Kaisa was left in a strange bed alone. He didn’t even bother to say goodbye, but that’s just the way it was. Boys will be boys.
She picked her clothes off the floor and took a shower. Her skin was raw from the soap rubbing against it. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t wash off last night.
Maybe she didn’t want to. This was how her weekends went. She would meet a strange man somewhere out in the world, then she would be left alone. Like always.
It was the way the world worked. At least her world.
She dressed herself and went outside. The noontime sun was bright and felt painful against her skin.
There was a gathering of people near the town hall and her curiosity was piqued. There was nothing else to do today so why not go?
She asked an old woman what the commotion was about and was met with disbelief.
“You mean you don’t know?! She has come from the mountain!” the old woman shouted.
“Who is ‘she’? And which mountain did she come from?” Kaisa was confused. It seemed like the whole town was here for this occasion.
“She has come! From the heights of the Skyworld she has come!” no matter how hard she tried Kaisa couldn’t get a meaningful sentence from the old woman, so she gave up and pushed through the crowd to see what the fuss was about.
And as she pushed away a young couple she saw her.
Kaisa had never seen such a beautiful woman. The sunlight glistened against her skin which seemed to be made from precious marble. Her hair was black as a moonless night and her smile; it was almost as if you could fit the whole world into her smile.
All around the crowd cheered at her arrival. It was a miracle made real, nothing like they had ever seen before. None of them would have ever guessed that they would see one such as her in their lifetime.
And Kaisa just stared.
“Where have you been?” she whispered to herself.
There was a force building inside her, one she could not deny. It swelled in her chest until it could not be held back.
“How dare you come here?!” Kaisa burst out.
“Don’ talk to her like that!” a bystander was horrified that she could raise her voice to the Diwata.
The Diwata was confused at the outburst, she didn’t understand why a human would react to her presence that way. She walked towards Kaisa and gently put her hand to the girl’s face.
“I’m here now,” the Diwata looked at Kaisa with pity.
Kaisa laughed, “Where were you ten years ago? Where were you when I was new?” tears streamed down her face “When I was one of those maidens that your kind would come to?!”
There are certain kinds of sadness that build up through your lifetime. Some stay with you, nestling until they shadow your soul. Kaisa’s sadness was that and more. It latched onto her spirit like honey and would not be shaken off.
“How dare you come to me now, when I am this!?” Kaisa crumpled into the arms of the Diwata, her tears flowing into a seemingly endless river.
Silence reigned through the crowd. The scene had an almost sacred quality about it.
“I’m here now,” the Diwata repeated.
The Diwata began to hum a soft tune. It echoed the bending of the bamboo forest, the silent dignity of the running stream and the gentle sound of nature’s creatures.
“I forgive you.” Kaisa’s words lingered through the music.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Diwata myths
Diwata Illustration by Kristienne Amante
FB: Creatorivm