That evening's dinner, Lolo told stories about their life in the rural mountains. He told about how it never stopped raining which let the rice fields grow lush, and how they were so far-flung that after storms, it took months for the electricity to return.
Before going to sleep that night, I went down to the kitchen to find something to eat. I passed by Ate laying on the couch with her blanket, laughing at her phone. "You're so loud!" I giggled. "You might wake Lolo and Scarlet up."
"Oh! hahaha." She toned down her voice.
After eating a bun of pandesal, I went up to my bedroom and started to try and sleep. There was a rustle, and it sounded like it was from the balcony just outside my window. Then a howl pierced my ears as the window frame shook.
It got cold, too cold. So cold that I turned off the air conditioning. But the cold stayed, even after a few minutes had passed.
"Are there even wolves here?.." I mumbled alone. "I'll just come out and tell Mom once the wolf goes away... I am not interested in getting rabies!"
I wondered how a wolf could've gotten up there. But in that cold, it was not possible to fight sleep, and so my eyes shut, my body slumbered, and my mind paused for the night.
I woke at morning, the sun blazing, acting as if it wasn't rainy season. I checked the balcony and saw nothing but regular footsteps, not that of a wolf. "I guess someone was watching the view earlier, probably Lolo. I think he misses the mountains already." I thought to myself.
That afternoon, I was hanging the clothes on the rooftop again, with Scarlet.
She pointed at our neighbor's house. "Someone wants to talk to you."
"Ha? Who?" I walked up the fence and looked down at the neighbor's roof top.
"Hey! Kuya!" the neighbor's son, who was younger, called me.
I smiled. "Call me Savion. What's the matter?"
He looked around him, like he didn't want anyone else to be nearby. "Last night, that- that old man who visited?.."
I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? That's my Lolo."
"Really?!" He gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, speaking in a quiet tone. "I was playing with the street cats last night, and I saw him on the balcony... he was---upside down."
"Ha?! What do you mean upside down?"
"He was... standing, but with his... hand. He was facing that room, standing on his right-" He stopped to think. "-I mean, left hand."
"Ohhh." I chuckled. "Yeah, he is a bit odd. Don't mind it, he's just been through things."
Later at dinner, Lolo told us a story. He looked at us with a heartful grin. "Do you know the legend of the left-handed wolf?"
"Ay, I don't know those kinds of tales!" Ma insisted.
"They say there's a wolf in the forest! It finds those who've spent their lives well, but have a weakness..."
Ate swallowed a spoonful of rice and ampalaya. "What's their weakness?"
Lolo giggled, enthusiastic. "They say it's a pain, a pain that the person has yet to overcome. He uses it to enter... to take the soul."
My sister's always loved folktales like these. "What does he do once he takes a soul?"
Lolo raised his finger. "He uses it to find a relative with another weakness... and tries to strike again."
Ma shook her head. "No, don't tell the kids scary stories like that! They might not be able to sleep."
Lolo laughed. "But you kids don't have to worry. He can only take souls of those who have lived long enough. Unless... you have pain so deep, scars so terrible, a heart so broken, that even young age can't protect you."
"Okay, I think that's enough. Eat." Ma glared at Lolo, who seemed to have his joyful attitude unbothered.
After eating, I went up early to brush my teeth, and layed on bed to use my phone, when Ate knocked on the door. "Yeah?"
She entered the room, and sat on the bed. "I asked Scarlet if she knew about Lolo's story, and she said yes! So I asked her why was the wolf left-handed, and she said 'something beautiful bit his right hand, trying to protect a beautiful soul.'"
I shrugged. "Woah... uhm... and?.."
"And?! Grandpa is left handed! When he blessed us, he extended his left hand." Ate sighed. "And didn't you hear the howling last night?! There aren't even any wolves in Luzon! And before the howling started, I heard the door of my room creak!"
My jaw dropped. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying our grandpa is a werewolf?!.."
She shook her head. "What? No! I'm not crazy. I think Lolo is just trying to reenact that story he told, I guess? Maybe our other grandma knew that story, and it reminds him of her."
"Ohhh, so like, it's another one of his ways of grieving?"
She shrugged. "I guess. It's... really weird though, right?"
I laughed. "Yeah! His howling was so noisy."
"Hahaha! It was so crazy... that's gonna be a great story to tell to my friends!" She opened the door. "I'm going down now, bye!"
When she closed the door, I was amused by my thoughts. "Woah, that's so weird of Lolo... and standing upside down at it too?.."
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Before I could think for any longer, I felt my stomach grumble. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to rush dinner.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohfbnJddjp
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