The Umang Man: The first meeting

(umang = hermit carb)

Once upon a time, there were a hermit crab kid and a human kid. They both live in the island of San Miguel located in the north east area of Tabaco City in Philippines.

The hermit crab’s parents are living in the seashore where their village is located and composed of more than a hundred of his kind.

At noontime, a meteor that seems not visible in the sky landed near the playground where hermit crab kids were playing. They just ignored it. They thought it was just a stone thrown by the human children.

Meanwhile, the hermit crab’s mother called out, “Ero, hain ka na? Udtu na baga, oras na nin pagkakan.” (Ero, where are you? It’s lunchtime already.)

As soon as he heard his mother’s voice, he crawled away from his playmates going to his mother. Then he took his lunch.

One of the kids playing on the shore had seen the excavation left by the meteor. He saw a shiny bizzare stone with a hollow portion. The kid was amused by stone’s beauty, so he took it with him. He felt something strange after he touched it. He felt everything were lighter, he feels stronger.

After Ero ate his lunch, he and his playmates roamed around along the stony area to find a new shell to cave in. After few hours of searching, Ero and his best friend have not found their new shells yet.

However, the kid who picked up the bizzare stone went back to the shore. He accidentally dropped it. The two spotted the shiny thing and ran faster towards the stone. Finally, Ero got the shell first. He immediately unclasped his body from his old shell then let his body cling into his new cave.

Ero felt the same thing like the human kid felt. He has gotten stronger.

Ero and his bestfriend decided to go back home. Though their movement was barely seen, Ken rejoiced as he noticed the movement of the stone. At last, he got back his possession. However, he never felt that there was a hermit crab inside of the stone.

Ken went home and put the stone on his study table. He was tired and went to bed. While he was sleeping, the hermit crab jumped from the study table without being hurt.

“Magianun ang pagmati ko. Anong nangyari sako?”, he pondered. (I feel so light. What happened to me?)

As soon as Ken woke up, he found out that the stone was missing. He went out to the shore. The night was beautiful with the moon shining brightly and the wind blowing hard. The human kid noticed the thing moved and was illuminated by the moonlight, so he followed the movement. Then he caught it.

Suddenly, the two transformed into an unrecognized and indistinct form.

(Next Episode: Umang Man: Struggling Ero and Ken)