If there was one thing that Tasio had repeatedly told his young apprentice not to do, it was to never go into the enchanted forest alone. And just what does the boy do? He goes into the enchanted forest alone, of course.
“So,” the old magician asked, squinting at the young boy. “What has happened now?”
The young man pursed his lips. Opened his mouth to reply, before shutting it immediately. Suddenly the boy became very interested in the toes of his boots. Tasio rolled his eyes.
“Let me guess, you got involved with a diwata, didn’t you?” the boy nodded. Tasio felt a headache coming on. The diwata were a troublesome folk, especially as you can never quite tell whether they meant good or bad, and apparently the young illustrado had just gotten in trouble with them. Great.
“Actually, you might want to be fair with the young lad,” a voice called from the windowsill. It was a tiny diwata, with bits of moss clinging to his clothing and strands of spider silk caught in his hair. “He did save my life, you know.”
Tasio blinked. Once, twice, before bringing his hand up to his eyes and groaning. “Diyos ko, this is even worse than I thought.”