*Note this story is in Hiligaynon
Mabatyagan niya ang ila mga mata nga nagapanit sang iya mga kahuya. Indi man ato ila sala. Ang katahum nga parehas sang iya naga-demanda sang igtalupangod kag ang entablado amo ang lugar kung di-in iya makakas tanan nga mga pakunokuno kag mangin matuodtuod nga espirito nga amo ang ginapalangga sang iya mga tumalambong.
Mga kirab nagabayle sa iya mga panit sa butkon sang nagsugod na ang una nga koro. Ang iban niya na mga upod indi kauyon na matalupangdan, mas gusto nila nga daw gintago sila digto sa Biringan, apang si Amihan gintak-an na sang ila mga pagsulundan nga ginhimo tungod sang kakulba.
Ti-on na para sa ika-tatlo nga bersikulo: “Kung kahibalo ako kung paano ko ikaw ka palangga tani nagpabilin ako. Pero ang tiempo naga-agaw sang tiempo. Nabilin ako nagatan-aw sang nagligad, nagahulat sang palaabuton magsugod.” Naghugyaw ang tumalambong sang nagkanta siya kag iya nadab-ot ang mataas nga G. Daku nga kalipay na halin sa iya boses, wala sang makaguba sang ini nga higayon.
Wala gid luwas lang sang naga ngut-ngut sa iya panit. Nga daan naghalin ini sa likod sang mga nagtambong, ang indi ma sal-an nga hamot sang salamangka sa hangin. Daw nakibot si Amihan sang ini kag siya nagdali-dali sa katapusan sang kanta nga ang banda binudlayan mag lagas sa iya, apang natapos man nila ang kanta.
Nagdali-dali si Amihan pakadto sa iya ilislan nga kuwarto, ang iya kabulig nagasunod man sa iya. Ila na mabati-an ang tumalambong nagapangayo sang dugang nga mga kanta, apang dapat lang sila maghulat. May mga mas importante na bagay nga iya atipanon.
“Ginahulat ko ikaw.” Gin trangkahan ni Amihan ang puwerta. Si Jesa, ang iya kabulig nga dugay na naga-antos maga-antos pa liwat kay wala ginasapak ni Amihan ang pagpanuktok sa puwerta.
“Ginkawat mo ang akon ideya.” siling ni Bukad sa iya dala ang pagmudlo sang mata. Ang hamot sang mga matam-is nga bulak nagapalibot sa iya ilislan. Nadumduman ni Amihan kung diin naghalin ang ngalan ni Bukad, kung paano ang mga espirito mag biyahe kag maga-untat sa mga hardin sang bulak para maglapta sang dala sang mga bahu sang ini sa bukid.
Wala gid nanamian si Amihan sang hamot sang mga bulak.
“Indi mo mapanag-iyahan ang isa ka ideya.” siling ni Amihan samtang ginpalayo niya ang buhok sa iya mata. Gintipon niya tanan nga kaakig sa iya lawas kag ini ginpakita niya kay Bukad.
“Akon ato kag ginkawat mo!” Nagpalapit si Bukad. Mga makusog kag bayolente nga hangin naghampak sa mga pader sang kuwarto.
Nagpanguy-ab si Amihan kag nagyuhum sa iya kaaway.
“Untat na sa mga ini nga hampang. Kabalo man kita nga duwa nga indi ikaw makusog para magbato sa akon.” May hangin nga nagsulod sa kuwarto kag nag angot sa butkon ni Bukad. Mga espirito parehas kay Bukad wala nagadugo nga daw mga tawo, apang ang hangin nga nagadalagan sa sulod sang iya lawas nag-awas sa iya pilas.
Si Bukad nagkadlaw kag nabatyagan ni Amihan iya panit nga daw nagabiti-biti. May ara sang bag-o sa hangin, isa ka madaan nga butang.
“Indi ako maghalin diri asta makuha ko ang akon!” Nagpaguwa si Bukad sang isa ka hiyas kag ini iya gintudlo sa kay Amihan.
“Di-in mo ina ginkuha?” Kabalo si Amihan kung ano ang ginpaguwa ni Bukad, hiyas na may gahum, hiyas nga may bantay. Indi mahimo nga si Bukid may kusog maka-agaw sang hiyas halin sa bantay, kag indi man siya kabalo kung paano ma usar ang gahom sang hiyas.
Subong nagalutaw na sila nga duwa, ang mabaskog nga hangin sa kuwarto makatabon sang mga siyagit ni Jesa.
Sa puwersa sang ini nga hangin, wala nag-atras si Amihan. Siya ang naghalin sa ila pungsod kag nagkadto sa lugar sang mga tawo, mga mortal. Siya ang nagliwat sang lawas niya bilang isa ka madaku nga artista nga may pagdayaw sang milyones. Siya ang may karapatan nga dayawon.
Ang mga mata ni Bukad naga-inggat, parehas sang inggat sang hiyas. Madamol ang bahu sang mga bulak, si Amihan daw masuka sa ini nga bahu.
“Ikaw ang nagpabilin sa Biringan!” singgit ni Amihan sa babaw sang hangin.
“Mahalin na ako tani, apang wala ako gintugtan.” Balik sabat ni Bukad.
“Imo ina problema! Ikaw ang nagasunod sa kung ano ang ila ginpahimo sa imo!” Nagpangusog si Amihan sang iya lawas kontra sa daw bagyo nga hangin nga halin kay Bukad.
“Imo na salabton sa lawas mo!” siling ni Amihan samtang nagapalapit na siya sa hiyas. Gin-unat niya iya kamot kag gindab-ot ang naga inggat nga bola. “Ginhimo ko ang indi nimo mahimo, ginpamati-an ko lawas ko! Madugay ang ti-on kung ginahulat ang mo ang ti-on!”
Nabatyagan ni Amihan ang gahum sang hiyas nagalatay sa iya mga ugat. Mabatyagan ang kusog ni Bukad nga amo man nagalatay sa naga-inggat nga bola. Madaku kag makusog ang kahisa, mga kasakit nga si Amihan wala sang oras nga talupangdon. Iya ang iya kabuhi. Iya ini nga ti-on.
Ang gahum ni Bukad ara sa pagpalapnag sang matam-is nga bahu sang tig-ilinit, apang si Amihan amo ang puwersa sang bagyo. Nagdulot ang iya panulok sa mata ni Bukad nga may mantsa na sang luha kag iya ini gintulok nga may kaluoy.
“Indi gid man ini imo bisan san-o pa.”
Ang kamot ni Jesa nagsalakit sang panuktok. May mga beynte-sinko minutos na nga naglabay kag ang mga tumalambong nagapangayo pa nga si Amihan magkanta liwat. Si Amihan may mga pinasahi nga batasan pero ang pagpahulat sang iya mga humalangad indi isa sang ini.
Kag ang gahud nga halin sa kuwarto nga iya ilislan labaw pa sa sound system. Daw iya ginahungod nga indi sila mabati-an sang kalibutan sa guwa.
Si Jesa ginabayaran sang maayo agod nga wala sang problema ang mga palaguwaon ni Amihan kag dala na ang ini nga gab-i. Ang mga humalangad makabati sang tingog ni Amihan liwat bisan iya pa butungon sa buhok ang artista pakadto sa entablado.
Si Jesa nangusog kag iya ginsipa ang puwerta. Nahulog ang puwerta kag iya na kita ang kuwarto sa sulod nga daw nalukpan sang granada. May lipong nga babayi sa tunga sang kuwarto kag si Amihan nagatindog lang sa iya tupad.
“Ma’am…ang mga tumalambong nagahulat…”
“Gusto pa ako nila mag guwa liwat? Sigue, kay-uhon ko lang ini.”
Si Jesa nagtan-aw lang nga ginpudyot ni Amihan ang nagainggat nga bola halin sa kamot sang babayi kag iya ini ginbutang sa iya bulsa.
“Abi buligi ako kag himusa ang akon kuwarto. Ginbisita ako sang isa ko ka amiga.”
Ginpahigad ni Amihan si Jesa kag naglakat balik sa entablado, iya ginakanta na ang mga liriko.
“Hmmmmm mmmm….Nagatan-aw ako sa nagligad. Hmmmm…nagahulat sang akon palaabuton mag sugod…”
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English Version
She could feel their eyes peel the insecurities off her skin. It wasn’t their fault, of course. Beauty such as hers demanded attention and the stage was where she could shed all pretenses and be the genuine soul that her beloved audience could adore.
Sparks danced around her bare arms as she started the first chorus. The others of her kind didn’t want too much attention to be brought upon themselves, they would rather stay locked away in Biringan, but Amihan had enough of their rules made out of fear.
It was time for the third verse: “If I knew how much I loved you I would have stayed. But time takes too much time. I’m left looking at the past, waiting for my future to begin.” The crowd cheered as she belted the high G. It was sonic ecstasy, nothing could ruin this moment.
Nothing except what was pricking at her skin. It came from across the audience, the unmistakable scent of magic in the air. Amihan was caught off guard and rushed through the bridge, the band struggled to catch up but they managed to finish the song.
Amihan dashed to her dressing room, her assistant not too far behind. Already they could hear the audience demanding an encore, they would have to wait. There were more important matters that she had to attend to.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” Amihan locked the door behind her. Jesa, her long suffering assistant would have to suffer a little longer as Amihan ignored the pounding on the door.
“You stole my idea.” Bukad stared her down. The smell of sweet summer flowers surrounded the dressing room. Amihan remembered where Bukad’s name came from, how the spirit’s would travel and stop by the flowerbeds to scatter their scent through the mountains.
Amihan always hated the smell of flowers.
“You can’t own an idea.” Amihan pushed away her hair from her eyes. She collected every shred of contempt in her body and directed it towards Bukad.
“It was mine and you took it!” The girl moved forward. Violent winds started to crash through the dressing room.
Amihan yawned and shot a smile at her rival.
“Stop with the parlor tricks. We both know you’re not strong enough to challenge me.” A streak of wind shot through the room and connected with Bukad’s arm. Spirits such as they did not bleed like humans, but the air that coursed through her leaked from her wound.
Bukad started to laugh and Amihan felt her skin crackle. There was something new in the air, something old.
“I won’t leave here until I get what is mine!” Bukad took out a small jewel and pointed it towards Amihan.
“Where did you get that!?” Amihan knew what it was, a jewel of power fiercely guarded by the bantay. There was no way Bukad would have been strong enough to fight one, let alone know how to channel her magic through the jewel.
They were both floating now., the winds in the room loud and violent enough to drown out even Jesa’s shouts.
Even against the onslaught Amihan would not back down. She was the one that ran away from their city and went to the human lands. She was the one that remade herself into an icon that was adored by millions. She was the one that deserved to be adored.
Bukad’s eyes started to glow with an unearthly light, the same color as the jewel. The smell of flowers was thick, Amihan almost felt like vomiting from the stench.
“You were the one that stayed in Biringan!” Amihan shouted through the gale.
“I was going to leave, but they wouldn’t let me!” Bukad answered back.
“That’s you’re problem! You were the one that let them tell you what to do!” Amihan braced herself against the small hurricane coming from Bukad. She felt the wind cut against her flesh, but the pain didn’t matter. “You were the one who let your dreams die!”
“No! It’s your fault! I told you my plan! How I would go to the human lands and use my magic to make them love me! You stole my life!” Tears were streaming down Bukad’s face as her winds strengthened.
“Take responsibility for what you did!” Amihan inched closer to the jewel. She stretched out her arms and put her hands around the glowing orb. “I did what you couldn’t do! I listened to myself! Time takes too much time!”
Amihan felt the power of the jewel coursing through her veins. She also felt Bukad through the power of the jewel. There was so much envy, so much pain that Amihan had no time for. This was her life. This was her moment.
Bukad’s power lay in the scattering of the sweet summer scent, but Amihan’s was the force of the typhoon. She stared into Bukad’s tear stained eyes and gave one last look of pity.
“This was never yours to begin with.”
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Jesa’s hands were painful from beating against the door. It had already been 25 minutes and the audience still demanded an encore. Amihan had certain peculiarities, but she would never leave a crowd waiting.
And the noise coming from her dressing room seemed to be the speakers turned to full. It was as if she was purposely trying to avoid the world.
Jesa was paid very well to make sure things were running smoothly and tonight would be no exception. The audience would get their encore even if Jesa had to drag her by the hair.
Jesa mustered all her might and kicked the door. It fell unceremoniously and Jesa stared into a dressing room that looked like it was struck by a bomb. There was an unconscious girl in the middle of the room and Amihan was just standing there, staring at her.
“Ma’am… The audience…”
“Oh, they still want an encore? Alright let me just get this.”
Jesa watched as Amihan took a small glowing object from the girl’s hand and put it in her pocket.
“Be a dear and have this cleaned up. I had a visit from an old friend.”
Amihan brushed Jesa aside and walked towards the stage, practicing the lyrics to her encore.
“Hmmm mmm…. Looking at the past. Hmmmm…. Waitingfor my future to begin…”
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*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 Stephen A. Matti
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Stephen A. Matti
Inspired by the Digkusanon legends from Western Visayas
Digkusanon Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/
Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
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