*Note this story is in Kinaray-a
Nahadluk guid ko.
Rigto guihapon si Papa imaw kang lain it guinhawa. Nagpakaisug ko kag naglagas kananda, pero wara guid ko ti may mahimu. Sangka bata gamay lang guid ko nga pirmi makaguba kang kabuhi kang iba. Wara ti mayad nga maubra.
Tama kadulum kang binukid para panawan ko amo nga nagtinir run lamang ako sa sangka lugar. Hambal ni manong katu nga kun matinir ko sa sangka lugar makita ako dayun kang mga tawu. Ang magwangal lang guid ang mahimo ko. Tapos kang natabo kay Aura, kun paano guinsakit kang lapsag si Mama, nadura si Manong kag si Papa kadya nagalagyo sa mga lain it guinhawa, indi guid ko kahangup kun ano sala kanakun.
Ako si Teleia, sangka bata nga indi maka-amlig kang anang pamilya. ”Kumpleto” amo rah kuno ang Teleia. Amo rah ang guinpangaran kanakun ni Mama kay kang ako guinbata nakumpleto ang amun pamilya pero panilag ko akun man guin-guba. Sa akun kaugot nagpurot ko kang bato kag guinhaboy!
May nabatian ko nga siyagit kag karahadlukan ang naggua halin sa mga kakahuyan. Sangka bata, daw ako, pero nagapanaw gamit ang anang mga alima. Tama man kaitum kana nga daw parehas lang nga laragway kang dulum. Gusto ko malagyo pero nag-umpisa magsakit ang akun mga tuhod. Tama guid kasakit.
Indi ko mahulag ang akun mga kahig amu nga guingamit ko ang akun nga mga alima. Nahangyos ko sa kun ano kahulas. Ni indi man lang ko kauna katumbling! Pero kadya kapanaw ko gamit ang alima, madasig, tama kadasig. Sa tama ko kadasig nga nakalagyo ko dayun sa karadlukan nga bagay kang wara sa oras!
Nasadyahan guid ko.Panilag ko lat-an ko dun ang dasun ko nga himuon. Nami ang kakahuyan kun gabii. Raku kaw pwede panaguan! Kinahanglan ko lang guid magpanaw gamit ang akun mga alima kay nagasakit guihapon ang akun mga kahig. Tama kasakit magpanaw kang insakto pero sigue lang. Amu run ako kadya!
Mamayad run guid umpisa kadya. Mamayad man ang pamilya ko nga wara ako. Natalupangdan ko nga raku ako pwede abyanun nga bag-o. Lantawun ko lang ang bag-o ko nga abyanun kag masakit man ang kahig na! Kag mapanaw run man sanda gamit ang kahig pareho ko!
Raku ako pwede abyanun.
Kinahanglan ko lang mangita kang raku nga bata para hampangun.
=——————–=
English Version
I’m so scared.
Papa’s still back there with the monster. I tried to be brave and run after them, but there was nothing I could do. I’m just a little girl who keeps ruining people’s lives. I can’t do anything right.
The forest is too dark for me to walk through, so I just stayed in one place. Kuya told me before that if I stay in one place then people can find me. All I could do was cry. After what happened with Aura, how the baby hurt Mama, how Kuya disappeared and now Papa’s running away from a monster, I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.
I’m just Teleia, the little girl that can’t keep her family safe. Teleia means ‘complete’. My Mama named me that because she said that when I was born it made our family complete, but I think I just tore it apart. I was so angry I took a rock and I threw it!
I heard a loud scream and something scary came out of the trees. It was like a child, like me, but it was walking on its hands. It was also very, very dark, like it was made of the shadows. I tried to run away, but my knees started to hurt. It was so painful.
I couldn’t move my legs, so I just started using my hands. I was really surprised that I found it so easy. I couldn’t even do wheel-carti—-cartwheels before! But now I was walking on my hands, really, really fast. I was so fast that I was away from the scary thing in no time!
I was so happy. I think I know what to do now. The forest is so nice when it’s night. You can hide anywhere! I just need to keep walking on my hands because my legs still really hurt. It’s really painful if I try to walk normal but it’s ok. This is how I’m gonna be now!
It’s going to be great. My family’s going to be fine without me. I found out I can make new friends. I just need to look at a new playmate and their legs will hurt too! And they’ll walk on their hands just like me!
I can make so many new friends.
I just need to find more kids to play with.
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Story continued from the Harimodon’s Tale
*The Karay-a language, or Kinaray-a is an Austronesian regional language spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique in the Philippines, Iloilo and other provinces on the island of Panay, as well as portions of the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. It is one of the Visayan languages, mainly along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon and Hiligaynon. As of 2015, there is an estimated 1,200,000 speakers of Kinaray-a with almost half of them are from Antique and Iloilo provinces.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Lillie Geocadin Mosquera
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Lillie Geocadin Mosquera
Inspired by the Bugsok entry in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao 2010..
Bugsok illustration by Nia Cortezano
Tumblr: http://niakawa.tumblr.com/