhile, Lanas prepared water and placed drinks on the table.

“Friend, what happened to that woman? Why won’t your son tell me anything? Even Kael refuses to answer my questions,” Aling Siling said, breaking the silence.

“What happened to that woman?” Aling Siling asked again when Aling Kora returned and sat down on the bamboo chair.

“Earlier, while Kael and I were resting under a large balete tree, we heard several screams. We became curious and looked around. That was when we saw that woman being attacked by three Busaw. Good thing we arrived in time because if we hadn’t, she would have surely become the meal of those three creatures,” Lanas answered while Kael remained silent beside them.