*Note this story in in Tagalog
Day 5
Hindi ko pa rin alam kung anong nangyayari. Sabi nila maaari naman akong umalis kahit kailan ko gusto, pero sa tuwing susubukan kong lumabas, hindi ako makagalaw. Para bang itinutulak ako palayo ng isang pwersa. Sinubukan kong magmakaawa para paalisin ako, ngunit isa pala yung isang pagkakamali. Sinabi kong may pamilya ako at gusto ko na silang makita ulit, ngunit sa tingin ko wala silang pakialam. Sinabi nilang kinain ko ang itim na kanin at ayon sa utos, kailangan kong manatili kasama sila. Habambuhay.
Day 14
Ngayon alam ko na kung bakit itinayo nila ang mansyong ito. Hindi lang ako ang tanging taong andito, ang iba, sa tingin ko mas matagal nang nananatili rito. Parang wala nang kaluluwa ang kanilang mga mata at hindi na sila halos nagsasalita maliban na lang kung tutugon sila sa mga utos ng aming mga amo Tinanong ko ang isa sa kanila kung gaano na siya katagal dito sinabi niyang “taon na” bago siya nagsimulang umiyak. Pero parang hindi makatwiran, kaedad ko rin silang lahat.
Day 25
Nagdala sila ng bagong bilanggo, sa pagkakataong ito ay isang maliit na bata. Naisip ko na baka ang bata ang isa rin sa kanila, maputi ang kanyang balat at buhok at para bang siya ay kumikinang, ngunit sinipa siya ng aming mga amo papunta sa hukay at pinagbuhat ng bato katulad ng ginagawa namin. kakausapin ko siya kapag pinagpahinga na kami ng aming mga amo.
Day 26
Hindi ko alam kung paano ko pa nabibilang ang mga araw. Walang araw rito, ang tanging ilaw lang ay mula sa apoy sa loob ng mansyon. Ang sabi ni Cirilo ay dahil ang masamang engkanto ay sanay na sa dilim, ito ang nagpapanatili sa kanilang mga alagang aswang na masaya. Cirilo ang pangalan ng batang bilanggo, sabi rin niya na ganun ang kanyang itsura dahil ang kanyang ama ay isang engkanto, isa sa mga mabubuting engkanto. Sinabi rin niyang dinala sila ng nanay nila para tumira sa kanyang tatay bago ito pumanaw, kusang-loob naglakbay ang kanyang nanay sa puno ng Balete, hindi tulad ng karamihan sa mga tao.
Day ???
Nandito pa rin kami ni Cirilo, gumagawa ng mansyon para sa aming mga amo. Hindi ko na alam kung ilang araw na ang lumipas, kung buwan o mga taon na. Sa palagay ko tinutulungan ako ni Cirilo para hindi maging katulad ng ibang bilanggo dito, siguro dahil meron akong kausap. Malakas siyang bata, ni minsan ay hindi niya kinibo ang aming mga amo, siguro malamang ito ang dahilan bakit galit sila sa kanya. Lagi siyang nakatingin sa dilim. Marahil may hinihintay siya.
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English Version
Day 5
I still don’t know what’s happening. They say I can leave any time I want, but whenever I try and go out the door, I can’t move. It’s like I’m being pushed away by some force. I tried begging my hosts to let me go, that this is some sort of mistake. That I have a family and I want to see them again, but I don’t think they care. They told me that I ate the black rice and by the “rules” I have to stay with them. Forever.
Day 14
Now I know how they built this mansion. I’m not the only human they have here, but the others, I think they’ve been here longer than I have. Their eyes seem dead and they barely talk except to acknowledge orders from the masters. I asked one of them how long she’d been here and she said ‘years’ before she started crying. But that doesn’t make sense, they’re all still my age.
Day 25
They brought in a new prisoner, this time it’s a small child. I thought that the child might be one of them, he had white skin and white hair and he seemed to glow, but the masters kicked him to the pit and made him lift rocks like the rest of us. I’ll go talk to him when the masters let us rest.
Day 26
I don’t even know how I’m counting the days. There’s no sun here at all, the only lights are from the fires inside the mansion. Cirilo says it’s because it’s because the bad engkanto are used to living in the dark, it keeps their Aswang pets happy. That’s the kid’s name, Cirilo, he says that he looks the way he does because his father was an engkanto. One of the good ones, or so he says. He tells me that his mother took them to live with his father before she died, she willingly took the trip through the Balete tree, unlike most humans.
Day ???
Cirilo and I are still here, still stuck building a new wing of the mansion for the masters. I don’t know how many days I’ve been here, it may be months, even years. I think being around Cirilo stops me from ending up like the others, maybe it’s because I have someone to talk to. The kid’s strong though, he’s never once flinched at the masters, maybe it’s why they hate them so much. He’s always looking out into the dark. Maybe he’s waiting for something.
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Story Continued from the Dalaketnon’s Tale
*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
Story inspired by Albino description in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao. 2010.
Albino Illustration and Watercolor by Sam Despi
Website: http://samdespi.com/
IG: @samdespi