Literary Works by Cheto See

 Janos, Solaso, and Daniya travel to the Kingdom of the Woodfolk to find a missing girl. The Engkanto or Tamawo of Philippine Folklore, while not unheard of, are not as popular among the Filipinos as the Aswang, Kapre, or Duwende. I personally find this disappointing as they are one of the most popularly known entities in folklore from all over the world, known most commonly as Elves and the Faerie world. That's right, we have our own local stories about them!  The question is: were they passed down from ancient trade routes, or were the stories simply true?

 This is an edited excerpt from a graphic novel I had started writing in 2017, in the midst of the dark times the Philippines was having. It was about a cynical Anthropology student whose dear friend was killed in the drug war, who accidentally finds himself in the affairs of ancient Tagalog deities after he accidentally awakens one who had been imprisoned for trying to incite an apocalypse of humankind. I had always planned to have it published as a graphic novel in time for the next election for its message about humanity, but I had always been short on resources, so I'm publishing this excerpt now, which I will take down in a few days. Trivia: You will notice that I use the term diwata to refer to them as deities. Diwata is a Filipino word used to refer to spirits of nature, which comes from the Sanskrit devata , which means "divine." I believe that in precolonial times, to the natives of the Islands, these spirits of nature were divine; and it wasn't until the ...

 Mga balita ng missing persons sa Maynila ay tumataas habang mga usapin ng mga panibagong Aswang na namamahay sa siyudad ay napag-aalaman.

 Reports of missing persons in Manila arise at the same time rumors of a new Aswang den in the city surface.

Dalawang Kaatiman ay nakakita ng mahiwagang nilalang sa mundong-Karaniwan na may dinaramdam na malubhang sakit.

 Two Gatekeepers find a magical creature in the Mundane world that is afflicted with a grave illness.

PANIMULA Sa mga Kapuluan ng Pilipinas ay madalas magkwento ang mga tao tungkol sa mga anino na nakatira sa mga matatandang puno, mga mangkukulam na nakakapag anyong-hayop, at kung anu-anong mga nilalang na nagkukubli sa dilim na hindi nabibilang sa mundo na ‘to. Ang iba sa atin ay naniniwala dito, at ang iba ay itinuturing lang itong mga kwentong katutubo. Pero paano kung tama nga sila? Paano kung mayroon ngang mga nilalang na hindi nabibilang sa mundo na ito? Paano kung nabibilang sila sa sarili nilang mundo? At kung gayunman, paano sila nakakarating dito? Ang Kaatiman ay isang hindi-magkakasunod na pagtitipon ng mga kwento na sinusundan ang mga Kaatiman , isang lihim na kapisanan ng mga tagapagbantay ng mga mahiwagang lagusan, sa kanilang pagtuklas sa mga kababalaghan sa mundo ng Hiwaga at sa pagpuksa nila ng mga banta sa mundo ng Karaniwan, at sa kanilang pagsisikap na panatilhin ang kapayapaan sa mag-kabilang mundo. Ang mga kwentong ito ay kabilang sa mas malaking pangunahing kwe...

INTRODUCTION In the many Islands of the Philippines, the folk often tell stories of shadowy figures who dwell in ancient trees, witches who shapeshift into beasts, and monsters creatures that lurk in the dark that do not belong in this world. Some of us believe them, and some of us brush these stories off as myths. But what if they were right? What if there were creatures that actually didn’t belong to this world? What if they belonged to a world completely of their own? And if they did, how do they get here ? Kaatiman is a non-chronological collection of short stories that follow the Kaatiman, a secret society of gatekeepers who can travel between worlds as they explore the wonders that await in the Magic world and snuff out the terrors that threaten the Mundane world, and strive to keep the balance. These short stories are an auxiliary part of a linear story set in a universe that I had created in 2013 when I was working as a costume designer for a local TV station. I had actually...