Laya breaks the first rule of the flower kingdom: Never fall in love with a human.
She is secretly in love and wants to move in with Yohan, that handsome new guy she encountered at the garden border. The problem is, she can't, thanks to her controll...
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Have you ever heard stories about fairies? I did. When I was growing up, I heard and read so many stories about engkantos, mostly engkantadas and diwatas. They are mythical environmental spirits. Engkantos is actually the umbrella term for sirens, fairies, elves and other dark beings that live in trees, specifically the Balete tree. Every year, when I was a little girl, my mom and my aunts would take me to our province in Cagayan Valley, Philippines for a vacation. At the time, back in the early 90's, their house was just a little Nipa hut made of bamboo. The pigs and chickens lived underneath the house. I remember being so scared whenever I heard scratching noises and my cousins would tell me it's probably an Aswang (Mythological creature). The house was tiny and they only had a small battery powered radio and a kerosene lamp. The whole family would gather on the bamboo floor and we would listen to my grandpa's stories about his weird experiences. I grew up being fascinated by it even up until this day. I believe it when people tell me their own engkanto sightings. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. Whenever I see fireflies, my neighbors would advise me to stay away from that tree because engkantos dwell there.
I grew up saying "Tabi tabi po" in Tagalog. It's like saying "Excuse me" whenever I walk through the grass and bushes. Especially when I'm driving around a circular sharp curved exit and I knew someone died there. I say "Tabi tabi po" and "May you rest in peace". I do the sign of the cross when I complete the exit. There's no harm in doing it. My husband in Hawaii, 12+ years ago had an accident while driving around a sharp curved exit. His wheels locked and he couldn't control the steering wheel. He said he wasn't speeding because the only damage to our mini van was a small dent in the front of the bumper. The cops who spoke to him said that a lot of accidents happen in that area and I found out that there was an ancient Hawaiian graveyard right next to it. It was the Aiea Plantation cemetery. I was like, oh. No wonder.
When we moved into our townhouse two years ago, my husband tripped over the front door stairs. Later on, I tripped over as well. It was just mind boggling how both of us tripped. We never tripped in our previous apartment where we lived in the second floor. My coworker who believes in engkantos advised me to sprinkle salt around the front door and say a little prayer just to be sure. I also have to say sorry because they might end up tripping our son as well if I don't do it. So far, things have been peaceful here at home. She had a hunch that we accidentally hit them while walking towards our door. It was the same thing with my brother back in 2007 in the Philippines. My friend's mom went to an albularyo (faith healer) and brought my brother's picture because he was diagnosed with cancer that year but he was already in Hawaii with us so he couldn't be there physically. She was hoping that maybe my brother could be healed. The albularyo told her that my brother accidentally stepped on an engkanto while he was in the bathroom. He also described that there was a tree right in front of the bathroom where the engkanto lives. I've never seen the back of the house they rented, and when I told my mom, she did confirm there was a tree in front of the bathroom. I had goosebumps when I heard that. It was too late to do an offering since my brother's condition worsened as the days went by.
The first story that pushed me to finally write this story after years of planning and procrastinating was a Webtoon by Cibeles (One of my fave artists), based on Guarani mythology called When Jasy Whistles. My comment regarding engkantos got second top comment on episode 2 in her story (I'm siricruz there btw. haha) Anyways, Jasy Jatere is one of the cursed children and is one of the important gods in Guarani speaking cultures of South America, especially in Paraguay. He resembles the engkantos that were usually seen in the Philippines. Light blonde hair, blue eyes and are described as beautiful people.
Wings of Gold is about a diwata (Fairy) that was born without any powers or wings and falls in love with a human. Yes, you've heard this story before. It's not original, but I believe that every story is unique, so I'll make sure to spin my own version here. The second story that inspired me to continue is the Chinese fantasy drama, Love and Redemption, based on the novel The Glass Maiden by Shi Si Lang. I enjoyed Love and Redemption so much that the word "Redemption" ended up on this book cover that I made. :P
This story will have a lot of mythical creatures, as well as gods and demons. But it's mainly focused on romance and the hardships they will encounter along the way.
