“Hmm? None of the orbs are trying to enter the circle. Does this mean that he already has an abyan?” Seeing how the spirits, though in many numbers, did not try to make a connection with Mawi, Lola Yma could not help but think of only one possibility.

“If he already has an abyan, then everything about him and his memory loss could be explained.” Lola Yma thought and then decided to just observe a little bit longer to see if Mawi already had an abyan.

While Lola Yma was pondering on the possibility of Mawi having an abyan, the two spirits inside him also started to stir as a result of Mawi’s actions. Like a mudfish that hid and slept in the mud throughout the summer, waiting for the first rain, Mawi’s abyan were excited when they felt his dungan went into action. Their long sleep has finally ended with the first drop of rain. As they started to make their presence felt, the other spirits outside started to keep a certain distance from the circle’s edge.

“Hmm? I can feel the presence of two spirits inside me. It seems that I have already established a connection with them, but is it possible to have two spirits? I’d better ask Lola Yma later.”, Mawi thought to himself surprised to find the existence of the two spirits in his body.

After about one hour, Mawi started to rouse up from his ritual. The moment he opened his eyes, the world around him looked a bit different, not in the literal sense, as everything he could see with his eyes remained the same, but he felt more attuned and connected to nature. The whole experience was new to him, but at the same time, familiar. It felt like he used to know these things.

“Save your questions for later. Let us go back first. Sabel might be waking up soon.” Lola Yma’s voice interrupted Mawi from his thoughts and brought him back to reality.

Mawi then noticed that the sky had started to brighten from the sun’s light; Mawi was surprised at the scene, for he felt that he only did the ritual for a short time. Hearing Lola Yma’s voice as well, Mawi started to collect his things up and tidy up the place. In a few minutes, the two people started their journey back with the same speed when they went to this place earlier, and in a short amount of time arrived at Lola Yma’s home just as Sabel started to wake up. The old woman then immediately started to prepare their breakfast, while Mawi started to do his chores around the house.

**********

While Mawi has been with Lola Yma and Sabel in Barangay Tubigan for almost two weeks since the great battle against Busau, the monstrous creature that perpetrated the gruesome massacre at the two barangays and sent the whole nation into panic seems to have disappeared. For two weeks, no news of senseless killings was reported in the area within fifty kilometers of Dumadalig. Even the strange event that happened at the población of Tantangan was not repeated. Even though the populace remained vigilant and afraid, the event that transpired started to be forgotten, and remained only as a popular article for gruesome and unexplained events in some newspapers, TV and Radio Shows, and some conspiracy theory pages on the internet. Although the family members or those that have survived the killings still wanted justice to be served, with no leads on who the perpetrator may be, the police were stuck at a dead end, nevertheless, the national government still created a taskforce to continue the investigation on this event and the officer leading this team was none other than SPO4 Edgardo Lamitan!

Meanwhile, a few days ago just before Mawi’s encounter with the Tiktik, on a mountainous area a few kilometers northwest of Tantangan, gunshots can be heard. It appears that two groups of people are engaged in combat. One group has their members wearing camouflage combat uniforms, with the Philippine flag as a prominent symbol on one of their sleeves. They are heavily armed and are only using some sort of sign language to communicate with each other. These people are soldiers of the country, well trained in combat on mountainous terrains. Even with their heavy backpacks, they weave through the forest like it was their home, moving silently amidst the forest’s thick vegetation.

The other group also appears to wear some kind of camouflage uniforms, but not everyone from their group is wearing them. Some of them are in civilian clothing but are also armed with high-powered rifles. What is common with these people though are the red band of clothing tied to their left arms. Most of these people appear to be in their youth as well, except for the three persons leading them.