*Note this story is in Hiligaynon
Nabatian mo ang mga tingog nila nga ginatawag ang imo ngalan kag napayuhum ka tungod diri. Sa imo huna-huna, isa na naman ini ka gab-i sa syudad nga puno sing kasadya. Wala ikaw makadumdom kung sa diin ukon kung san-o mo sila nakilala, apang indi na ina importante sa imo, kay napun-an ka na sing kalipay. Kaupod sa ila, nagapangasadya man ang imo tagipusuon, kag nagasanag kag nagatahum pa guid ang imo nga kalibutan.
Katahum. Katahum sa ila. Kag manggaranon. Ini nga mga tawo halos indi mapatihan nga matuod. Daw ginaganyat ka kung magtulok ka sa manami nila nga mga mata. Daw indi ka pa guid magtandog sa ila mga maanyag nga panapton tungod sa kahadlok nga basi maguba ang tahi kag tela. Nagasidlak ang ila mga bayo kung maiguan sing kasanag nga daw huna-hunaon mo nga human ang mga ini sa bulawan. Basi amo man gid.
Sini nga gab-i, gindala ka nila sa lain nga lugar. Sa isa ka house party, siling nila. Apang paglab-ot didto, indi ini anggid sa mga party nga nakita mo sang-una. Regal, malapad, maluho, ni indi mo mabal-an kung ano nga mga tinaga ang makalaragway sa dalayawon nga sitwasyon sa sulod.
Ang kasadyahan napun-an sing mga magwapa kag magwapo nga mga tawo, apang makatilingala. Wala sing may naghambal nga isa ato gali ka costume party. Madamo sa ila ang nakapanapton kaangay sang mga bruha kag aswang, indi kaangay sa imo ginsuob. Wala man nagakabalaka ang imo bag-o nga mga abyan kag nagahambal lang nga ang importante yara ka upod sa ila.
Gintagaan ka nila sing mga pagkaon. Mayara sing itom nga kan-on, ugaling bal-an mo kung ano ang mas maayo. Mayara sila sing tanan nga mga managmi nga kagamiton, pati na ang mga managmi nga droga. Ginkaon mo man ini nga wala sing pagduwa-duwa. Naiguan ka na sing epekto. Imo nabatyagan nga nagailis ang itsura sang imo mga upod, ang ila mga buhok kag mata nagaputi. Nabatyagan mo man nga ikaw nagalutaw na, nga daw ginahakwat ikaw halin sa salog. Ang musika nagatudo man nga nagatudo.
Ginlantaw mo ang imo relo. Alas-dos na sing aga. Ginhuna-huna mo nga kinahanglan mo na magpauli. Magpauli sa imo normal, makasulum-od nga kabuhi, upod sang imo normal kag makasulum-od nga mga abyan. Ugaling wala ka na sing labot subong, imo napanumdom nga indi naman malain kung indi ka magpauli.
Indi mo na gusto magpauli.
Kay daw indi mo na man mahimo.
=——————————=
English Version
You hear their voices calling your name and you smile. Another night of fun out in the city, you think. You don’t remember where you met them or when that was, but it doesn’t matter, all you know is the thrill. How it makes your heart beat when you’re with them, how the world is somehow open and beautiful again.
Beautiful. They’re so beautiful. And rich. These people are almost too good to be true. They have eyes that just captivate you within a second of looking at them. You’re almost afraid to touch their clothes, like touching them might destroy the delicate fabric. They so brightly in the light you almost think they might be made of gold. Maybe they are.
Tonight they take you somewhere different. They say it’s a house party. When you arrive it’s unlike any house you’ve ever seen before. Regal, spacious, luxurious, you can’t even find the words to describe how amazing it is just to be inside.
The party is filled with equally beautiful people, but also some strange ones. No one told you it would be a costume party. So many people dressed as witches and aswang that you feel underdressed at this occasion. Your new friends don’t mind though, they say it’s so great to have you here.
They offer you some food, it looks like some kind of black rice, but you know better. They have all the best things, including the best drugs. You eat it without a second thought. The high is amazing. You feel things start to change and move around you. Everyone seems to be changing, their hair and eyes turning white. You can feel yourself floating, like you’re being lifted off the floor. The music feels like it’s getting louder.
You look at your watch. It’s 2am. Getting late. You know you have to get home. Have to go back to your normal, boring life, with your normal, boring friends. But somehow you don’t care anymore, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to stay.
You never want to go home.
You don’t think you can.
=—————————=
*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 Nicole Ponsoy
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Nicole Ponsoy
Story inspired by the Dalaketnon entry in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos.
Illustration and Watercolor by Laura Katigbak
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