“Sabel! Mawi! That is enough playtime! Come home and get some rest, we will be eating dinner in a while.” Called Lola Yma.

“Okay lola!” Sabel answered cheerfully.

While Sabel seems energetic, Mawi looks exhausted after spending a day with the little girl. Though most of the time was spent with him just looking at Sabel while she and her playmates played, there were times that Sabel would just sit beside him and talk incessantly. Her topic would range from the latest wound or scratch she got from playing to the time when she tried to grill some random leaves using a match thinking they would taste good. Mawi found it hard to keep up with her babbling, an amusing sight, really.

Sitting on the bed that the townsfolk made for him, Mawi could not help but think about the spirits that Lola Yma had mentioned to him earlier that day. Mawi then felt that there is a burning desire in his heart to learn as much as he can about them and the babaylan. The young man was deep in his thoughts when Lola Yma stepped out of the bedroom holding a book. It looks to be hardbound with dark green covers, the pages stained yellow with its age. It does not seem to be ancient though, but it still looks old.

Seeing Mawi deep in thought, Lola Yma did not make any sound, and just stood a few steps from him. It was at this time that a lively voice called out to Lola Yma and Mawi.

“Lola! Kuya! Why are you two so quiet? Did you make lola angry, kuya?” Asked Sabel when she saw that Mawi and her Lola Yma were quiet.

“Hmm? No, I was just thinking something.” Replied Mawi, a warm smile appearing on his face.

“Okay! I thought you made lola angry. She is scary when she is angry!” Sticking out her tongue, Sabel teased her kuya.

“Lola, have you been standing there long?” Mawi just noticed Lola Yma standing a few steps from him.

“Not that long. I was about to give this book to you when I saw you deep in your thoughts, so I decided to wait. Who knew this little girl would disrupt your thoughts? Oh well, since you are already ‘back’ with us, here, read this book. It will help you a lot.” Lola Yma flashed a warm smile, as she handed the book to Mawi.

Mawi received the book from Lola Yma, and immediately he noticed the weight of the book. As it was too thick than most normal books, it was obvious that the weight would be greater as well. Mawi needed to expend some effort just to hold the book.

“Lola Yma was only carrying this book with one hand. How come this is so heavy?” Mawi thought to himself.

He then looked at the book. The cover has no title, and there are some bits and pieces of paper, sticking out from the book, like notes. All the pages, including the notes sticking out of it are yellowish in color. Signifying that the book is at least a few decades old. The number of pages easily exceeds five hundred, and there was a musty smell on the book. Evidence that it has been stored for a long period of time.

Opening the book, Mawi immediately saw the title “Giya sa Pagkilala ka mga Espiritu” (Guide in Knowing the Spirits). Mawi was surprised, he did not expect that Lola Yma possessed something like this; curious, he turned to the next page and he saw a short, hand-written dedication that reads:

“This book was created to serve as a guide for the people in knowing the Spirits. To know what they are, their behaviors, to know what limits them and how to interact with them. This book was also created for the Babaylans, so we may continue to preserve our ancestors’ knowledge and continue our sacred duty of being the bridge between the humans and the spirits.”

Mawi felt his heart race after reading the dedication. It seems that the one who wrote the book had a great aspiration. Then he looked at the author of the book, and there he saw the name of the person who aspired to preserve their heritage: Cecilia Lantawon; under the author’s name, the word “Babaylan” was written.

“Hmm? Lola Yma did not write this book?” Mawi was surprised upon finding out that it was not Lola Yma who wrote the book. Mawi wondered who was this “Cecilia Lantawon” that wrote the book, and by looking at the word below her name, it meant that this “Cecilia” was also a babaylan.