Halakhak

After the tearful moment we start to read again. Well he actually reads as I browse, still looking for any lead about portals. We stay there for an hour with no leads that I start to kick the walls in frustration. When Cedric hears me beating the innocent wall, he comes near me.

"Hey kuya what happen?" He looks at me like I'm some crazy person.

"I'm still looking for any hints on how to create a portal. Many days have passed but there's nothing." I gritted my teeth as I kick the wall again.

"Do you know who can make portals?" He grabs my shirt and pulls me away to the poor wall.

"Diwatas, engkantos and magical beasts but only the powerful ones and the portals can't cross planes. Deities don't need a portal they can just cross." I tell them that as I tried to control my emotion.

"Too bad we don't know anyone with that kind of power. There are some magical beasts outside but we can't talk to them." His voice is full of disappointment.

"Why do we need to talk to them?" I think his on to something.

"Picture this, if we know someone or some beasts that can create portals we can interrogate him right? On how to create portals? It can give us hints how to cross plane. But there's no one who can create it… tsk." Well I know someone. Suddenly it clicks…. I know someone who can teach me! Even though he just can create portals for his space, Halakhak can do it. He can teach me!

"My bunso! My brother! You are a genius!" I kiss his forehead and started to run.

"Where are you going?" I stop running but my energy is so high I jump several time as I answer his question.

"I am going to the forest for some lead. "

"Why? What can you do about it?"

"I will tell you next time, promise. Just stay here okay?"

"That's fine; this book is amazing that I can't stop reading it. It is a journal about an Agua falling in love with a Mondiale. This is the first inter-factional relationship. I get the sequel too; it is in the Bathala section… I don't know why though" He said to me smiling.

"Yeah… yeah… good book. See you later." I start to run again.

"Be safe!"

I run to the exit and straight to the forest. Someone greets me and waves at me but I never stop running. Before I reach the forest I heard Eric shouting at me as he tries to catch up. He sits and pants as I stop and wait for him.

"You are really fast."

"Need something?" I help him get up and wipe the sweat in his forehead with my shirt.

"Can I come with you?" I asked him why and he said that he needs to see the wonder of this world that he barely knows. He is brave enough to follow me because he is 100 percent sure that I will protect him. At first I refuse it but he threatens me that he will still follow me even if I like it or not. So I let him. We stop for a while for me to strip naked. He gasps and looks away, asking me why I have to do this.

"My clothes will burn when I shift." So he begrudgingly waits for me to be fully naked and shifted to my Apoy form. "I'm done." When I said it to him, he finally looks at me and stares at awe. We enter the forest and proceed quietly. I see him struggling to walk as fast as I am floating and notice that his feet are hurting. So I decided to carry him.

"Shit! What are you doing?! I don't want to get hurt!" He asks in fright.

"You will not burn from my fire, I assure you." He stops struggling when I said that. Then he asks me why my clothes burn when I shift. I told him that I can only control fire when I shift to my diwata form.

"Can we do it in piggyback style?" I'm carrying him in a princess style and he feels awkward. I laugh and refuse saying that this is the only style I want.

"You're holding my fucking butt." He said in indignation but I ignore him.

He sees a lot of magical beasts and he fascinatingly watches them especially because all of them are looking at him curiously. We arrived to Halakhaks' house and I shout his name. A portal opens on the tree in front of us. Eric gasps in shock but I laugh with glee. All this time the answer for my problem is what I see every day.

"Friend! Do you… Do you bring another book? I want uhmm… I want the happy ones." Halakhak appears inside giggling, excited to see me. Eric startles as he see a Bungisngis. I enter his house and sit on one of his chair and Eric sits beside me. That is when he notices him. "Wow, a tasty human. Is that a gift for me… wow, the last time I ate one was… was… when my mama was alive."

"This is not food, this is a friend." Eric whispers at me if I understand Halakhak and I said yes. Apparently he only hears us growl, giggles and grunt. I only smile at him.

"So you also eat humans?" I ask him surprise that he is also capable of eating human.

"I eat meat and plants! I am omni… omnivero… I eat them both!" He pounds his chest and looks at me proudly. "But… but… I don't want to leave house so I only eat fruits from my tree." He giggles again.

I told him what I want that day and inquire if he can still make portals. He nods as he giggles and makes one in front of us. I watch in fascination as I see through the lake of Berberoka he quickly closed it afraid that someone will see it and enters. I ask how he made space like his home, he doesn't know; apparently his mom did this. I ask him if he can teach me how to do it. When I saw him thinking I quickly followed it by saying I will give him a reward for teaching me.

"How… uhmm… what is the reward." Giggles as he is excited on what it is.

"I will give you chickens and pigs for you to take care and cultivate when I come back from my plane. So you can taste meat again."

"Why them? Can you… can you give me humans? The uhm… last time I ate humans was when uhmm.. When mama was alive" He asks shyly in exchange. I refused to do it and threaten him that if he eats humans I will stop to be his friend. He got scared and begun to cry again afraid to severe our friendship he agreed quickly. Eric slaps my shoulder reprimanding me not to hurt the poor Halakhak.

"Where did your mama gets humans?" Curious if he gets it from the city or not.

"From the deities of course! Or diwatas or engkantos." My eyes open wide when I hear that. Deities give them humans? I ask him how he knew it.

"They… uhmm… they go here. We hear boom! One of them is flying with few humans at the ground. They said EAT then they poof. They're gone. Sometimes diwatas or engkantos use human to uhmm… to exchange on something." Deities giving them humans to be eaten? I'm not surprised by the Engkantos but the Diwatas too?! I look to Eric in trepidation.