EpilogueJason
I
had been visiting mother’s grave frequently, bringing her flowers and talking to her. Was I trying to ask for forgiveness? Yes and no. I never meant to kill her. I wanted to stop her from hurting Karina. I wanted her to stop everything. It was the manananggal’s instinct that took over. I never meant to kill her. Never.
A part of me still hoped that in the end she was grateful I did what I did, that somehow I released her from the anger and hatred that took control of her life.
Mother did know how to love. I saw her life in my head when Karina showed me Mother’s past. In her many decades as a manananggal, she fell in love twice. To me, that showed she was different from her mother and great-grandmother. But having no one there to support her and teach her how to love mad
