Lana: Ay naku, Miguel! I swear, today is doomed. I was walking to the jeepney stop this morning, and a black cat crossed right in front of me. And it’s Friday pa! That’s double bad luck.
Miguel: Hala, Lana, again with the cat? It’s just an animal trying to live its life. Maybe it was going to meet its cat friends. Maybe it had errands. Why do you think it cares about your luck?
Lana: Don’t joke about it! My lola always said that if a black cat crosses your path on a Friday, something bad will happen. And you know what? When it happened last year, I lost my wallet the same day!
Miguel: And how many times have you not lost your wallet even though you saw black cats around? Correlation is not causation, my friend.
Lana: Easy for you to say. You don’t have a history of black cats ruining your life.
Miguel: Actually, I do. When I was in high school, there was this one black cat that liked sleeping on our rooftop. It crossed my path almost every morning. You know what happened?
Lana: What? You got cursed?
Miguel: No. I got into UP. Best “curse” ever.
Lana: Corny mo talaga, Miguel. But still, it just feels… creepy. Why always black cats? Why not orange ones or white ones?
Miguel: Old European superstition. People long ago believed black cats were connected to witches. Colonizers brought these beliefs here. And now you’re scared because ancient Europeans were paranoid about pets.
Lana: So you’re saying my lola was wrong?
Miguel: Not wrong—just passing on what she was taught. Some traditions stay because they’re interesting or scary enough to remember. But scientifically speaking, cats don’t control probability. If they did, Mau from down the street could’ve given me winning lotto numbers.
Lana: Actually… Mau does look wise.
Miguel: That cat eats plastic. I don’t think it’s doing advanced spiritual math.
Lana: Fine, but explain why every time something bad happens, someone says, “Uy, may itim na pusa kasi!”
Miguel: Because humans love patterns, even when there aren’t any. Like when you blame Mercury retrograde for your bad WiFi.
Lana: Hey, that was real! My Zoom kept freezing!
Miguel: Because you were sitting beside the microwave while heating siopao!
Lana: Okay… fine, that one was on me.
Miguel: Look, I’m not trying to erase your beliefs. If avoiding black cats makes you feel safer, that’s okay. But I don’t want you stressing over things that have no actual effect on your life. You have enough real problems—like your phone with 8,000 unread messages.
Lana: Those are… reminders of my social life?
Miguel: No, they’re proof of procrastination.
Lana: Grabe ka ah! But alright, maybe you’re right. Maybe the universe isn’t out to get me. Maybe the cat was just crossing the street because it could.
Miguel: Exactly. Maybe it was even wishing you a good day in its cat brain.
Lana: Or maybe it was warning me not to trust you.
Miguel: Sige na, go blame the cat. But at least promise you won’t panic every time you see a black furball.
Lana: I’ll try. But if something bad happens later, I’m calling you.
Miguel: And I’ll answer—unless a cat crosses my path first.
Lana: Talo na ‘to.
Science Vs Superstition 
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