Sigbin Sighting

Beware of Sigbin
It’s the end of the month, and I am already stressing about what to write in this blog! For someone who’s a noob blogger, I am already running out of creative indulgences. I checked in with my network of FB writer groups for motivation or inspiration only to discover that other people have similar issues. I’ve had writer’s block before, but now I’m having a case of blogger’s block! Does that term even exist? Of course, some smarty pants in the network group issued a challenge saying, “You’re a writer, you’ll never run out of stories!”Hmmm… I’ve done a couple of memoirs so far, and I kinda consider myself a reality nut! I’ll even admit that I do enjoy the occasional reality shows; it’s one of my guilty pleasures. That being said, there are some fantasy and mysteries that are real and one has been lurking in my yard!There has been an alien interloper whose been taking dumps in my precious garden!Here’s how it happened: I woke in the morning, to the smell of roses, taking a deep breath of the soothing sea breeze, a cup of coffee warming my hands, I strolled to greet the foliage and I suddenly stopped… narrowly avoiding a heroic lump of excrement in my yard. Ewe!Looking more closely I thought, yuck, is this from an animal or human?I sauntered around my yard looking for any loophole where an intruder could have gained access, but the walls are high, and the gate is sealed proof.

Cats? I’m no dung-expert, but I doubt these scrawny cats could produce such a grand portion of poop. My dogs are tiny 8 lb. Yorkies who expel cute golden nuggets of sunshine. Nope. We were having a serious case of an uninvited nocturnal creature visiting our yard to do its business!All of this had made me suspicious, so when we left for the city, I explained to our dog sitter, Norma. “Watch out, for any animals or teenagers lurking at night crapping in our yard.”Norma volunteered in her broken English, “Yes, when I sweep the garden, I see foreign objects… clearly does not belong here. If it’s dog, how can it sneak? The walls are all tall and locked? No dogs can jump so high!”I had an unresolved mystery that’s bogged my mind, but Norma was on the watch when we left for the city.Three days later, when we returned and after flurry of cavorting Yorkies barking to welcome us, I immediately asked. “What’s up, Norma? Did you catch the culprit?”“Yes!” She exclaimed. “It’s a SIGBIN,” she said. “Look. Hairs on my arms are rising as I speak.” She rubbed them back down into place.“Huh?” I asked. “Seriously?” yes, she was indeed serious!Looking into it I found, that ‘Sigbins’ are nocturnal, they’re creatures of urban legend that lurk in the night, said to be the pets of a ‘Wakwak’ (warlock). They are often mistaken for dogs, but with cat-like features: long large-pointed ears, and said to leap like a kangaroo. In the olden days, when our area was still richly jungled with green foliage, there were a lot of Sigbin sightings. They came out only at night especially during full moon but always shying away from the light. I’ve been told that as the area was slowly developed with resorts and housing their presence have become so rare that they were reduced to creatures of mythical lore. But do they really exist?“I am SO sure they are Sigbins,” Norma reiterated. “I look at it and it looked back at me, with a piercing cat eyes and it sprung on the high wall like a kangaroo.”“I immediately opened the light. They are afraid of light.” She said.“Yeah, yeah,” my husband, Darwin was skeptical. “Are you sure it wasn’t a Unicorn?”

“The last resident in the house, was a German and he was sceptic too!” Norma warned. “The next thing we know, he was very sick and was vomiting up fishes out of his mouth!”So a fish tale? I thought.“How sure are you, it’s not a cat?” I asked. “I’ve seen some animals skulking in the dark before, but they sure looked like cats to me.”Julius Norma’s son who stayed with her while we’re gone because she was afraid, explained, “They can change their appearance and make themselves look like a cat or a bat!” He added, “They are magical creatures that feed on charcoal and cabbage.”“Oh, as long as they don’t feast on the puppies,” I said, overly protective of our fur-kids. “No wonder they hang out at the barbecue area. There’s a large enough supply of charcoal there to feed a family of Sigbins!” I was only half joking, but I was getting a bit nervous. Mostly because Norma was so shaken. I shuddered; it was contagious.“What am I going to do?” I worried for my Yorkie pups. “Do they gobble up tiny dogs?”“No,” Norma responded. “They don’t harm dogs, unless they are cornered. They feast on women’s fetuses! ”“So, okay… luckily were fresh out of those.” I said a deadpan tone. “What am I going to do about this Sigbin invasion?” I bemoaned.
I had a new purpose in life. I was entertaining notions to be a private mystical investigator. Is that even a career path and what would be the prerequisites?

“Don’t worry, ‘Ate’,” said Julius in a comforting tone. “They are supposed to bring good luck! Remember, when Jesus gave the sermon of the mount when the fish and bread multiplied? They have such powers too!”“Too bad, I no longer eat fish,” I said. Darwin and I are going on year two of our vegetarian diet.I began consulting with the local residents in the area.“What?” Emily one of the household helpers said, “They haven’t been sighted here in a long time!”

“But wait, there are 3 pregnant ladies in the village. They want fetuses,” she said.
“No wonder, they are back!”“That explains it!” again only half-kidding.“How do we protect ourselves from them?” I asked. “I don’t want them at all, not anywhere near us!”“There are plants available,” she said. “I’ll bring you some bamboo shoots to ward off the spirits!”“Yes, hot stuff like dry chilis and garlic flakes is a protection too!” Jade suggested. He’s a wonderful cook, and he does the garden weekly. “And metals! Do you have a bronze metal?”“Of course, I just got what’s perfect weapon for mass destruction.” My Yorkie bronze door knocker. I got it as a farewell present lovingly handmade from my good friend, Darby!“It’s on our front door.” I indicated pointing. Emily said, “Ah, that figures, see your lemon tree is all chewed up! If they can’t enter the front door, they get mad and aggressively gnaw at your trees!”It still didn’t make that much sense to me, but I was comforted to know that at least we had a bronze gargoyle protecting us.
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