*Note this story is in Bicol-Legazpi
“Dai mo ini makukua sagkod bako ka ubat.” iyo ini an pigsabi sako ni Mimi kan kinua niya an liyabi ko.
Nakapirang beses na akong nagtaram sa inda na okay lang ako, naka-maneho ngani ako sa mas maraut pang kondisyon saka para diyes minutos ang harayo kan sakong harong, kaniguan man na madisgrasya pa ako. Pero dai sinda nagdangog, sadit na parte kan sadiri ko an nagpapasalamat na may mga amigo akong arog ninda, pero an mas dakulang parte iyo an nauuyam ta kaipuhan kong maglakaw sa katahawan nin banggi.
Nagpresentar si Jherick asin Deng na ihatod ako pauli, pero an buyong na ako tinaraman sinda na dai na sa malain na paagi. Dai ko aram kun nata arog ako kaini, dai ko dapat tinutuklang paharayo an sakong mga amigo lalo na ngonyan.
Poon kan nagbulagan kami ni Grace, sige ko na sana an inom asin aburido sa maski sisay man na muya maki-istorya sako. Gabos sinda tigsusuportahan ako pero tigkokontra ko sinda, bako ako dapat sa saindang pagmakulog.
Lalo na kay Mimi, an malanyag asin magayon na si Mimi.
Sa gilid kan sakong mata, nahiling ko na naman siya. Talagang buyong gayod ako. An babaying nakaitom na pigmamasdan ang sakong mga kadimalasan, puwede na kutang pantula kun bako sana makauyam.
“Ano, maugma ka na?! Nauugma ka na nahihiling mo akong nagsasakit?!”
An aparisyon dai lamang naghiro sa irarom kan poste nin ilaw. Dai naman ako nagpinsar nin ano pa man. Poon kan pagsuwayan mi, nahihiling ko na ini lalo na pag hararom na ang banggi, pirming nasa irarom nin maski anong poste nin ilaw.
Sa kabuyongan ko, wara na akong pakiaram sa mga oras ini. Nagdalagan ako pasiring sa iya na may luha sa sakong mga mata
“Nata kaipuhan niya akong bayaan?!”
Hinakbot ko ang saiyang itom na bado, uminatras ini. Iyo ang inot na reaksyon na nakua ko hali digdi. Biglang nag-tirindog ang saiyang halabang buhok. Tulos na napaatras man ako asin an sakong kabuyongan nawara.
Ano man daw ang naglaog sa payo ko? Kun ano man ini, bako ini marhay. Pinirit kong magbalik sa huwisyo asin magdalagan paharayo digdi. Nakakaharayo na ako sa pagdalagan kan mamalisyahan kong dai man ki nagsusunod sako.
Siya nakatindog man giraray duman, pighihiling sana ako.
Kun ano man siya, bako na ito importante. May mga bagay na mas dapat kong inoton na isipon. Nag-uli na ako, nagkaturog asin nangiturogan kan mga babayi sa buhay ko.
Si Mimi. Si Grace. Ang babaying nakaitom.
Gabos sinda nagbiyo sa sarong pigura na pigbalo kong abuton pero harayuon na siya sako.
An sakong alarm nag-ribok, an payo ko garu mabuhang unong kan hangover. Nagsa-banyo ako para maglabar. Narumduman ko na niyaon pa palan kay Mimi an sakong liyabe.
May rason na ako na kaistoryahon siya.
Naglalakaw na ako sa luwas kan sakong harong kan diit pa akong makasuriyaw. Nasingkog pa ako kan sadiri kong sintas asin nadasmag sa daga.
Ang babaying nakaitom ituon pa nanggad!
Dai ini naghihiro pero pagkatapos kan mga nangyari kasubanggi,wara akong kusog nin boot na komprontahun ini. Dai ko ini hiniling asin nagdiretsong magsakay sa jeep paduman sa harong nira Mimi.
Tigpindot ko ang doorbell nira Mimi asin pighiling ko ang palibot. Pigsusunod ako kan babaying nakaitom. Sarong tinampo na sana ini asin nakahiling sa direksyon ko. Dai ko aram kung anong kaipuhan kaini pero sa ngonyan mas may importanteng bagay na dapat inoton.
Kaipuhan ni Mimi na maaraman kun ano namamatian ko para saiya.
Binukasan niya ang pinto, an saiyang magayang-gayang ulok iyo an nagsabat sako.
“Nom? Garu ubat na ah.” sabi niya. Dios ko, isalbar Nindo ako sa ulok niya.
“Mimi, puwede ba kitang magistoryahan?”
“Kung unong duman sa liyabe mo, tinao ko ito kay Jherick. Ihapit niya daa duman sa indo diyan na udto.”
“Bako ini unong duman. Puwede maglaog?” ang sakong palad nagpoon ng pagdaplosun asin naging mapagal an paghangos ko, pero dai na ako puwedeng umatras pa.
“Dagos na, ano ito?” Dinara niya ako sa silensyong parte kan saindang harong asin duman nagtuga ako saiya kan gabos.
Kun panong dai pa ako nakamidbid nin babaying arug niya. Kung panong maski kaiba ko si Grace, siya ang nasa utak ko, pig-iisip an mga posibilidad na puwedeng mangyari samo. Kun panong pareho kaming warang ka-trato sa ngonyan na baka puwede ming tawan nin panahon ang kada saro
Medyo nabigla ini pero dai man nakigkig.
“Ron, igwa na ako.”
Kan mga oras na ito, garo ako binagsakan nin mundo. Sinabi ko saiya na okay lang, na dai mina lang ini pagistoryahan maski nuarin.
“Sana maging maogma kamong duwa.” nasabi ko sa tahaw kan mga luha ko.
“Si Jherick ito.”
Garu ginurumos sa kulog ang sakong puso. Dai ko na ngani makakaibahan su babaying namomotan ko, tapos ngonyan sinda pa kan sakong pinakaamigo? Grabe. Grabeng kulog ang namatian ko
Ruminabas ako paluwas sa harong, ni dai na ako naghiling-balik. Nakahanap ako nin sadit na iskinita kun sain digdi ko pinabulos an sakong mga luha kan nahiling ko siya.
An babaying nakaitom.
Siguro sa bilog na oras, pighihiling niya an gabos na pangyayari. Mag-ugma na siya kun ano man ang nahiling niya. Iyo na ini ang buhay ko ngonyan, sarong pasang puso na nagpapakatawo na sana.
Dai. Dai ini puwedeng matapos lang nin arog kaini.
Nagbuhat ako asin nagtipon nin kusog ki boot, kaipohan kong magbalik asin kaistoryahon giraray si Mimi. Baka may maitaram ako na makapabago kan saiyang isip. Dapat magkaigwa nin paagi na kami an magkaibahan.
Nagdalagan ako sa tinampo pabalik sa harong niya.
Siguro kun mas naging maingat ako, nahiling ko kuta an sakayan na padangadang sako.
An babaying nakaitom, nakaulok. Ini iyo an hudyan na nahiling kan sakong mga mata.
=——————————————————-=
“You’re not going to get these back until you’re sober,” that’s what Mimi said as she took my keys.
I keep telling them I’m okay, I’ve driven under worse conditions anyway, besides my house is just 10 minutes away, there’s no way I could get into an accident. They don’t listen and a small part of me is thankful I have friends like those, but a bigger part of me is annoyed that he has to walk home in the middle of the night.
Jherick and Deng offer to walk me a few blocks to my house but the drunk in me tells them to back off, though in a more explicit way. I don’t know why I’m like this, I shouldn’t be pushing my friends away especially now.
Ever since Grace and I broke up all I’ve been doing is drinking and being a complete ass to anyone that tried to talk to me. Everyone’s been so supportive and they don’t deserve a guy like me fighting off their friendship.
Especially Mimi, sweet, beautiful Mimi.
Out of the corner of my eye I see her again. I guess I’m just that drunk. The lady in black watching over all my misfortune, it would be poetic if it wasn’t so damn annoying.
“Are you happy now?! Do you enjoy watching me suffer?!”
The apparition stands still under the light post, unmoving. I didn’t expect anything more. Ever since my breakup I’ve been seeing her late at night, always under some sort of lamp post.
This time I’m too drunk to care, I run up to her with tears in my eyes.
“Why did she have to leave me?!”
I grab her black dress and she steps back. The first reaction I’ve ever gotten from her. Suddenly her long hair stands on end. I instinctively back away and in that moment I sober up.
What was I thinking? Whatever this is can’t be friendly. I gather my senses and run as far away as I possibly can. I manage to get a running start before I notice that I’m not being followed.
She’s just standing there looking at me.
Whatever she is it doesn’t matter. I have more important things to think about. I head home and fall asleep dreaming of the women in my life.
Mimi. Grace. The Woman in Black.
All of them form into one figure that I try to reach, but she’s so far away.
My alarm rings and my head is splitting from the hangover. I go to the bathroom to wash my face and remember that Mimi still has my keys.
At least I’ll have a reason to talk to her.
I walk outside my house and almost shout. I trip on my own shoelaces and fall to the ground.
The woman in black is still there.
She doesn’t seem to be moving and after last night I don’t think I’ll be confronting her anytime soon. I avoid looking at her and make my way to the jeep to go to Mimi’s house.
I ring Mimi’s doorbell and look around. The lady in black is following me. She’s a street away and staring in my direction. I don’t know what she wants but right now there are more pressing matters.
Mimi needs to know how I feel about her.
She opens the door, her gentle hands and radiant smile greeting me.
“Well it looks like someone finally got up,” she says. God save me from that smile.
“Mimi, can we talk?”
“If it’s about your keys I gave them to Jherick. He’s supposed to drop them by your house at lunch time.”
“No it’s not about that. Can I go in?” My palms start to sweat and it gets hard to breathe, but it’s too late to go back now.
“Of course, what is it?” She leads us to a quiet place in their house and I tell her everything.
How I’ve never met any girl as amazing as her. How even when I was with Grace I would think about her and wonder what if. How now that we’re both single maybe we could give it a chance.
She looks shocked but not surprised.
“Ron, I’m seeing someone.”
And in that moment my universe collapsed. I tell her it’s fine, to just not mention it anymore.
“I hope you two are happy,” I manage to say in between my tears.
“It’s Jherick.”
A shooting pain goes through my heart. It wasn’t enough that the girl I loved couldn’t be with me, but her together with my best friend? It was almost too much.
I rush out of the house without looking back. I find a quiet alleyway to let my tears loose and I see her.
The lady in black.
She was probably watching the whole time. Well she can enjoy the show. This is my life now, a broken heart trying to be a man.
No. This can’t be how it ends.
I stand and muster all the courage I have to go back and talk to Mimi. Maybe I can say something that would change her mind. There has to be a way we could be together.
I rush through the streets to her house.
Maybe if I was more careful I would have seen the car coming towards me.
The last thing I see is the lady in black, smiling.
=———————————————-=
*The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate. There is a dialect continuum between the Visayan languages and the Bikol languages; the two together are called the Bisakol languages.
The Tabaco-Legazpi-Sorsogon (TLS) dialect is spoken in the eastern coast of Albay and the northeastern part of Sorsogon. TLS is the dialect that has been most influenced by the Inland Bikol languages.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Wella Guianan
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Wella Guianan
Inspired by a story told by Harold Juab
Illustration by likhatsining
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