When Alkan Buena showed up in San Roque, people couldn’t help but talk. He was a stranger, dressed too well for the small, dusty town, and the way he carried himself made everyone curious.

Although curious, they had no guts to ask the newcomer especially when he brought the old mansion in the middle of the woods which was the home of the fallen Buena clan.

It was said that whoever brought the house will bear the wrath of the gods.

But Alkan thought that he had already bore the wrath of the gods since birth, and made his life a mess thus pushing him back to this old and remote town.

It's because two months ago, his parents died in an accident, his elder sister died in her sleep, and his older brother died of an illness. Due to consecutive deaths of his family members, the debt they left behind all fell on his shoulders.

He had no choice but to sell his properties and bring his wife, Valeria, into his old hometown. In order to bring food to the table, Alkan decided to become Manual Jimenez's business partner.

At dawn, Alkan stepped out of the car. He gazed up at the opulent mansion of the Jimenez family. He wasn’t surprised by their wealth; after all, he had once lived in San Roque and knew exactly who ran the town.

Valeria stayed behind at home, claiming she wasn’t feeling well, though he knew she just didn’t want to roam around San Roque. He didn’t insist because, aside from wanting to present himself to Manuel as a business partner, he had his own motive for the man.

He wanted to confirm if his suspicion was correct—that Manuel either possessed some kind of power or had knowledge about the Tribal.

“Good day, sir.” A guard approached him with a smile. “Who are you?”

“Alkan Buena. Is Mr. Manuel inside?”

The man paused for a moment before nodding. “You must be Mr. Buena. Sir Manuel has been expecting you.”

Alkan followed the guard into the mansion, passing through a garden of fragrant flowers as the sun rose in the east. His favorite among them was the white roses along the edge.

“Please come inside, sir,” the guard said.

He tore his gaze from the roses and wordlessly stepped through the door. Soft music greeted him as he entered. His eyes wandered until they landed on Manuel, who was talking to a servant.

Minutes passed before Manuel noticed him. Still standing by the door, Alkan saw the brief flicker of surprise in Manuel’s eyes before he smiled. “Alkan, glad you could make it.”

Alkan nodded as Manuel ushered him to an elegant sofa and even invited him to breakfast. He politely declined, explaining he had already eaten at home.

Manuel chuckled. “It’s nice to have a wife, isn’t it? You never go hungry,” he joked. Alkan merely smiled. Ignoring his silence, Manuel continued, “My wife died during the town fiesta. She drowned in the river.” He sighed deeply.

Unsure of what to say, Alkan remained silent, occasionally nodding in response.

Manuel observed him with amusement. “You’re a quiet one,” he remarked, shaking his head before taking a sip of coffee. Then he stood up and invited Alkan to go out.

Alkan found himself seated in Manuel’s car, listening as the man narrated folktales about the places they passed by.

“That’s the old cemetery. Do you know the story of this place?” Manuel suddenly asked.

Alkan glanced out the window, his eyes landing first on the archway at the cemetery entrance. The inscription on the arch was unreadable, except for one word that caught his attention: Batumbakal.

It was carved into the arch, confirming they were indeed at the old cemetery in Sitio Batumbakal. According to the elders, all the graves here contained only banana trunks, as the balbal had devoured the freshly buried bodies.

“There are no bones inside that cemetery,” Alkan remarked, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the entrance. He thought he saw someone standing inside, but in the blink of an eye, the figure vanished. He frowned. Was it just an illusion?

“That’s what some say,” Manuel replied. “But they never considered that perhaps the people buried in the old cemetery might still be alive.”

Alkan quickly turned to Manuel, his heart racing. The man was still staring at the archway, but Alkan’s pulse quickened at the implication of his words.

“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice serious.

Manuel glanced at him, chuckling when he saw the intensity in Alkan’s expression. “Just a theory. Pure imagination. It’s not real.” He restarted the car and drove away from the cemetery.

Looking into the rearview mirror, Alkan gasped when he saw a man standing at the cemetery entrance. The man was dressed in a barong tagalog, staring directly at him!

Suddenly, the mysterious figure grinned and vanished from the mirror. Even so, Alkan’s heart pounded, and his face turned pale with fear.

“What’s wrong?” Manuel asked, though his tone suggested he wasn’t particularly worried about Alkan’s sudden pallor.

Alkan shook his head and exhaled deeply. If only Manuel knew there was a ghost watching them from the old cemetery, he might panic and cause an accident.

They spent hours touring the entire town of San Roque. Alkan realized he hadn’t visited many of the places in his childhood town. Their last stop was the San Roque River.

The river was located in a secluded sitio, rarely visited by people. According to Manuel, people avoided the river because of the belief that malevolent spirits lived beneath its waters.

Alkan shook his head. It seemed every place in San Roque had its own folklore, except perhaps the plaza where the municipal hall stood. Still, he wasn’t sure if all the tales Manuel shared were mere fabrications. To him, there were beings whose existence couldn’t be explained, living among humans.

“Once, a fisherman came to this river,” Manuel began. “He wanted to fish here, but before he could catch anything, he screamed in terror. He claimed to have seen a sirena eating someone’s entrails in this river. Since then, the Mayor has banned people from coming here out of fear. The townsfolk wanted to capture the sirena and kill it.”

In folklore, a sirena or a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a young female and a lower body that consists of a tail of a fish. Many people believe that a sirena could cause men to go crazy upon seeing her face.

Alkan raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t anyone guarding the entrance?”

Since the Mayor banned this place, there should be someone guarding the entrance, right?

Manuel laughed. “No. People are too scared to come here so no one stood to guard this river. But don’t worry—I got permission from the Mayor.”

Alkan fell silent, unable to confirm if a sirena really haunted the peaceful river. He leaned on the railing of a small waiting shed, noticing a large, round rock beneath it.

The river was desolate. No noise, no movement. The green waters seemed to be sleeping. What puzzled him most was the absence of leaves or any debris floating on the surface. It was as if someone cleaned it daily, leaving him unsure whether the river was flowing or stagnant.

They only stayed at the San Roque River for a few minutes. There wasn’t much to see there, and something about the stillness of the river unsettled him. It was too calm, almost unnaturally so, as if it wasn’t a normal river at all.

By the time they arrived at Alkan’s house, the headlights of the truck were already on as dusk settled. All the lights in the house were on, and Valeria stood at the doorway, waiting for him.

He smiled at her, but the expression vanished when he saw her furrowed brow. “What’s wrong?” he asked, stopping in front of her.

Valeria looked up at him, staring for a few moments before shaking her head.

Alkan frowned. “I know something’s wrong. Just tell me.”

Valeria swallowed and motioned for him to come inside. With a furrowed brow, he followed her.

She stopped in the living room, quickly turned to face him, and leaned closer. “There’s someone in my room.”

Alkan inhaled sharply, his gaze snapping toward the staircase. His jaw clenched as he grabbed Valeria’s arm and led her to the kitchen. He closed the door connecting the kitchen to the living room and turned to her.

“Who?” he asked through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing.

Valeria stepped back, seemingly startled by his expression. He exhaled and softened his features. “Do you know who it is?” he asked gently.

Valeria took a deep breath and shook her head. “They were already there when I entered the room.”

“What did they look like?”

Valeria blinked, her brows knitting together. “I didn’t see their face clearly. They were standing near the window, with their back to me. But…” She paused, her voice trailing off. “I noticed black feathers on my bed.”

Alkan froze. Black feathers? If he wasn’t mistaken, a Sawikin had entered Valeria’s room!

Sawikin is a tribe of winged men -- divided into two races: black winged tribe and white winged tribe. When Valeria saw black feathers, it means that the Sawikin who entered her room belonged to black winged tribe.

Alkan's lips pressed into a thin line, and he quickly made a decision. "Stay here," he said. "Lock this door and don’t open it unless it’s me knocking."

Valeria’s eyes widened. "But what if it’s a bad person—"

"Don’t worry." His expression softened as he took in her worried face. He reached for her shoulders and pulled her closer, wrapping her in a comforting embrace. He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Wait for me," he said before gently letting go.

He quickly stepped out of the door and locked it himself before shutting it tight. He walked back to the living room, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He wasn’t disappointed.

“Looks like someone broke into your house,” Gio said, leaning casually against the doorframe. His white wings were spread wide behind him.

Gio is part of the white winged tribe that followed him around when he first arrived in this old town. This creature is sent to ensure his safety.

Alkan was more than happy to let this white sawikin follow him, for whenever Gio's around, the shadows around him seemed to vanish.

“Valeria told me. And I think whoever it was belongs to the Black Wing Tribe,” Alkan replied, his brows furrowed in frustration.

Gio scoffed. “What did you do this time? Why is one of them here?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Alkan defended himself. “They just suddenly showed up in the house and even revealed themselves to Valeria. It’s a good thing they didn’t do anything to my wife, or I’d make them regret it.”

Gio’s eyes narrowed as his gaze traveled from the top of the staircase to the closed door where Valeria was hiding.

“They’re gone,” Gio suddenly said.

Alkan raised an eyebrow at the statement. The sawikin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “They’ve been gone for a while. Didn’t you even check if the intruder had already left before you started complaining to me?”

Alkan fell silent, frowning as he looked up at the staircase. He couldn’t hear any movement from upstairs. Could the sawikin really have left?

“A sawikin only leaves after they’ve accomplished what they came for. Didn’t your wife tell you anything?” Gio suddenly asked.

Alkan’s gaze shifted back to the sawikin. “What do you mean?”

“What else? If the sawikin didn’t come here for you, then they must have come for your wife. Didn’t she say anything else?”

Alkan thought for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he recalled something. “She found black feathers on her bed.”

“Black feathers?” Gio’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked thoughtful. “If she found black feathers on her bed, it only means…”

Alkan’s ears perked at Gio’s words, and he glared intensely at the sawikin. “What does it mean?”

Gio looked at him before stroking his chin and glancing out the open door.

“It means… the sawikin has already shared a bed with your wife.” Gio turned to him with a sly grin. “Looks like the sawikin beat you to it.”

He just smiled faintly at Valeria and tried to avoid her question.

"The party's tomorrow. Are you ready?" he asked.

Valeria blinked and lowered her gaze. She fiddled with the sleeves of her long-sleeve shirt. "I don't really have a choice," she whispered.

He sighed deeply. Fortunately, Valeria didn’t press further. He couldn’t predict her reaction if she found out that a sawikin was watching over her. He remembered how she froze in place when she first saw the strange phenomenon in the sky, and how she trembled when she saw the black sawikin in her room.

"I'll just prepare what’s needed. Call me if you need anything," he said before heading up the stairs.

He didn’t notice how Valeria looked at him. There was a flicker of emotion in her eyes before she looked down and headed to the kitchen.

Valeria stopped in her tracks when she saw the black sawikin in the corner of the kitchen. She pursed her lips and looked away.

"What do you want now?" she asked in a low voice.

Unbeknownst to Alkan, the black sawikin hadn’t actually left the house. It had stayed inside and never left her side. She had seen it over the past few days. At first, she was afraid, but eventually, she grew used to seeing the sawikin wherever she went.

The sawikin grinned and squinted its eyes as it looked at her. "Did you know that there are two sawikins in this house besides me?" he asked Valeria.

Valeria stopped advancing and glanced at the sawikin. "Don’t lie to me."

He shrugged. "I thought you wanted to know why your man seems crazy, talking to no one but air?" His grin widened even more as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "The truth is, a sawikin is watching over you, but because I'm more powerful, it can't see me. Don’t stare at me, or the sawikin might find out you're also going crazy like your man." Black sawikin chuckled slightly.

Valeria squinted her eyes and looked away. She quickly prepared lunch and forced herself not to look at the sawikin's spot.

If what the sawikin said about its kin watching over her was true, that could only mean one thing: Alkan had a connection to the white sawikins. The black sawikin had already told her about the Tribal land -- the place where creatures like the sawikin came from, and although she didn’t fully believe it yet, the power and abilities that she had witnessed with her own eyes couldn’t be explained by science. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to believe, even if she couldn’t trust the face of the sawikin man.

That’s why she didn’t want Alkan to know the black sawikin hadn't really left. She knew he’d just worry and blame himself. The sawikin had said it wouldn’t leave her side until it got what it wanted, but it wouldn’t tell her its intentions. It just followed her around and rarely interfered with her life. So she decided to let it follow her.

The next day, Valeria prepared for the celebration. It was already four in the afternoon when they left the house. The black sawikin was still following her.

Meanwhile, Alkan couldn’t understand why his heart had been racing all day. He had a bad feeling about going to the Mayor's mansion. It felt like something big was going to happen.

He sighed. He glanced at the woman sitting in the passenger seat and smiled. "You're beautiful," he complimented.

Valeria smiled softly and looked out the window.

Before long, the car stopped at the entrance of the mansion. Alkan got out first and opened the door for Valeria. She gave him a smile before taking his arm.

They entered together. The loud music welcomed them, and he froze for a moment, stunned by the number of people at the celebration. But what he didn’t expect was to see some familiar faces from his old classmates. He blinked, suddenly reminded of Yalke, one of his friends from back then. I wonder how that guy is doing now?

"Alkan?" Valeria called, bringing him back to reality.

He led her toward the Mayor’s position, where a group of people he assumed were influential in life were talking.

"Mayor," he called.

The Mayor turned and faced them. "You’re here," he said with a smile. He stared at Valeria for a few seconds before nodding to her. "I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Valeria. Your wife is truly a beautiful woman, Alkan." The Mayor turned back to him.

He simply nodded and smiled at the Mayor's compliment. He didn’t know why, but something felt wrong in that place. It felt heavy, even though the music was quite lively.

The Mayor invited him to meet some influential families in San Roque, while Valeria excused herself, saying she would sit in the corner and wait for him. He didn’t protest since he knew Valeria didn’t enjoy gatherings like these.

After several minutes of introductions, hours passed by unnoticed. He didn’t realize the time until everyone started heading to eat dinner.

He excused himself from the Mayor and quickly went to Valeria’s spot, but she wasn’t there.

Unbeknownst to Alkan, Valeria had gone outside to the garden. She hadn’t planned to leave the mansion or abandon the man inside, but a sawikin had insisted that she go out. It didn’t like the noise, so it forced her to step outside.

She couldn’t stand the sawikin's persistence, so she stepped out. She walked in the garden for a few minutes before sitting on a stone bench near the fountain. It was in a corner of the garden, so no one was around.

"It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?" the sawikin asked as it sat beside her.

She glanced at it and scowled. "I’ll come back later," she said.

She sat there for several minutes. It was dark in that part of the garden since the sun had set in the east a while ago. Only the lights from the mansion and the round moon provided light.

She scanned the surroundings. "You said there’s a sawikin following me. Why am I only seeing you?" she asked.

It stayed silent for a few seconds before replying. "Because you haven’t fully opened your eyes yet."

"Why... Alkan...?"

A sly smile curled on its lips. "His eyes were opened a long time ago." Its eyes narrowed as if recalling something. "His eyes opened when they once went to Surikong’s store."

Surikong? Why does that name sound familiar?

Even though she was confused, she didn’t press further and instead asked about the white sawikin. "Is he here?" She was asking about the sawikin connected to Alkan.

The black sawikin laughed. "He won’t find you because I’ve erased your presence here."

She looked back at the sawikin, puzzled. "Presence? What do you mean?"

"He knows you’re here in the garden, but he won’t be able to find your exact location."

It took a few seconds for her to grasp its point. Her eyes widened, and she stood up. "What do you plan to do?"

The black sawikin stared at her and grinned ear to ear. "Do you want to go to the Tribal?"

Valeria’s mouth hung open in shock. Before she could speak again, the sawikin wrapped its arm around her waist and flew into the sky, holding her in its arms.

Only two black feathers were left in the air. Slowly, they fell to the ground.

Alkan looked at Gio who was silently leaning against the wall. His gaze questioned where Valeria was. The sawikin frowned. Alkan didn’t waste any time and quickly stepped out of the mansion. Everyone was busy, so no one noticed him when he made his way out.

"Where is she?" he asked in a low voice.

Gio followed him, and when they reached a quieter place, he answered. "Tura said Valeria is in the garden. But he can’t find her exact location."

Alkan frowned. "Can’t find her exact location?"

"It seems someone hid her presence. Only the black sawikin can do that," Gio said.

He fell silent for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Black sawikin?" He thought of the black sawikin that had visited his house. He cursed under his breath. "I swear, if that bird dares to hurt her, I’ll roast it!"

Gio was stunned and looked away. He grimaced. After all, one of the things sawikin hated the most was being roasted like a bird.

Alkan quickly reached the fountain at the far end of the garden. Valeria wasn’t there, but he saw two black feathers lying on the grass. He squinted.

"Looks like the black sawikin took your woman away," Gio said as he stopped behind him.

He looked up at the night sky. The moon was bright and round. A cool breeze blew, but his mind was blank.

"What do they want from her?" he mumbled under his breathe.

Gio looked at him, then gazed into the distance. "I’m not sure. But it seems that your woman is special."

"Does black sawikin knows you’re watching over me?"

Gio was silent for a few minutes. "It seems so." He sighed. "If I’m right, they’ll use Valeria as bait against you."

Alkan’s frown deepened. "I’ll find their den, those bastards," he cursed and gritted his teeth.

"You can’t!" Gio immediately interrupted. "You’re not ready to face their tribe. If they’re using the woman as bait, I’m sure they won’t harm her. There’s still a chance to get her back. You need to wait for the tribe’s next move."

"But—"

"They won’t harm Valeria until they have you. Do you understand?"

But Alkan’s frown didn’t disappear, so Gio sighed heavily and said, "Just think, if they had any ill intentions toward Valeria, they would have killed her the first time they saw her. But they haven’t done anything. So the only thing you can do now is wait."

Alkan clenched his fist. He was about to speak when, from the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow. He turned to look and froze. There was a black sawikin standing among the flowers, staring at him. The creature had been hidden in the darkness, so he hadn’t noticed at first, but as he looked in its direction, he saw its red eyes glowing brighter.

Alkan gasped. His knees weakened in fear.

Gio also looked in the direction he was staring at and stood upright. Like Alkan, he hadn’t noticed the black sawikin’s presence. Gio furrowed his brow. It seemed that the black tribe was using something to conceal their presence. This was not a good sign.

"Where did you take her?" Alkan asked. Though his body trembled with fear, he forced himself to ask for Valeria’s sake.

The black sawikin stood silent for a few minutes before stepping into the moonlight. Its black wings were spread open, and a smile played on its lips as it looked at Alkan. Alkan clenched his fist. "Where did you take her?!" he asked.

The black sawikin giggled. "Seems like the leader chose the right woman."

Alkan squinted, his fist tightening. "What do you want with her?!" he asked again, his teeth clenched in anger.

Is this black sawikin deaf or plainly stupid? Why is this bird not answering his questions and made him ask again and again?!

"Ah?" The black sawikin held its chin and narrowed its eyes at him. "Nothing. The leader just wants to take a good look at her."

The words hit Alkan like cold water. His gaze grew even sharper. "If you lay a hand on even a strand of her hair, I’ll kill you all!"

The sawikin laughed and shook its head. "Alkan Buena, don’t speak too soon. You may regret what you’ve said today!" the bird said before flying off into the sky.

Alkan’s body shook with suppressed rage. His eyes followed the black sawikin until it disappeared from view. The silence in the air lingered for several minutes.

"Follow it," he whispered to Gio.

Gio blinked. "What?"

"Follow it. Hurry! Don’t let that damn bird get away!"

But Gio stayed standing behind him. Alkan took a deep breath and turned to face Gio. "What? Aren’t you going to follow?"

Gio furrowed his brow and looked up at the sky. "It’s not the right time for you."

Alkan cursed again. "What’s the right time? Did you hear what it said? If I don’t save Valeria, those bastards might do something to her!"

"Calm down, Alkan."

Alkan cursed repeatedly, pulling at his own hair. He quickly left the garden and searched for the guards stationed at the entrance of the mansion.

"Why did you let her leave?!" he shouted at them after telling them about Valeria’s disappearance. "Damn it! You should have gone with her! She’s a woman, she doesn’t know her way around here, and you just let her wander off?" He cursed again. "If anything happens to my wife, you better hide because I’ll find you and tear you apart!"

Just then, the mayor came out of the mansion. Some guests, who had heard his cursing, followed behind.

"What’s going on here?" the mayor asked the guards with a frown and turned to Alkan. "What happened, Alkan?"

Alkan closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t calm down. He turned to the side and kicked a bench. It tipped over. He heard the guests gasping.

He gave the guards a sharp look before wordlessly heading to the parking lot. He got into his car and drove it out of the gate.

Even though he knew the mayor had nothing to do with what happened, he couldn’t help but direct his anger at him. If the mayor hadn’t forced him to attend the gathering, he would’ve been at home and Valeria wouldn’t have been taken by the black sawikin.

But a part of his mind told him that no one was really to blame for what happened. If there was anyone to blame, it was the sawikin that had suddenly appeared in his life.

"Alkan," Gio called. He was already sitting in the passenger seat. Using his power, he had passed through the closed passenger door.

Alkan scowled and gripped the steering wheel tighter. He ignored the sawikin until they arrived home. He quickly went to his room and sat on the bed.

He needed to calm down. He had to calm down, or he wouldn’t be able to save Valeria. He closed his eyes tightly and breathed deeply. Repeatedly.

Since his eyes were closed, he didn’t see the dark shadow that emerged from his body.

Unlike before, the new shadow was darker and thicker. It circled Alkan for a few seconds before it shoot back in between his brows.