Lola Yma was surprised to hear the remarks of the person before her.

“A few hours ago, national news reported that two barangays down south have been massacred.” Continued Buboy.

“Massacred?! Such a thing happened. Who could have done it? Which barangays were massacred?” Lola Yma had a foreboding feeling and an image of a person appeared in her mind and was unable to calm down for a while after hearing the massacre of two barangays.

“It was the barangay of New Iloilo, and the barangay of Dumadalig.” Said Buboy, seemingly not able to notice the grave look on the old woman’s face.

“What did the news report say about the massacre?” Lola Yma tried to calm down, but her shaky voice failed to mask her uneasiness. However, Buboy took Lola Yma’s unusual behavior as a natural reaction to hearing such grave news.

“The authorities have no clues whatsoever on who the culprits are, as it is simply impossible for a population of around eight thousand to be killed without no one noticing. Especially the massacre at New Iloilo, as it was reported that the people there were killed a day earlier than those of in Dumadalig.'' Buboy relayed the information he got from the media.

“However, the bodies recovered from both barangays according to the news report, say that the people died in similar fashion – they were either ripped apart or smashed to death. There were no survivors from New Iloilo except for the people who were not there when the killing happened, but on Dumadalig, there were several survivors. It was also reported that two people are missing.” Buboy then ended his narration.

“Two? You mean that boy?” With a raised eyebrow, Lola Yma asked Buboy.

“I’m just guessing, though I personally think it is impossible for him to reach this place within one night, even if he travelled non-stop by bus or by boat.” Was Buboy’s skeptical answer, however, as he was saying his statement, he was looking at Lola Yma, as if trying to tell her something.

Stolen novel; please report.

“You are thinking that the boy is just like me, am I right?” Lola Yma was able to tell what was in Buboy’s mind.

“Well, it is just a hunch lola. Afterall, you are famous in this town, and your story is not so simple either.” A meaningful smile appeared on Buboy’s lips.

“Haays…Whether you are right with your hunches, that still remains to be seen until we can confirm it from the boy itself. For now, we can only wait until he wakes up.” A helpless sigh escaped Lola Yma’s lips.

“Okay then lola, I’ll get going now, some visitors might come again today for some tours.” After delivering the news to Lola Yma, Buboy bid goodbye to her.

When the old woman was all alone in her tiny living room, she could not help but think about the news that was given to her by Buboy. Her brows creased in thought as she tried to make sense of the situation in the south and how could the unconscious Lumawig be related to it. She also unconsciously thought about a person whom she knew when she was younger.

“Could the massacre and the boy be related to that ill omen I have felt yesterday? How are they connected, and what exactly happened in the south?” Lola Yma could not help but think out loud.

**********

As the news of the massacre in Dumadalig and New Iloilo rocked the whole nation in the next three days, Lumawig who had been unconscious this whole time finally showed signs of waking up. It was early morning of the fourth day since he was transported into this unknown place when he started to regain consciousness. However, he did not wake up, but instead he looked to be struggling – like someone who is having a nightmare.

Inside Lumawig’s dream, he is looking at a blurry scene, but clear enough that he can tell what is happening. In there he saw a multitude of black, fog-like beings surrounding him and an old man whose face he couldn't see. He was inside a cave-like structure where the sole entrance to it was blocked by that old man.

After a while, the scene shifted, and then he saw the old man fighting the many fog-like beings. Their numbers were great, but somehow, the old man has the upper hand in the fight. He deployed many techniques that from Lumawig’s perspective seemed magical. Lumawig only noticed the weapon the old man was using when he cut down the first fog-like being. The old man is moving like the wind and everywhere his figure goes, one or more of the fog-like beings would be cut down. However, no matter how many times the old man slashes his weapon, the number of enemies does not seem to dwindle. Though he appears to have the upper hand now, it will only be a matter of time until the old man starts to feel tired.