*Note this story is in Cebuano

“Huwat gud! Paspas ra kaayo mo!” Gisuway’g apas ni Reymark ang iyang kagrupo. “Abi ko’g lakaw-lakaw lang ni, mura man mo’g gamaraton, bai.”

“Oy, nireklamo na ang yaya. Mura’g mangadyast lang sa ta tanan.” Nagpakita si Maria sa iyang tatak nga yinam-id. “Nganong nikuyog man pud ka namo? Kahibaw baya kang kakuyog ka’g mga hanas nga mangatkatay.”

“Kahibaw ko ngano nikuyog siya’s ato.” Naniko si Jori kang Reymark ug mihatag og himalong pasiplat.

“Hilom gud.” Naniko balik si Reymark.

“Hunong mo tanan. Nalingaw ra ta ug narelaks. Ipadayon lang na nato, okey?” Gitudlo ni Danylyn ang ubos sa baliti. “Pwede ta mupahuway anha.”

Mihunong ang pakiglalis sa grupo ug mituman sila Sa gusto sa ilang lider. Lisodlisod ang panaw nga nahitabo, bisan sa ilang estandard. Gidawat sa mga mangatkatay ang tsansang makaginhawa ug makainom og tubig.

Mipundo na ang singot sa ilang agtang. Ang Adlaw karong adlawa labi ka bangis.

“Una lang nya mo, apas ra ko,” miingon si Reymark.

“Ay pagdali gud, sobra na ta’s katunga hapit. Di ka angay magungot-ungot kon maglisod na. Pangisog.” Gisuway’g pasaka ni Danylyn ang pamuot sa iyang amigo, apan wala kaayo’y epekto.

“Seryoso ko, una lang mo’s ako. Tanga sa ko ari’s ma’y landong. Muapas ra ko kon mabalik na akong enerdyi.”

“Unya, Rey, di ka kakita’s nindot nga byu.” Gisikdo ni Jori iyang ulo padung kang Maria; ug pasalamat lang nga wala’y kalibotan siya’s unsa’y gipasabot ni Jori.

“Seryoso bitaw, galangay ra ko ninyo. Abot lang nya ta kon humana mo, unya maniudto ta o unsa ba.”

“Ikaw gud.” Gipunit ni Danylyn iyang bag ug mikuha sa kinataposang higop sa tubig. “Sige na ta, andam na mo. Tiwason na ni nato unya tan-awn unsay tumoy ining bukira. Dobol-taym!”

Ang uban, gawas ni Reymark, mikuha sa ilang mga butang ug misaka sa sakaon. Mipaspas si Jori haron kuyogan ang linaktan ni Danylyn, apan gibaliwala lang gihapon siya—mao ma’y naandan ni Danylyn. Hapit na sab ang eleksyon unya ganahan si Jori mapresidente. Gipakita ni Jori ang iyang kapabilidad haron madag-an niya si Danylyn.

Si Maria aduna lang sa iyang kaugalingong kalibotan. Gisul-ob niya iyang erpon ug gipamaks ang bulyom. Wala siya’y paki sa mga gagmayng butang sama anang ranggo. Mianhi siya sa bukid haron murelaks ug mubiya sa kahasol sa syudad.

Ug gibilin si Reymark ilalom sa baliti. Mihunong ang pitik sa iyang kasingkasing sa iyang pagkagrabing pagdugdog unya naghinay na sa pantayng pikpik. Nakadakop si Reymark og usa ka pangtutok ni Maria una siya miapas sa uban unya misugod na sab ang iyang kasingkasing.

“Yawa, karon na pud?” Gimando ni Reymark iyang kasingkasing nga pasagdaon lang sa ang katinuoran nga iya g’yod intawon gipaninguhaa’g tago. Mihupaw na lang siya sa pagsurender. Basi’g naabot na ang panahon nga ingnon na niya si Maria nga unsa iyang pamati. 

“Unsa man pu’y mahitabo.” Gipagawas niya ang iyang gihunahuna.

“Basin sab og dili siya alang kanimo,” mitubag ang usa ka nindot ug hapit mahuning tingog.

Milingi dinhi-didto si Reymark, apan wala’y lain kuyog niya. Napanalipdan siya sa bug-at nga Adlaw ilalom sa landong sa baliti, unya sigurado sab siya nga aduna sa palibot ang mga buhing butang siya lang ug ang kahoy.

“Nayabag na ko.” Gilugod ni Reymark iyang mata ug mihuy-ab. Mura’g mas nakapoyan siya’g maayo sa panaw kaysa iyang namatikdan. Milingkod siya’s usa ka patag nga bato ug misandig siya’s kahoy.

“Dili gayod ikaw higugmaon niya.” Nadungog na sab niya ang tingog. Karon saba ug pino, mura’g aduna dapit sa iyang dunggan mitubag ang tingog.

“Hoy! Jori, kon gitripingan na pud ko nimo, dili kataw-anan!” Mihulat si Reymark og tubag. Ang mga yagayaga ni Jori hapit na makalagot, ug mura’g panahon nang yawyawan niya ang kining pesteha. 

“Dili gayod siya mahigugma kanimo. Dili sama kanako.” Migawas ang tingog sa iyang likod. Mituyok si Reymark ug nagkaatubang siya sa kinaanyagang babaye nga iyang nakita. Iyang panagway mura’g gikulit sa kinamahalang marmol, ug iyang buhok mibuhagay paubos sa iyang abaga sama sa itom kaayong busay.

Iyang mga mata mao ang dili malingkawasan ni Reymark. Laglom sila, ug mura’g manusok paingon sa iyang kalag magkadugay magtan-aw ang babaye sa iyaha. 

“Ngano nga gihigugma nimo siya?” nangutana ang balighong babaye. 

“Kay brayt siya ug gwapa,” mitubag si Reymark.

“Dili, dili na mao, dili ba? Aduna pa’y laing hinungdan.” Gitangtang sa makalapos nga tinan-aw sa babaye ang mga sanib sa pagduhaduha nga kanunay nagpuno ni Reymark.

“Siya—” misulay og tubag balik si Reymark, apan ang kamot sa babaye naabot sa iyang dughan. 

“Dili ikaw makatago sa tinuod, dili usab sa imohang kaugalingon.” Mitan-aw ang babaye sa iyang mata, uban sa hapit masubong ekspresiyon. “Bisan kon mahiligon ikaw.”

“Siya ra ang mukatawa.” Ang kamatuoran mura’g miawas gawas sa iya. “Kon magdyok gani ko, sila tanan muana nga wala’y lami kuno ug kabuangan ko nila, pero siya ra’y di. Si Maria ra g’yod ang mukatawa sa akong mga dyok. Mutingsi g’yod siya pirme kon naa ko, unya abi ko’g gapasabot na nga ganahan pud siya nako, pero ambot lang. Wala g’yod ko kaingon’s iya.”

“Nga nahigugma ikaw kaniya?”

“Siya ra ang babaye nga akong gidamgo. Akong mabuhat tanan haron maako siya.”

“Usa ka pagbati nga talagmanon.” Milingkod ang babaye sa usa ka patag nga bato atubangan ni Reymark. “Ang gugma nga ing-ana dili gayod aduna’y maayong kahumanan.”

“Unsa’y pasabot nimo?”

“Ang kalayo nga magsunog og ing-ana kahayag magdugay lang og katunga.”

Mitan-aw si Reymark sa babaye. Gwapa siya kaayo, apan mabantayan niya ang kasubo nga aduna ilalom sa iyang pagkamalinawon. Mibarog ang babaye ug mihikap sa kahoy luyo ni Reymark ug mibira og usa ka bungo.

Miatras si Reymark, nakuratan sa unsa’y gigunit sa babaye.

“Kini ang akoang una nga gihigugma.” Milutok ang babaye sa bungo ug iyang tingong mihumok. “Abi namo nga ang kalibotan lang sa amo igunit.” Gibutang niya ang kalabera sa may ugat sa kahoy. “Sayop kami.”

Nabati ni Reymark ang yuta nga miuyog. Ang baliti mura og mibuka, ang mga balagon ug ang mga dahon nagpakita og makakuyaw nga matan-aw. Aduna’y unom ka kabukogan gilinya ilalom sa kahoy. Aduna sa imakuladang kahimtang ang mga bukog, sinaw kaayo sa maudtong Adlaw.

“Sayop kami tanan.”

Hasta ang hangin mirespeto sa kahilom sa eksena. Naghilom si Reymark samtang nagbarog, iyang ginhawa nagpahinumdom niya sa relayedad sa unsa’y nahitabo. Nagbarog lang ang babaye atubangan niya, nawala sa iyang mga hunahuna.

“Kahibalo ba ikaw sa unsa ang mahitabo kon usa sa akong kalahi mahulog sa paghigugma sa usa ka tawo?” Miadto siya sa kinatuohang tigom sa mga bukog ug gigunitan niya ang kamot. “Kini ang mahitabo.

“Ang gugma usa ka sayaw nga adunay makapatay nga kumpas. Mawad-an ang mga katipik sa imohang kaugalingon nga wala ikaw nakahimatngon nga ikaw aduna diay. Dayon, sa kinataposan, maigo ikaw. Gugma diay kato sa dugay na. Ang hinungdan ug ang kahimtang, ang panghulda nga aduna kanunay. Ang kataposan ug ang sinugdanan.”

Ang suga mibanda sa pagtulo sa iyang mga luha paubos sa iyang nawong.

“Dili gayod siya mahigugma kanimo. Dili sama sa akoa.”

Nasinati ni Reymark nga migaan ang iyang batiis, ang kaluya mikatag sa iyang tibuok lawas. Ang baliti mura’g mitubo palibot niya, ang mga balagon milukot sa iyang mga kasway. 

Miduol ang babaye ug gihalok si Reymark.

“Nahigugma ako kanimo.”

Migakos ang kahoy sa kang Reymark. Ganahan mulihok siya pero iyang lawas dili ganahan mutabang. Gilamoy sa baliti si Reymark hangtod wala’y nahabiling usa ka agi.

“Nahigugma ako kanimo.”

=—————————=

English Version

“Wait up! You’re walking too fast!” Reymark tries to catch up to the rest of the tour group. “I thought this was supposed to be a stroll, you guys act like you’re in a marathon.”

“Ok everyone, the slowpoke’s complaining, I guess that means everyone else has to adjust.” Maria hit back with her trademark smirk. “Why did you even come with us? You knew that you’d be in the group with experienced mountaineers.”

“I know why he’s with us.” Jori elbowed Reymark and gave a knowing glance.

“Shut up.” Reymark elbowed back.

“Enough, all of you. This is a nice, relaxing trek. Let’s keep it that way, alright?” Danylyn pointed towards the base of a balete tree. “We can rest over there.”

The group stopped their bickering and surrendered to their leader’s wishes. It had been a rough trek, even by their standards. The mountaineers welcomed a chance to catch their breath and rehydrate.

Sweat was collecting on their foreheads, the sun was especially merciless today.

“You guys go ahead, I can catch up,” Reymark said.

“Oh come on, we’re less than halfway there. You can’t keep taking breaks when things get hard. Soldier on.” Danylyn tried to boost her friend’s morale, but there was little success.

“I mean it, go ahead without me. I can stay here by the shade and catch up when I have my energy back.”

“But Rey, you’ll miss the great view.” Jori nudged his head in Maria’s direction and she was thankfully oblivious to the gesture’s meaning.

“Guys, seriously. I’ll just slow you down. We can meet up after you guys finish the trek and I can have lunch or something.”

“If you say so.” Danylyn picked up her backpack and took a final sip of water. “Alright guys, gear up, let’s get this hike finished and see the top of this mountain, time to hustle.”

The rest of the group took their gear and headed up the steep incline. Jori sped up to match Danylyn’s stride and Danylyn ignored him as she always did. Elections were coming up and Jori wanted to be the president, he tried to show his capabilities by attempting to overshadow Danylyn.

Maria was in her own little world. She put her earphones on and set the volume to maximum. She didn’t care about petty things like positions. She came to the mountain to unwind and leave the burdens of the city behind.

And that left Reymark underneath the balete tree. His heartbeat had stopped its rapid crescendo and normalized into a smooth aria. He caught one last glimpse of Maria before she caught up with the rest of the group and his heart started up again.

“Dammit, not now.” He ordered his heart to ignore the truth he so desperately tried to hide. Reymark gave a sigh of surrender. Maybe it was finally time to roll the dice and tell Maria what he felt.

“What’s the worst that could happen? “ He thought out loud.

“Maybe she isn’t the one for you.” A beautiful, almost melodic voice replied.

Reymark looked around, there was no one there with him. The shade of the balete tree shielded him from the overbearing sun, and he was certain that only the tree and himself were the only living beings around.

“Now I’m hearing things.” Reymark rubbed his eyes and yawned. The trek must have taken more out of him than he thought. He sat on a flat rock and leaned his back against the tree.

“She will never love you.” He heard the voice again. This time it was loud and crisp, almost as if the voice spoke directly to his ear.

“Hello? Jori if this is another one of your pranks it’s not funny!” Reymark waited for a reply. Jori’s incessant teasing was getting on his nerves and it was about time he gave the pest a piece of his mind.

“She will never love you. Not like I do.” The voice came from behind him. Reymark turned around and faced the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her features seemed to be carved from the most expensive marble, her hair cascaded down her shoulders like a jet-black waterfall.

It was her eyes that he couldn’t escape from. They were deep set and seemed to pierce into his soul the longer she looked at him.

“Why do you love her?” The strange woman asked.

“She’s smart and beautiful,” Reymark answered.

“No, that’s not it, is it? There’s something more.” Her penetrating gaze shed the layers of doubt that normally filled Reymark.

“She—“ Reymark tried to answer again but he woman put her hand on his chest.

“You cannot hide the truth, not even from yourself.” She looked him in the eyes, with an almost melancholy expression. “Even if you wanted to.”

“She was the only one that laughed.” The truth seemed to flow out of him. “Whenever I tell jokes, everyone says how corny they are and makes fun of me, but not her. Maria was the only one who would laugh at my jokes. She would always smirk when I was around and I thought that meant she liked me too but I’m not sure. I never told her.”

“That you loved her?”

“She is the only girl I dream about. I would do anything to be with her.”

“A dangerous sentiment.” The woman sat on a flat rock in front of Reymark. “Love like that never has a good ending.”

“What do you mean?”

“A fire that burns that bright only lasts half as long.”

Reymark stared at the woman. Beautiful as she was, he could sense sadness behind her placid exterior. She stood up and touched the tree behind him and pulled out a skull.

He stepped back, startled by the object the woman was holding.

“This was my first love.” The woman stared into the skull and her voice softened.  “We thought the world was ours to take.” She set it on the foot of the tree. “We were wrong.”

Reymark felt the ground rumble. The balete tree looked as if it was opening up, the vines and leaves revealing a macabre sight. Six skeletons were lined up beneath the tree. The bones were in immaculate condition, shining bright in the afternoon sun.

“We were all wrong.”

Even the wind respected the stillness of the scene. Reymark stood silent, his breathing a reminder of the reality of the situation. The woman just stood in front of him, lost in her own thoughts.

“Do you know what happens when one of my kind falls in love with a human?” She walked to the rightmost set of bones and held its hand. “This happens.”

“Love is dance to a deadly rhythm. You lose parts of yourself you didn’t realize you had. Then, it finally hits you. It was love all along. The cause and crisis, the ever-present menace. The end and the beginning. “

The light reflected on the tears flowing down her face.

“She will never love you. Not like I do.”

Reymark felt his legs buckle, weakness spreading over his body. The balete tree seemed to be growing around him, the vines wrapping about his limbs.

The woman leaned in close and kissed Reymark.

“I love you.”

The tree embraced him, he tried to move his arms but his body would not cooperate. The balete tree engulfed Reymark until not a single trace was left.

“I love you.”

=—————————————=

*The Cebuano language, alternatively called Cebuan and also often colloquially albeit informally referred to by most of its speakers simply as Bisaya (“Visayan”, not to be confused with other Visayan languages nor Brunei Bisaya language), is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 21 million people, mostly in Central Visayas, western parts of Eastern Visayas and most parts of Mindanao, most of whom belong to various Visayan ethnolingusitic groups, mainly the Cebuanos. It is the by far the most widely spoken of the Visayan languages, which are in turn part of wider the Philippine languages. The reference to the language as Bisaya is not encouraged anymore by linguists due to the many languages within the Visayan language group that may be confused with the term.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Cebuano Translation by Jan Alexander Arcenal
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Jan Alexander Arcenal

Inspired by ‘The Enchanted Tree of Parang.’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.

Engkantada Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/KurtPrieto

*Note this story is in Hiligaynon

Mabatyagan niya ang ila mga mata nga nagapanit sang iya mga kahuya. Indi man ato ila sala. Ang katahum nga parehas sang iya naga-demanda sang igtalupangod kag ang entablado amo ang lugar kung di-in iya makakas tanan nga mga pakunokuno kag mangin matuodtuod nga espirito nga amo ang ginapalangga sang iya mga tumalambong.

Mga kirab nagabayle sa iya mga panit sa butkon sang nagsugod na ang una nga koro. Ang iban niya na mga upod indi kauyon na matalupangdan, mas gusto nila nga daw gintago sila digto sa Biringan, apang si Amihan gintak-an na sang ila mga pagsulundan nga ginhimo tungod sang kakulba.

Ti-on na para sa ika-tatlo nga bersikulo: “Kung kahibalo ako kung paano ko ikaw ka palangga tani nagpabilin ako. Pero ang tiempo naga-agaw sang tiempo. Nabilin ako nagatan-aw sang nagligad, nagahulat sang palaabuton magsugod.” Naghugyaw ang tumalambong sang nagkanta siya kag iya nadab-ot ang mataas nga G. Daku nga kalipay na halin sa iya boses, wala sang makaguba sang ini nga higayon.

Wala gid luwas lang sang naga ngut-ngut sa iya panit. Nga daan naghalin ini sa likod sang mga nagtambong, ang indi ma sal-an nga hamot sang salamangka sa hangin. Daw nakibot si Amihan sang ini kag siya nagdali-dali sa katapusan sang kanta nga ang banda binudlayan mag lagas sa iya, apang natapos man nila ang kanta.

Nagdali-dali si Amihan pakadto sa iya ilislan nga kuwarto, ang iya kabulig nagasunod man sa iya. Ila na mabati-an ang tumalambong nagapangayo sang dugang nga mga kanta, apang dapat lang sila maghulat. May mga mas importante na bagay nga iya atipanon.

“Ginahulat ko ikaw.” Gin trangkahan ni Amihan ang puwerta. Si Jesa, ang iya kabulig nga dugay na naga-antos maga-antos pa liwat kay wala ginasapak ni Amihan ang pagpanuktok sa puwerta.

“Ginkawat mo ang akon ideya.” siling ni Bukad sa iya dala ang pagmudlo sang mata. Ang hamot sang mga matam-is nga bulak nagapalibot sa iya ilislan. Nadumduman ni Amihan kung diin naghalin ang ngalan ni Bukad, kung paano ang mga espirito mag biyahe kag maga-untat sa mga hardin sang bulak para maglapta sang dala sang mga bahu sang ini sa bukid.

Wala gid nanamian si Amihan sang hamot sang mga bulak.

“Indi mo mapanag-iyahan ang isa ka ideya.” siling ni Amihan samtang ginpalayo niya ang buhok sa iya mata. Gintipon niya tanan nga kaakig sa iya lawas kag ini ginpakita niya kay Bukad.

“Akon ato kag ginkawat mo!” Nagpalapit si Bukad. Mga makusog kag bayolente nga hangin naghampak sa mga pader sang kuwarto.

Nagpanguy-ab si Amihan kag nagyuhum sa iya kaaway.

“Untat na sa mga ini nga hampang. Kabalo man kita nga duwa nga indi ikaw makusog para magbato sa akon.” May hangin nga nagsulod sa kuwarto kag nag angot sa butkon ni Bukad. Mga espirito parehas kay Bukad wala nagadugo nga daw mga tawo, apang ang hangin nga nagadalagan sa sulod sang iya lawas nag-awas sa iya pilas.

Si Bukad nagkadlaw kag nabatyagan ni Amihan iya panit nga daw nagabiti-biti. May ara sang bag-o sa hangin, isa ka madaan nga butang.

“Indi ako maghalin diri asta makuha ko ang akon!” Nagpaguwa si Bukad sang isa ka hiyas kag ini iya gintudlo sa kay Amihan.

“Di-in mo ina ginkuha?” Kabalo si Amihan kung ano ang ginpaguwa ni Bukad, hiyas na may gahum, hiyas nga may bantay. Indi mahimo nga si Bukid may kusog maka-agaw sang hiyas halin sa bantay, kag indi man siya kabalo kung paano ma usar ang gahom sang hiyas.

Subong nagalutaw na sila nga duwa, ang mabaskog nga hangin sa kuwarto makatabon sang mga siyagit ni Jesa.

Sa puwersa sang ini nga hangin, wala nag-atras si Amihan. Siya ang naghalin sa ila pungsod kag nagkadto sa lugar sang mga tawo, mga mortal. Siya ang nagliwat sang lawas niya bilang isa ka madaku nga artista nga may pagdayaw sang milyones. Siya ang may karapatan nga dayawon.

Ang mga mata ni Bukad naga-inggat, parehas sang inggat sang hiyas. Madamol ang bahu sang mga bulak, si Amihan daw masuka sa ini nga bahu.

“Ikaw ang nagpabilin sa Biringan!” singgit ni Amihan sa babaw sang hangin.

“Mahalin na ako tani, apang wala ako gintugtan.” Balik sabat ni Bukad.

“Imo ina problema! Ikaw ang nagasunod sa kung ano ang ila ginpahimo sa imo!” Nagpangusog si Amihan sang iya lawas kontra sa daw bagyo nga hangin nga halin kay Bukad.

“Imo na salabton sa lawas mo!” siling ni Amihan samtang nagapalapit na siya sa hiyas. Gin-unat niya iya kamot kag gindab-ot ang naga inggat nga bola. “Ginhimo ko ang indi nimo mahimo, ginpamati-an ko lawas ko! Madugay ang ti-on kung ginahulat ang mo ang ti-on!”

Nabatyagan ni Amihan ang gahum sang hiyas nagalatay sa iya mga ugat. Mabatyagan ang kusog ni Bukad nga amo man nagalatay sa naga-inggat nga bola. Madaku kag makusog ang kahisa, mga kasakit nga si Amihan wala sang oras nga talupangdon. Iya ang iya kabuhi. Iya ini nga ti-on.

Ang gahum ni Bukad ara sa pagpalapnag sang matam-is nga bahu sang tig-ilinit, apang si Amihan amo ang puwersa sang bagyo. Nagdulot ang iya panulok sa mata ni Bukad nga may mantsa na sang luha kag iya ini gintulok nga may kaluoy.

“Indi gid man ini imo bisan san-o pa.”

Ang kamot ni Jesa nagsalakit sang panuktok. May mga beynte-sinko minutos na nga naglabay kag ang mga tumalambong nagapangayo pa nga si Amihan magkanta liwat. Si Amihan may mga pinasahi nga batasan pero ang pagpahulat sang iya mga humalangad indi isa sang ini.

Kag ang gahud nga halin sa kuwarto nga iya ilislan labaw pa sa sound system. Daw iya ginahungod nga indi sila mabati-an sang kalibutan sa guwa.

Si Jesa ginabayaran sang maayo agod nga wala sang problema ang mga palaguwaon ni Amihan kag dala na ang ini nga gab-i. Ang mga humalangad makabati sang tingog ni Amihan liwat bisan iya pa butungon sa buhok ang artista pakadto sa entablado.

Si Jesa nangusog kag iya ginsipa ang puwerta. Nahulog ang puwerta kag iya na kita ang kuwarto sa sulod nga daw nalukpan sang granada. May lipong nga babayi sa tunga sang kuwarto kag si Amihan nagatindog lang sa iya tupad.

“Ma’am…ang mga tumalambong nagahulat…”

“Gusto pa ako nila mag guwa liwat? Sigue, kay-uhon ko lang ini.”

Si Jesa nagtan-aw lang nga ginpudyot ni Amihan ang nagainggat nga bola halin sa kamot sang babayi kag iya ini ginbutang sa iya bulsa.

“Abi buligi ako kag himusa ang akon kuwarto. Ginbisita ako sang isa ko ka amiga.”

Ginpahigad ni Amihan si Jesa kag naglakat balik sa entablado, iya ginakanta na ang mga liriko.

“Hmmmmm mmmm….Nagatan-aw ako sa nagligad. Hmmmm…nagahulat sang akon palaabuton mag sugod…”

=—————————————————–=

English Version

She could feel their eyes peel the insecurities off her skin. It wasn’t their fault, of course. Beauty such as hers demanded attention and the stage was where she could shed all pretenses and be the genuine soul that her beloved audience could adore.

Sparks danced around her bare arms as she started the first chorus. The others of her kind didn’t want too much attention to be brought upon themselves, they would rather stay locked away in Biringan, but Amihan had enough of their rules made out of fear.

It was time for the third verse: “If I knew how much I loved you I would have stayed. But time takes too much time. I’m left looking at the past, waiting for my future to begin.” The crowd cheered as she belted the high G. It was sonic ecstasy, nothing could ruin this moment.

Nothing except what was pricking at her skin. It came from across the audience, the unmistakable scent of magic in the air. Amihan was caught off guard and rushed through the bridge, the band struggled to catch up but they managed to finish the song.

Amihan dashed to her dressing room, her assistant not too far behind. Already they could hear the audience demanding an encore, they would have to wait. There were more important matters that she had to attend to.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Amihan locked the door behind her. Jesa, her long suffering assistant would have to suffer a little longer as Amihan ignored the pounding on the door.
“You stole my idea.” Bukad stared her down. The smell of sweet summer flowers surrounded the dressing room. Amihan remembered where Bukad’s name came from, how the spirit’s would travel and stop by the flowerbeds to scatter their scent through the mountains.

Amihan always hated the smell of flowers.

“You can’t own an idea.” Amihan pushed away her hair from her eyes. She collected every shred of contempt in her body and directed it towards Bukad.

“It was mine and you took it!” The girl moved forward. Violent winds started to crash through the dressing room.

Amihan yawned and shot a smile at her rival.

“Stop with the parlor tricks. We both know you’re not strong enough to challenge me.” A streak of wind shot through the room and connected with Bukad’s arm. Spirits such as they did not bleed like humans, but the air that coursed through her leaked from her wound.

Bukad started to laugh and Amihan felt her skin crackle. There was something new in the air, something old.

“I won’t leave here until I get what is mine!” Bukad took out a small jewel and pointed it towards Amihan.

“Where did you get that!?” Amihan knew what it was, a jewel of power fiercely guarded by the bantay. There was no way Bukad would have been strong enough to fight one, let alone know how to channel her magic through the jewel.

They were both floating now., the winds in the room loud and violent enough to drown out even Jesa’s shouts.

Even against the onslaught Amihan would not back down. She was the one that ran away from their city and went to the human lands. She was the one that remade herself into an icon that was adored by millions. She was the one that deserved to be adored.

Bukad’s eyes started to glow with an unearthly light, the same color as the jewel. The smell of flowers was thick, Amihan almost felt like vomiting from the stench.

“You were the one that stayed in Biringan!” Amihan shouted through the gale.

“I was going to leave, but they wouldn’t let me!” Bukad answered back.

“That’s you’re problem! You were the one that let them tell you what to do!” Amihan braced herself against the small hurricane coming from Bukad. She felt the wind cut against her flesh, but the pain didn’t matter. “You were the one who let your dreams die!”

“No! It’s your fault! I told you my plan! How I would go to the human lands and use my magic to make them love me! You stole my life!” Tears were streaming down Bukad’s face as her winds strengthened.

“Take responsibility for what you did!” Amihan inched closer to the jewel. She stretched out her arms and put her hands around the glowing orb. “I did what you couldn’t do! I listened to myself! Time takes too much time!”

Amihan felt the power of the jewel coursing through her veins. She also felt Bukad through the power of the jewel. There was so much envy, so much pain that Amihan had no time for. This was her life. This was her moment.

Bukad’s power lay in the scattering of the sweet summer scent, but Amihan’s was the force of the typhoon. She stared into Bukad’s tear stained eyes and gave one last look of pity.
“This was never yours to begin with.”

=—————————————————————=

Jesa’s hands were painful from beating against the door. It had already been 25 minutes and the audience still demanded an encore. Amihan had certain peculiarities, but she would never leave a crowd waiting.

And the noise coming from her dressing room seemed to be the speakers turned to full. It was as if she was purposely trying to avoid the world.

Jesa was paid very well to make sure things were running smoothly and tonight would be no exception. The audience would get their encore even if Jesa had to drag her by the hair.

Jesa mustered all her might and kicked the door. It fell unceremoniously and Jesa stared into a dressing room that looked like it was struck by a bomb. There was an unconscious girl in the middle of the room and Amihan was just standing there, staring at her.

“Ma’am… The audience…”

“Oh, they still want an encore? Alright let me just get this.”
Jesa watched as Amihan took a small glowing object from the girl’s hand and put it in her pocket.

“Be a dear and have this cleaned up. I had a visit from an old friend.”

Amihan brushed Jesa aside and walked towards the stage, practicing the lyrics to her encore.

“Hmmm mmm…. Looking at the past. Hmmmm…. Waitingfor my future to begin…”

=—————————————————————=

*The Hiligaynon language, also colloquially referred often by most of its speakers simply as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, mainly in Western Visayas and SOCCSKSARGEN, most of whom belong to the Visayan ethnic group, mainly the Hiligaynons. It is the second-most widely spoken language and a member of the so-named Visayan language family and is more distantly related to other Philippine languages.

Written by Karl Gaverza

Hiligaynon translation by Stephen A. Matti

Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Translation Copyright © Stephen A. Matti

Inspired by the Digkusanon legends from Western Visayas

Digkusanon Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/KurtPrieto

Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/

*Note this story is in Tagalog

“Sandali lang! ang bilis niyong maglakad!” habol-hiningang sabi ni Reymark sa mga kasamahan. “Akala ko ba simpleng paglalakad-lakad lang ‘to, para kayong kasama sa marathon sa sobrang bilis.”

“Okay, nagrereklamo na yung makupad sa grupo, siguro ibig sabihin lang nuon ay kailangan nating ayusin lahat ang paglalakad.” ganting tugon ni Maria habang nakangisi. “Bakit ka pa ba kasi sumama? Alam mo namang lahat kami dito, mahilig umakyat sa bundok, natural lang na mabilis kami maglakad.”

“Alam ko kung bakit siya sumama,” sabi ni Jori habang sinisiko at binibibigyan ng makahulugan tingin si Reymark.

“Manahimik ka nga” si Reymark, habang sinisiko pabalik ang kaibigan.

“Tama na, huminto na kayong lahat. Sobrang tahimik at nakagagaan sa pakiramdam itong pag-akyat natin sa bundok. Pwede bang panatilihin nalang natin na ganoon?” Tinuro ni Danilyn ang silong ng puno ng Balete sa ‘di kalayuan. “Pwede tayo magpahinga roon.”

Huminto sa pag-aasaran ang grupo at sinundan ang sinabi ng kanilang tumatayong lider. Mahirap at malayo na rin ang kanilang nilakbay, hindi rin biro ang kanilang ginawang pag-akyat kahit pa sabihing sanay na ang karamihan sa kanila. Pumayag ang lahat na umupo at magpahinga muna para uminom ng tubig.

Nag-iipon na ang pawis sa kanilang noo, isabay pa ang init mula sa tirik na araw.

“Mauna na kayo. Susunod nalang ako.” Ani ni Reymark

“Oh, halika na. Malapit naman na tayo. Hindi naman pwedeng lagi ka nalang titigil kapag nahihirapan ka na. Konti nalang, kaya mo yan.” tugon ni Danilyn sa kaibigan at umaasang kahit papano’y magbago pa ang isip nito at tumuloy nalang, ngunit hindi siya nagtagumpay.

“Seryoso ako. Mauna na kayo. Dito muna ako sa lilim at magpapahinga hanggang sa maramdaman ko nang kaya ko na ulit umakyat.”

“Pero Rey, hindi mo makikita yung magandang view.” Sabi ni Jori habang nakaharap sa direksiyon ni Maria, na buti na lamang ay walang malay sa tinutukoy niya.

“Guys, totoo. Mapapabagal ko lang kayo. Pwede tayong magkita kapag natapos na kayong umakyat at pwede rin namang kumain muna ako o maghintay.”

“Sige, sabi mo eh.” Si Danilyn habang kinukuha ang bag at sumipsip ng kaunting tubig. “Guys, mag-ayos na kayo. Tapusin na natin ‘to para makita na natin ang tuktok. Bilisan niyo na.”

Kinuha nang lahat ang kanilang gamit at tinuloy na ulit ang pag-akyat sa matarik na daan. Nagmadali naman si Jori upang masabayan si Danilyn sa paglalakad, ngunit hindi na ito pinansin ni Danilyn tulad ng lagi niyang ginagawa. Nalalapit nanaman ang eleksiyon kung saan may balak tumakbo sa pagka-Presidente si Jori at ipinapakita niya ito sa palihim na pakikipagkumpetensiya sa dalaga.

Sa isang banda, nasa kaniyang sariling mundo si Maria. Suot ang earphones, nagsimula na rin siyang umakyat. Sinadya pa niyang ilakas ang kantang pinakikinggan upang hindi siya magambala. Wala siyang pakialam sa mga posisyon o kahit anuman sa mga mataas na katungkulan. Sumama lang siya upang makapagpahinga at makalanghap ng sariwang hangin, malayo sa magulong pamumuhay sa siyudad.

Naiwan si Mark sa silong ng puno ng Balete. Normal na ang paghinga niya at waring nasa mas mabini ang tibok ng kaniyang puso kumpara kanina. Ngunit nagnakaw ulit siya ng tingin sa papalayong pigura ni Maria kaya naman bigla ulit itong bahagyang bumilis.

“Kainis naman oh, ‘wag ngayon.” Tila inuutusan ang kaniyang puso na balewalain ang tunay na nararamdaman para sa dalaga. Ngunit agad din siyang bumigay. Siguro ngay oras na upang magtapat ukol sa inililihim niyang pagtingin sa dalaga.

“Ano bang masamang pwede mangyari?”, pagsasa-boses niya ng naiisip.

“Marahil hindi siya ang para sa’yo.”, sumbat ng isang maganda ngunit hindi pamilyar na tinig.

Nagpalinga-linga si Reymark subalit wala siyang nakitang ibang tao sa paligid. Nahaharangan ng mga sanga ng punong Balete ang sinag ng araw at natitiyak din niyang siya lang ang naiwan doon kasama ang nasabing puno.

“Ngayon naman, kung anu-ano na naririnig ko.” Ginusot-gusot ni Reymark ang mga mata at humikab. Masyado ata siyang napagod sa pag-akyat. Napagdesisyunan niyang umupo sa isang malaking bato at isandal ang likod sa puno.

“Hindi ka niya mamahalin.” Narinig niyang muli ang boses. Sa pagkakataong ito, mas malakas at may diin na, tila ba’y sadya itong itinapat sa tenga niya.

“Jori? Naku, kung isa nanaman ‘to sa mga pakulo mo, tumigil ka na. Hindi na nakakatawa!” Naghintay siya ng sagot? Naiinis na siya sa mga pang-aasar ni Jori nitong mga nakaraang araw kaya naman oras na rin siguro upang pagsabihan niya ito.

“Hindi ka niya mamahalin. Gaya ng pagmamahal ko sa’yo.” Galing ang boses sa kaniyang likuran. Nilingon niya ang pinanggagalingan ng boses at nakita niya ang pinakamgandang babaeng nasilayan niya sa buong buhay niya. Ang mukha niya’y tila nililok mula sa pinakamahal at makinis na marmol. Ang kaniyang buhok ay mahaba na tila isang bumabagsak na tubig mula sa mataas na talon.

Napukol siya sa titig ng maganda babae. Ang kaniyang mga mata ay malalim at itim na itim na tila nakikita ang kaibuturan ng kaniyang pagkatao habang tumatagal.

“Bakit mo siya mahal?” tanung sa kaniya ng magandang babae.

“Matalino at maganda siya,” sagot ni Reymark.

“Hindi lang ‘yon. Meron ka pang gusto na mas malalim pa.” Ang kaniyang mapanuring pagtingin ang sumira sa mga pag-aalinlangan ni Reymark.

“Siya ay—” sinubukan niyang sumagot ngunit naputol ang kaniyang sasabihin nang ipinatong ng babae ang kamay nito sa kaniyang dibdib.

“Hindi mo maitatago ang katotohanan. Kahit pa sa sarili mo” Tumingin siya sa mga mata nito gamit ang halos mapanglaw na pagtingin. “At kahit pa gustuhin mo.”

“Siya lang ang laging tumatawa.” Tila ba napakadali lamang sabihin ang totoo niyang nararamdaman. “Sa tuwing magbibiro ako, lahat sila lagging sinasabi ang korni daw, ako pa pinagtatawanan. Pero iba siya. Lagi siyang tumatawa sa mga biro ko. Lagi siyang ngumingiti sa tuwing makikita ako kaya inakala kong gusto niya rin ako ngunit hindi ko pa rin alam. Hindi ko naman sinabi.”

“Na mahal mo siya?”

“Siya lang ang babaeng inaasam ko. Gagawin ko ang lahat para lang makasama siya”

“Isang mapanganib na damdamin.” Umupo ang babae sa batong katapat ni Reymark. “Ang ganiyang klase ng pagmamahal ay madalas hindi nauuwi sa maganda.”

“Ano ang ibig mong sabihin?”

“Ang maalab na ningas ng apoy ay mabilis matupok.”

Tinitigan ni Reymark ang babae. Maganda man ito, nararamdaman niya ang kalungkutan sa likod ng kalmado nitong ekspresiyon. Hinawakan ng babae ang puno sa likod niya at may kinuhang bungo.

Napaatras siya sa gulat sa nakitang hawak ng babae.

“Ito ang aking unang minahal.” Tumitig ang babae sa bungo at lumambot ang kaniyang tinig. “Iniisip nating atin ang mundo upang sakupin,” nilagay niya ito sa paanan ng puno. “ngunit mali tayo.”

Naramdaman niyang gumalaw ang lupa sa kaniyang paanan. Nagmistulang bumubukas ang puno ng balete, ang mga sanga at dahon nito’y naging kakila-kilabot sa paningin. Makikita ang nakahilerang anim na kalansay sa ilalim ng nasabing puno. Napakalinis ng mga kalansay, na tila kumikinang sa sinag ng araw.

“Nagkamali tayong lahat.”

Kahit ang hangin ay tila sumang-ayon sa mga nangyayari sa paligid. Nanatiling tahimik si Reymark, ang kaniyang hininga’y nagsilbing palatandaan sa naturang sitwasyon niya. Tumayo sa kaniyang harapan ang babae, na tila’y lingo sa sariling isip.

“Alam mo ba ang nangyayari sa tuwing nagmahal ng isang tao ang mga katulad namin?” wika ng babae habang naglalakad papunta sa mga kalansay. Hinawakan niya ang kamay ng isa sa mga ito at sinabing, “Ito ang mangyayari.”

“Ang pag-ibig ay sayaw sa nakamamatay na ritmo. Naiwawala mo ang ilan sa mga parte ng pagkatao mong hindi mo inakalang meron ka. Hanggang sa matauhan ka. Lahat ng ito’y dahil sa pag-ibig. Ang sanhi at puno’t dulo ng walang katapusang panganib. Ang katapusan at simula.”

Aninag ang liwanag sa kaniyang mga luha.

“Hindi ka niya mamahalin. Gaya ng pagmamahal ko sa’yo.”

Naramdaman ni Reymark ang panghihina ng kaniyang mga binti, kumakalat sa buo niyang katawan. Nagmistulang tumutubo sa paligid niya ang puno ng Balete, ang mga sanga’y binabalot ang kaniyang binti.

Humilig palapit sa kaniya ang babae at hinalikan siya.

“Mahal kita.”

Tuluyan nang niyakap ng puno si Reymark. Hindi niya maigalaw ang katawan kahit anong subok nito. Nilamon na siya ng puno hanggang sa walang ni isang bakas niya ang matira.

“Mahal kita.”

=———————————————————–=

English Version

“Wait up! You’re walking too fast!” Reymark tries to catch up to the rest of the tour group. “I thought this was supposed to be a stroll, you guys act like you’re in a marathon.”

“Ok everyone, the slowpoke’s complaining, I guess that means everyone else has to adjust.” Maria hit back with her trademark smirk. “Why did you even come with us? You knew that you’d be in the group with experienced mountaineers.”

“I know why he’s with us.” Jori elbowed Reymark and gave a knowing glance.

“Shut up.” Reymark elbowed back.

“Enough, all of you. This is a nice, relaxing trek. Let’s keep it that way, alright?” Danylyn pointed towards the base of a balete tree. “We can rest over there.”

The group stopped their bickering and surrendered to their leader’s wishes. It had been a rough trek, even by their standards. The mountaineers welcomed a chance to catch their breath and rehydrate.

Sweat was collecting on their foreheads, the sun was especially merciless today.

“You guys go ahead, I can catch up,” Reymark said.

“Oh come on, we’re less than halfway there. You can’t keep taking breaks when things get hard. Soldier on.” Danylyn tried to boost her friend’s morale, but there was little success.

“I mean it, go ahead without me. I can stay here by the shade and catch up when I have my energy back.”

“But Rey, you’ll miss the great view.” Jori nudged his head in Maria’s direction and she was thankfully oblivious to the gesture’s meaning.

“Guys, seriously. I’ll just slow you down. We can meet up after you guys finish the trek and I can have lunch or something.”

“If you say so.” Danylyn picked up her backpack and took a final sip of water. “Alright guys, gear up, let’s get this hike finished and see the top of this mountain, time to hustle.”

The rest of the group took their gear and headed up the steep incline. Jori sped up to match Danylyn’s stride and Danylyn ignored him as she always did. Elections were coming up and Jori wanted to be the president, he tried to show his capabilities by attempting to overshadow Danylyn.

Maria was in her own little world. She put her earphones on and set the volume to maximum. She didn’t care about petty things like positions. She came to the mountain to unwind and leave the burdens of the city behind.

And that left Reymark underneath the balete tree. His heartbeat had stopped its rapid crescendo and normalized into a smooth aria. He caught one last glimpse of Maria before she caught up with the rest of the group and his heart started up again.

“Dammit, not now.” He ordered his heart to ignore the truth he so desperately tried to hide. Reymark gave a sigh of surrender. Maybe it was finally time to roll the dice and tell Maria what he felt.

“What’s the worst that could happen? “ He thought out loud.

“Maybe she isn’t the one for you.” A beautiful, almost melodic voice replied.

Reymark looked around, there was no one there with him. The shade of the balete tree shielded him from the overbearing sun, and he was certain that only the tree and himself were the only living beings around.

“Now I’m hearing things.” Reymark rubbed his eyes and yawned. The trek must have taken more out of him than he thought. He sat on a flat rock and leaned his back against the tree.

“She will never love you.” He heard the voice again. This time it was loud and crisp, almost as if the voice spoke directly to his ear.

“Hello? Jori if this is another one of your pranks it’s not funny!” Reymark waited for a reply. Jori’s incessant teasing was getting on his nerves and it was about time he gave the pest a piece of his mind.

“She will never love you. Not like I do.” The voice came from behind him. Reymark turned around and faced the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her features seemed to be carved from the most expensive marble, her hair cascaded down her shoulders like a jet-black waterfall.

It was her eyes that he couldn’t escape from. They were deep set and seemed to pierce into his soul the longer she looked at him.

“Why do you love her?” The strange woman asked.

“She’s smart and beautiful,” Reymark answered.

“No, that’s not it, is it? There’s something more.” Her penetrating gaze shed the layers of doubt that normally filled Reymark.

“She—“ Reymark tried to answer again but he woman put her hand on his chest.

“You cannot hide the truth, not even from yourself.” She looked him in the eyes, with an almost melancholy expression. “Even if you wanted to.”

“She was the only one that laughed.” The truth seemed to flow out of him. “Whenever I tell jokes, everyone says how corny they are and they make fun of me, but not her. Maria was the only one who would laugh at my jokes. She would always smirk when I was around and I thought that meant she liked me too but I’m not sure. I never told her.”

“That you loved her?”

“She is the only girl I dream about. I would do anything to be with her.”

“A dangerous sentiment.” The woman sat on a flat rock in front of Reymark. “Love like that never has a good ending.”

“What do you mean?”

“A fire that burns that bright only lasts half as long.”

Reymark stared at the woman. Beautiful as she was, he could sense sadness behind her placid exterior. She stood up and touched the tree behind him and pulled out a skull.

He stepped back, startled by the object the woman was holding.

“This was my first love.” The woman stared into the skull and her voice softened. “We thought the world was ours to take.” She set it on the foot of the tree. “We were wrong.”

Reymark felt the ground rumble. The balete tree looked as if it was opening up, the vines and leaves revealing a macabre sight. Six skeletons were lined up beneath the tree. The bones were in immaculate condition, shining bright in the afternoon sun.

“We were all wrong.”

Even the wind respected the stillness of the scene. Reymark stood silent, his breathing a reminder of the reality of the situation. The woman just stood in front of him, lost in her own thoughts.

“Do you know what happens when one of my kind falls in love with a human?” She walked to the rightmost set of bones and held its hand. “This happens.”

“Love is dance to a deadly rhythm. You lose parts of yourself you didn’t realize you had. Then, it finally hits you. It was love all along. The cause and crisis, the ever-present menace. The end and the beginning. “

The light reflected on the tears flowing down her face.
“She will never love you. Not like I do.”

Reymark felt his legs buckle, weakness spreading over his body. The balete tree seemed to be growing around him, the vines wrapping about his limbs.

The woman leaned in close and kissed Reymark.

“I love you.”

The tree embraced him, he tried to move his arms but his body would not cooperate. The balete tree engulfed Reymark until not a single trace was left.

“I love you.”

=——————————————————————=

*Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Marel Melendez
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Marel Melendez

Inspired by ‘The Enchanted Tree of Parang.’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.

Engkantada Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/KurtPrieto

The flutter of wings breaks the stillness as the maya birds scatter from their fountain perch.

Alberto always liked to see the birds fly away. He would point at their wings and shout “Fly!” at the top of his lungs, which is the way he would usually say things.

“Neni can we go… mall?”

The bleary look on the young woman’s face was apparent, but she smiled through it all the same.

“Alberto first we have to be—“

“Have to be—“

“We have to be—“

“Good, good. Have to be good.”

“Good job Alberto. We can go to the mall later, let’s enjoy the park. The birds are over there—“

And with that the boy raced off and shouted as if he wanted the whole world to hear him. No, not a boy anymore, at least not to an outward observer, Neni had to remind herself. She took out her phone and took a few photos of Alberto chasing his feathered friends.

His mom would always ask for pictures, Neni thought it was because she wanted to be reminded that she had a son, but Neni brushed those sentiments away. Worn, that’s what she remembered from the faces of Alberto’s parents when they hired her. She didn’t think she had a right to judge their parenting, especially since she wasn’t in their shoes.

“Neni! Fly!” She laughed with Alberto as they spent the day disturbing the birds.

As they were leaving the park, they passed a young couple. Before she could say anything Alberto stepped in front of the girl.

“Hi what’s your name?”

Neni had enough practice to know that this was unavoidable. She started with the usual apologies, but Alberto had a one track mind.

“Hi what’s your name?”

Neni apologized again, but it seemed that the young lady understood. She said her name was Raina and gave a comforting smile to both of them.

“Raina. R-A-I-N-A.”

The man then introduced himself as Oscar and Alberto gave a warm greeting. To their credit they were more understanding than most others of Alberto. Neni gave a hurried goodbye as she led Alberto to the car, she wasn’t about to be late for dinner.
————————–————————–————————–———-

Alberto finished getting ready for bed. The evening ritual of taking a shower, changing his clothes and brushing his teeth was one of the most enjoyable parts of his day. It was something he could do all by himself and that made him proud.

After he was done he looked around the room. It was a room just like any other. Four walls, a big window, a bed. And of course there was the horse.

Now, this was no ordinary horse. True, it had hooves, four legs and the kind of face that would make passers by undoubtful of its horse-ness, but it also had the kind of feathers that would make a swan flush with envy.

Alberto knew that the horse was a horse, of course. The horse was his horse, and seeing it in his room meant that he was about to embark on another journey.

The grin on Alberto’s face matched the horse’s, after their last daring escape from the dragon trapped in the stars, the rush of adventure was still fresh in his heart.

Alberto climbed up his horse’s back and they flew out the window. There was no time to waste, and he wanted to make sure he was back in time for breakfast.

————————–————————–————————–————————––

“Aray!” Neni thought she was getting good at avoiding Alberto’s Legos, but there was always one that would sneak under her foot.

She picked the offending piece up and put it next to the others in a neat pile. She gave up on trying to organize the Legos a long time ago, Alberto had his own system that never coincided with hers.

“Neni! Clouds!”

Alberto was finishing up his next masterpiece. Neni could never figure out what he was building, to her they all looked like mish mashed columns strung together randomly.

“Neni! Look!”

He was proud of his work, and Neni was just happy he was happy.

“It’s very good Alberto, what is it?”

“Fly! Clouds!”

“Good job Alberto, but we have to get ready for lunch. Go wash up.”

As Alberto ran towards the bathroom, a brown feather dropped from his pocket. Neni sighed. She thought she cleaned up all the mess from the park. “Oh well,” she thought, “At least it’s only one feather this time.”

————————–————————–————————–

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Bentohangin description in ‘The Soul Book’ by Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.

Bentohangin Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/KurtPrieto

Colors by Alexa Garde
Website: Lexa.us

“Alberto it’s time for bed!” Neni shouted from the hallway. She checked Alberto’s bedroom and was surprised to find him already under the covers.

She had noticed that he was less energetic than usual and she was worried that he wasn’t sleeping well.

“Neni I’m going to sleep!” Alberto said from under his blanket.
There wasn’t much she could do. Neni switched the lights off and told Alberto to have good dreams.

“I’ll see you in the morning. We’ll go to the park tomorrow okay?” She said as she walked out of his room.

“Neni! Time to sleep!” was Alberto’s reply.

Alberto yawned as he rode his winged steed through the clouds. It felt like only yesterday when one of the princesses of Kahangian*asked Alberto and his horse to stave off an invasion.

Alberto knew he couldn’t say no. When adventure calls he only had one answer.

But Alberto wished this adventure would end soon. Victory seemed out of reach as the endless onslaught of birds came wave after wave.

These were no ordinary birds. They flew like umbrellas along the clouds of Kahangian. The princess told Alberto that the birds would usually keep to themselves, but something must have happened to rile them up. She was afraid that this was only the beginning of a larger assault on her realm.

Alberto and his horse spent the last few weeks rerouting the birds away from the kingdom. As much as the princess wanted him to use force, Alberto could not bring himself to harm the birds.

After redirecting the latest wave of birds Alberto was summoned to the princess’ chambers.

She told him that it was time to end this. Redirecting the birds was a waste of time if they just kept coming back. She gave Alberto a box and told him to go to the king of the birds and slay him.

Alberto opened the box and was surprised to find a sword with his name engraved on it. It felt heavy in his hands and he looked at the princess and shook his head.

He would not do as she asked. Violence wasn’t the answer, at least not to him. He left the box in the princess’ chambers and went to his horse.

This would end, but on his terms.

Alberto’s horse smiled. As a horse he was used to keeping his opinions to himself but today he couldn’t help it.
He was proud that he made the right choice in Alberto. The birds weren’t violent, at most they were a nuisance to the princess’ kingdom.

They flew through the clouds with as much grace as the horse could muster. As adept as he was with galloping, the horse was clumsy with his wings. They barreled through the surge of birds ahead of them, Alberto had to spit out a few feathers, but eventually they came upon the roost of the king of birds.

Alberto’s horse bowed his head. As much as he was a horse, he was also part bird, and there were certain rules that you had to follow to make sure the other birds wouldn’t get mad at you.
The king of birds was enormous, his large frame almost blacking out the sun. He took one look at Alberto and his horse and said, “Who are you and why are you here?!”

Alberto’s horse was still looking at the ground when he heard Alberto answer.

“Why you attack the kingdom?”

“Strange human, I attack nothing. I am just trying to get back what belongs to me.”

Alberto’s brow creased in confusion.

“But princess said you attack!”

“The princess was the one that started this. She and her kingdom stole my crown! I’ve been sending my birds to her kingdom to get it back.”

“But princess said—-“

The king of birds whirled around and put his beak up to Alberto’s face.

“I’ve heard of you, human. You and your bentohangin have made quite a name for yourselves in this realm. And I am asking you, please, get my crown back and I will tell my birds to stop.”

Alberto looked at his horse and they nodded in unison.

The princess stared at her mirror as her servants brushed her hair. She had not calculated that the human would reject her gift, but no matter. A few bats of her eyelashes and some tears would certainly do the job the next time.

She bade her servants to leave her alone and walked to a hidden door in her chambers. In it was a chest and in that chest was her prize.

It was the most beautiful headpiece in all of Kahangian, inlaid with fallen stars and made from gold straight from Ginton’s forges. Such beauty should only belong to her, the fairest princess in the clouds.

“L—-I—-A—-R!” Alberto’s voice rang through the princess’ chambers.

The princess managed to catch the crown as it fell through her fingers. She had not expected the human to be back so soon.
“You’re a liar!” Alberto shouted again.

“I’m so glad you’re here! The birds have been trying to steal from me!” It was time for the tears. The princess was familiar with this tactic, many heroes had fallen for her charms and this one would be no different.

“That’s not your crown!” Alberto and his horse moved towards the princess.

“This is my father’s! The birds are jealous of its beauty and keep trying to take it from me, but you won’t let them will you? Please help me!” Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she looked into Alberto’s eyes.

“L—–I—–A—–R!” Alberto grabbed the crown from the princess and ran towards his horse.

“Guards! Get them!”

Alberto and his horse were experts and running away. The guards tried to catch up to the pair but once you’ve escaped from the flying serpents guarding Ulilankalulua’s grave everything seems like a turtle in comparison.

“You are not welcome here!” The princess shouted through the clouds, “We will hunt you down!”

The birds flocked Alberto and his horse. They were overjoyed at the sight of the crown and accompanied them to their king’s throne.

“You have made yourself an enemy of the princess’ kingdom.” The king of birds said to Alberto.

“Yes.”

“Thank you, know that the kingdom of birds will help you, whenever you will need it.”

“Yes.”

Alberto looked at his horse and smiled. Alberto’s horse hugged his companion and neighed. They knew they made the right choice, even if it meant making a powerful enemy.

“Neni! I’m tired!”

“Okay Alberto, you can take a nap soon. Let’s clean up your crayons okay?”

“Okay.”

Today Alberto woke up early and even got ready for breakfast in time. Neni was still worried that he wasn’t getting enough sleep but that was nothing a good nap couldn’t fix.

She helped him clear his crayons and wondered why he kept drawing umbrellas.

“Neni! Bird!” He showed a drawing that was like the other umbrellas but bigger than the rest.

“It looks great Alberto! Let’s clean up and you can take a nap, okay?”

“Okay!”

Continued from the Bentohangin’s tale

*Kahangian is the fifth layer of the universe

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Hubot description in The Soul Book. Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.

Hubot Illustration by Edrian Paolo T. Baydo

Color by Alexa Garde
Website: Lexa.us

She could feel their eyes peel the insecurities off her skin. It wasn’t their fault, of course. Beauty such as hers demanded attention and the stage was where she could shed all pretenses and be the genuine soul that her beloved audience could adore.

Sparks danced around her bare arms as she started the first chorus. The others of her kind didn’t want too much attention to be brought upon themselves, they would rather stay locked away in Biringan, but Amihan had enough of their rules made out of fear.

It was time for the third verse: “If I knew how much I loved you I would have stayed. But time takes too much time. I’m left looking at the past, waiting for my future to begin.” The crowd cheered as she belted the high G. It was sonic ecstasy, nothing could ruin this moment.

Nothing except what was pricking at her skin. It came from across the audience, the unmistakable scent of magic in the air. Amihan was caught off guard and rushed through the bridge, the band struggled to catch up but they managed to finish the song.

Amihan dashed to her dressing room, her assistant not too far behind. Already they could hear the audience demanding an encore, they would have to wait. There were more important matters that she had to attend to.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Amihan locked the door behind her. Jesa, her long suffering assistant would have to suffer a little longer as Amihan ignored the pounding on the door.
“You stole my idea.” Bukad stared her down. The smell of sweet summer flowers surrounded the dressing room. Amihan remembered where Bukad’s name came from, how the spirit’s would travel and stop by the flowerbeds to scatter their scent through the mountains.

Amihan always hated the smell of flowers.

“You can’t own an idea.” Amihan pushed away her hair from her eyes. She collected every shred of contempt in her body and directed it towards Bukad.

“It was mine and you took it!” The girl moved forward. Violent winds started to crash through the dressing room.

Amihan yawned and shot a smile at her rival.

“Stop with the parlor tricks. We both know you’re not strong enough to challenge me.” A streak of wind shot through the room and connected with Bukad’s arm. Spirits such as they did not bleed like humans, but the air that coursed through her leaked from her wound.

Bukad started to laugh and Amihan felt her skin crackle. There was something new in the air, something old.

“I won’t leave here until I get what is mine!” Bukad took out a small jewel and pointed it towards Amihan.

“Where did you get that!?” Amihan knew what it was, a jewel of power fiercely guarded by the bantay. There was no way Bukad would have been strong enough to fight one, let alone know how to channel her magic through the jewel.

They were both floating now., the winds in the room loud and violent enough to drown out even Jesa’s shouts.

Even against the onslaught Amihan would not back down. She was the one that ran away from their city and went to the human lands. She was the one that remade herself into an icon that was adored by millions. She was the one that deserved to be adored.

Bukad’s eyes started to glow with an unearthly light, the same color as the jewel. The smell of flowers was thick, Amihan almost felt like vomiting from the stench.

“You were the one that stayed in Biringan!” Amihan shouted through the gale.

“I was going to leave, but they wouldn’t let me!” Bukad answered back.

“That’s you’re problem! You were the one that let them tell you what to do!” Amihan braced herself against the small hurricane coming from Bukad. She felt the wind cut against her flesh, but the pain didn’t matter. “You were the one who let your dreams die!”

“No! It’s your fault! I told you my plan! How I would go to the human lands and use my magic to make them love me! You stole my life!” Tears were streaming down Bukad’s face as her winds strengthened.

“Take responsibility for what you did!” Amihan inched closer to the jewel. She stretched out her arms and put her hands around the glowing orb. “I did what you couldn’t do! I listened to myself! Time takes too much time!”

Amihan felt the power of the jewel coursing through her veins. She also felt Bukad through the power of the jewel. There was so much envy, so much pain that Amihan had no time for. This was her life. This was her moment.

Bukad’s power lay in the scattering of the sweet summer scent, but Amihan’s was the force of the typhoon. She stared into Bukad’s tear stained eyes and gave one last look of pity.
“This was never yours to begin with.”

————————–————————–————————–————

Jesa’s hands were painful from beating against the door. It had already been 25 minutes and the audience still demanded an encore. Amihan had certain peculiarities, but she would never leave a crowd waiting.

And the noise coming from her dressing room seemed to be the speakers turned to full. It was as if she was purposely trying to avoid the world.

Jesa was paid very well to make sure things were running smoothly and tonight would be no exception. The audience would get their encore even if Jesa had to drag her by the hair.

Jesa mustered all her might and kicked the door. It fell unceremoniously and Jesa stared into a dressing room that looked like it was struck by a bomb. There was an unconscious girl in the middle of the room and Amihan was just standing there, staring at her.

“Ma’am… The audience…”

“Oh, they still want an encore? Alright let me just get this.”
Jesa watched as Amihan took a small glowing object from the girl’s hand and put it in her pocket.

“Be a dear and have this cleaned up. I had a visit from an old friend.”

Amihan brushed Jesa aside and walked towards the stage, practicing the lyrics to her encore.

“Hmmm mmm…. Looking at the past. Hmmmm…. Waitingfor my future to begin…”

————————–————————–—————–

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Digkusanon legends from Western Visayas

Digkusanon Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/KurtPrieto

Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/

“Wait up! You’re walking too fast!” Reymark tries to catch up to the rest of the tour group. “I thought this was supposed to be a stroll, you guys act like you’re in a marathon.”

“Ok everyone, the slowpoke’s complaining, I guess that means everyone else has to adjust.” Maria hit back with her trademark smirk. “Why did you even come with us? You knew that you’d be in the group with experienced mountaineers.”

“I know why he’s with us.” Jori elbowed Reymark and gave a knowing glance.

“Shut up.” Reymark elbowed back.

“Enough, all of you. This is a nice, relaxing trek. Let’s keep it that way, alright?” Danylyn pointed towards the base of a balete tree. “We can rest over there.”

The group stopped their bickering and surrendered to their leader’s wishes. It had been a rough trek, even by their standards. The mountaineers welcomed a chance to catch their breath and rehydrate.

Sweat was collecting on their foreheads, the sun was especially merciless today.

“You guys go ahead, I can catch up,” Reymark said.

“Oh come on, we’re less than halfway there. You can’t keep taking breaks when things get hard. Soldier on.” Danylyn tried to boost her friend’s morale, but there was little success.

“I mean it, go ahead without me. I can stay here by the shade and catch up when I have my energy back.”

“But Rey, you’ll miss the great view.” Jori nudged his head in Maria’s direction and she was thankfully oblivious to the gesture’s meaning.

“Guys, seriously. I’ll just slow you down. We can meet up after you guys finish the trek and I can have lunch or something.”

“If you say so.” Danylyn picked up her backpack and took a final sip of water. “Alright guys, gear up, let’s get this hike finished and see the top of this mountain, time to hustle.”

The rest of the group took their gear and headed up the steep incline. Jori sped up to match Danylyn’s stride and Danylyn ignored him as she always did. Elections were coming up and Jori wanted to be the president, he tried to show his capabilities by attempting to overshadow Danylyn.

Maria was in her own little world. She put her earphones on and set the volume to maximum. She didn’t care about petty things like positions. She came to the mountain to unwind and leave the burdens of the city behind.

And that left Reymark underneath the balete tree. His heartbeat had stopped its rapid crescendo and normalized into a smooth aria. He caught one last glimpse of Maria before she caught up with the rest of the group and his heart started up again.

“Dammit, not now.” He ordered his heart to ignore the truth he so desperately tried to hide. Reymark gave a sigh of surrender. Maybe it was finally time to roll the dice and tell Maria what he felt.

“What’s the worst that could happen? “ He thought out loud.

“Maybe she isn’t the one for you.” A beautiful, almost melodic voice replied.

Reymark looked around, there was no one there with him. The shade of the balete tree shielded him from the overbearing sun, and he was certain that only the tree and himself were the only living beings around.

“Now I’m hearing things.” Reymark rubbed his eyes and yawned. The trek must have taken more out of him than he thought. He sat on a flat rock and leaned his back against the tree.

“She will never love you.” He heard the voice again. This time it was loud and crisp, almost as if the voice spoke directly to his ear.

“Hello? Jori if this is another one of your pranks it’s not funny!” Reymark waited for a reply. Jori’s incessant teasing was getting on his nerves and it was about time he gave the pest a piece of his mind.

“She will never love you. Not like I do.” The voice came from behind him. Reymark turned around and faced the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her features seemed to be carved from the most expensive marble, her hair cascaded down her shoulders like a jet-black waterfall.

It was her eyes that he couldn’t escape from. They were deep set and seemed to pierce into his soul the longer she looked at him.

“Why do you love her?” The strange woman asked.

“She’s smart and beautiful,” Reymark answered.

“No, that’s not it, is it? There’s something more.” Her penetrating gaze shed the layers of doubt that normally filled Reymark.

“She—“ Reymark tried to answer again but he woman put her hand on his chest.

“You cannot hide the truth, not even from yourself.” She looked him in the eyes, with an almost melancholy expression. “Even if you wanted to.”

“She was the only one that laughed.” The truth seemed to flow out of him. “Whenever I tell jokes, everyone says how corny they are and they make fun of me, but not her. Maria was the only one who would laugh at my jokes. She would always smirk when I was around and I thought that meant she liked me too but I’m not sure. I never told her.”

“That you loved her?”

“She is the only girl I dream about. I would do anything to be with her.”

“A dangerous sentiment.” The woman sat on a flat rock in front of Reymark. “Love like that never has a good ending.”

“What do you mean?”

“A fire that burns that bright only lasts half as long.”

Reymark stared at the woman. Beautiful as she was, he could sense sadness behind her placid exterior. She stood up and touched the tree behind him and pulled out a skull.

He stepped back, startled by the object the woman was holding.

“This was my first love.” The woman stared into the skull and her voice softened. “We thought the world was ours to take.” She set it on the foot of the tree. “We were wrong.”

Reymark felt the ground rumble. The balete tree looked as if it was opening up, the vines and leaves revealing a macabre sight. Six skeletons were lined up beneath the tree. The bones were in immaculate condition, shining bright in the afternoon sun.

“We were all wrong.”

Even the wind respected the stillness of the scene. Reymark stood silent, his breathing a reminder of the reality of the situation. The woman just stood in front of him, lost in her own thoughts.

“Do you know what happens when one of my kind falls in love with a human?” She walked to the rightmost set of bones and held its hand. “This happens.”

“Love is dance to a deadly rhythm. You lose parts of yourself you didn’t realize you had. Then, it finally hits you. It was love all along. The cause and crisis, the ever-present menace. The end and the beginning. “

The light reflected on the tears flowing down her face.
“She will never love you. Not like I do.”

Reymark felt his legs buckle, weakness spreading over his body. The balete tree seemed to be growing around him, the vines wrapping about his limbs.

The woman leaned in close and kissed Reymark.

“I love you.”

The tree embraced him, he tried to move his arms but his body would not cooperate. The balete tree engulfed Reymark until not a single trace was left.

“I love you.”

————————–————————–————————––

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by ‘The Enchanted Tree of Parang.’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.

Engkantada Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/KurtPrieto

Part 1 of Alberto’s Adventures in the Skyworld

The flutter of wings breaks the stillness as the maya birds scatter from their fountain perch.

Alberto always liked to see the birds fly away. He would point at their wings and shout “Fly!” at the top of his lungs, which is the way he would usually say things.

“Neni can we go… mall?”

The bleary look on the young woman’s face was apparent, but she smiled through it all the same.

“Alberto first we have to be—“

“Have to be—“

“We have to be—“

“Good, good. Have to be good.”

“Good job Alberto. We can go to the mall later, let’s enjoy the park. The birds are over there—“

And with that the boy raced off and shouted as if he wanted the whole world to hear him. No, not a boy anymore, at least not to an outward observer, Neni had to remind herself. She took out her phone and took a few photos of Alberto chasing his feathered friends.

His mom would always ask for pictures, Neni thought it was because she wanted to be reminded that she had a son, but Neni brushed those sentiments away. Worn, that’s what she remembered from the faces of Alberto’s parents when they hired her. She didn’t think she had a right to judge their parenting, especially since she wasn’t in their shoes.

“Neni! Fly!” She laughed with Alberto as they spent the day disturbing the birds.

As they were leaving the park, they passed a young couple. Before she could say anything Alberto stepped in front of the girl.

“Hi what’s your name?”

Neni had enough practice to know that this was unavoidable. She started with the usual apologies, but Alberto had a one track mind.

“Hi what’s your name?”

Neni apologized again, but it seemed that the young lady understood. She said her name was Raina and gave a comforting smile to both of them.

“Raina. R-A-I-N-A.”

The man then introduced himself as Oscar and Alberto gave a warm greeting. To their credit they were more understanding than most others of Alberto. Neni gave a hurried goodbye as she led Alberto to the car, she wasn’t about to be late for dinner.
————————–————————–————————–———-

Alberto finished getting ready for bed. The evening ritual of taking a shower, changing his clothes and brushing his teeth was one of the most enjoyable parts of his day. It was something he could do all by himself and that made him proud.

After he was done he looked around the room. It was a room just like any other. Four walls, a big window, a bed. And of course there was the horse.

Now, this was no ordinary horse. True, it had hooves, four legs and the kind of face that would make passers by undoubtful of its horse-ness, but it also had the kind of feathers that would make a swan flush with envy.

Alberto knew that the horse was a horse, of course. The horse was his horse, and seeing it in his room meant that he was about to embark on another journey.

The grin on Alberto’s face matched the horse’s, after their last daring escape from the dragon trapped in the stars, the rush of adventure was still fresh in his heart.

Alberto climbed up his horse’s back and they flew out the window. There was no time to waste, and he wanted to make sure he was back in time for breakfast.

————————–————————–————————–————————––

“Aray!” Neni thought she was getting good at avoiding Alberto’s Legos, but there was always one that would sneak under her foot.

She picked the offending piece up and put it next to the others in a neat pile. She gave up on trying to organize the Legos a long time ago, Alberto had his own system that never coincided with hers.

“Neni! Clouds!”

Alberto was finishing up his next masterpiece. Neni could never figure out what he was building, to her they all looked like mish mashed columns strung together randomly.

“Neni! Look!”

He was proud of his work, and Neni was just happy he was happy.

“It’s very good Alberto, what is it?”

“Fly! Clouds!”

“Good job Alberto, but we have to get ready for lunch. Go wash up.”

As Alberto ran towards the bathroom, a brown feather dropped from his pocket. Neni sighed. She thought she cleaned up all the mess from the park. “Oh well,” she thought, “At least it’s only one feather this time.”

————————–————————–————————–

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Bentohangin description in ‘The Soul Book’ by Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.

Bentohangin Illustration by Kurt Prieto
Behance: https://www.behance.net/KurtPrieto

Colors by Alexa Garde
Website: Lexa.us