*Note this story is in Tagalog
Nagkaroon ka na ba ng kaibigan na nabuhay sa dalawang katauhan?
May sikretong itinatago sa mga tao, ang ilan ay hindi mo inaasahan at kapag nalaman mo kailangan mong pumili.
May nababago ba ang sikreto?
Hindi ko pa rin masagot ang tanong na iyon. Noong nalaman ko kung ano siya… hindi naging pareho ang mga bagay sa pagitan namin. Ngayon hindi ko akalain na kilala ko siya.
Nalaman ko ito habang pauwi na kami. Pasado hatinggabi na at nang makarating kami sa baybayin ng ilog at nang nalaman naming wala ng tagabangka na magdadala sa amin patawid.
Gusto kong bumalik sa baryo, maghanap ng matutuluyan, ngunit pinilit ako ng aking kaibigan na tumawid kami sa ilog.
Nang tanungin ko kung paano niya sinabi na “Ako ang magdadala sa iyo”
Tumawa ako. Akala ko nagbibiro siya.
Ngunit hindi pala, at bago ko nalaman na lumilipad kami sa hangin tulad ng isang pares ng mga ibon. Ang isang bahagi ng aking isipan ay nababalot ng takot, habang ang isa naman ay nasiyahan sa kalayaan na tanging hangin lamang ang makapagbibigay.
Muntik na kaming mahulog sa langit dahil may lemons pala akong dala sa bulsa. Tanda ko pa ang sinabi sa akin ng mga matatanda na sila ay isang mabisang sandata laban sa mga uri ng aswang. Ang mga lemon ay maaring magdulot ng mabigat na pakiramdam para sa kanila.
Aswang ang kaibigan ko.
Hinayaan kong mahulog ang mga lemon upang magpatuloy siya sa paglipad at ng makarating kami ay ibinaba niya ako sa kabilang ilog. Hindi na kami nag-uusap simula noon, ngunit alam kong sapat ang tiwala sa akin ng kaibigan para itago ang kanyang sikreto.
Nagpasya akong huwag sabihin kahit kanino, nakuha ko ang tiwala niya sa tinging ko’y sapat na ang pagiging kaibigan ko para hindi siya ipagkakanulo sa anumang bagay.
Ngunit kung minsan ay nagpupuyat ako sa gabi at nagtataka sa kakaisip na kung kaibigan ko ba talaga siya o ako na ang susunod niyang kakainin?
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English Version
Did you ever have a friend that lived a double life?
There are secrets that people hide, some you would never expect and when you find out you have to make a choice.
Does the secret change anything?
I still can’t answer that question. When I found out what he was… well things haven’t really been the same between us. Now I don’t think I ever knew him.
I found out while we were on our way home. It was past midnight and when we reached the shore of the river we found that there was no boatman to bring us across.
I wanted to go back to the barrio, find someplace to stay the night, but my friend insisted that we cross the river.
When I asked how he just said “I’ll carry you.”
I laughed. I thought he was joking.
But he wasn’t and before I knew it we were flying through the air like a pair of birds. Part of me was scared out of my mind, while another enjoyed the freedom that only soaring through the winds could give.
We almost fell out of the sky because I had lemons in my pocket. The elders told me that they were an effective weapon against their kind. The lemons would feel like heavy weights to them.
My friend is an aswang.
I let the lemons fall and he dropped me off on the other side of the river. We haven’t spoken since, but I know my friend trusted me enough to keep his secret.
I decided not to tell anyone, he had earned my trust by being my friend and won’t betray that for anything.
But sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder.
Am I really his friend or his next meal?
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*Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Annie Joy Belleoñes Coronacion
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Annie Joy Belleoñes Coronacion
Based on “The Aswang of Baco’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Aswang (Tagalog) Illustration by Ysa Peñas
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