It was Rigen's idea.
Terrible, horrible, magnificent idea.
"Tita Glad, you've been alive for 173 years. When's the last time you dated?"
Glad choked on her blood spritzer. "Dated?! I'm a supernatural creature! I can't just—there's no Tinder for aswangs!"
"Actually..." Rigen pulled out her phone. "There's an app for everything now. Look."
She showed Glad a dating app called "CreatureComfort" with the tagline: "Find your monster match."
Glad stared. "This is real?"
"Supernatural dating is a whole niche market. Vampires, werewolves, aswangs, even the occasional kapre if you're into tall, smoking types."
"I'm 173, not dead. Wait, kapre? Those cigar-smoking tree giants?"
"They're very loyal, apparently. Also great at reaching high shelves."
Against her better judgment—which had served her well for nearly two centuries—Glad let Rigen create a profile.
Username: GladFliesHigh
Age: 173 (but looks 50, she's had work done)
Species: Manananggal
Interests: Night flying, blood spritzer mixology, avoiding Mang Berting, my cat Anino
Looking for: Someone who doesn't mind that I leave my lower half at home sometimes
Within an hour, she had 47 matches.
Within two hours, she had 127.
By the next morning, her inbox was a chaotic mess of supernatural suitors.
Vlad_BloodKing: Hey girl, vampire here. Love your wings. Want to compare fangs sometime?
GladFliesHigh: I don't have fangs. I have teeth. Normal teeth.
Vlad_BloodKing: Oh. That's... disappointing.
GladFliesHigh: I can still eat you.
Vlad_BloodKing: ...kinda hot tbh
Kapre_Karl: I'm 15 feet tall and smoke imported cigars. You?
GladFliesHigh: 5'4" on the ground, considerably larger in the air.
Kapre_Karl: I like a woman with options.
AswangAriel: Hey, fellow Pinoy creature! Tagal na kitang finafollow sa TikTok. Ganda ng wings mo.
GladFliesHigh: You're an aswang too? What type?
AswangAriel: Dog form. I turn into a black dog and scare people.
GladFliesHigh: That's... actually kind of adorable.
AswangAriel: Thanks! Want to meet up? There's a new blood cafe in Cebu.
Glad paused. A blood cafe? In Cebu?
"Alexa, is there a blood cafe in Cebu?"
"Searching... Yes. 'The Bleeding Bean' opened last month. They serve ethically sourced blood beverages and pastries. Average rating: 4.5 stars. Reviewers recommend the hemoglobin latte."
"A coffee shop for creatures," Glad breathed. "In MY lifetime."
"You've been alive for 173 years. That's several lifetimes."
"Shut up, Alexa."
She looked back at AswangAriel's message. A date. A real date with another creature. Someone who understood.
"Rigen!" she called. "How do I respond to a date invitation without sounding desperate?"
From the other room, Rigen yelled back: "Just be yourself! But maybe don't mention the eating thing until the third date."
"THAT WAS ONE TIME IN 1887 AND HE DESERVED IT."
Anino looked up from his nap, eyes narrowed with judgment.
"What?" Glad said defensively. "He was a Spanish friar. They're not people."
Anino yawned and went back to sleep.
Some things never changed.