"Oy, oy, seriously? This is the third time we had this incident already!"
The bystanders in the neighborhood started to gather after the sounds of anguish from the owner of the cockfighting roosters that had been found dead just that morning. Not only that but two hens have been killed as well.
What's worse is that they have not been killed by any ordinary animal as their internal organs have been missing. Their blood has been totally dried out to the point that the chickens that are killed look like they have been dead for days.
"Who killed my chickens! My chickens!"
The bystanders can only shake their heads in dismay. In that neighborhood, the incident animals with missing internal organs and dried-out carcasses have been happening third that week alone. The first was a goat. The second was two dogs, and this time, chickens. All the same death, wrecked abdomen with missing internal organs, as well as dried out with blood.
There is only one culprit the people have been currently pinpointing this time on who has done this brutality to the animals that are even worse than stray wild animal attacks.
"There's no doubt about this! Those "aswangs" are at it again!"
"F*cking hell, those things have disappeared from our village already and now they are back!? Looks like the Barangay Captain and his group will start doing rounds this evening."
"Kids, once it's sundown, quickly go back home and lock the doors and windows. Listen to the adults if you don't want to be the next victim of the roaming "aswang"!"
With the presumed "Aswang" prowling the neighborhood, the people will now start sleeping with one of their eyes open to ensure that those creatures will not start invading their houses.
...
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...
"Mr. Sancho Lopez! How many times has it been since you've been late these past few days?" Mrs. Sanchez asked with a stern voice towards the student who was nonchalantly sitting on the chair before her.
Inside one of the classrooms of Rizal National High School, two people are talking inside the empty classroom. It was already after school which is why the classroom is empty and there are fewer students currently walking around the school grounds. As for the two people talking in the classroom, it was a teacher and her male student who is currently being reprimanded for being tardy for a few days straight already.
"Just because I was late doesn't mean I skipped the entire whole day of school. At least I am not absent, right?" the kid answered as if he was talking to someone who has no respect for adults.
"I don't like the tone you are making, Mr. Lopez. Even if you are a teenager, that doesn't mean you can just talk like that with disrespect. I am still your teacher! I am just talking to you about this so that once my husband takes over my job as the homeroom teacher of your section, he won't have many problems with how late you always are!"
Sancho sighed and looked at his homeroom teacher. The reason that her husband will take over her job role is that she is going to go on maternity leave. Her pregnancy is reaching the final point and she can't handle to continue handling children while she is pregnant and she will be handing over her role to her husband who is also a teacher.
"I won't promise but I will try."
As much as Mrs. Sanchez wanted to scold Sancho more, she couldn't do it. After all, the only offense that Sancho has is that he is always late for school. He isn't a bad kid, and his grades are quite high, but his tardiness is something that he needs to change. But she can't blame him. Based on Sancho's life at home, he is a lone child who has been helping out his grandfather until recently when his parents died in an unknown accident, leaving him in the care of his grandfather. However, recently, his Grandfather also passed away and he was left to fend off on his own and had to take care of everything. Perhaps he is currently doing some after school which results in him sleeping late and waking up a lot later.
"Alright, you are free to go home. But remember my words, alright?"
Sancho nodded before standing up. Then, he looked at Mrs. Sanchez's bulging stomach.
"Pardon for asking but...how many months are you pregnant again, Ma'am?" Sancho asked.
"It would be the 7th month next week. Why do you ask?"
"Be careful from strangers, Ma'am. Especially from people you barely know who try to get friendly with you and who look at your stomach with strange looks. And please don't accept any kind of food from them if they decide to give you any. Even if it matches your craving tastes, please hold it don't eat it, and throw it in the trash. Better be safe than sorry for your unborn baby."
Mrs. Sanchez chuckled upon hearing this. "Haha, so you believe in those superstitions, Mr. Lopez? And here I thought only old people do that. But thanks for the concern. However, I don't think there is much reason to think those are true."
"It's just some preemptive warnings and a reminder. After all, for the entities that lurk in the dark, your smell must be really aromatic and irresistible for them. Alright, Ma'am. Have a good day and stay safe out there."'
Sancho left the classroom, leaving Mrs. Sanchez thinking about his last words.
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...
After the exchange she had with her student, Mrs. Sanchez is relieved from her work. This is the beginning of her maternal leave and she can finally start relaxing and focusing on taking care of herself as her pregnancy continues. Since her husband is the one who is handling the work, Mrs. Sanchez is left alone with only two maids to assist her with the chores at home and to also help her in case something happens but most of the time, she is by herself while the two maids are busy with their tasks.
Mrs. Sanchez has a hobby of staying outside the yard to bask under the sun and knitting baby clothes on their balcony whenever the sun is a bit hot. It was her little way to avoid boredom as she didn't want to stay inside the house all day and watch television.
One day, while busy knitting on her balcony, she heard her gates clang which caused her to turn around and notice someone standing in front of their gate. It was a woman with a short hair and has a fair complexion. She looks really pretty and for some reason, she looks like some kind of fashion model that can be found in magazines. Not only that but she is quite sexy and her body is so slender that one must say that she is someone who would make boys desire her. The moment Mrs. Sanchez has turned around and made eye contact with her, the woman on the gate waves her hands and speaks.
"Hello. I am your new neighbor who just moved a few houses away from here. I was just going around and introducing myself to the other neighbors so that I could familiarize the place."
Hearing this, Mrs. Sanchez smiled stopped what she was doing, and approached the gate. As she was getting near the woman, Mrs. Sanchez noticed how the woman's eyes were fixated on her stomach which is already big enough to know that she is pregnant at first glance. She is used to being watched by other people on her big stomach as it is normal but for the first time, she feels uncomfortable by the way the woman before her is staring.
When the two were near and Mrs. Sanchez opened the gate, the woman before her immediately changed stance and averted her eyes from her stomach, and started having a regular conversation with Mrs. Sanchez.
"My name is Alina. We moved in with my mother a week ago over there. We just finished with our move and I decided to talk to my neighbors to introduce myself. I don't want to come out rude and move in without even letting others know about us."
"Oh my, is that so? I am known by everyone here as Mrs. Sanchez because I am a teacher so I would be more used to it if you also call me that as well. Nice to meet you!" Despite the earlier gaze, Mrs. Sanchez didn't alienate the woman and warmly greeted her.
"Ah, so you are currently on maternity leave, am I correct? Hmm, it seems you are in the third trimester of your pregnancy, yes?"
"Eh? How did you know? Although my stomach is visible, it shouldn't be easy to determine how long I was pregnant," Mrs. Sanchez was perplexed.
"Oh, it's because my grandmother is a midwife. She knows the ins and outs related to pregnancy which is why I have some ideas on how to easily see a pregnant woman's stomach and how long have they been pregnant."
Alina's eyes once again linger on Mrs. Sanchez's stomach and her eyes seem to be so fixated on it. But she stopped staring and smiled at Mrs. Sanchez.
"Anyways, pardon for disturbing your time. I am just introducing myself, so I will not hold you any longer. Have a good day!"
Mrs. Sanchez nodded and closed the gate. Although Alina is quite friendly and has a pleasant personality, she can't help but feel nervous about her, especially the moment she stares at her stomach.
"That's weird..."
And so, after that day, Alina started to become a frequent visitor of Mrs. Sanchez. Not only that but she also began to give Mrs. Sanchez some food that she couldn't resist. Food that she craves a lot and something she really likes to eat.
However, after Alina had given her food, she started to feel something weird every night. Every time she tries to sleep, the surroundings feel so hot and for some reason, she can hear something walking at night on the roof. At first, she thought it was just the cats around the neighborhood and were on the heat which caused those sounds but it is a bit weird since the way it steps seems to be heavier to the point that it seems like the room seems to collapse which causes her to not be able to properly sleep at night. There is also the weird quacking sound she sometimes hears from time to time even though there were no ducks in the neighborhood.
And this goes on for days. And that's when his husband noticed her complexion changing.
"Honey? Are you alright? You have been like this for days. Are you sure you are okay?" he asked.
"I don't know, Hon. As much as I want to deny I am alright, I am not strong enough to keep myself sane like this. Even my sleep has been sacrificed. I don't know what to do anymore?"
"Is this because of what our neighbors have been afraid of? The "Aswangs"? I heard they have been on the prowl."
"What are you saying? Aren't those things not real and are just something that are made to scare children?!" Mrs. Sanchez frowned.
"But who in their right mind would do those things to the animals? And even when I was a child, even my Mother said those monsters are real."
"Enough, those guys are not real. Perhaps I should sleep much earlier and not think too much. This might just be stress."
However, that was not the case and her nights have become more hectic. The noises on the roof seem to become wilder and sometimes she can hear something scratching the windows. Oddly enough, only she could hear or notice those things, and her husband nor the two maids couldn't even hear about it.
Her stress has been so high to the point that if the situation continues, she will go crazy.
However, everything changed when Sancho visited their home alongside his classmates.