Marco: Bro, I swear, the dwendes are at it again.
Liam: Let me guess—something went missing and magically came back?
Marco: Exactly! My earphones. I looked everywhere last night—bed, bag, kitchen, even the bathroom. This morning? Sitting nicely on my desk. Same place I checked three times. Tell me that’s not dwendes.
Liam: Or tell me you were tired and your brain filtered it out. That happens a lot, you know.
Marco: Ah, here we go. Mister Science. But explain this—my lola always said dwendes like to “borrow” small things. Coins, keys, jewelry. Earphones totally qualify.
Liam: Your lola also said not to sleep with wet hair or you’ll go blind.
Marco: Hey, respect the elders! 😄 But seriously, this has happened so many times. Last month my wallet disappeared before payday—very suspicious timing—and reappeared after I said, “Tabi-tabi po, paki-balik naman.”
Liam: Or… you calmed down, retraced your steps properly, and found it. Saying “tabi-tabi po” just happened to come before that.
Marco: You always say coincidence. But why does it feel different? Like someone’s playing a joke on me.
Liam: Because our brains hate uncertainty. When something’s missing, we imagine intent—someone took it. It’s called pattern-seeking. We’d rather blame invisible elves than accept we’re forgetful.
Marco: Wow, thanks for calling me forgetful.
Liam: I include myself. Remember when I thought my phone was stolen at the jeepney stop? I panicked, blamed everything except myself. Turns out it was in my jacket pocket the whole time.
Marco: That’s different. That’s obvious.
Liam: To you, now. At that moment, I was ready to accuse the entire barangay.
Marco: Still… how do you explain things reappearing in obvious places?
Liam: Attention blindness. When you’re stressed, your brain literally doesn’t register things—even if they’re right in front of you. There are experiments where people miss a gorilla walking across the screen because they’re focused on counting passes.
Marco: So you’re saying my earphones were the gorilla?
Liam: Basically. A very quiet, wired gorilla.
Marco: Hmm. But why does this belief exist everywhere? Even in provinces, people swear by dwendes. They can’t all be wrong.
Liam: Beliefs stick because they explain everyday chaos in a comforting way. Losing things feels personal. Saying “a dwende borrowed it” feels better than “my memory failed.”
Marco: Comforting, yes. Also slightly scary. Which keeps you respectful—like not throwing trash anywhere.
Liam: That part I actually like. If superstition makes people cleaner and calmer, fine. I just don’t think invisible elves are rearranging your desk.
Marco: So you’re not scared at all?
Liam: The only thing I fear is losing my charger again. And I know that’s my fault.
Marco: Okay, compromise. Maybe not literal elves… but let me believe something mysterious is happening.
Liam: Deal. As long as you don’t blame dwendes when you’re late to work.
Marco: No promises. If my keys vanish tomorrow, I’m calling it supernatural.
Liam: And I’m calling it “check your pockets first.”
Marco: You’re no fun—but I’ll still say “tabi-tabi po,” just in case.
Liam: Fair. Science says it won’t help. Filipino survival instinct says… why risk it? 😄
Science Vs Superstition 
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