*Note this story is in Tagalog
“Hindi mo siya kilala tulad ng pagkakakilala ko sa kaniya!”
“Pakiusap, tigilan mo na ang mga cliche na linya. Ikaw ang hindi nakaaalam ng ginagawa niya. Ano ba ang alam mo sa lalaki na ‘yan? Sino siya at ano ang mga ginagawa niya?!”
“Hindi na mahalaga ‘yun! Mahal ko siya at wala kang kahit na ano mang pwedeng sabihin na makapagpapabago ng isip ko!”
“Hindi mo naiintindihan! Hindi siya tulad ng inaakala mo!”
“Tigilan mo na nga ang pagtatangkang protektahan ako! Malaki na ko, kaya ko na ang sarili ko. Pagkatiwalaan mo lang ako. Alam kong halos kakikilala ko pa lang sa kaniya, pero pinaramdam niya sa aking mahalaga ako. Alam mo naman na ngayon lang ito nangyari sa akin. Hindi ko man sigurado kung saan ako dadalhin ng damdamin ko, pero sigurado akong ito ang kailangan ko. Alam kong nag-aalala ka sa akin, pero ayos lang ako. Kaya ko ito.”
“Siya ay isang diablo.”
“Ano? Ang babaw mo naman.”
“Makinig ka nga sa akin! Nakilala mo siya sa Punta de Diablo, ang sirang tulay na parang papunta sa Talim Island, hindi ba? Nagre-research ako. Ni wala ngang nakarinig sa kaniya sa lugar na ‘yun at kung siya man ay isang turista o tagalabas, malalaman ‘yun ng mga tagaroon. Walang angkop na naglalarawan sa kanya na nakatira sa Binangonan at tiyak malalaman ‘yun ng mga tagaroon kung meron.
Mag-isip ka nga. Bughaw ang kaniyang mga mata, para siyang ‘yung paborito mong mang-aawit, katakatakang alam niya ang lahat ng tungkol sa iyo kahit bago pa lang kayo magkakilala. Napakaraming coincidences.
Alam mo ba kung bakit iniiwasan ng mga tao ang Punta de Diablo?! Kada ilang taon, may isang babae ang nilulunod ang sarili niya sa pagtalon sa tulay. Ang mga babaeng ‘yun daw ay sinasabing kailangan nilang samahan ang kanilang mga asawa. Hindi na natuloy gawin ang tulay dahil ayon sa mga kwento, napamahal ang isang diablo sa isang babae, at ang tanging paraan para makapagpakasal sila ay gumawa ng tulay papuntang Talim Island. Malapit na sanag maitayo ng diablo ang tulay ngunit isang mangingisda ang nakakita nito, pinatunog ang kampana ng simbahan para pigilan ang pagkakatayo ng tulay!”
“Para kang baliw, aalis na ako.”
“Alam kong iniisip mong mahal mo siya, pero hindi ito maaari. Hindi niya kayang suklian ang nararamdaman mo. Kinuha niya ang tiwala mo at pinaniwala ka niyang hindi siya katulad ng ibang lalaki diyan, at tama nga naman. Mas masahol pa siya.
Alam niya kung ano ang ginagawa niya at alam niya kung paano ka sasaktan. Pakiusap, wag mo naman hayaang mangyari ‘yun sayo.”
“Paalam. Kung hindi mo kayang maging masaya para sa akin, doon na lang ako sa magpaparamdam sa akin ng pagmamahal.”
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English Version
“You don’t know him like I do!”
“Please, spare me the cliché lines. You’re the one that doesn’t know what she’s doing. Do you know anything about this guy? Who he is and what he’s done?!”
“It doesn’t matter! I love him and there’s nothing you can say that can change my mind!”
“You don’t understand! He’s not what you think he is.”
“Stop trying to protect me! I can take care of myself. I’m old enough to handle this. Please, just trust me. I know it hasn’t been long since I met him, but he makes me feel like I matter. You know as well as I do that hasn’t happened in a long time. I don’t know where this will take me, but I know this is something I need. I know you care about me, but I’ll be okay. I know I can handle this.”
“He’s the devil.”
“What? Now you’re just being petty.”
“Listen to me! You met him at the Punta de Diablo, that broken bridge that looks like it’s going to Talim island right? I’ve been doing my research. No one’s ever heard of him in this area and if he were a tourist or an outsider, people would know. There’s no one fitting his description that lives anywhere in Binangonan and people would know if he did.
Think about it. He has blue eyes, he sounds like your favorite singer, he knows “surprisingly” knows everything about you even before you guys met. There are too many coincidences to count.
Do you know why people stay away from the Punta de Diablo?! Every few years a girl drowns herself by that bridge. The girls say that they have to join their husband. That bridge is unfinished because the legend goes the Devil fell in love with a girl and the only way she would accept her hand in marriage was to build a bridge to Talim island, he was about to finish but a fisherman saw it and rang the church bells to stop the bridge!”
“You sound crazy, I’m leaving.”
“I know you think that you’re in love with him but you can’t keep doing this. You fell in love and he’s not going to be there to catch you. He made you trust him, made you think that he wasn’t like all the other guys, and he was right. He’s worse.
He knows what he’s doing and he knows he’s going to hurt you. Please. Don’t let it happen.”
“Goodbye. If you can’t be happy for me then I’ll go somewhere I’ll be loved!”
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*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
Translation by Gabriela Baron
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Gabriela Baron
Inspired by ‘Punta de Diablo’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
The Devil (The Handsome Stranger) Illustration and Watercolor by Marc Magpantay
Tumblr: Glassy-draws.tumblr.com