Flower Palm, Love Potion3

Hello!!!! This is the third part of my love potion series. I never knew I would be this interested in writing all these love stuff.

I have lots of potions and spells to tell you but I guess those should be for the following more weeks. I don’t want to run out of ideas early, you know.

This love stuff I’m about to tell you is more of a supernatural gift rather than what a common man or woman is capable of performing on their own.

It involves what Pinoys call “agimat” or “charms.” And this agimat is more than just some silly religious items that “quacks” or shamanic doctors pray upon. I mentioned “silly religious items” because, here in the Philippines, some unscrupulous self-proclaimed mystical and faith healers sell you these sort of magical items that they claim as the answer to the problems you seek to be resolved; when in fact, it is just some fancy item made out of the usual home made materials turned magical by their traditional marketing techniques.

The agimat, or charm, magical item, or amulet; whatever you want to call it, that I’m talking about is something given as a gift to a very important person by a mystical creature in the forest as a token of appreciation to his good deed.
The one who owned this “agimat” is actually my grandfather on my father’s side who lived back in Mindanao, the southern region of the Philippines.

His story goes something like this. During the World War 2, Japan invaded Philippines and placed the nation under strict political rule and treated its citizens like animals.

Of course, this wouldn’t go on unquestioned and taken for granted. Several of Philippine’s revolting men and women fled to the mountains to fight the Japanese through guerilla warfare.

My gramps was one of these brave men who challenged the Japanese oppressors. It is there in the mountains that he received this very special gift from a mystical creature.

 According to his story, one night while the rest of the guerilla troops are sleeping, he felt as if someone is waking him up, calling his name from deep within the woods.

Restless and unable to sleep, he decided to stroll into a hot spring nearby to refresh a very irritating evening.

All of a sudden, from atop a large stone near the spring, he couldn’t believe what is within his gaze.

There appears to be figures of small people about the length of one’s hand in height stirring some sort of commotion on top of the stone. It’s as if they are ganging up on another one of their kind.

After a while, he noticed the colors of the clothes these creatures are wearing. There were 2 wearing black and then another one in red, they were all beating up a helpless white one. Then, my grandfather hears this poor beaten up creature call his name.

Without further a do, he rushed to the rescue of the creature in distress. He tried to pound the harassers to smithereens but the figures suddenly vanished into thin air including the white one.

He searches for any signs of them around the area but there’s nothing he could find. Finally, he gives up and returns to his camp.

After three days, in a dream, the white small creature resembling a miniature human being talked to him, thanking him for his heroic deed in saving him from the malevolent creatures that was ganging up on him.

In exchange for his help, the creature rewarded him with a small white flower that grows in his hand. Others wouldn’t be able to see it except him. “It will only appear when the right time comes;” said the mystical being.

The war ended but these are the only things he knew about that particular gift. He has no idea if it’s with him already or if it’s just a silly dream that should be dismissed and forgotten.

Finally, at the death of his eldest son due to measles, the creature appeared right before him. It told him that the time is ripe already and that the flower shall begin to blossom shortly after the burial of his son.

The promise of the creature came true. At first, it was just an itchy palm but later he could see white flowers growing out of his palm.

To everyone’s amazement, they would claim smelling a sweet fragrant smell whenever my grandpa approaches although he would always say he hadn’t worn any perfume.

Since then, my grandpa had been popular to girls wherever he goes. He always says it only takes him a wink or a smile and then the next day he would have a new girlfriend.

He had 4 wives before he finally met my father’s mother where he had 8 children and finally settled for good, but the flings here and there which constantly start the fight between him and his wife remained part of his lifestyle.

Before my grandma, he already had a total of 14 children from his former wives and lovers.

After grandma, he had 5 children outside marriage. So all in all, he had 27 children scattered all throughout Mindanao and Visayas, the southern regions of the Philippines.

According to my father, my grandpa is also capable of healing various diseases through a massaging technique or “hilot” applied on the affected part. But he never actively honed this skill since he is not particularly in terms with being responsible to another person’s life.

Another account of my uncle is that his father was also capable of evading attackers when he leans his back on a wall.

One time, when my uncle, my father’s older brother, was still young, he remembers seeing grandpa chased in a public market by three thugs, perhaps someone wants to take revenge on him.

When he was cornered by the three on a concrete wall, he just leaned on the wall facing his opponents and he was able to dodge all of the punches and kicks thrown at him, eventually escaping the three through series of maneuvers and injuring one of them with a broken arm.

My grandpa died at the age of 90, I was 10 then. I wasn’t able to attend his wake since it was very far from Manila and, at the time, it would take you 3 days to reach the place via passenger ships. Airfares that time were so expensive. So, it’s really one heck of a long journey and a burden as well for the whole family to go there.

And so my father decided he’ll be the only one to attend it. But even in his death, according to my father, everyone in the crowd would still be surprised to see an unfamiliar young face weeping on his coffin.

When asked, these mysterious young women would claim to be just a close friend, in fact too close for a friend. Even with the questions answered, most would doubt their stories since my grandpa was notorious for his unfailing charm.

This is my grandpa’s story as told to me by my father. It might sound like a tall tale but I assure you it isn’t.