THE AUTHOR

David Hontiveros is a National Book Award-nominated and Palanca-winning writer, with three horror/dark fantasy novellas (under the Penumbra imprint) out in the market. His short fiction has appeared in such publications as Story Philippines, Philippine Graphic, and Chimera, while his articles and film reviews have been published in Philippine Graphic, the Manila Times, Mirror Magazine, and Manual.

He currently prattles on about films and TV shows through his blog Five-Legged Iguana. You can go there to give your feedback on Pelicula.

For a list of his works, you can find it here.

EXCERPTS FROM PENUMBRA NOVELLAS
PENUMBRA novellas are available at all major bookstores in the Philippines.

[takod] : to contaminate

[1] 1972.

She lies awake in bed, sweating, the house looming around her, like a crouching beast, oppressive. Summer has come early this year, the warmth like a herald for Semana Santa, an angel beating its wings, waves of heat radiating outwards from its divine being.

This is the time of death, and resurrection, though for the little girl, it is only the former she understands.

Death.

Death is when your father leaves one early morn, before the sun has even risen, leaves to make a living from the sea, a sea which betrays him, swallowing him whole, taking him into its cold, blue, bottomless throat.

Death, the little girl understands.

[craving]

[2]

The sun was just beginning to set, and Anne was on her way back to the house from her daily walk along the beach. Every other day of the week, Lester accompanied her, but today was Thursday, and Thursday was Clean-Up Day, so she went solo on Thursdays, careful to pack her cell phone in her canvas tote bag, in case of…

Just in case.

Anne sighed. She was so grateful for Lester, for his patience, his understanding. As difficult as this and the past two pregnancies had been for her, Anne knew it was doubly hard for her husband, who had no choice but to simply be there, by her side, unable to carry the whole burden on his shoulders.

[parman] : revelation

[prologue 1]

Eric Ramirez holds his bright, shining future in his hand. In a perfume bottle, actually.

Estee-Lauder, he thinks. Or something like that.

It isn’t perfume in it now, of course. Not anymore. The liquid that’s in it is primordial. Seething with divine, miraculous power. Eric had seen what it could do.

He’d needed a demonstration, naturally. He wasn’t about to spend every single peso in his back account (as well as every single dollar he’d stolen from work) on a few ounces of tap water in a used perfume bottle.

So he’d watched as the old man had taken the cat’s corpse, crawling with maggots and putrefaction, and flicked a single drop of the water on it.

It twitched.

PENUMBRA novellas are available at all major bookstores in the Philippines.