*Note this story is in Kapampangan
Pasisibayu ne namang medisoras ing asawa na, siningal ne naman ing lalaki.
Menagkas ya keng angin ing malating lalaki. Mengisnawa yang marimlang angin bat keng ilug at siningal yang pasibayu. Dadala no ning angin deng pamanuksu at sitsit da reng aliwang maglalage. Lulsut la keng siwang ning bale dang kwayan anggang milagpas ya kareng bulung at linuksu keng ilug.
Kening ilug ne minunang ikit ing babai.
Makapadurut keng lalaki ing danum, makalbug ya at anti ya mong makaulas mabasa. Taimik keni, asnang katunud. Aganaka ne itang aldong akilala ne ing kayang asawa. Asne kasala ing aldo at mikapalyan ya keng kakewan, pepalbug no deng bitis na keng ilug kaybat megpiyak ya. Kanita ne minunang dimdam magkanta ing babai. Linub ya ing kanta keng balugbug ning lalaki kaybat sikmal ne ing puso na. Masaya la pa kanita.
Siyempre kontra ya ing pamilya ning babai. Aliwa la deng maglalage ning ilug kareng maglalage ning kakewan. “Ali ya map ing sirena kareng kalupa mu.” Mesukal ya lub ing lalaki kaybat da sinabi ita deng kapatad ning babai. Ali da kasi aintindian ing panamdaman na.
Ali naman dapat makanini. Ali dapat makanini kasakit ing kasal. Balu na at balu na rin ning asawa na ating bage na ali da akontrol. Ali la malyaring mikayanak maski na kasal la. Balu ning lalaki na makanta yang makuswelu ing asawa na, kaya pin paburen na nemu keng pamanintun na.
Miras ne keng lalam ning ilug at kinawe ya papunta keng lukib. Mengaligkig ya keng bawu da reng mete. Pegmasdan na lang deng mangalating butul, patung-patung at dikit-dikit la. Atin na naman kanyang bayung butul na matambak keni. Balu nang ali na dapat makaying isipan ing keinan da reng tau. Balu nang ali na no man talaga aintindian uling ali neman tau, pero aliwa ya talaga panamdaman patse akakit no deng butul.
Piniling ya kaybat kinawe ne pabalik keng pangpang. Sasabyan na keng sarili na makanini yang magkuswelu ing asawa na, na malati yang bage ini. Kabang maglakad ya pabalik keng kakewan, daramdaman nong magindredus deng aliwang maglalage. Ali na no pansin uling daramdaman na neng magkanta ing babai keng malawut.
Ing timan ning babai ing maulaga kaya.
Medisoras ne na naman ing babai at manaya ya.
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English Version
Again, she is late and again, her husband sighs.
The small man curses in the wind. He breathes in the cool river air and sighs for the third time. The taunts and whispers of the other sprits are thick on the wind. They breach the sanctuary of his bamboo home until he rushes past the leaves and jumps into the river.
The river where he first met her.
The water surrounds his body, submerging him in a blanket of liquid. There is silence here, there is peace. He thinks back to the day he met his bride. There was too much sun and he was uncomfortable in his grove, he dipped his feet in the side of the river and closed his eyes. That was the first time he heard her song. It filled his ears and stole his heart. Those were happy times.
Her family never approved, of course. The spirits of the river and the spirits of the grove lived in two different worlds. “A sirena is not meant for the likes of you.” Those words from her sisters cut deep. They would never understand what he felt.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Marriage wasn’t supposed to be this hard. There were things they couldn’t control, and she knew as well as he did. Their kind could never have children, at least not together. He knew being a mother was the only thing that could make her happy, so when she started her search he could only say yes.
He is at the bottom of the river now, and he swims to the cave. The smell of death sent shivers down his spine. He stared at all the small bones, stacked neatly, side by side. Soon, there would be another set to join them. He knew better than to succumb to human frailties. After all, he was not human enough to understand them, but the sight of the bones made him feel something strange.
He shook his head and swam back up the river. He told himself that this was the only thing that would make her happy, and it was a small price to pay. As he walks to his grove, the gossip of the other spirits reaches his ears. It doesn’t bother him, because he hears her song in the distance.
The only thing that matters to him is her smile.
She is late and he is waiting.
=——————=
* Kapampangan, Pampango, or the Pampangan language is a major Philippine language. It is primarily spoken in the province of Pampanga, southern Tarlac, and northeastern Bataan. Kapampangan is also spoken in some municipalities of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, by various Aeta groups of Central Luzon, and in scattered communities within the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. The language is known honorifically as Amánung Sísuan (“breastfed, or nurtured, language”)
Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Dyan Jill Tapang
Story inspired by Litao description in El Folk-lore Filipino written by Isabelo de los Reyes, translation by Dizon and Peralta-Imson. 1994. (Original Spanish Manuscript Printed 1889)
Litao Illustration by emirajuju
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Colors by Alexa Garde
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