*Note this story is in Waray
Diri ni Lia karuyag an panahon yana nga gab-i. Yana pa gud umuran kun san-o niya nabayaan an kanya payong ngan nababaraka siya pag-uli. Saka-oras na siya nga naghinulat paghuraw, pero dimalas. Nagdesisyon siya pag-itsa sin sensilyo para makita kun mahugar siya sa trapik ngan makuha sin taxi o maghuhulat sa kanya opisina sin sayo pa kaoras. Hadi. Nadiri na siya paghuna-huna kun tagpira an taxi ngan nagsaad siya sa kanya kag-anak nga mauli siya yana nga gab-i para sa pangiklop sa kanra anibersaryo.
Pira la kaminutos nakakuha dayon siya sin taxi, bisan kun matrapik. Nagdagmit si Lia paglingkod sa luyo ngan nangaro dispensa sa drayber tungod san hulos sa lingkuran. Naghiyom la ini ngan nagsugad nga waray problema. Nalipay si Lia nga mala an buotan man ini ngan an trapik la an kanya poproblemahon. Ginugul-an na siya sa mga magpakalalangot nga drayber san taxi, permi sobra-sobra an sukot sa kanya. Ginsul-ot ni Lia an iya headphones ngan nagpatukar sin jazz para pakalmahon an kalugaringon. Grabe an trapik sanglit natural na la nga mahingaturog siya ngan pumiyong.
Kaburubutngaan san “Summertime” ni Louis Armstrong san nakabati siya sin guliat. Nahigimata si Lia ngan nagkipat-kipat pagsiguro nga diri siya nag-iinop. Ginhubo niya an headphones ngan nangulaw sa palibot. Adto siya sin masirom nga kwarto, sementado an mga lipon ngan may mga bagaon nga puthaw bisan diin. Sa butnga san kwarto may lingkuran ngan may babaye nga nalingkod.
Nakabusag an babaye, pero may mga baga nga alop sa kanya bado. Ginduok ni Lia an babaye ngan ginpakianhan kun okey la ini. Nahutok an ulo san babaye sanglit diri ni Lia makulwan an kahimo pero may nababatian siya tikang dinhi.
‘Ayaw pagtapod sa kanya.’ ‘Ayaw pagtapod sa kanya.’ ‘Ayaw pagtapod sa kanya.’ Gin-inuruutro san babaye an mga pulong. Ginsarihan ni Lia nga mas dumuok pa pero may kun nano nga nagpupugong sa kanya. Ginsugo niya an iya mga siki nga pumiktaw pero waray ini tumuod. Nagtinugbos la siya, waray kiwa-kiwa, sa atubangan san lingkuran.
May nababatian na liwat siya yana nga iba nga mga tingog ngan parapreho ini ginbabagaw. An una tikang sin sayo pa nga babaye nga nakabusag, nagpakulaw tikang sa luyo san lingkuran. An kahimo sini nga babaye kastigado nga diri na makilal-an. Ginsarihan ni Lia gumuliat pero an kanya tingog waray liwat tumuod pareho la san iba nga parte san kanya lawas.
An ikaduha nga babaye nga nakabusag may samad sa wala nga parte san agtang; nagdidinugo pa ini samtang naglalakaw tikadto sa tupad san lingkuran. An ikatulo nga babaye dinaraon nga nakagapos an mga kamot sa gutok ngan an kahimo natatahuban san halaba nga pili nga buhok. Puno san dugo an bado san babaye.
Nangulaw si Lia sa kababayen-an ngan gintudlok nira an nakadto pa sa lingkuran. Hinangad ini para makulwan ni Lia an kahimo. Mala siya an nangespiho. Pareho sira kahimo san babaye ngan inabat si Lia sin panggirabo sa kanya bug-os nga kalawasan.
Nangulaw si Lia paglata san babaye nga kapareho niya kahimo nga ‘Ayaw pagtapod sa kanya.’ Sayo pa kautro.
Ngan nahigimata siya.
Sige pa an tukar san “Summertime” pagbuklad niya. Nangulaw si Lia sa palibot ngan inabat siya nga waray pa makakabyahe sin harayo an taxi, harani la gihap sa kanya opisina. Nangungurog an kanya mga kamot tikang sa kanya inop ngan ginkuha niya an kanya selpon ngan nagtext sa iya kag-anak nga pasensya na kay diri siya makakauli sa ira anibersaryo.
Ginsumatan niya an drayber nga mahaw-as siya siton mismo nga kalye. Waray ni Lia asiha an mga protesta san drayber ngan ginsugad na la niya nga may nabayaan siya nga importante. Makusog la gihap an uran paghaw-as niya sa taxi ngan pagdalagan tikadto sa kanya opisina. May parte sa kanya an naghuna-huna nga bangin siya mahipaligad sa uran, pero waray siya labot.
Sa pinakauna nga higayon kahuman san kanya inop, inabat si Lia nga talwas siya.
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English Version
Lia didn’t like the weather tonight. It just had to rain on the day when she forgot her umbrella and she was worried about getting home. She had already been waiting for an hour for the rain to stop, but there was no luck there. She decided to flip a coin to see if she would risk the traffic and get a taxi or to wait in her office for another hour. It was heads. She didn’t want to think about how much the taxi would cost and she promised her parents she would be home that night in time for their anniversary dinner.
It only took her a few minutes to get a cab, despite the traffic. Lia rushed into the back seat and apologized to the driver for the rain on the seat. He just smiled and said it was no problem. She was happy that he seemed nice enough and that it was just the traffic that she’d have to deal with. She was tired of getting the obnoxious taxi drivers, always trying to extort extra money out of her. Lia put on her headphones and played a little jazz to lighten her mood. The traffic was bad so it just made sense to take a nap and she closed her eyes.
She was halfway through Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s “Summertime” when she heard a scream. Lia woke up and blinked to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. She took off her headphones and looked around. It was a dark room, the walls were cement and there was rusted steel everywhere. In the middle of the room there was a chair and a woman sitting on it.
The woman was wearing white, though there were red stains all over her dress. Lia approached the woman and asked if she was all right. The woman’s head was facing downwards so Lia couldn’t see her face but she could hear something coming from the woman.
‘Don’t trust him.’ ‘Don’t trust him’ ‘Don’t trust him.’ The woman repeated the words over and over again. Lia tried to get closer but there was something stopping her. She told her legs to move but they wouldn’t obey. She just stood, frozen, in front of the chair.
She could hear other voices now and they were saying the same things. The first came from another woman in white, appearing from behind the chair. This woman’s face was battered beyond all recognition. Lia tried to scream but her voice was as uncooperative as the rest of her body.
The second woman in white had a wound on the left temple of her forehead; it was still bleeding as she walked to the side of the chair. The third woman approached with her hands tied behind her back and her long, black hair covering her face. There was blood on all of the women’s clothes.
She looked at all the women and they pointed to the one still in the chair. Her head moved up so Lia could see her face. I was like looking into a mirror. The woman had her face and Lia felt a chill go down her entire body.
Lia watched as the woman with her face said ‘Don’t trust him.’ One more time.
And then she woke up.
“Summertime” was still playing when she opened her eyes. Lia looked around and she realized that the taxi hadn’t moved much, she was still very near her office. Her hands were shaking from her dream and she reached for her phone and texted her parents that she was sorry that she was going to miss their anniversary.
She told the driver that she would get out at this street. Lia ignored his protests and said that she left something very important. The rain was still pouring when she got out of the taxi and ran to her office. Part of her was thinking that she might slip in the rain, but she didn’t care.
For the first time since her dream, Lia felt safe.
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*Waray is the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people and second language of the Abaknon people of Capul, Northern Samar and some Cebuano-speaking peoples of eastern and southern parts of Leyte island. It is the third most spoken language among the Visayan languages, only behind Hiligaynon and Cebuano.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Waray translation by Jeremy Evardone
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Jeremy Evardone
Inspired by the Kaperosa legends
White Lady (Kaperosa) Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen
Watercolors by Mykie Concepcion
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