*Note this story is in Tagalog
Nangyari ang lahat na kasing bilis ng isang patak ng tubig.
Ang dagat ay pininturahan ng dugo. Ang isang tahimik na gabi ay pinalamutian ng mararahas na bahid. Ang liwanag ng buwan ay nagbigay-saksi sa isang tanawing mas karaniwan sa katayan ng nga hayop.
Sa lahat ng kaguluhang ito ay nakatuon lamang si Mhik sa mainit na luhang umaagos sa kanyang pisngi. Sinumbatan niya ang kanyang sarili: “Malaki ka na; huwag kang umiyak. Pagtatawanan ka ni Kuya at hindi ka seseryosohin nina mama at papa.”
Hindi na niya makita ang kanyang pamilya; hawak-hawak niya ang kamay ni kuya ng magsimula ang lahat. Hiniling niya sa mga tala na maayos na ang kaniyang kalagayan, na sana matapos na ang bangungot na ito.
Tiyak na narinig ng mga nilalang ang kanyang pagsumamo. Sa paligid niya, nagsiikot sila na parang mga buwitreng uhaw sa dugo, naghihintay ng madaling pagkain.
Kitang-kita na sila ni Mhik ngayon, nagniningning sa liwanag ng buwan ang mga nagbabalangaw na mga kaliskis. Naisip niya ang lahat ng pagkakataong sinabi sa kanya ni papa na hindi totoo ang mga halimaw, na pinipigilan lamang siya ng takot.
Mas maraming luha ang nangingilid sa kanyang mga mata ngayon. Hindi niya alam ang gagawin. Pulang-pula ang paligid niya. Tinawag niya si kuya, ang kanyang mama and papa. Sumigaw siya hanggang sa magsilab sa sakit ang kanyang lalamunan. Gusto lang niyang makasama ang kanyang pamilya.
Palapit na ng palapit sa paglangoy ang mga halimaw. Ninais ni Mhik na takpan ang kanyang ilong, pero hindi kaya. Sobrang baho ng alingasaw. Dumausdos patungo sa kanya and mga nilalang, lalo pang bumilis. Pinikit niya ang mga mata at naghintay sa hindi maiiwasan.
Napahiyaw ang nilalang sa sakit habang tinutuhog ng sibat ang ulo nito, bumulwak ang dugong malapuyot mula sa sugat nito. Naghiwa-hiwalay ang ibang nilalang at naiwan si Mhik magisa, subalit akala niya lang pala iyon.
“Nakakadiring mga hayop.” Narinig ni Mhik ang tinig ng isang babae na nagmula sa karimlan. Umikot siya at hinarap ang pinanggalingan ng tinig.
“Lumangoy tayo. Maaaring natakot ko sila sa ngayon, ngunit babalik sila. Ang kanilang uri ay hindi kailanman gustong mag-iwan ng mga saksi.” Mabilis ang babae, ilang saglit lang ay nakalangoy na siya ng ilang metro sa unahan ni Mhik. Sinubukan ng batang babae na maabutan, ngunit hindi siya ang pinakamalakas na manlalangoy.
Mukhang naramdaman ng babae ang pagkabalisa ni Mhik at lumangoy ito sa tabi niya.
“Huwag kang mag-alala malapit na tayo.” Sinubukan niyang magbigay ng katiyakan, ngunit ang kaniyang tinig ay may bakas ng katatagan mula sa digmaan.
Nagsiwalat ang liwanag ng buwan ng isang maliit na bangka na hindi napansin ni Mhik. Itinayo siya ng babae at naramdaman ni Mhik ang lamig ng gabi na gumagapang sa kanyang mga buto.
Naglabas ng kumot ang babae at ibinigay sa maliit na bata. Nagpasalamat siya sa babae kahit nanginginig.
“Nasaan ang pamilya ko?” Tanong ni Mhik sa lamig at luha.
Iniwasan ng babae ang pagtingin sa mga mata ni Mhik. Wala siyang naisagot.
“Pakiusap po! Sabihin ninyo po sa akin!”
Muli siyang sinalubong ng katahimikan.
“Pakiusap po. Ang pangalan ko po ay Mhik. Pumunta po ako dito kasama ng aking kuya at mga magulang. Hindi ko po alam kung nasaan sila. Nakita ninyona siguro ang nangyari sa kanila.”
“…”
“Malaki po ang kuya ko, kamukha po ng tatay ko. Kamukha ko po si mama pero mas matanda siya. May nunal siya sa gilid ng mukha. Pakiusap po, ma’am, sabihin ninyo po sa akin kung ano ang nangyari sa kanila!”
Sinalubong ng babae ang tingin ni Mhik subalit hindi nagsalita. Kahit bata pa lang si Mhik ay napuna niyang may habambuhay na kalungkutan sa likod ng mga mata ng babae.
“Ikanalulungkot ko.”
Nadurog ang puso ni Mhik. Naalala niya ang lahat ng pulang kulay sa paligid niya.
Nabasag ng kanyang pagsigaw ang katahimikan ng tubig habang tinawag niya ang mga pangalan ng kanyang mag-anak.
Walang kapatawarang ang init ng araw, nigunim gayon din siya.
Tinunton niya ang mga nilalang sa isang kuweba na malapit sa Punto ng Binurong. Maraming pumapasyal sa lugar na ito, at dito tiyak na manginginain ang mga nilalang.
Hinawakan niya ng mahigpit ang kanyang rosaryo at nagdasal. Ginawa niya itong ritwal bago mangaso
“Nawa’y protektahan Mo ako mula sa mga halimaw sa dagat. Ama sa Langit, dinggin mo ang aking panalangin.” Ang mga salita ay dinala ng hangin habang inihahanda niya ang kanyang mga sandata.
Karaniwang nanghuhuli ang mga nilalang sa gabi, ngunit may mga kataliwasan, lalo na kapag malapit sila sa masaganang paligid, kung saan maraming makakain.
Bumaha sa kanyang isipan ang mga alaala at sinubukan niyang pigilan ang mga luha.
Maraming taon na ang nakalipas mula nang isinumpa niyang hanapin at lipulin ang kasuklam-suklam na mga nilalang mula sa balat ng lupa, para matiyak na walang ibang magdurusa tulad niya.
“Para sa ‘yo ito kuya.”
Inihanda niya ang kanyang mga sibat at lumangoy sa yungib.
“Na-miss mo ba sila?”
“SINO SILA?”
“Pamilya mo.”
“Araw-araw.”
“Bakit mo ginagawa ito?”
“Para walang sinuman ang makaramdam ng naramdaman ko.”
“Sulit ba ito?”
“Minsan.”
Tatlo lang ang nasa kweba, nakatakas sa kaguluhan ang iba.
Minura niya ang sarili, “Kailangan kong maging mas mabilis.” Pinunit niya ang isang piraso ng kanyang basang-basang kamiesta at ginawa itong benda.
Sa kanyang pamantayan, maikli ang labanan. Inaasahan niya mas mahigit na labanan. Kumuha siya ng isang piraso ng kanyang kamiseta na basa ng dugo at ginawa itong benda.
“Lubha akong mabagal, napakarami ang nakatakas.”
Iniisip niya ang mga susunod nilang biktima, ang mga batang naiwan na walang magulang.
“Kailangan kong maging mas mabilis.” Sinabi niya ito sa kunsinoman.
Mahigpit niyang hinawakan ang kanyang rosaryo at humingi ng tawad sa kanyang diyos. Alam niyang iba ang magbabayad sa kanyang kabiguan.
Lalaban ako hanggang sa aking hininga, mahal na Panginoon.” Bumabaon ang rosaryo sa kanyang balat, subalit hindi niya pinapansin ang sakit.
“Basbasan ninyo po ang aking mga sibat upang mahanap nila ang kanilang mga pakay. Aalisin ko sa mundo ang kanilang kasamaan, kung ipapahintulot mo.”
Palubog na ang araw ngayon. Tinitingnan niya ang mga katawan ng mga nilalang at ninanamnam ang kabisadong na amoy ng dugo at tubig-alat.
“Patawarin mo po ako, Panginoon.”
Kinuha niya ang kanyang mga sandata at sinimulan muli ang kanyang pangangaso.
=———————————————-=
It all happened as fast as a drop of water.
The sea was painted with blood. Violent streaks decorated the canvas that was supposed to be a quiet evening. Moonlight gave witness to a scene more familiar at a slaughterhouse.
In all this tumult Mhik could only focus on the warm tears rolling down her cheeks. She chided herself, “You’re a big girl now, don’t cry. Kuya will make fun of you and mama and papa won’t take you seriously.”
She couldn’t see her family anymore; she had been holding her kuya’s hand when it started. She wished upon all the stars she could see that he was okay, that this nightmare would soon be over.
The creatures must have heard her prayer. They circled around her like a wake of bloodthirsty vultures waiting for an easy meal.
Mhik could see them clearly now, iridescent scales shining in the moonlight. She thought back to all the times papa told her that monsters weren’t real, that fear only holds you back.
More tears were welling in her eyes now. She didn’t know what to do. There was so much red all around her. She called for her kuya, for her mama and papa. She screamed until her throat burned. She just wanted to be with her family.
The monsters were swimming closer now. Mhik wished she could cover her nose. Their stench was overpowering. The creatures glided towards her, picking up speed. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
The creature screamed out in pain as a spear impaled its head, blood and ichor spurting out of its wound. The other creatures scattered and Mhik was left alone, or so she thought.
“Nasty beasts.” Mhik heard a woman’s voice cut through the darkness. She spun around and faced the origin of the voice.
“Swim with me. I may have scared them off for now, but they’ll be back. Their kind never likes to leave witnesses.” The woman was fast, in a matter of moments she had swam a few meters ahead of Mhik. The lithe girl tried to catch up to her, but she was never the strongest swimmer.
The woman seemed to have sensed Mhik’s trouble and swam alongside her.
“Don’t worry we’re almost there.” Her voice tried to sound reassuring, but there was a hint of steel from the battle.
The moonlight revealed a small boat that Mhik hadn’t noticed. The woman boosted her up and Mhik could feel the chill of the night creep into her bones.
The woman took out a blanket and gave it to the small girl. She thanked the woman though she was shivering.
“Where’s my family?” Mhik asked through the cold and the tears.
The woman avoided looking into Mhik’s eyes. She gave no reply.
“Please! Tell me!”
Again she was met with silence.
“Please. My name is Mhik. I came here with my kuya and my parents. I don’t know where they are. You must have seen what happened to them.”
“…”
“My kuya’s big, he looks just like my dad. My mom looks a little like me but older. She has a mole on the side of her face. Please ma’am, tell me what happened to them!”
The woman met Mhik’s gaze and didn’t speak. As young as Mhik was she could tell there was a lifetime of sadness behind the woman’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
Mhik’s heart sank. She thought back to all the red that was around her.
Her screams broke the stillness of the water as she called out her family’s names.
The sun was unforgiving, but so was she.
She tracked the creatures to a cave near Binurong Point. There were many tourists in the area and it would be a prime feeding ground for the creatures.
She held her rosary tight and said her prayers. It was her ritual right before every hunt.
“May You protect me from the monsters of the sea. Heavenly Father, hear my prayer.” The words were carried on the wind as she prepared her weapons.
The creatures usually hunted at night, but there were exceptions especially when they were around a target rich environment.
Memories flooded her mind and she tried her best to hold back the tears.
It had been years since she made the pledge to hunt these abominations off the face of the earth, to make sure no one else suffered as she had.
“This is for you kuya.”
She readies her spears and swims into the cave.
“Do you ever miss them?”
“Who?”
“Your family.”
“Every day.”
“Why do you do this?”
“So that no one ever has to feel the way I felt.”
“Is it worth it?”
“Sometimes.”
There were only three in the cave, the others must have escaped in the commotion.
She curses herself, “I needed to be faster.” She rips a piece of her blood-soaked shirt and fashions it into a bandage.
The battle was short by her standards. She expected more of a fight. She takes a piece of her blooad-soaked shirt and fashions it into a bandage.
“Too slow, too many of them got away.”
She thinks of their next victims, of the children left behind without parents.
“I need to be faster.” She says to no one in particular.
She grasps her rosary tight and asks her god for forgiveness. She knows someone else will pay for her failure.
“I will fight until my dying breath, dear Lord.” The rosary digs into her skin and she ignores the pain.
“Please bless my spears so they will find their marks. I will purge the world of their evil if you will it.”
The sun is setting now. She looks at the bodies of the creatures and savors the familiar scent of blood and saltwater.
“Forgive me, Lord.”
She takes her weapons and begins her hunt anew.
=———————=
Story inspired by the Magindara description in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao 2010.
Magindara Illustration by Jojo Cunanan
Deviantart: https://yamitoki.deviantart.com/
Behance: https://www.behance.net/yami_to_ki937b
