“Lolo Gani how come that when you fought that monster earlier, we did not hear any commotion, not until Lumawig was seen carrying Elsie’s body?” one of the people in the crowd asked.

“That is probably also the work of that monster. Since they do not want to be found out, they will maintain the illusion that they have casted in order to make sure that no one would be unto them. The only reason that you all were able to see me fighting that monster earlier was because it has been weakened to a state that it was unable to maintain the illusion anymore.” Explained Lolo Gani.

Speaking up to here, Lolo Gani looked towards a corner of the house where the head of the Bal-bal could be seen, tied by the pasyawan whip that the old man used in their fight. Even with the house full of people, none of them came near that part of the house. Apparently still afraid that the head might come back to life and attack them.

“What will happen now? The police will come back in the morning to continue their investigation, but with Noning dead, how are we going to explain to the police?” Lita, Empoy’s mother asked Lolo Gani.

“We tell them the truth!” was the old man’s answer.

“Are they going to believe it?” asked another person.

“Whether they believe it or not is not up to us. Everyone here has seen the fight last night; we have its head here as proof as well. If they believe it then good, if not, there is nothing we can do. Sometimes, we have to believe the truth no matter how absurd it is, as it is the only way we can know about certain things and help us move forward.” Lolo Gani answered the crowd, with his back towards them. He was already outside the house when the people fully digested what the old man said.

“No matter how absurd it is…?” someone murmured, seemingly in deep thought after hearing the old man’s words.

Outside, Lolo Gani went to find Lumawig. He has not seen his apò as he was too busy preparing for his friend’s burial. He then found Lumawig sitting on a makeshift bench made out of a langka (jackfruit) tree’s trunk – he had stopped crying some time ago. At first, his friends were with him, however, as time passed, they bid their good-byes to him as they were too tired mentally after witnessing the events. Only the older people were awake as they continued to watch over the bodies of the couple. Nevertheless, alone as he might be, he was not located too far from the people who were at tiyo Noning’s house; they just never bothered him as they knew he was grieving the loss of people who are close to him.

“Apò…” called out Lolo Gani.

Hearing his lolo calling out to him, Lumawig turned his head and looked at the direction from which the voice came from. Lolo Gani then walked towards him and sat down beside him.

“Apò, you don’t have to blame yourself for what happened.” Lolo Gani’s words cut directly to the heart of the issue.

“No one could have foreseen any of these. It was not your fault.” Consoled Lolo Gani.

“But tiyo Noning would not have died if only I was of use to you.” The moment Lumawig spoke, tears started to roll down his face again.

“If only I did not get cocky for landing that lucky hit, you would not have had to send me back to the house. If I had not been sent back to the house, tiya Lita would not have seen me carry tiya Elsie’s corpse and screamed, alerting tiyo Noning. He would not have rushed out to kill the creature!” there was anger in Lumawig’s voice. But it was not anger directed to his lolo, but to himself. He loathed his weakness at that time.

“You are wrong!” replied the old man in a stern voice.

“If I had not sent you back, your tiyo Noning would still have seen the fight against the Bal-bal. He would have still rushed outside and tried to kill the Bal-bal. Only at that time, I might not have been able to protect you. I am not putting your life above your tiyo Noning, but at my strength and current ability, I could only protect one of you if that had happened, and I might have lost my life in the process as well.” Lectured the old man.

“Your tiyo Noning knew that I have some supernatural abilities, only that he did not know that I was a babaylan; that’s why he did not hesitate to come to my side and help, even at the cost of his life! Think back and think hard, why do you think that he did tell you to accompany him to the place where I was fighting the Bal-bal? It was because he knew that even with my powers, I will not be able to fully protect you. He did not die because he rushed in without thinking. He died because he was thinking about you and me! So, you must never blame yourself as to what has happened. In the end he died happy for at least avenging his wife from the one that intended to desecrate her corpse.” Lolo Gani reprimanded Lumawig.

“I also fully understand why you froze that moment. It was a mistake on my part, as I did not even remotely consider that you will be afraid. I thought that you would be able to stand your ground. It was my mistake that almost had you killed and my inability that resulted in the death of my two closest friends!” Lolo Gani continued. It is apparent that from all that happened yesterday, he was blaming himself for the death of tiyo Noning and tiya Elsie.

Hearing the old man reprimand and lamentation, Lumawig stopped crying and turned to look at the old man. Just like yesterday morning, Lumawig noticed that his lolo seemed to have aged more and is now looking older than a few days ago. Lumawig has now understood that his lolo has been affected more by the deaths of his two closest friends.

The night went on with no further incidents, still, the people insisted on taking turns watching the bodies of tiyo Noning and tiya Elsie. As morning came, the warmth of the summer sun flooded the room where their bodies were laid. Some of the people who visited last night started to go back to their homes. From this day onwards, their life will never be the same again. Other people like Lolo Gani stayed and continued their vigil on the two deceased people. Lumawig, and his friends went home to do their chores and get some sleep.

A couple of hours later, two policemen arrived at tiyo Noning’s house.

“Good morning! Is Nonito Amparo here?” asked one of the policemen in a pleasant voice. He looks quite young, around thirty years old. A well-built body, with the standard police haircut. He is clean shaven, but his looks are only average. The most striking in his appearance though, is his height, as he stands a head taller than everyone present there. His partner on the other hand is a middle-aged man of average height, with a stubble of a beard, and a little-bit round belly. Both of them are in their standard uniforms when they are on duty.

No one answered the officer’s question, all of them just looked at Lolo Gani who was standing by the house’s door. Knowing that the people there were expecting him to talk, Lolo Gani composed himself then walked towards the gate and started to converse with the police officer.

“Noning is no longer here.” The old man simply answered.

“No longer here?” Repeated the tall police officer.

“Yes. Noning is dead.” Again, the old man answered.

“Dead?! How can he be dead? He was still doing fine yesterday when I talked to him.” The shorter police officer exclaimed in surprise.