*Note this story is in Waray
It usa ka gab-e nga kalipayan pwedi maging sunud-sunod ngada sanoman.
Gin abot hin napulo (10) ka tuig para mabaruan niya kun an karuyag signgon hito nga linya. Puro mga suga ngan dire mga kakilala an iya kaupod kada gab-e.
Karuyag niya an tokar nga bagan naagos ha iya bug os nga lawas. Karuyag niya an mga bag-o nga katawohan nga iya nakikilala, an makararayhak nga mga kalipayan. Mayda mga irimnun nga dire na ngani niya nangangaranan ngan mga bituon nga dire na niya manumdoman.
Puro karisyohan lat iya kinabuhi ngan tanan pwedi umupod.
Pero umabot an adlaw nga umabat na hiya.
An inpeksyon kay nagtinago lan maupay, umabot an pira anay ka tuig sano magpakita an tunay nga mga simtomas. Normal manla unta it hiranat, kakapuyon la hiya dayon bisan waray rason. Ngan umabot an adlaw nga nagpakita na an mga bukol.
An iya daw ito kalugaringon nga naato han inpeksyon, ansyan yakan han mga doctor. Tapos may mga gab-e nala nga mag pipinan ngadi hiya nga unta umato pa hira hin makusog.
Waray hiya paghuna hin maraot, an paghuna-huna han mga tawo tungod ha iya han ira na nabaruan. Tapos, nasumo nala hiya ha nga tanan nga mga maglain nga eksperyins, waray nala hiya pag estorya tungod hito, bisan ha pamilya ug kasangkayan. Kay an ira pagkita ha iya an nag bag-o, han una nahuhusayan hira ha iya, pero yana?
Ansya na ine yana it iya kinabuhi.
An mag liligtas unta ha iya, an antiretrovirals, pero bisan ngani pag kalma ha iya dre natalab. An nahimo la hine nga medisina an pahinayon an pag sarang han virus ha iya lawas, para daw mabuhi la hiya hin normal ug bisan manla harani la ha pagiging normal.
Waray hiya iba nga hingyap kundi an bumalik an iya una nga kinabuhi, mga paka sosyal nga sarayaw kada gab-e, makabiling hin dire kilala pero maupod ha iya para makit-an an maupay nga pag gawas han adlaw. Kaso natika lagas na hiya ngan naabat na hiya han bug-at han iya mga pagbasol nga bagan gin dadanas na hiya ngadto ha tuna.
Pero dire niya karuyag maging priso ha iya mga kabarasol-non.
Mayda la gihap naghuhulat ha iya nga maupay nga kinabuhi bisan kun pira nala hiya kaadlaw ha kalibutan. Bisan kun pira ka summer it lumabay, nahingyap la gihap hiya nga mayda la gihap maupay nga kabubwason para hiya, naghuhulat la.
Naghuhulat para la hiya.
Nag leave hiya ha trabaho, naghuna-huna lan iba nga para ha Holy Week. Umasa hira hin mga litrato niya ha dagat, nag babakasyon, naghuhulat la umulnod it adlaw.
Pero an hiya gud misyon kay harayo ha kun anuman an huna-huna han iya mga sangkay.
Naghalungkat hiya hin mga estorya nga may sugad han iya sakit. Mayda usa nga nasiring nga han una nga adlaw gumawas daw ito para makatirok hin damo pa nga biktima, mga kabataan nga ginkukuha an kasing-kasing para himuon nga anting-anting.
Ha luyo han iya awto mayda hiya usa kasako nga ambot kun anon sulod, kumita hiya luyo, waray nat gigi-os nga sako pira na ka oras an naglabay. Nakonsensya hiya. Karuyag gud ine niya buhaton?
Gin itsapwera nala niya an iya konsensya. Dire na hiya kikilal-on, dire na gud. Kailangan hin sakripisyo para makuha niya an karuyag.
Waray hibabaro kun anon postura hito. Mayda ngani mga estorya hin kambing ngan ayam nga patalikod an lakat. Mayda liwat itom nga misay pero demonyo. Mayda gihap estroya nga may tawo nga may lawas hin uwak, may pako, ngan an tiil kanan insekto.
Basta an hiya hibaro nga ansya la ini an makakasolbar ha hiya problema.
Ginkuha niya an sako, gindara ha halu-ag nga tuna ngan naghulat gumab-e. Karuyag niya mag sigarilyo pero bangen mahadlok an aada ha sako hin kumita hin usok.
Pumuruko hiya ngan gindat-ol an iya pusil ha hirani ha may kasing-kasing. Niruniyan pa, an sako naglinanguya pero waray lat niya pansina.
Bagan nanganga-piyong na adto hiya tapos mayda dako nga itom nga tidaraon ha iya. Malaksi. Mas malaksi kaysa iya huna-huna.
Umabot itun ha iya, pero ginkuha an sako ngan ginbanga. Maaram hiya nga makusog ini nga butang.
Nagikitaay hira ngan iya gin pusil.
Upat ka pusil tapos nawara na adto nga dako nga maitom. Kaso waray hiya pag singanhi para la bumalik nga waray dara. Iya ginlanat an halimaw ngan iya naabtan ha may salog nga itom an tubig.
Ginpusil niya an halimaw, usa ka pusil la tinablan na. Makusog ngan madagmit an tibok han iya kasing-kasing han sumarop hiya han tubig nga itom. Ngan iya gin inom.
Mapait ngan maaslom an iya rasa.
An iya rasa kay baga kan nakalaya.
English Version
A night of fun can follow you forever.
It took her 10 years to learn that lesson. Her nights were spent bathed in lights and surrounded by strangers.
She loved the rush of the music as it spread through her body. She loved the new people, the exciting scenes. There were drinks she couldn’t pronounce and stars she couldn’t wait to remember. Her life was a party and everyone was invited.
But then she started to feel it.
The infection hid itself well, years would pass before the real signs showed. Fevers would be a normal occurrence, she would feel tired every day without reason. And there were the bumps.
The doctors told her that it was her body fighting against the infection. There were nights where she prayed they would fight harder.
She didn’t think, that’s what most people assumed when they found out. After enough bad experiences she stopped talking about it, even to her family and friends. It was the way they looked at her that changed, people used to see her for the beauty that she was, but now?
Now this was her life.
Antiretrovirals, they were supposedly her savior, but they could never quite come down from the cross. All they did was slow the progress of the virus in her body, she could live a normal life, or as close to normal as possible.
There was nothing more she wanted than to run back to her old life, of dark nights and wild passions, of finding the stranger that she would watch the sunrise with. But she was getting old and she could feel the weight of regrets keeping her close to the ground.
She would not be a prisoner of her regret.
There was still the rest of her life she needed to live. No matter how many summers passed over her, she still had hope that the future was there, waiting.
Waiting just for her.
She took a leave from work for vacation, everyone assumed it was because of the Holy Week. They expected to see pictures of her by a beach, sipping on a sweet drink and lazing in the sun.
But her true mission was far removed from the leisure and luxury that others had come to expect.
She did her research, there were tales that it went out of hiding during that time to look for more victims, children whose hearts it would make into an amulet.
She stared at the sack in the back of her car. It had stopped moving hours ago and she felt a pang of guilt. Was this really what she wanted to do?
She chased away those thoughts. She would not be defined by one thing, not anymore. Certain sacrifices would have to be made to ensure that she would find her prize.
No one knew what it looked like. There were stories of hornless goats and dogs that walked backwards. There were other tales of cat like demons with black skin. There was even a legend of a crow like body with wings and grasshopper like legs that it used to leap.
All she knew was that it was the last thing that could help her.
She took the sack and waited in the field until night fell. Her body craved cigarettes, but smoke might scare the creature off and she wouldn’t take that chance.
She held the gun close to her chest and sat silently. The bag started to rustle after a few hours, but she ignored it.
Her eyes were heavy when she spotted a large black spot moving towards her. It was fast, faster than she expected.
It reached the sack and carried it in its mouth. The creature was strong and stared at her.
Their eyes met and she raised the gun.
Four shots and the creature was gone. She couldn’t have come this far just to be left with nothing. She ran to where the beast was and spotted a small pool of black liquid on the ground.
One of her shots hit it. Her heart raced as she knelt to the liquid. She took some in her hands and swallowed.
It tasted of bitterness and bile.
It tasted of freedom.
*There are Urban Legends that state that the blood of a Sigbin can cure HIV/AIDS.
*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
Translation by Ma. Rezza Ann Abanag-Pejana
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Ma. Rezza Ann Abanag-Pejana
Inspired by the Sigbin myths
Sigbin Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen