*Note this story is in Hiligaynon
Gintulok ni Manang Paula ang sulat nga gin bilin ni Lolo Ambo sa iya. Gusto nya man irespeto ang kagustuhan ni Lolo Ambo, mabudlay ang pangabuhi subong. Indi nya man gusto tani pero kinahanglang gid nga ibaligya ang duta para magamit ang kwarta nga malikom sap ag saylo sa iban nga lugar para sa maayo nga bwas damlag sang iya pamilya. Nagklakat pakadto sa puno sang balete sip aula nga gatindog sa punta sang talamnan. Wala suga ang mga sanga subong. Wala nya mabal-an kuna ang mga tawo nga ga puyo sa puno mahalin man parehos sa ila.
“Pasensya gid… gpangayo ako sang pasaylo sa inyo…” ga amat amat tulo ang luha ni Manang Paula. “Nag promisa si Lolo Ambo nga wala sang may matabo sa inyo Puno… kag gin hinyo nya kami nga padayunon ang ina nga promisa… pero kinanglan ko pili-on kun ano ang maka paayo sa akon pamilya…. Gamasakit si Lila… indi kami ikasarang magbakal sang iya bulong… si Roberto asta subong wala sang ubra… Nanay ako… kinanglan ko mag paminsar kun ano ang maka paayo sa akon pamilya….” Gin pahiran ni Manang Paula ang iya luha… “Tani mapatawad ninyo ako….”
Ang bilog nga bulang ga lutwa lang sa kalangitan… naglapaw na ang pila ka oras… wala sang may naghulag… wala may natabo… makabulungol ang mahipos nga kagab-ihon…. Wala sang kun ano nga senyales… kun nabaitian sang mga tag lugar ang tingog ni Manang Paula… wala si Manang Paula kabalo kun ano ang masunod… pero sya padayon nga galaom nga may ihambal sila sa iya… biskan ano lang….
Naghulat sya sa dalom puno asta mag aga… kag nagpuli sa ila balay… naghimos sang mga gamit….
Pagkatapos sa tatlo ka bulan… ginatulok ni Manang Paula ang iya kabataan… nakabatyag sya sa sang kalipay nga subong nya lang nabatyagan…. Gahampang si Lila upod ang iya mga pakaisa… nadumduman nya nga daw haluson indi kalakat ang iya bata sang ara sya sa opsital… nagpasalamat sya sa Ginoo kag gin kuha ang dyaryo kag nagbasa…
Sa ulo sang mga balita nakabutang: ‘Mga tawo nag protesta batok sa pag develop sang duta sa isa ka nayon’ wala na sya natingala sa mga amo ni nga balita… ang kompaniya gina akusran nga nag hatag sang payola sa mga opisyal sang nayon para indi sila maistorbo sa pag guba sang mga puno… pero sa litrato nmay nakita si Manang Paula… nga gulpi nag pugong sa iya pag ginhawa!
Isa ka maanyag nga bata nga naka bayo pula ang lider sang mga ga pamatok… gina balabagan nila ang bull dozer!
Napangisi si Manang Paula… kabalo man gali sila ipakigbato ang ila balay….
=——————–=
English Version
Manang Paula looked at the letter that Lolo Ambo left her. As much as she wanted to respect his wishes, times were hard. She had to sell the land to have enough money to move where it would be a better future for her family. Paula walked to the Balete tree in the edge of the field. There weren’t any lights in the branches tonight. She didn’t know if that meant the people in the tree were going to leave as well.
“I’m sorry.” The tears were starting to swell up in Paula’s eyes. “I know that Lolo Ambo promised that nothing would happen to your tree, and he asked all of us to keep that promise alive, but I have to choose what’s best for my family. Lila is sick and we can’t even afford her medicine anymore. Roberto can’t find a job. I… I am a mother and I need to give my children the life they deserve.” Paula wiped away the tears from her cheek, “Please forgive me.”
The moon was still in the night sky. Hours passed and nothing happened. There was no sign, nothing to tell Paula that the people in the tree heard her. She didn’t know what to expect, but she had hoped that they would tell her something. Anything.
She waited by the tree until morning and afterwards, she went to her house and started packing.
Three months later, Manang Paula was looking at her children and she was happy for the first time in a long while. Lila was running around playing with her cousins. Manang Paula remembered how weak her little girl looked in the hospital bed and she said a soft prayer of thanksgiving. She sat down and started her morning tradition of reading the newspaper.
The headline read “Protesters Rally New Development” which wasn’t surprising; the construction company had been accused of bribing the local officials so they could ignore the environmental destruction they were causing, but a certain picture almost made Manang Paula jump out of her seat.
It was of a beautiful girl in red leading the protestors against a bulldozer.
Manang Paula smiled. They could take care of themselves after all.
=———————–=
*The Hiligaynon language, also colloquially referred often by most of its speakers simply as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, mainly in Western Visayas and SOCCSKSARGEN, most of whom belong to the Visayan ethnic group, mainly the Hiligaynons. It is the second-most widely spoken language and a member of the so-named Visayan language family and is more distantly related to other Philippine languages.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Hiligaynon translation by Maximilian De Angel Zurbito
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Maximilian De Angel Zurbito
Inspired by ‘The Fairy of Balete Tree’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Mariang Ilaya Illustration by Laura Katigbak
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