FicWad

Maliyah and her golden shawl

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NOTE: This is my own take on the Little Red Riding Hood/Golden Hood tale. Even though it's based off the Italian version, this story is set in the Philippines. Instead of a wolf, I decided to put in an undead being called an Aswang. There are also many references to other Filipino beings in this story. Just to let you know, this is not the "Red Riding Hood" tale you grew up with.

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There was once a petite and pretty village girl, who wore a gold shawl. Her real name was Maliyah, but people called her "Pinto Panyulon" meaning "Little Golden Shawl" She always wore that gold shawl over her clothing. It was given to her by her grandmother, alongside her purse, her ring and her shoes. It was said that these items were bathed in holy water and that is what made them so special.

One day, Maliyah's parents baked some food for Mailyah to take with her. She was given banana fritters, chicken buns, violet yams and even a bottle of coconut liquor for her grandma.

"Be careful on your way to your grandma's house. Many odd creatures lurk in the forest and not all of them are friendly." Maliyah's father told her.

"I understand." Maliyah said in a cheerful tone of voice and off she went with the food.

---

Meanwhile, Grandma was getting ready to cook dinner, but there was that crow that always started to taunt her. "Go away!"

But the bird still started to taunt her. "Okay, taste this!"


So Grandma threw a piece of hard bread at the crow, knocking it off the window. "Ah, at last."

As grandma looked out the window, a trail of feathers were in her face, scarring her in the process. Right behind her, a strange, sinister figure appeared. The figure was obviously female with long black hair, red eyes and pale skin with veins poking through it. She also had another mouth on her lower torso, which consisted of a mass of red flesh with appendages coming out the bottom. This creature brought terror to every villager that sighted it, and grandma was no exception.

"You......You're an ASWANG!" cried Grandma.

The Aswang laughed at her." Very good old lady. Prepare to meet your demise."

"No, you can't" Grandma screamed as she started to frantically search around the house for repellents, but unfortunately for her, there were none around the house. Before she knew it, the Aswang had a tight grip on the old woman, so tight that she could barely struggle.

"After I finish you off, I'll take care of your granddaughter."

"NO! not my granddaughter, Take me, but please, DON'T TAKE MY GRANDDAUGHTER!" Grandma screamed. But it was too late for her. The Aswang wrapped her two mouths around the old woman and started to suck the blood out of her. Grandma's body started to weaken and when there was no blood left, the Aswang lets go of her and she falls to the floor.

"Oh, I just can't wait when she comes!" the Aswang cheered as she took on the form of the deceased old woman. "But I shouldn't let this body go to waste....I think I'll use it for food."

---

Maliyah was out in the woods now. As she stepped into the forest, she was greeted by the Alans, whom were bird-like spirits. "We mean no harm Ginto Panyulon. Please give us your banana fritters and we shall help you."

So Maliyah gave the Alans her banana fritters. "So, what do you need."

"Here, take off your shoes." the Alans said. As she did, one Alan poured hot pepper juice all over them. "Please forgive us if your shoes are damp, but the Aswang hates hot peppers. The peppers give them stomach aches."

"Thank you." Maliyah replied as she took off further into the forest. As she went further, she stopped when she saw the Kapre, the hairy giants that live in the forest.

"Please give us your chicken buns Ginto Panyulon. We'll help you get rid of the Aswang that lurk here."

So Maliyah gave the Kapre her chicken buns. "How shall you help me get rid of the Aswang?"

"Give us your purse." the Kapre said. As she gave them the purse, the giants filled them full of garlic and gave it back to her. "The garlic will give the Aswang nasty headaches."

"Thank you." As she puts her purse back on, she heads even deeper into the forest. As she was almost reaching the end of the woods, lovely fairy-like creatures called Diwatas tugged at her clothes.

"Can you please give us your violet yams Ginto Panyulon? We'll help you get rid of the Aswang."

As she gave the Diwatas her yams, she pulled out the bottle of liquor, hoping the Diwatas would be pleased with her. "I bet you're all thirsty too, so I'm also giving this coconut liquor to you guys too."

"Here, for your kindness, take this." The Diwatas gave Maliyah a curvy sword in a silver sheathe. "This is the Kris blade. With it's holy powers, it's sure to damage the Aswang greatly."

"Thank you very much." Maliyah said as she took off, but one Diwata stopped her from doing so.

"Wait!" the Diwata said. "You're not fully protected yet. Here, give us your shawl and ring."

As Maliyah gave the Diwata her ring and shawl, they poured a strong either coating on it, so it won't get damage no matter what. After that was done, she puts on her shawl and ring again. "Thank you."

She waved to the Diwatas as she left the woods and caught site of Grandma's house.

"Ah, she is coming." The Aswang in the form of her grandmother said. "Wait until she tries some of my food I cooked."

"Hi Grandma!" Maliyah said cheerfully. The Aswang smiled and tried everything she could to hold back her laughter.

"Well hi little Ginto Panyulon. Dinner is just ready for you to eat."

The Aswang gave Maliyah some of her meat buns. As she tasted it, she knew something was not right. "Grandma, I don't think you cooked these all the way through."

"Oh, I'm sorry." The Aswang said, trying to sound sincere. "Here, try some liver."

And so, Maliyah tried some of the liver. "This is strong tasting and I can't finish it all. Can you have the rest?"

"Why sure." The Aswang said. She loves the liver the most, but was disappointed that she only got half. "Here, try some of this meat with adobo sauce."

Again, Maliyah knew something was not right. "Well, maybe I'm not hungry right now."

This made the Aswang even more disappointed. "Well, come to bed. We can eat more tomorrow."

Maliyah got to lay down in a hammock like bed with her "grandmother". She felt her skin and asked, "Grandma, why are you so cold?"

"Because I have no time to bathe in hot water."

But then, Maliyah started to smell something foul. "Grandma, what's that foul stench coming from?"

"Probably came from sweating too much. You know how hot it gets."

Now Maliyah noticed something odd about her grandma's voice. "Why does your voice sound different? You sound very different."

"Because I have more to drink, so I won't become dehydrated."

But then, as she looked her in the eyes, Maliyah noticed that her reflection was inverted. She now knew that it was an Aswang. It couldn't be anything else. "Grandma, I can't go to sleep until I relieve myself."

"Very well." The Aswang replied. "Go outside and relieve yourself."

"Okay." Maliyah said nervously as she left the room and went out of the house. She picked up her sword and attached the sheathe to her clothes like a belt. She started to frantically look around the place. To her horror, she found her grandmother's bloody remains. She wanted to scream so bad, but that would only get the Aswang's attention.

"Oh god, the Aswang. How could she?" she whispered to herself nervously. "She made me eat parts of my own grandma. I can't believe this! I just..."

Maliyah felt nervous and slightly scared, but she knew she had to avenge her grandma's death or else the Aswang would go after her. So she pulled her sword out of her sheathe and stormed back into the house. "You.....you killed my grandma and tried feeding her remains to me. You're not getting away with this!"

"But my dear Ginto Panyulon, what are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me!" Maliyah shouted. "You are an Aswang and you killed one of my loved ones."

"Please don't do this." The Aswang pled. This only made the girl even angrier.

"DIE!" Maliyah yelled as she drove the blade into the creature's thigh. Black, slimy blood started pouring out of the wound. Then Maliyah swung the blade at the creature's hands, managing to cut off a finger or two.

The Aswang was now furious and reverted back to her normal, more menacing form. "Well young lady, you're one smart girl. But too bad you're not smart enough to live."

The Aswang started to attack the girl. No matter how many times the Aswang would strike her, Maliyah managed to fight back by cutting off some of the appendages on her lower torso. But as she started to slice at the appendages, more started to surround her, apparently knocking the sword out of her hands.

"You must die!" the Aswang howled as she drags Maliyah down to her mouth located at her torso. The mouth opened and started to engulf the young girl. Maliyah felt herself being dragged into the Aswang, but knowing what she was equipped with, she didn't struggle. "Now I got you!"

The girl now started to take off her shoes and purse. As she did this, the Aswang started to feel sick. As her shawl and ring gave off a holy aura, the Aswang couldn't take it anymore and spits her out, the creature's teeth came with her.

"Maliyah...!" a voice said. "Now's your chance. Strike her in the chest with the Kris blade."

And so, Maliyah approached the Aswang and held her sword above the creature. "This is for you grandma!"

"No.....no......" the Aswang pled. With that, the girl struck the blade into the creature's chest until the top of the blade was poking out her back. The Aswang started to screech and gurgle with black blood spewing from her mouth. Maliyah started pounding the blade further until the Aswang went limp and struggled no more.

"Oh my....I just killed an Aswang!" Maliyah gasped to herself. Out from the Aswang, came the spirit of her grandmother.

"Thank you for freeing my soul, dear Pinto Panyulon." Grandma said. "You slayed an Aswang with your sacred artifacts. To have proof of this, cut off the creature's head and present it to your parents."

So Maliyah gets out her sword, and severs the Aswang's head from the body. She picks up the head and puts her sword back into its sheathe and heads back home.

---

When Maliyah came home, her mother comes up to her and hugs her. "Oh Maliyah! Me and your father were so worried about you."

"It's okay mama, I took care of things."

As her father came in to the room, he notices Maliyah with a few scratches on her and her new items. "Maliyah, what happened to you? Your shoes and purse are gone."

"And where did that sword come from?" her mother asked. With that, Maliyah shows her parent's the Aswang's head. "You....killed an Aswang? But how?"

And so Maliyah told her about the spirits of the forest giving her repellents, surrounded her in various auras and gave her a sacred sword. She told her parents on how she avenged her grandma's death and how she slays the Aswang, giving her grandma's spirit her well deserved peace. Her parents were both moved and impressed with what Maliyah has accomplished.

"That was quite a feat." her father said. "You should go rest up. You look exhausted."

"Yeah, I am kind of tired." Maliyah said as she puts the Aswang's head on the pole outside her house. Then she hugged her parents. "Good night mama, good night papa."

So Maliyah headed off to bed, putting the sword nearby her when she sleeps. It's said by some people if you kill an Aswang and retrieve its head, it will keep other evil spirits away. The whole family got a good night sleep, with no worries in the world.