"the spirits actually like you.", tommy offered at the other end of the phone call. he had consulted with the elders of sagada asking them to ask the spirits in turn why i was struck motionless after a trek through an isolated part of the mountains. i believed i had trampled on some sacred grounds on that unfamiliar territory displeasing some unseen residents. they seem to have banished me to live the rest of my life on villia's sofa, unable to walk as both my ankles were swollen to papaya size.



"the spirits are not letting you loose from your communion with them.", he reveals much later on after i had realized that they struck me down to allow the discovery of a more life-threatening situation that was about to happen to me.



during that phone call to tommy, i had already spent three horrible days in notre dame hospital getting rehydrated. that was when the doctors discovered my aneurysm ( eventually correctly diagnosed as pituitary adenoma that, if left unattended, would have led to my blindness ).



in the meantime the spirits of sagada were still enjoying my company and wouldn't let me go. the elders of sagada performed the ay-ayag to plead with the spirits to release me.