The Shadow Man on the Mango Tree

Photo Not Mine
Credits to: https://letterpile.com/creative-writing/a-scary-love-story

It was the end of summer in 2010.

This experience barely left my mind despite years have passed. The shadow man on the mango tree continued to be one of the scariest encounters I have ever had.

I was spending a normal summer afternoon with my younger nieces in our balcony. My grandfather's house was the best place to spend the afternoons because it was surrounded with fruit trees and bushes creating a magical facade. My nieces named Micah, Zocelle, Alyssa, Tisha, and the youngest was Ayana, all ranging from 4 to 9 years old. I usually watch over them whenever I'm outside and they all love to play on the lawn especially under the mango tree my mom had planted when I was in 3rd grade.

I was talking with my sister at the balcony while having the entire view of the lawn and the mango tree when a chicken suddenly dropped dead from the branches. My nieces noticed it and began to flee from the lawn. I got up and went to have a closer look and saw a dark human figure hugging the trunk behind the branches. It was already dark and whatever was that hiding, I knew it was bad.

I found out that my neighbor's chickens were resting on the mango tree so I shouted to get their attention and told them that one of their chickens fell. I gathered my nieces all together in the balcony and my sister went to pick the youngest, Ayana since she was still staring at the tree.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw there was a small orange orb behind the branches, but I realized it was the tip of a tobacco cigar. I knew the color because my father is a heavy smoker. I stared at it and I saw it began to climb down the tree. The children saw it and I quickly pushed them all in to the house, but at the same time, I noticed there was a girl who ran straight to the attic, but there was no time to think about that.

I have everyone in the living room and asked my sister to keep the children safe before I headed to the dirty kitchen. The scariest thing about going there was that the mango was just a few steps away from the windows. The windows had nothing on it. It was completely open, I do expect that that figure would have gone in. I was so scared but I had to do something. I completely mustered the courage to shout and curse the creature out of the house, and even ended up praying to God. 

It was so scary that another chicken dropped dead with a twisted neck. I was ready to kill. I quickly looked for my dad's machete under the stove and found the rusty old machete that he used to cut the fruit trees back then. I went to the window and started shouting.

It was strange because the adults weren't there. There were no adults during that time. Silence befell on us that when I started hearing the karaoke machine from our neighbors, I knew it was gone. I went to check the children and my sister who had told me that there was no one in the attic, but I was very sure that someone went there.

Soon, my father came back asking me what happened because he heard the children crying loudly and my screams were heard from my aunt's house. I got mad at my father but I was glad that it was gone. I told him what has happened and he went to check the tree the next day.

He found scratches of on the drunk and one of the thickest branches were snapped broken. The chickens remained did not come to the mango tree again.

After that incident, I never stayed out in the balcony. The children were allowed to play until 4pm in our balcony til then that was the scariest experience I have ever had. My father believed it was a "kapre" who was trying to scare us off, but whatever that was, it changed my image about the mango tree my mom grew.