Be Killed Or Fight

I've been reading some stories from Philippines about the aswang/ghouls, and I happen to have a experience with those night creatures.

I was 15 that time and my aunt (my mom's cousin) was 7 months pregnant with her first child. My aunt lived with me and my maternal grandparents since her husband was working in another city. There were 2 rooms in my grandparents' house. I occupied one and the other room was where my aunt sleep since my grandparents sleep in a bed in the kitchen since they said that it's cold there at night. The room I occupied was in front of the house and the one my aunt occupied was near the garage. One hundred meters from my grandparents' backyard is a forest.

One night I decided that I'll be sleeping with my aunt in her room. I just have a guts that I need to sleep with her that particular night. My aunt and her husband believes in aswang/ghouls who feeds on unborn childs, so my aunt always had a garlic and salt which they said that aswangs are scared of garlic and salt. She even have a machete beside her, a rosary from Vatican and a balisong (butterfly knife) under her pillow.

After we watched some dramas, we decided to sleep then since staying up late is not good for pregnant woman. At around 2.30 am I suddenly awake by a sound of "ik ik ik ik". I opened my eyes and I felt chills all over my body. It's not dark in the room since my aunt sleep with the night light on. Then the ik ik sounds again but it's not that loud, like it was from afar. Since I knew something about aswangs because of my aunt and her husband, I knew right then that when it sounds far, the truth is it's really close. I switched on the light and tried waking up my aunt but she just grunts.

I was so scared at that time that I grabbed the machete and and a bunch of garlics. I smashed the garlic using the machete so the smells of the garlic surrounded the room... Rub some garlic in the machete and some salt... Then the sound of ik ik was there again. My hand that's holding the machete was trembling from fear. I grab the rosary under the pillow of my aunt and put it in top of her belly. Then a loud gust of wind can hear outside the window.

The window in my aunt room has a metal railings bar that surrounded the windows but one window pane was broken. There I saw a pair of glowing red eyes staring at me and then at my aunt... I was trembling in fear that time but there's no room for fear that time because I know that it's between be eaten alive or fight. I chose fight. I tighten my grip in the machete and pointed it at the monster outside the window... It looks like a big bird with huge wings. It hissed at me. So I started cursing at it with loud booming voice. I told the creature that I am not effin scared of her/him and I am ready to fight him/her. That time my aunt was awake now and petrified at what she's seeing.

The monster just hissed and started to flapped its huge wings but it's still in the window staring at us. My aunt was holding the rosary so tight with garlic and salt surrounding her and the balisong. I began cursing again at the aswang and began throwing the smashed garlic and salts in it. It growls. It's a chilling growl that makes someone knees tremble but I hide my fear and started to shout that I am really not afraid of her/him and I'll kill her/him if it won't go away. I'm just bluffing that time, I know in myself that I am no match in that kind of creatures... I started swaying the machete and cursing at the aswang. My aunt was praying so hard behind me. Then suddenly a gun shot! And someone cursing from the outside...

I grabbed that opportunity and throw the remaining garlic and salt in it then it growl again and flapped its huge wings... Hissed at me and flew away... I told my aunt to stay at the center of the house with the rosary and balisong and I grabbed some garlic from the kitchen and another batch of salts... This time my grandma was with my aunt now... I saw my grandpa with his hunting gun... And outside I saw my uncle who lives next door... I exit the house still with the machete and a big caltect halogen flashlight... I told them what happened and searched the surroundings... The monster was gone and never came back... Months later my aunt gave birth to a healthy baby boy...

I thank God for the metal bars in the window and thank HIM because HE never let something bad happened to us that night!