“Lola, you know the book’s author personally?! Do you know someone that amazing?” Mawi was excited. Just a moment ago, he was admiring the author of the book that is now being held by his hands, and just now, he was told that the person who gave him the book knew the author personally, and it was Lola Yma’s friend no less.

“Hahahaha! Of course! That person is a friend of mine. However, “amazing”, when used to describe her is an understatement. Aside from writing that book, she also did some great things in the past.” There was a hint of longing and worship in Lola Yma’s eyes.

“Describing her like that, when you are already amazing…” Mawi, though excited, was a bit skeptical of Lola Yma’s mood and way of describing the author. He could tell that Lola Yma greatly admired the person who wrote this book.

“Hmph! I cannot even compare to her! Inang Selia is really a great babaylan. However, I cannot tell you anything for now as you are still not ready to hear it.” Lola Yma said, slightly annoyed.

“Inang Selia?” Hearing the name, Mawi’s heart shook. That name seems awfully familiar to him, but I could not remember why.

“Yes, Inang Selia. Everyone called her by that name. The most powerful babaylan in the last century. It seems that you are interested in her story?” Lola Yma mistook Mawi’s reaction as mere curiosity.

“Yes.” Was Mawi’s short reply, a hint of seriousness in his voice.

“Well, you will have to wait until you are ready. Anything I say to you now, about her deeds will not do you any good. You might even say that I am exaggerating.”

After hearing Lola Yma’s statement, Mawi did not press on with the matter, he knew that whatever he would say will just be ignored by the old woman. The trio ate dinner after some time and went to bed early. As Lola Yma has said, Mawi will have to perform the initiation ritual again the following day, having been interrupted by the sudden arrival of the tiktik earlier that day.

At around three in morning, Mawi and Lola Yma woke up, and again made their way to the forest. This time around, they carried more salt and lana oil with them not that they were expecting to be interrupted again by another supernatural creature, but as a contingency plan should it happen again. The duo moved like shadows in the darkness with their speeds as swift as the wind, reaching their destination in just a short time.

Upon arriving at their destination, Mawi immediately prepared the ritual circle without being instructed by Lola Yma. Mawi also made the circle noticeably bigger than last time, it seems that the incident yesterday has made him more cautious.

“Alright, it is time for you to start.” Lola Yma told Mawi.

“Just like yesterday, try to sense the presence of the spirits first.” She added.

Mawi then went inside the circle and sat down, but this time he brought the pasyawan and buntot pagi with him, placing them on his lap as he started to meditate. Noticing Mawi’s actions, Lola Yma was surprised for a moment, and then a smile appeared on her face. She then made her presence faint like what she did yesterday. In just a moment, Mawi was left all alone in the dark, in the middle of the forest. The sounds of animals active while the sun is still asleep can be heard throughout the woods, while the beautiful light of the moon and stars cascaded down towards the quiet earth painted a majestic sight.

Mawi though, was not disturbed by all these as he was already deep in his meditation, trying to sense the spirits present in his surroundings. He remained in this position for almost an hour before he started to feel a presence, it was like a warm drop of water on his cold hands. Though it was faint like a flickering candle in the wind, Mawi was still able to tell its presence. Mawi was not discouraged when he felt how faint this presence was, in fact, he was excited when he felt the presence of a spirit. It meant that he truly was a babaylan, and that by knowing this, he will be one step closer in recovering or remembering who he is.

Motivated by his small success, Mawi concentrated harder in an effort to sense more spirits and as he did this he felt the presence of more spirits, like a warm drizzle on a cool summer afternoon. He started to feel them around them, and as more and more of these presences he felt, he is more sure that he is really a babaylan, or at least an initiate.

Meanwhile, Lola Yma who was watching the whole process was dumbstruck, outside of the circle, hundreds of glowing orbs of light started to gather around Mawi. These orbs of light came in all sizes, with the smallest orb the size of a small kalamansi fruit, and the biggest the size of a mangosteen fruit. These orbs of lights are spirits drawn by Mawi’s dungan when he tried to sense them.