*Note this story is in Waray
Nagkamayda ka na ba sangkay nga may duha nga kinabuhi?
Mayda mga sikreto nga gintatago ang mga tawo, may iba nga diri mo ginlalauman ngan kun mahibaruan mo, kinahanglan mo pumili.
Mayda ba akos bag-uhon an sikreto?
Waray ko pa gihapon nabaton an sugad nga pakiana. Han mahibaruan ko kun ano hiya… diri na kapareho han naglabay an mga butang ha giutan namon. Yana baga hin diri ko gud hiya nakilala.
Nadiskubre ko samtang tiuli kami. Lahos na ha katutnga han gab-i ngan han makaabot kami ha baybayon han salog, nahibaro kami nga waray paragbugsay nga magdudul-ong ha amon ngadto ha tabok.
Karuyag ko hadto nga bumalik ha baryo, magbiling hin lugar kun diin poyde magpalipas han gab-i, kundi nag-insister an akon sangkay nga tumabok kami ha salog.
Han magpakiana ako kun tiunan-o, nagsering la hiya nga “Bubuhaton ko ikaw.”
Tumawa ako. Kahuna ko, nag-iintrimis la hiya.
Pero hiya diri, ngan an sunod nga nahitabo, nalupad na kami nga baga hin padis han mga tamsi. May parte ha akon hunahuna nga nahahadlok, samtang nalilipay an usa parte ha katalwasan nga makukuha la ha paglupad.
Ubos la kami mahulog tikang ha kahanginan tungod kay mayda mga limon ha akon bursa. An sering han kalagsan ha akon, epektibo nga armas ini kontra ha mga sugad ha ira. Baga hin magbug-at nga darad-on an mga limon para ha ira.
Usa nga aswang an akon sangkay.
Ginpabay-an ko nga mahulog an mga limon ngan ginbaba niya ako ha tabok han salog. Waray pa kami makag-istorya tikang hiton, kundi maaram ako nga sadang an iya pagtapod han akon agud igtago an iya sikreto.
Nagdesisyon ako nga diri igsumat bisan kanay, nakuha niya an akon pagtapod ha pagigin akon sangkay ngan diri ko iton tatrayduron.
Kundi danay, diri ak nahingangaturog ngan napapapinsar.
Tinuod ba hiya nga sangkay o ako an sunod niya nga pagkaon?
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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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*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 Joan Sebastian
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Joan Sebastian
Based on “The Aswang of Baco’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
Aswang (Tagalog) Illustration by Ysa Peñas
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