Time flies so fast! I feel like the Wattpad Block Party - Winter Edition IV only happened a few days ago! Now we're in the summer edition! Never-ending 'THANK YOU' to for keeping this event going. This will be my sixth time in a row to have the privilege of participating in this fantastic party.

On this post, I would like to take the opportunity to talk about Engkwentro: Tales of the Strange & Supernatural, a paranormal-romance anthology , , and I released in April of 2018. I will also include a snippet from my story, Tears & Sun Showers, featured in this anthology.

How did this project come about? With romantic anthologies getting released left, right, and centre, author KC Cimafranca came up with the idea of releasing an anthology of our own. She brought us together with the idea of a collection of paranormal-romance stories. After several days of brainstorming, we decided to make this collection even more unique by featuring creatures from Philippine folklore–the Aswang, Dalaketnon, Kapre, Mambabarang, and Tikbalang. Allow me to introduce them to you.

The Aswang, featured in KC Cimafranca's "An Aswang Story", is amongst the most feared creature in the Philippines. It is a shape shifter, usually takes the form of a human or a domesticated animal by day, and turns into a monster that has similar traits of a vampire, ghoul, warlock/witch, and/or werebeasts by night; they prey on the living for food.

The Dalaketnon, featured in "Unforgettable" by Loid Valenzuela (@iamloid), is an evil engkanto (environmental spirit that takes human form). They are believed to be tall handsome and beautiful creatures who live like nobles, and try to fit in the mortal world. They abduct people and take them to their world where they hold a feast for them. The victims are forced to eat black rice, which puts them under the dalaketnon's spell and are turned to slaves.

The Kapre, featured in "Rendezvous with a Kapre" by Cindy Dela Cruz (), is a tree giant, measuring around 7-9 feet tall. The kapre dwells in tall trees like acacias, mangoes, bamboo, or banyan/balete trees. They are said to sit amongst the trees' branches, smoking a cigar. Unlike the Aswang, he isn't considered evil, but can be vengeful when the trees they're inhabiting is cut down.

The Mambabarang, in "Mambabarang Boy" by H. Bentham (), is a practitioner of a specific type of sorcery or witchcraft. Derived from the word barang, which is a noun that describes malignant sorcery. The mambabarang is said to keep a swarm of carnivorous beetles. When s/he is about to hex a victim, s/he will whisper instructions to the insects who will then seek out the victim and gain entry into the body through any body orifice.

The Tikbalang, featured in my story, "Tears and Sun Showers", is a creature that is part horse and part human. Unlike the centaur, which has the body of a horse from waist down and human from waist up, the tikbalang has the head of a horse and the body of a human. They are said to play tricks by leading travelers astray. Superstition has it that when it rains on a clear sunny day, there is a tikbalang getting married. In my story, I took a different take on the tikbalang and sun showers.

As promised earlier, I'm presenting a sneak peak of one of the chapters of "Tears and Sun Showers".

I finally exhaled, only to take another quick intake of breath when our eyes met. The note of recognition that I saw in his eyes made my heart jump. I averted my eyes and walked away.

"El!"

My shoulders stiffened. My grip on the strap of my bag tightened.

"Hoy! El!"

His voice had gone deeper from three years ago.

"You! Elora! Wait up!"

My pace quickened. Pretend you can't hear him!

"Elora!"

My feet stopped. Why did they stop? I didn't tell them to stop. Reluctantly, I faced him.

"Elora! It is you!"

"M-Mabaya! Hi!" I smiled. I didn't fake that smile. Though this reunion was extremely uncomfortable for me, I was actually happy to see him again.

He pointed to himself. "You remember me!" The corners of his lips lifted, flashing a straight row of teeth.

I should have pretended not to remember him, but it was too late. My smile had already screamed, It's great to see you! "Wow! It's been a while!"

"I know! How long has it been?" He scratched the back of his head. He pushed his pursed lips toward the left side of his face while squinting his eyes. "Umm . . ." He counted with his fingers. He looked up as if he was searching for the answer in the spotless blue sky.

"Three," I answered for him.

His eyes widened. "Three?" he repeated, throwing an incredulous look at me.

I nodded.

He wrapped his hands around his nape. "Wow!"

The muscles on his bare chest pushed forward, and the bulge on his biceps pulsed with that single movement. For me, it was distracting. I tried to keep eye contact, but the beads of sweat that trickled from his Adam's apple led my vision to wander back to his chest. He had bulked up through the years. My eyes zeroed in on the tattoo that was like a black-and-red sash draped over his right shoulder. Back in high school, everyone was amazed that his parents allowed him to have a tattoo. I noticed that his skin art had spread further over his chest. The design was more intricate. The geometrical patterns that filled the side borders of his inked sash reminded me of the patterns woven on textiles by the Mountain Province's indigenous people. The center of the design resembled some sort of trunk with single branches coming from its side.

His chuckle made me jerk back. I didn't realize that I was squinting at his tattoo, trying to decipher what it represented.

"It's a centipede," he explained. "A symbol for protection and spirituality."

The amused smile on his face made me blush. I straightened up. "I-I see."

He shifted his weight to one side and crossed his arms. "So," he drawled. "I'm surprised to see you here!"

"Likewise," I muttered. Even though Padua covered an enormous chunk of land, and situated close to the edge of nowhere, the academic buildings were built around the courtyard, so most student activities and interactions concentrated here. On top of that, Padua was a small community; everyone would end up knowing each other eventually. Except me. No one would ever get that chance. Any memory of me in this school would be a blur.

"Why haven't I seen you around?"

"I've only been here for a week," I answered immediately.

He arched an eyebrow. "A week? I didn't think they accepted new students in the middle of a semester.

"I'm pretty lucky, I guess." I forced out a laugh. Lucky. Yeah, right! I was happy at my old university. I was looking forward to finishing my first year there, and the next three years after that. My life was perfect! I was going to the school of my dreams. I had my friends with me. I was with family. I was home. Then my perfect life turned into a nightmare I'd never wake up from.

"Do you like it here?"

"Like it here?" I repeated. "What's there not to like?" I was mindful of my tone. "It's like paradise here! Look at it!" I gestured toward my surroundings. The courtyard alone was a spectacular view. The soft evergreen grass was a perfect place to walk barefoot on. Sculptured topiaries stood between wooden benches that lined the courtyard's perimeter. The landscaped hedges in the middle of the yard showed off the colors of Padua University's seal.

"The air is fresh!" I continued. "We have a forest. We're not far from the beach . . ." I paused. I lifted my eyes to him. His eyes seemed lighter—almost the color of gold underneath the afternoon sun. "I can't believe you're here. Of all places . . ." I had so many questions. Why did you leave? Where have you been all these years? I bit my lower lip. Do you forgive me?

"We have a lot of catching up to do."

"That we do," I concurred. This was a chance for a fresh start, and I was looking forward to it. It was exhilarating to see him again, but my heart plummeted at the same time. I was suddenly filled with a greater sense of melancholy. My surroundings reminded me of the freedom I had lost. Then, there was Mabaya. The spirits must be taunting me with his presence. Those monsters must be laughing as they dangled him like a prize I could never have.

"Bai!" One of Mabaya's friends waved for his attention.

He waved back. "I'll be right with you!" He turned to me with an apologetic expression on his face. "I have to go."

"Sure. No problem." Maybe that was a good thing—him going. I knew I had to avoid him. Before coming to this school, I decided to deprive myself from getting emotionally attached to anything and anyone. That includes him. "I have to get going too." Mabaya gave me a quick wave before sprinting back to his friends. I turned the other way and continued to navigate through the crowd. A lump formed in my throat. I quickened my pace as my eyes started to sting with tears.

The sudden shuffling of feet and screams filled the air when huge drops of rain started to fall.

"What the hell?" the girl in front of me blurted out as she looked at the sunny sky. There wasn't a speck of cloud staining the blue sky. Raising her books over her head, she scurried toward the building for shelter.

"A tikbalang must be getting married," I heard someone say as he whizzed past me.

I sauntered down the footpath, not caring that the rain was drenching me. I tilted my head back, allowing the water to wash down my face. My lips curled into a vicious sneer. I hope you're happy!

When sun showers fall, they say a tikbalang is getting married. That was the superstition passed on for many generations. No one knew how it began or understood the logic behind it. It was just a superstition after all. It was nothing but mere folklore. It was as mythical as the creature itself—half human, half horse. They were described to have the body of a man with the head of a horse. How ridiculous! Whoever conjured such a creature had more screws, nuts, and bolts missing! This monster was nothing but a folktale created to scare and discourage young maidens from staying out so late—that was what a nonbeliever would say.

As the story went, tikbalangs chase after young maidens. Once the maiden is caught, she is bound to be his wife. On their wedding day, the skies would celebrate by showering the couple with confetti in the form of light and raindrops. It was as romantic as a fairytale! But it was no fairytale. It wasn't even close to being romantic. It was a nightmare.

The truth was these half-human-half-horse creatures were real. When a tikbalang had set his sights on whom he desired, he'd stopped at nothing to acquire her. He was a predator. An aggressive hunter. He'd stalk his unsuspecting target. When the right time came, he would lurk in the shadows, then pounce to capture his bride. The prey never stood a chance! Only a few women were lucky to live and tell the tale. As for the unfortunate ones, no one knew what became of them.

It was true about a tikbalang getting married when there were sun showers, but not necessarily on his wedding day. The skies brightened up as the sun rejoiced and celebrated his victory. The heavens would congratulate him on his engagement and blessed his wedding day. The rain, on the other hand, was not for him. The drops of water were not confetti from the heavens. Even though the sky could feel his joy, it could also feel his bride's grief. The rain was sent down to comfort her. Each crystal raindrop concealed her precious tears.

The tikbalangs must be celebrating today, I thought. The sky was at its brightest today. No wisp of cloud dotted the perfect blue yonder, but the showers kept falling, releasing a strong petrichor from the earth. The rain was cool and refreshing but never enough to soothe an unwilling bride-to-be's heartache. No amount of rain will ever bring comfort. The only thing sun showers could do was hide my tears.

***

As ominous as these creatures seem, the stories in Engkwentro will make the heart beat faster in fear and in love. I hope you enjoyed my post. This story is available on Amazon if you're interested.

For this party, I'm giving away an eBook copy of Engkwentro: Tales of the Strange & Supernatural to a lucky Wattpadder out there!

There are more Giveaways going out the door so check out the posts from other authors, interact with us, and have fun!