*Note this story is in Cebuano
Usa nalang ka higayon! Mao ni ang kinataposang abiso nga akong ihatag kanimo una tika
tangtangon sa trabaho!” Ming lamba ang pultahan samtang si Josh naghunahuna unsaon niya
pag salba ang sitwasyon.
Upat ka bulan nga Logistical Nightmare ang mingtutuk kaniya. Dili gyud mahimo nga mahuman
ang pagmugna tungod sa mga nahitabong kalangan og sabotahe nga maoy gi himong rason ni
Josh sa iyang boss. Daghan ra kaayong mga pag-atol ang nahitabo nga mura bag gi plano.
Sa unang buwan, adunay pagdahili sa yuta nga nahitabo. Ming-abot og tulo ka semana ang
paghabwa sa mga bato og yuta nga nag ali sa kalsada aron magamit pag balik ang dalan, unya
kini pirte pagyung mahala. Tungod aning panghitabo, minlapas na siya sa budget.
Pipila ka semana human aning hitaboa, mga truck napud ang mga gipangkawat unya wa gyud
masakpan ang kawatan. Kini maoy hinungdan sa pag pasaka sa seguridad apan kini usab
nanghinanglan og dako-dako nga kantidad. Wa nani nakaya ni Josh. Pwede ra siyang basulon
sa ubang buntang apan siya mismo kahibaw nga iya nang gibuhat ang tanan. Naka-antigo siya
nga aduna gyud nagpaloyo ani iyang nasinati.
Nag atang-atang si Josh sa Construction Site. Kaibaw na siyang nag hunahuna na iyang mga
trabahante nga tingale na buang na siya pero wa na niya panumbalingi. Bug-at ang camera sa
iyang mga kamot. Balirusu si Josh apan dili siya bogo. Hapit na siyang mawad-an og trabaho,
maong wa na siya nag duha duha sa pagkuha og ebidensya nga makatangtang sa pagbasol
nga gihatag kaniya.
Alas dos sa kabuntagon sa dihang nakapanimaho siyag aso. Mao na kini iyang gi paabot nga
higayon. Adunay gusto sunogon ang compound. Ming dagan siya pa-ingon saa aso samtang
nagkupot sa iyang camera.
Tulo ka adlaw ang ming-agi, gilabay na sa boss ni Josh ang iyang mga gamit. “Sayanga.” Nag
tuo siya nga dili talawan si Josh apan naa gyuy usahay nga mutalaw ang ka taw unya daganan
niya iyang mga responsibilidad. Iyang giyawyaw. “Karun, ako nay mulimpyo sa iyang agi.”
Ang nahabilin nalang kay nga camera ni Josh. Gitan-aw kini sa iyang boss apan wala kini laing
sulod kung di mga hulagway sa mga punuan. “Walay gamit.” Iyang gisulti dungan labay sa
basurahan.
=————————-=
English Version
“One more chance! That’s all I’m giving you before you’re fired!” The door slammed shut and Josh was left wondering how he could salvage the situation.
Four months of logistical nightmares were staring him in the face. There was no way the development could be completed after the setbacks, or sabotage as Josh kept trying to convince his boss. Too many coincidences were happening for it to be anything else.
The first month a landslide happened, completely cutting off the road. 3 painstaking weeks of clearing the rocks had to be done at a very expensive cost. The project was already dangerously close to becoming over budget and that tipped the scales.
A few weeks later whole trucks were being stolen and no one could find the culprit. Increasing the security was useless since it just kept happening and more money was being spent. Josh couldn’t handle it anymore. It was one thing to be blamed for your own mistakes, but he knew he did everything right. There was someone behind this, there had to be.
Josh waited at the construction site. He knew his workers were thinking he was crazy, but he couldn’t care about that, not when he had work to be done. The camera felt heavy in his hands, he was stubborn, but he wasn’t stupid. His job was already at risk, he wasn’t going to take chances on his life. Any evidence of sabotage would be enough to clear him of any fault.
It was about 2 AM when he smelled smoke. He knew this was his chance; someone was trying to set the compound on fire. He ran towards the acrid smell with his camera ready.
Three days later his boss tossed the remains of Josh’s belongings in the garbage. “What a waste.” The man never thought that Josh would be a coward, but people had a way of disappointing you. “He probably ran away because it was too much responsibility,” he said to no one in particular “Now I have to clean up his mess.”
The last thing that was left was Josh’s camera. His boss looked through the pictures and saw nothing but tree trunks. “Useless,” He said as he tossed it in the trash.
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*The Cebuano language, alternatively called Cebuan and also often colloquially albeit informally referred to by most of its speakers simply as Bisaya (“Visayan”, not to be confused with other Visayan languages nor Brunei Bisaya language), is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 21 million people, mostly in Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas and most parts of Mindanao, most of whom belong to various Visayan ethnolingusitic groups, mainly the Cebuanos. It is the by far the most widely spoken of the Visayan languages, which are in turn part of wider the Philippine languages. The reference to the language as Bisaya is not encouraged anymore by linguists due to the many languages within the Visayan language group that may be confused with the term.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Cebuano Translation by Julius Cesar Cudera
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Julius Cesar Cudera
Inspired by the Aniani entry in Myth Museum. Medina. 2015.
Aniani Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
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