cigarette butts and a bus ticket

My uncle was fixing something in the back of our house when a white flurry thing ran past him. It was bigger than a mouse but just as fast.  He didn't want to mess with it, saying it was an "alaga ng maligno" (pet of an evil spirit).  So we decided to go and catch it and name it "angel". It was nowhere to be found.

Guinea pigs aren't as common in my uncle's place as it is here, so he's not used to them. I think when we can't explain things, we usually associate them with the supernatural. I guess this is where most of our superstitions-- most of our beliefs come from. So I wonder what will happen if we looked deep deep deep into our beliefs and searched for the truth behind them? What will we find?

I was reading a book about occult last week. There was a section dedicated to amulets where the author tells about an incident in Africa where she was attending a ceremony. She noticed that the people had a small pouch hanging on their clothes. She asked to see its contents and was surprised to see cigarette butts, a bus ticket and some other items that are considered rare in that part of the world.

Is that what we will find? Cigarette butts and a bus ticket? Will all the things we uphold and believe to be special turn out to be nothing? Scary-- but the real question is, will we ever get to that point? Will we ever know the truth? Should we pursue it or should we let it lie hidden-- and continue believing? Is knowing the truth a gift or a curse?

Does it really matter in the end?