*Note this story is in Hiligaynon
“Hindi maluyag sa akon”
Nag dako gid ang mga mata ni Mabel sang kakibot, hindi amo ni ang iya gina expektar nga ihambal ni Tonio, pero iya lang ini gin sabayan.
“Amo ina guro ang pinaka tam-is nga gin hambal mo sa akon” Gintulok ni Mabel si Tonio kag kabalo sila nga duha nga gin bilin na nila kung ano man ang sang una. Ang importante subong ang kung ano ang ila ginhimo sa sini nga tini-on
Wa-ay sila labot kung ano ang ihambal sang ila ginikanan. Waay labot si Mabel kung hindi gusto sang mga taho ang pamilya ni Tonio. Ang mga storya kag kuno-kuno nga pwede maka padelikado sa ila.
Si Mabel nalipay gid. Kaupod si Tonio, nalipay naman gid siya.
Kag amo lang gid na ang importante.
Ang mga pis-pis nagatulok bilang mga saksi sa duha nga naga higugmaanay samtang ang duha naga halukanay sang labis sa kagab-ihon nga mabito-on. Waay sila nag mitir nga isturbohon ang kanami sang tinion. Kay ang ila oras maabot gid sa insakto nga panahon
Pag hulat lang gid ang dapat nila himoon.
Ang duha nag tulok sa tagsa nila ka mga mata kag gusto gid nila nga hindi mag halin ang bulan, ugaling ang oras way sang may gina kilala nga agalon. Ang una nga mga silak sang adlaw nag lapos sa kasi-ot sang kakahoyan kag nag hamtang sa abaga ni Mabel.
“adlaw nagid subong” Ang mga mata ni mabel napuno sang luha “Ang akon kasing-kasing imo na nga daan.”
“Amo na ang akon gina kahadlok—“ ginsuguran ni Tonio
“Nahadlok man ko.” Gin kuha ni Mabel ang kamot ni Tonio kag gin butang sa iya kasing-kasing. “Waay ka kabalo nabatian ko ang ila storyahanay? Kagapon gin hambalan ko ni Lola Lena nga ang imo bilog nga pamilya gin sumpa kag kung makaupod taka ambot silingon lang na nga masumpa man ako.Pero gusto ko lang sang chansa nga ma palangga ka.
Ginpahiran ni Tonio ang mga luha sa guya ni Mabel.
“Palihug.” Ang iya mga mata amo ang armas nga kaluyahon ni Tonio.
Gin halokan niya liwat si Mabel sa kasilakon sang kaagahon kag kabalo na si Mabel sang iya sabat.
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Madumdum sa gihapon ni Tonio and iya nga sabor, bisan ano niya ka tilaw nga dulaon ang memorya sa iya huna-huna.
Makadilimat, halandumon.
Sapagkanamit.
“Hindi,” sa iya lang huna-huna“kaya ko ni himoon para sa iya. Waay na sang may mas importante sa akon kung hindi sya lang.”
Gina liwat-liwat niya ini nga tinaga sa iya huna-huna asta ini nangin isa ka butang nga nag resemblar sa kamatuuran.
Ang mga pis-pis naga kubo sa malapit nga kahoy sang lunok. Mabatyagan ya ang bug-at sang ila panulok nga naga panalup-sop sa iya kalag.
Nag ginhawa sya sang madalum kag ginpili nga hindi pag sapakon ang mga tingog sa iya huna-huna nga naga siling nga sala ang iya ginahimo.
Ini nga adlaw maga bag-o sa mga bagay-bagay, ini nga adlaw ang adlaw nga maga palagyo sya upod si mabel kag maga sugod sang kabuhi nga malayo sa iya pamilya,malayo sa sini nga banwa.
“Malayo sa gutom.” Grabe ang iya pag pangabay nga matuod ina, pero kinahanglan niya batonon nga mangin parti ina sang iya bag-o nga kabuhi, kabuhi nga iya mismo gin pili.
Nagtindog si Tonio sa kilid sang suba kag nag hulat sa iya palaabuton nga kalaslon. Ang tanan nga yara sa iya nagasiling nga dapat ya isugid kay Mabel nga malain sya ginhawa, pero hindi ni mainchindihan ni Mabel.
“Ang akon kasing-kasing imo na nga daan. ” Gin dum-dum niya ang mga tinaga ni Mabel, sang mabatyagan niya pa ang mga pitik sang kasing-kasing sa dughan ni Mabel.
Nagasugod na nga daan sa pag laway ang iya nga ba-ba, pero gin punggan niya ini. Nagalaum sya nga magaabot si Mabel sa hindi madugay.
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“Kapila ko na hambalan ang ina nga lalaki nga hindi niya pag hampangan ang iya pagkaon .”
Waay kabalo si Mabel kung diin sya, may butang nga naga tabon sa iya mga mata. Ang mga tingog sa iya palibot daw ka pamilyar pero hindi ya madumduman kung diin niya ini nabatian sang una
“sapagka niwang sa iya, daw hindi pa tama-tama sa isa ka kalan-an.”
“Ay ah, kaya mo man mag buhin-buhin sang dutay nga bug-at.”
“Subong mga utod ko nga babayi, dumduma ninyo nga-a yari ta diri, ang pagkaon makahulat na , ang dapat naton himoon tudluan ang ina nga lalaki sang leksyon.”
Mabatyagan ni Mabel ang isa ka matalum nga butang nga gin hamtang sa iya nga liog.
“Ti diin nga parte ang maayo?”
“Kadumdum ka sang ginhambal niya dai?”
“Ay oo,sampat gid na.”
Ang amo lang to nga mga taho nga wala labot ang nakabati sang ulihi nga syagit ni Mabel, kay may ubra sila nga dapat himoon
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Patunod na ang adlaw sang nag bugtaw si Tonio sa iya katulogon.
Ang mga pispis waay na sa ila gina kubohan kag kabalo sya sang ambot silingon sina. Nagdalagan siya balik sa iya balay nagapangamuyo nga waay sya sang may matukiban.
May box nga naga hulat sa atubang sang iya pwertahan, kag may card ini nga nagasiling “Kabalo kami nga gutom ka.”
Gin buksan ni Tonio ang box pero way sya na kibot sa unod sini. Nakibot sya sa kung ano kadasig mag laway ang iya nga ba-ba
Nag rago-ok ang iya nga tiyan kag nadumduman niya nga waay siya gali ka kaon duha na ka semana
“Ahay ti? ” sa iya lang huna-huna “Kanugon mani kung ihaboy lang.”
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“Don’t fall in love with me.”
Mabel’s eyes widened in surprise, it wasn’t what she expected Tonio to say, but she would play along.
“That may be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.” She looked at him and they both knew that they were leaving the past behind. What was important now was what they did in this moment.
She didn’t care what their parents would say. She didn’t care that people didn’t like his family. The stories and rumors could throw themselves off a cliff.
She was happy. With him she was finally happy.
And that was all that mattered.
The birds stared as mute witnesses at the two lovers as they kissed passionately in the starlight. They dared not disturb the sanctity of the moment. Their time would come soon enough.
All they had to do was wait.
The couple stared into each other’s eyes and wanted so desperately for the moon to keep still, but time has no master. The first slivers of sunlight danced past the dense forest and found their place on Mabel’s shoulders.
“It’s too late now.” Tears were filling her eyes. “My heart’s already yours.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of—“ Tonio started
“I’m scared too.” Mabel took Tonio’s hands and pressed them against her heart. “You don’t think I hear them talk? Yesterday Lola Lena told me that your whole family was cursed and if I was going to be with you then that meant that I would be cursed too. But I just want the chance to love you.”
Tonio wiped the tears away from Mabel’s cheek.
“Please.” Her eyes were weapons he was powerless against.
He kissed her again in the morning sunlight and she knew she had her answer.
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Tonio still remembered her taste, no matter how hard he tried to banish the memory from his mind.
It was so intoxicating, so exhilarating.
So delicious.
“No,” he thought “I can do this for her. Nothing is more important to me than her.”
He repeated the words in his head until it became something that resembled truth.
The birds were perched on a nearby balete tree. He could feel the weight of their stares bearing down on his soul.
He breathed in deep and chose to ignore the voices in his head that told him this was a mistake.
Today would change things, today would be the day he would run away with Mabel and they would begin a new life away from their families, away from this town.
“Away from the hunger.” He so desperately wished that would be true, but he had to accept that it would be part of his new life, a life that he chose willingly.
Tonio stood by the river and waited for his future bride. Everything in him told him to tell her that he was Malain it ginhawa – of a different breath, but she would never understand.
“My heart’s already yours.” He thought back to her words, when he could feel her heartbeat through her chest.
Already his mouth began to water, but he fought it off. He hoped she would get here soon.
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“I keep telling that boy not to play with his food.”
Mabel didn’t know where she was, there was something covering her eyes. The voices around her sounded familiar but she couldn’t remember where she had heard them before.
“She’s too thin, barely enough for one meal.”
“Oh hush, you could stand to lose a few pounds.”
“Now sisters, remember why we’re here, the food can wait, what we need to do is to teach that boy a lesson.”
Mabel could feel something sharp press against her neck.
“Now which part would be best?”
“Remember what she said, sister?”
“Oh yes, that would be perfect.”
The only ones that heard Mabel’s final screams didn’t care, they had a job to do.
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The sun was setting as Tonio awoke from his nap.
The birds were gone from their perch and he knew that it only meant one thing. He ran back to his house praying he would find nothing.
There was a box waiting at his front door, on it was a card that read “We knew you were hungry.”
Tonio opened the box and wasn’t surprised at its contents. What surprised him was how quickly his mouth began to water.
His stomach rumbled and he realized he hadn’t eaten in weeks.
“Oh well,” he thought “No sense in letting this go to waste.”
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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 Luke Advincula
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Luke Advincula
Inspired by the Aswang description in Amburukay. 2015. Sugidanon (Epics) of Panay. Caballero & Caballero-Castor trans Magos.
Aswang (Kinaray-a) Illustration by Kim Santiago
FB: Art of Kim Santiago
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