*Note this story is in Tagalog
Hindi niya inaasahang ganito katindi ang kalalalabasan ng kaniyang ginawa.
Kadalasan, kapag siya’y nakakagawa ng salab laban sa tao, ito’y hindi nasisiyahan sa dugo at laman ngunit hindi sa puntong ito. Parang mayroong kakaiba sa baguhang lalake ito na nakakawili.
Hindi iyon ang unang beses siyang nakagawa ng salab para maging bagong aswang. Hindi rin iyon siguro ang huli.
Ang kanyang eksperimentong nagiging tao ay higit pa sa inaakala, ito ay siyensya para masubukan ang hangganan sa kung anung uri ito.
Ang proseso ng pagiging aswang mula sa pagiging tao nito ay tinatawag na salab. “-Ang punit na pahina ng kaniyang isinulat ay nagpapahiwatig. “Ang salab ay nag iibang uri, maaring ito ay maging aswang na nag-aanyong tao dahilan na ang kanilang pag-uugali ay hindi tama. Mayroon ding salab na kung saan ang aswang ay naglalabas ng likido sa katawan o kakaiba sa isang tao, ito ay kadalasang nag-uuring ibon, ang salab ay namamana, ang mga anak ng aswang ay nagiging asawang rin.
Tiningnan niya ang lalakeng nagsusumigaw sa kulungan. Kailangan na neto ng sariwang karne ng tao, ang bagong yanggaw ay siya ring hanap. Ay isang ito ay bata pa pero ito ang napili at di maaring masayang, libo-libong kabataan sa kalye araw-araw at marka ng sangkatauhan na kung ikaw ay nasa mababang antas ng lipunan ay malaking posilibilidad na hindi ka kilala.
“Sa gilid ng kamatayan ang salab ay nagiging mahalaga sa mga aswang dahil kailangan netong ipasa ang kapangyarihan sa iba. Maaring lamang, ang aswang ay magdurusa sa sakit ng walang katapusang kamatayan. Kadalasang ipinapasa ng aswang ang kapangyarihan sa kanilang miyembro ng pamilya.”
Nakatangin siya sa larawang katabi ng kaniyang mga isinulat. Nalalapit na ang araw at alam nyang hindi nya maaring patawarin sa kung anung kaniyang maaring gawin. Gustuhin niyang ipakita sa babae ang kanyang naisulat, na sabihin sa kanya na sinubukan niya lahat ng kanyang makakaya para mailaganap or makagawa ng ibang paraan.
Pero nabigo siya. Kahit hanggan ngayon.
Nakatitig sya sa lalake, nakakaramdam na siya ng gutom. Wala ng oras. Hindi siya malupit, malayo sa isang ito. Ang mga baluktot na paraan ay may patutunguhan sa sumpa ng mundong kaniyang dala, ngunit ang alam nya na mas malakas ang sumpa para ito’y kalabanin. Ang gutom ang siyang tatapos sa’yo hanggang sa harapin mo ang sangkatauhang iyong sinimulan.
Ang ungol ng lalake’y umaalingawngaw sa loob ng laboratoryo. Iyon ang una nyang kain.
English Version
He had never expected the specimen to be this enraged. Usually, when he commits the salab against a human they would be insatiable for blood and flesh, but not to this point. There was something different about this newly turned boy, something interesting.
It was not the first time he had used the salab to create a new aswang, it wouldn’t be the last either. His experiments with turning humans was more than mere curiosity, this was science to test the boundaries of what his kind was.
“The transmission process of turning a human into an aswang is called the salab” – the worn pages of his notes were almost speaking to him. “The salab can come in different ways, it can be as simple as an aswang looking at a human, causing their behavior to be erratic. There is also the salab in which the aswang excretes a bodily fluid or something from its person, this is usually in the form of a small bird, a salab may also be hereditary, children of aswang will become aswang themselves.”
He looked at the boy screaming in the cage. The boy would need fresh human meat soon, the newly turned yanggaw always do. This one was only a child, but he had been chosen because the boy would not be missed, there were thousands of children on the streets every day and it was a mark of humanity that the lower you were on the social scale the more invisible you were.
“On the verge of death the salab becomes imperative to the aswang as it needs to pass on its powers to another. Until it does, the aswang suffers torturous pain without the release of death. The aswang typically prefers to pass on its powers to a member of its family.”
He stared at the picture beside his notes. The time was coming, and he knew she would never forgive him for what he was going to do. He wanted to show her his notes, to tell her that he tried all he could to spread it to someone or even something else.
But he had failed. Even this time.
He stared at the boy, the hunger was consuming him now. There was no more time to wait. He was not cruel, far from it. These twisted methods had the goal to finally rid the world of the curse he carried, but he knew now that the curse was too strong to fight. The hunger would eventually consume you until what’s left is a façade of the humanity you once had.
The boy’s howls reverberated through the laboratory. It was time for his first feeding.
*Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Tagalog Translation by Jemer Allanic
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Jemer Allanic
Inspired by the Yanggaw entry in 101 Kagila-gilalas na Nilalang. Samar. 2015. and the Salab description in Cebuano Sorcery: Malign Magic in the Philippines. Lieban 1967.
Yanngaw Illustration by Maku Felix
FB: Maku Felix
Watercolor by Yanna Gemora
FB: Yannami