Wings of Gold

PROLOGUE

Wings of Gold

PROLOGUE

Cagayan Valley, Philippines - 1999

     "I already told her not to go near that tree, but she still did," cried Amparo as she rummaged through an old wooden dresser. "She never listened to me. I knew it. I knew this day would come. We should have just stayed in Manila if I ever knew that this would happen." 

     "Amparo, please," the old man placed both of his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Celeste will be fine. Trust me. All we need to do right now is go see Mr. Arnulfo. At this point, he's the only one that can solve this problem."

     "I agree with your father," Amparo's mother chimed in as she stepped into the room. "Everyone here in the village knows how good Mr. Arnulfo is."

     "You guys are insane for going to that old quack," Ella, Amparo's eldest daughter, complained upon hearing her grandmother's words. "Let's take her to a real doctor. Celeste is basically a vegetable right now. We don't even know if she's ever going to wake up."

     "Ella is right," Amparo agreed. She got up and wiped away her tear-streaked cheeks. "My daughter needs the proper medical care. Mr. Arnulfo is just an albularyo. He works with medicinal herbs and that's not enough to save Celeste's life."

     "How would you know if you don't try?" Amparo's mother hugged her daughter. Tears were now streaming down her cheeks. They both turned to look at Celeste. Her face was pale, almost lifeless. "Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, we'll bring her back to Manila."

     Three days had passed since Celeste got sick and fell into a coma. One of the neighbors, an elderly woman, Angelina, was drinking coffee by her window when she saw Celeste playing in the garden near the Banyan tree. At first, she thought how cute it was when she saw the little girl jumping around as if she was trying to catch something in the air. She looked closely and realized that Celeste was actually chasing around a large black butterfly. A black butterfly? Panic took over. She has never seen one before, but she heard quite a handful of weird stories from the village people when she was growing up, especially from her grandparents. While black butterflies are often associated with death, some people believe they are a symbol of rebirth.

     Her heart raced when Celeste ran toward the tree and started climbing it. Without giving a second thought, Angelina cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at Celeste to be careful. Panic took over when she saw the little girl fall down the tree. She cried for help and quickly ran out of the house to inform Celeste's parents about her accident.

     "It was the black butterfly," Angelina said. Amparo stopped folding her daughter's clothes. She looked up at Angelina with a questioning look. "I'm sorry I failed to mention it earlier."

     "What about the black butterfly?" Amparo stood up. "Tell me what really happened to my daughter!"

     "Calm down, Amparo," her father held her hand to comfort her. "Let's listen to what Angelina has to say first."

     Angelina walked over to the bed where Celeste was. She did the sign of the cross and closed her eyes. She whispered a little prayer before she turned around to face Amparo. "I'm not sure if you're familiar about the black butterfly stories that was circulating around the village for decades."

     "I've heard about them," Ella replied with a clipped tone. "But they're nothing but stories. Plain stupid fiction cooked up by the elderly so that city folks, like us, won't do stupid shit around these areas."

     "Language," Amparo snapped. "Ella, please. We're trying to investigate what happened to your sister."

     "Sorry, Mom," muttered Ella. "I'm just really worried about Celeste."

     Amparo sat down on a wicker chair. "I've heard about black butterflies before when I was a kid. They said that the black butterfly is a harbinger of doom, that it brings death to people who sees it."

     Angelina exhaled and held Celeste's hand. It was as cold as marble. "Yes. She is nothing but an empty shell right now."

     "What?" Amparo cried. "Are you telling me that my daughter's already dead?"

     "She's not really dead," Amparo's father stepped in to provide a little relief for his daughter. "Her soul was just... taken."

     "Taken? What do you mean?" Amparo started tearing up again. Her chest began to tighten upon hearing her father's words. She knew very well what he meant. She simply refused to believe it.

     "The Engkantos took her," Angelina finally said. "And we're not sure if they'll ever bring her back."

❤️ AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you for reading, guys! I do hope to see you again here. <3

XOXO
Katie