Many years back,
Andrew Simmons, an English explorer, visited a small
island of Cagayan Sulu. It is a lonely spot of land
in the Sulu Sea between the Philippine Islands and
Malaysia. There are strange stories in the island
related to a tribe of cannibals with cat's eyes
called 'Berbalangs'.
When hunger for human
flesh urged them, they will lie down in tall grass.
They will then fall into a trance and go hunting for
victims in their winged forms, while their bodies lie
hidden behind tall grass.
The people of Cagayan
Sulu have been living in fear of these Berbalangs for
generations. They warned Andrew that the Berbalangs
make horrid moaning noises that are loud when they
are far away, but grow fainter as they approach. When
they are very close to you, the sound of wings
flapping could be heard and their eyes would move in
the dark, like fireflies.
They told Andrew that
a coconut pearl (an opal rarely found in the coconut)
would keep him safe from the Berbalangs. Without one,
the only defence is a kris (a local traditional
knife) with its blade rubbed with lemon juice. He
tried to buy a coconut pearl, but found out later
that it would only protect the one who discovered it.
It would be powerless if given or sold.
Andrew asked if
anyone would come with him to see the tribe. Only one
brave young man, Matali, volunteered. They started in
the morning and finally reached the Berbalangs's
settlement in the late afternoon. Matali refused to
go any closer, "We've seen it. Now, let's
go."
"We're not
stopping now," Andrew insisted that they go on
further.
"I am not going
in there! If you insist, you go alone!"
Matali smeared his
kris with some lemon juice and handed it to the
daring yet somewhat ignorant explorer. So, Andrew
went in alone. The place looked deserted, only a few
chickens and a goat remained. However, in one hut,
Andrew saw some rice boiling in a pot, as if someone
had just left it there.
Andrew went back to
Matali and told him what he discovered. Matali begged
the Englishman to leave, saying that the Berbalangs
were hunting in their other form. It would be a
suicide to stay there any longer. As the sun was
already setting, they finally make their journey
home.
Before they were even
half way back, it was already dark. Suddenly, there
was this loud moaning noise. "The
Berbalangs…" Matali whispered in fear.
"Pray they will pass by without noticing
us." They both hid behind the grass. The moaning
grew fainter and fainter which meant the Berbalangs
were getting closer and closer to them. Soon, the
sound of flapping wings could be heard. Matali and
Andrew began to fear the worse when they saw
'fireflies' flying over the tall grass. They halted
for a second, as if they noticed something hidden in
the grass, but then left. The moaning began to grow
louder and Matali sighed with relief. "They're
gone," he said. "We're safe for now. Hurry
up, we must go!"
The two raced for
Matali's village. As they ran beneath the tall grass,
they could hear the moaning noises which slowly and
gradually grew fainter and fainter. At one point,
Andrew saw an isolated house. "We must help the
people inside," he told Matali.
"The man who
lives there, Hassan, has a coconut pearl,"
Matali said. "Now hurry! We have to
escape."
Andrew followed
Matali and they got back to their safe village after
a short while. In the morning, Andrew laughed at
himself for believing that story. He thought it was
silly to let Matali's fear and some fireflies scared
him. When he met Matali later that day, Andrew,
however, asked about Hassan. Matali said he lied
about Hassan owning a coconut pearl. Hassan had
arrived a week before Andrew on some research
expedition to learn more about the island. Matali
reckoned Hassan could probably be died by now.
Andrew, insisting
that the story was mere superstition and was not
true, decided to prove himself right by inviting
Matali to go to Hassan's house with him. When the two
of them got to Hassan's house, no one answered to
their calls. They then realized the door was not
locked, so they went in. They saw a desk, with papers
scattered everywhere on the floor. Matali went into
room while Andrew walked towards the desk and see
what was there. Suddenly he backed away and shouted
for Matali. In the corner of the desk was Hassan -
only his skeleton with a few scraps of flesh
clutching a shredded paper.
Suddenly, they heard
moaning noises outside growing fainter and fainter.
And fainter....
