Tales Of Filipino Mythical Creatures

SIGBIN: Uncles' New Pet

This happened last December 2018, I was on a Christmas vacation on one of my aunt in Carcar, Cebu. The night I came to my aunt's house was out of the ordinary. Since it wasn't my first time to visit them, I already knew how to get there from the airport so I didn't asked for them to fetch me. I got down the bus at the highway and rode a tricycle to my aunt's place. It took me almost an hour to find a tricycle driver who is willing to bring me to my aunt's house. They seemed weary of the place, one driver even told me that I should have just booked a hotel and wait till the sun is up to go to my aunt's place. I find superstitious people like that driver funny, I even taught he was just telling me that to get a kickback from the hotel. I wasn't scared of the things that go bump in the night, I mean I'm 33 years old, heavy build and know some martial arts to defend myself from people with ill intents or from mythical creatures' people in the provinces fear. I convinced the driver to bring me to my aunt's place using my word play and Five Hundred Pesos. I sort to paying high because it's getting really late and it was starting to rain. The driver at first was hesitant but money can make the world go round.

The road was a dirt road with many bumps, surely the barangay officials never cared to at least pour asphalt on that road. It was starting to rain when we passed by a forest, it is this time that the drivers face became dead serious. He asked me why in hell did I have to go to that place at that time. I just smiled at him and his attention went back to the road.

Behind the tall trees I saw some lights, I thought we are almost there and it's the houses those lights are coming from. I asked the driver if we are arriving at my aunt's place but I noticed his face drained out of blood, he was so pale. I ask him if he was okay but he never responded so I continued watching the lights behind the trees.

Then I noticed some of the light, they were moving. They seemed like dancing in circles, I was so intrigued that I asked the driver to stop so I can investigate the lights more. The driver never stopped, instead he went on full speed not minding the bumps in the road, I thought I was going to fall from the tricycle. I reprimanded the driver but he was not listening, I tapped his shoulder and shouted in his ears if he was okay. He looked at me and said that it was not houses lights that I am seeing but santelmos. As I heard the man say those words crack a smirk on my face, this guy was actually thinking that those were santelmos. In my mind I was thinking that those lights were from the people how were just trying to get home, they might have no flashlights and relied on torches. I told the driver to just calm down because he was just endangering our lives more, in which he listened and slowed down. I can still see the lights behind us, it was already on the road. There were about 13 of them and they started following the road, seems like I was right about those lights, they were just people using torches as lights. The driver was relieved when he saw the lights and the people holding it, the colors of his face came back. He was telling me how stupid he was to believe that those lights were santelmo's when suddenly we hit something. It growled in pain as it flew 10 feet or more. The tricycle's front wheel twisted to a number eight, the driver went through the wind shield and I was left inside the sidecar tumbling like a laundry inside a washing machine as it flipped too many times for me to count. Good thing I was not badly hurt and I managed to stand up and walk wobbling to check for the driver. I called out for him but he was not responding, I can already see him, crouched in a tall grass. He seemed okay, he was even using a hand signal, he was telling me to keep silent. I didn't understand it but I obliged, I ducked down behind the grass where he was hiding and he pointed in front. I peeked through the grass and my heart stopped that time, we hit a poor goat! It was twitching out of pain, as an animal lover I can't forgive my self seeing that poor goat just die in front of me without doing nothing. I approached the injured goat, though it was dark I can figure out its silhouette. It's back was probably broken; it's head was stocked in between its hind legs. I tried to carry it but it must have been in so much pain that this poor goat growled at me. I held its head far from me because it was acting like it is ready to bite me if I go near, it's on a trauma and I need to help it. I carried it walking on the dirt road, rain pouring hard. I can't count how many times I stumbled and fall on the slippery road and got up determined to help the injured goat. The driver followed me from a far, stopping every time I stop to wait for him, he doesn't want to go near me or the goat. I know why, it's his fault, he was not focusing on the road that is why he ran through this poor goat.

Thirty minutes of walking, stumbling and getting up we arrived at my aunt's house, the lights are turned off. They must have been sleeping at this time so I called out for them. It took around another 15 minutes of shouting from the top of my lungs before they heard me, my voice was dwarfed out by the noise made by the falling rain drops into the tin roof creating a "white noise".

When the doors opened, it was my uncle Badong who greeted us and invited us inside. The lights were still off as I went inside, the driver stayed outside the house soaking wet in the rain. My uncle jumps out of surprise when the lights went up as he saw the wounded goat on my arms. He was over reacting when he ordered me to put the goat down, I said it was wounded and was sadly deformed by its injuries. My aunt's eyes widened as she came out from the room, she shouted "SIGBIN!". I told them that was no sigbin but a goat, an injured goat who needs our help. My aunt was still shouting hysterically as my uncle took a bolo and tried to hack into the poor goat, I covered the goat with my arms just to stop my uncle from hacking the goat.

I noticed blood dripping from my arms, I thought it was from the goat but I felt pain on my arms, it was the goat biting down on me. I was shocked to see its teeth, it was sharp.. very sharp indeed. I immediately let it go from my hands and down on the floor it went. That's when I saw it transformed into a creature that I've never seen before, it was like a cross between a dog, a goat, a rat, and a kangaroo. I tried to take some pictures but my phone was dead from the accident and the rain, but i can tell you it is a creature out of this world. My uncle tried to hack it with his bolo but it was fast enough to jump out of the door and into the driver who was standing outside knocking him back as the creature jump away into the bushes. The driver decided to spend the night in my aunt's house in fear of the creature plotting revenge on him.

The next day I felt very ill, the bite I got from the creature or as my aunt calls it sigbin was infected, it was swollen from my armpits to my fingers. I can't even fold my elbow anymore, it was very swollen, I was passing in and out of consciousness and had a high grade fever. I was even hallucinating due to my high temperature. My aunt brought me to a hospital where they managed my swollen arms and fever, but still I was not feeling well. It seems like I was envenomed by that bite. I spent most of my vacation on the hospital, I was not happy about it.

When I was discharged in the hospital and was resting inside my aunt's house i heard a weird sound from the backyard. It was around 6PM, it was getting dark, the weird noise was getting nearer and nearer. Not as brave as I was before, I called my uncle to go out and investigate. With a bolo on his hands and a dagger on the other he kicked the door open and jump into action, I imagined him as "Leon Guererro" the famous movie starred by Lito Lapid back in the days. As my uncle went outside the wierd noise stopped, my uncle shouted that he doesn't want any trouble with the sigbins but if they want trouble then they can come and get it. Pretty cool to hear right? But it was a big mistake, that night all of us haven't slept. These sigbins were jumping up and down on the roof, banging the walls, the door and windows. I was scared to death, I really thought that was my last night in this world. Then the morning came, the sigbins have retreated or that was what I thought. Sigbins do not fear the sun, they are only inactive during the day just like any other nocturnal creatures.

When we went out of the house we saw the destruction they've cause, dents on the roof, broken windows, scratches on the walls and doors. My uncle's tears fell down as he saw his fighting cocks all dead and missing its head. His anger only grew more towards the sigbins that he decided the help of an "albularyo". The albularyo gave him some talismans, oils, and 2 daggers made of pure bronze for it was believed that sigbins and aswangs are susceptible to bronze, silver, and gold. They must have hated the Olympics.

Right now I am back in the city, I asked my uncle about the sigbins and I don't think I understand his reply. He said if I ever come back to their place I will still be seeing the sigbins, but I won't have a problem with them.

I was encouraged to write this story now because my uncle just visited me an hour ago, and he was riding a giant bird which transformed into a black dog as they entered my house. He even left a small kitten here, he said it would protect me from harm. I gave the kitten a name, I named her "Catriona".

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