MANILA, Philippines?I received the following story of a strange incident from a reader from Capiz, a province known for a lot of mysterious happenings.

?I have decided to contact you through e-mail because of an unexplained thing that happened at the back of our house.

?I am Ed, from Roxas City. I came to know you through the print and broadcast media as one of the foremost experts in things that can be considered as not normal. I tried my luck in browsing the Internet for your name and luckily, I was able to get your web site. This is where I found your e-mail address.

?During Typhoon ?Frank? that also pummeled Roxas City, nearly all mango trees in our subdivision were uprooted. One of those was our mango tree at the back of our house. Just last Saturday, we hired somebody to cut the mango tree to pieces as my wife and I decided to clear the back of our house. Late in the afternoon, most of the small trunks with dried leaves were cleared, leaving the fallen mango tree with its main trunks and body still intact to be finished the following day. In fact, that same afternoon, my wife?s niece even utilized one of the uncut branches of the tree as the other end of a clothesline where she hung her wet clothing to dry overnight. That night, before going to bed, I swept our backyard with my flashlight, as I usually do. Everything was normal, with the uprooted mango tree lying on the ground and the wet clothes of my wife?s niece hanging on the clothesline.

?The following day, a Sunday, we woke up early because we would be attending Mass. My wife went to the kitchen and opened the windows. Suddenly, I heard her shouting uncontrollably, calling my name. From the comfort room, I rushed to the kitchen where she was pointing for me to look out of the window. I could not believe my eyes!

?The uprooted mango tree was already standing erect as if replanted. The clothes of my wife?s niece were already hanging high up in the air at near level with the roof of our house.

?What is more unnatural was there was a trunk of the part of the mango tree that was hedged between the main bottom Y part of the tree that seemed to have been applied with force and at first glance, you cannot seem to detect what its purpose was. I realized that the tree was made to stand in such a way that there was a very slight angle towards where it had fallen and the trunk was put there to support it. What was more baffling was how it was made to be forcibly put between the main branches as if welded together. Whoever made this seemed to know his physics well.

?The fallen tree was at the back of our house and nobody in his right mind will try to enter our property in the middle of the night just to make our mango tree stand. What is more, there are many barking dogs in our house that whoever will attempt to make the tree stand in the middle of the night will have a hard time facing our dogs.

?However, there are some things, Sir, that can give you a clue to the mystery. My son Jason, whose room is facing the back of our house and directly fronting the mango tree, was doing his assignment in his computer that night. Past 11 p.m., he heard a sound, which resembled a force, but the kind that he has never heard before. Simultaneous with this, a streak of flashing light reflected on the glass windows and this was followed with a chorus of dog barks. But this all happened in just a very short time, maybe for several seconds only. He did not mind it since it was just for a very short time. Even the barking of the dogs he said, seemed to have abruptly ended. Our neighbor at the other side of the fence confirmed this. She said she also heard the very short but unusual sound plus the very short barking of the dogs.

?As an additional reference to this matter, I am attaching a picture taken by my son that very early morning where you can still see the clothes hanging high in the air.

?If it will not be of any trouble to you, Sir Jaime, I will sincerely appreciate any possible explanation on this matter.?

Dear Ed,

During my more than 25 years of research in the fields of psychic abilities and paranormal phenomena, I have come across quite of lot of extraordinary and incredible happenings that defy logic and scientific explanation. But never have I ever encountered such a story as you have related above.

I have heard of trees that could not be bulldozed or cut, of a boulder that could not be broken to pieces even by dynamite, etc. but not of a fallen or uprooted tree standing up by itself.

The only possible explanation I can think of it is that your old mango tree could be a habitat or dwelling place of a ?kapre,? a giant, hairy elemental creature or nature spirit that lives in trees. He must have simply rebuilt his fallen house; the same way humans would rebuild their broken homes after a strong typhoon.

Of course, I don?t expect everybody to accept this explanation. But if not a ?kapre,? who or what else could have done such a supernatural feat?

Note: The next Inner Mind Development seminar will be held Aug. 2 and 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Soulmates, Karma & Reincarnation, Aug. 30, 1-7 p.m. at Rm. 308 Prince Plaza I Cond., 106 Legazpi St., Greenbelt, Makati. Call 8107245, 8926806 or fax 8159890. E-mail innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.ph.