*Note this story is in Tagalog

Malapit nang magtakipsilim sa nayon ng Iculegan habang pinapanood niya ang kaniyang anak na si Yadan maglaro bago kumagat ang dilim. Katulad nito ang  kaniyang ama na magaling at may hitsura. Napabuntong hininga si Guimbangun. Mahigit isang taon nang pumunta si Lumalindaw upang labanan ang mga kaaway sa Nabbobawan. Naiintindihan  niya kung bakit kailangan nitong umalis pero hindi niya maunawaan ang sakit na nararamdaman.

Naglalaro si Yadan at ang iba pa niyang kalaro  ng may patpat sa puno malapit sa kanilang bahay. Sinubukan ni Guimbangun na palakihing mabuti at mabait na tao ang kaniyang anak, ngunit ang bata mataas ang pagtingala sa kaniyang Ama, kung kaya’t ang kaniyang inaasam na pasawalang bahala.

Napaisip siya kung ano ang ginagawa ni Lumalindaw, siguro’y naghahanda para sa sususnod niyang laban, pagpapalagay niya. Napangiti siya. Lagi siyang napapasaya kapag naalala kung kailan sila unang nagkakilala, siya na isang babaeng naliligo sa ilog at si Lumalindaw na isang bangkay.

Walang magawa ang kaniyang salamangka.

Magulong naglalaro ang mga bata, at si Guimbangun handa nang tapakan ang isa sa mga kalaro ni Yadan na umakyat sa puno at nahulog. Nagtipon sila sa paligid ng hindi gumagalaw na kalaro at ang ilan sa kanila ay nagsimulang umiyak.

Madaling pumunta si Yadan sa nahulog na bata at sinabihang tumayo. Biglang tumayo, ang walang buhay na lawas ng bata at si Yadan inutusan na simulang tapusin ang laro.

Nagmana man siya sa Ama, hindi maipagkakaila na anak din siya ng kaniyang Ina.

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English Version

Sunset fell on the village of Iculengan, and she watched her child, Yadan, play through the last light of the day. He was so bright and handsome, just like his father. Guimbangun sighed. It had been a year since Lumalindaw went to fight the enemies of Nabbobawan. She understood why she had to let him go, but she could never understand why it had to hurt so much.

Yadan and the other children were playing with sticks by the trees near their houses. Guimbangun tried as hard as she could to make sure Yadan would grow up to be a kind and gentle soul, but the boy idolized his father, and her pleas fell on deaf ears.

She wondered what Lumalindaw was doing now, probably preparing for his next battle, she supposed. She smiled. It always made her happy to remember how they had first met, her a woman bathing in the river and him, a corpse.

Nothing her magic couldn’t fix, of course.

The children were playing rough, and Guimbangun was about to step in when one of Yadan’s playmates climbed the tree and fell. The children gathered around their unmoving playmate and some of them started to cry.

Yadan, as impatient as ever, went beside the fallen child and told him to get up. The lifeless body of the boy suddenly sprang up, wide awake and Yadan told him to start their game over.

The boy may have a lot of his father in him, but he was also his mother’s son.

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*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
Tagalog Translation by Michael Thomas Nelmida
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Michael Thomas Nelmida

Inspired by the Gaddang Epic “Lumalindaw” in Philippine Folk Literature:The Epics. Eugenio. 2001.

Guimbangun Illustration by Yanna Gemora
FB: Yannami