In the 1990s, in a remote village in the province of Quezon, there lived a family in an old house made of wood and thatched nipa leaves. There was Aling Rosa, her husband Mang Isko, and their daughter Elena, who was pregnant with her first child.
Life in the village was quiet - until one night, while everyone was sound asleep, Aling Rosa heard a strange rustling sound on the roof.
"Tik… tik… tik…"
At first, she thought it was just rats. But when it started happening every night, and the sound grew louder, she began to feel uneasy.
They also noticed something strange happening to Elena. She was constantly exhausted, even though she wasn't doing much, and her body always seemed cold. Sometimes, they would see a large black bird flying near the house at night.
"That's a Tiktik," a neighbor whispered. "It's looking for the baby in Elena's womb."
According to the elders, the Tiktik is a type of aswang that disguises itself as a bird. When a woman is pregnant, it comes at midnight, hides on the roof, and uses its long, thin tongue to try and suck the baby from the mother's womb.
Because of this, Mang Isko took action. They placed garlic, salt, and oil around the house. They also laid banana leaves across the roof - so that when stepped on, they would make noise and alert the household.
One night, the Tiktik returned. The rustling was louder, as if it wanted them to know it was there. But thanks to the protections and the sound of the banana leaves, the family woke up immediately.
Mang Isko grabbed a machete and rushed outside. In the moonlight, he saw the creature - it looked human, but had the wings of a bat and the eyes of a bird. It screeched and flew away, wounded from the strike of his blade.
Since that night, the Tiktik never returned. Elena safely gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
But sometimes, in the silence of the night, a faint "tik… tik…" can still be heard in the distance. A chilling reminder that the Tiktik is always watching… especially when new life is near.