*Note this story is in Hiligaynon
“Makuwa ko ni sa duha ka minuto. Gamay man lang nga lakat ara nako sa piyak nga building kag kaya ko man makadalagan todo.” Gakabatyagan mo ang kuba-kuba sang dughan mo asta sa tiil, kamot mo gapalanugnaw kag gapalamalhas pati ang karubkub mo nagligad isa ka oras. Gapalanghugot imo batiis tapos nag ginhawa ka dalom para kabuwelo ka dalagan.
“Basi amo na ni ang ulihi ko nga paginhawa.” Sige na buya adrenaline nga gadalgan sa lawas mo. Kada tikang mo feeling mo ikaw na ang pinakadasig nga tawo sa bilog nga kalibutan. Chura mo ga ngisi, “amo na ni” pinsar mo, “naka abot na ko!” Pila na lang ka tikang imo tuyo.
“Abaw ah” Tingala ka ngaa kadasig to sa iya. Na piyuan mo guid nga maka palagyo ka. Ginatulok ka sang bayi nga gamudlo pula ya nga mata nga daw ga-lubid ang kaladlukan ya nga nawong pag siyagit ya. “Indi!!!” Ang tingok ka utok mo nag siyagit “indi ni dapat matabo!”
Gin bitbit ka sang mga pa.a mo sa piyak nga direksyon, pabalik sa safety ka puno. “Ngaa wala ko nagtinir sa sulod man?” Gina kaon ka kapaminsaron mo nga ga hinulsol ka sa mga disisyon mo. “Ngaa wala ko nagdalagan dalagan man? ” “Ngaa ari ko di sa amo ni nga lugar man?” “Ngaa wala ko namati sang may chansa ko sa una man? ” “Wala untat panabad mga tingog sa ulo mo”
Makita mo na ang puno. “Indi ni sa kalapaw sa mga sanga ya.” Naantiparahan mo nga wala pa lima ka minuto sang nagdalagan ka. Kung wala pa kaabot lima ka minuto ang diperensya subong kag sa kabuhi ko.
“Isa na lang ka tikang kag ara na ko.” Isa na lang ka dalagan kag indi ya na ko madakop. May tiyempo kadali nga duda antis nagdive ka sa dalom sang puno kag nagabalentong sa roots ya. Wala ka gakabatyag sakit tungod sa adrenaline. “Buhi pa ko.” Wala ka untat nga pasalamatan.
Asta gin butang mo na ang kamot mo sa dughan mo. “Wala, wala, waay guid…” Naglupad na paminsaron mo. “Di puwedi nga amo to sa ka dasig.” Gatulo na dugo mo sa mga tudlo mo nga naglambot asta sa bayo mo. “Naka abot ko, dapat nakaluwas ko.”
Sulit sulit mo gina hambal sa kaugalingon mo asta sa nawad.an ka na dugo.
“Dapat nakaluwas ko”. Amo na paminsaron mo antis magsarado mga mata mo, basi ulihi na ni.
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English Version
“I can make it in two minutes. It’s only a few feet to the next building and I can run fast.” You can feel your heartbeat reverberate to your feet, your hands are cold and sweaty and the chill down your spine has been there for the better part of an hour. The muscles in your legs start to tighten and you take one deep breath before starting your sprint.
“This might be the last breath I’ll ever take.” The adrenaline surges through your body. Each step makes you feel like you’re the fastest person in the world. Your face betrays a smile, “This is it!” you think, “I made it!” Your objective is just a few steps away.
“Oh no.” You don’t know how it got there so fast. You were so sure that you were going to outrun it. The woman stares at you with her bulging red eyes and her hideous face twists in a scream. “No!” The voice in your head shouts “It wasn’t supposed to be this way!”
Your legs take you in the opposite direction, back to the relative safety of the tree. “Why didn’t I stay indoors?” The decisions all start coming back to haunt you “Why didn’t I take up running?”, “Why am I in this place?”, “Why didn’t I listen when I had the chance.” The voices in your head won’t stop talking.
The tree is in sight now. “It won’t be able to get past the branches.” You realize it’s been less than five minutes since you started running. Less than five minutes would make the difference between now and the rest of your life.
“One more step and I’m there.” Just one last dash and it won’t be able to grab you. There is a moment of doubt before you lunge under the tree and crash into the roots. You don’t feel much of the pain because of your adrenaline. “I’m still alive.” You’ve never been more grateful.
Until you put your hand to your chest. “No, no, no…” Your mind trails off. “It couldn’t have been that fast.” The blood starts to trickle down your fingers onto the rest of your clothes. “I made it, I’m supposed to be safe.”
You repeat those words in your head until there’s too much blood loss. “I should be safe.” Was what you thought before you closed your eyes. Maybe for the last time.
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*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 Urnn Propakarpyo
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Urnn Propakarpyo
Inspired by the Abat entry in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.
Abat illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
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