DUEN DE CASA

The dwarf stared up at Carlo with a charming smile, he wore a brown tunic and sported a
salakot on his head. Carlo had been exploring outside to look for dragonflies in the tall grass behind
their house but instead found a huge mound near a tree where a small old man sat lazily. He had,
of course, grown up on stories of elves, and mermaids, and tall coconut giants that lived in the
province. Actually seeing one, however, was a different matter altogether.

“You’re an engkanto!” Carlo exclaimed.

“Indeed I am,” the dwarf replied lazily.

“Wait ‘til I tell Mae” Carlo grinned. Carlo and his six-year-old sister Mae was forced by their Dad
to visit their grandparents for the summer but found their house in the province boring as there
was no wifi, no cable, and worse yet, no signal on his phone. Whereas Carlo decided to explore
outside, Mae decided to play with her dolls.

The dwarf snorted. “Like she’d believe you.”

“What are you doing in here anyway? My grandparents might get mad if they found out, you
know.”

This time, the dwarf giggled. “They’ll get mad? Well isn’t that cute. Say, come sit by my side and
let me see you closer.”

This should have been an automatic danger sign for any sensible person but Carlo was just a kid,
cut him some slack. He sat next to the dwarf and found that there were precious stones embedded
around it.

“Wow!” He exclaimed. “Can I have one of those-”

“Help yourself.” The dwarf answered without missing a beat.

“Aren’t engkantos supposed to hide from humans?” Carlo asked him, pocketing one of the
glittering rocks.

“Oh but I’m not just an engkanto, I’m a duende.” The dwarf winked at him.
“What’s your name?” Carlo asked,

“I’m called Agnolay around here.”

“That’s a weird name. But then, my Dad calls me Dodong and my Lola calls me Kaloy and I guess
those are weird names too.” The dwarf laughed at that and Carlo laughed with him. Suddenly, they
both hear Lola Nanay calling out Carlo’s name.

“I guess I should go back now.” Carlo turned to go but the dwarf on the mound hopped off his
mound and blocked Carlo’s way.

“Wait, wait, I smelled some delicious food up there and I haven’t eaten in ages. Could you perhaps
give me some?” The dwarf inquired.

“Sure!” Carlo said, then thought for a moment. “But you have to give me some of your jewels!”

“Deal!”

Later in the afternoon, Carlo returned to the dwarf with some puto and some orange juice he
snatched from the kitchen. The dwarf ate them ravenously and drank the juice with gusto.

“Don’t you have tuba or lambanog?” The dwarf asked, smacking his lips.

“Lolo can’t drink anymore so he stopped making them.” Carlo picked up some jewels from the
dwarf’s mound, they really were very pretty to look at.

“What do you do around here anyway?” he asked the dwarf.

“Well, I guard this house of course!” The dwarf exclaimed proudly. “I can cure any disease or
inflict them on any intruder, I can sometimes turn into a white deer, I can give good or bad luck,
and I give wisdom to those who need it!”

“Wow! Do you think you can cure Lolo’s leg?”

“Tell you what, if you promise to give me food every day I’ll make sure your family will have
good luck!”

“Deal!” The pair shook hands and the boy left the dwarf alone except for when he had to give him
food.
Carlo made sure to bring the dwarf some food every day and the dwarf, in turn, kept his end of the
bargain. Carlo’s grandfather’s leg stopped aching and his health improved, his father, who was
suffering from writer’s block, was able to write again, his blind grandmother could see again, and
there was always good food in the table. Life was good.

It wasn’t long when Carlo started noticing that things were taking a turn for the worse. His
grandfather who was up and about almost every day went on to drink almost every night and was
always grumpy to everyone. His dad almost had no time for him and was shutting himself in his
room. His grandmother, whose blindness was cured, went back to gambling, selling all of their
chickens to pay off debts. Worst of all, his sister suddenly had a bout of fever and rashes erupted
all over her body but nobody was doing a thing to help her.

Carlo remembered what the dwarf told him and how he could cure any disease and immediately
took to the mound where the dwarf lived to seek his help. He ran as fast as he could and when he
got there, the dwarf eyed him curiously.

“What,” the dwarf asked, “brings you here, boy?”

“Please!” Carlo pleaded. “We have no more food left, I don’t know what to give you but my sister
is sick! You have to help her!”

The dwarf frowned. “Bring her to me.”

Carlo dashed back to the house. Mae was in her room, shivering despite the layers of blanket he
covered her with. Carlo saw that the rashes had spread all over her body and had turned to scabs,
every time he brushed against his sister’s skin she would whimper in pain. He covered her up with
some blankets and carried her to the dwarf’s mound.

“Oh dear me.” Remarked the dwarf. “What an unpleasant malady we have here. Hmmm, I know
just what to do.” The dwarf then vanished and soon reappeared with what appears to be some
suman.

“Eat this.” The dwarf ordered Mae. Mae’s eyes widened in horror as the dwarf pushed the suman
forcibly in her mouth but no sooner had the suman touched Mae’s lips than her skin cleared in an
instant. Taking a single bite immediately rejuvenated her and she devoured the whole thing
ravenously. Carlo let out a sigh of relief, he made the right choice of going to the dwarf.
“Oh thank you so much! From now on I’ll double the food I give you-”

“That won’t be necessary.” The dwarf cut him off. “I have what I need.” He snapped his fingers
and more suman appeared. He offered one again to Mae who greedily accepted.

“What do you mean?” Carlo laughed nervously.

The dwarf grinned maliciously. “Well, see, I need your sister to be my bride. And now that she ate
food from my home, she’ll never hunger for anything of this world ever again and would have no
choice but to live with me. See?” Mae had taken another suman.

“Mae, let’s go home.” Carlo said with conviction but Mae was too busy eating. This time he
pleaded but his voice reached deaf ears. “Mae please!”

With another snap of the dwarf’s fingers, Mae and the platter of suman disappeared. The color
drained from Carlo’s face

“Bring her back! Bring my sister back!” He cried angrily. “Mae! Mae! Come back!” He shouted
at the forest nearby.

“She’s not here anymore, get it through your head.” The dwarf snidely said.

Carlo turned to the dwarf. “Bring her back or I… I’ll,” he looked at the mound. “I’ll destroy your
home!”

At this, the dwarf stood up and glared at Carlo. Suddenly, the dwarf’s body took a dark hue, his
toenails began growing in the opposite direction, his nose elongated, and his eyes became glowing
hearths of fire.

“You’d dare threaten me? Do you not see who owns this place? I was old long before your
grandparents decided to build their house here.”

“W-what are you?”

“I am the nuno, the old man of the mound, I am the guardian of the forest, I’m called Kibaan and
Lampong, I am plague-caster, curse-giver, and I… I am Duen de Casa!

At this, he threw sand on Carlo’s face and promptly disappeared. Carlo clawed at his eyes as the
sand burned his face off and his skin melted. He felt himself shrinking in size and his legs turning
to slime. His spine pushed itself out of his body and began to shift and curl into a shell. Carlo had
turned into a snail.