*Note this story is in Surigaonon

Waya gajud mawaya sa ako hunahuna adtong panahona.

Sugod pa sa upat katuig nako, pirme na ko sa dagat. Naa na sako dugo an tubig .

Nakakadto nako sa Pantabangan ug Lumot para mamingwit nan Apahap, sa Sugbo

para manguha nan Tikos , sa Mactan para manguha nan Maming. Jauy sab ako

nakuha na 120 cm na Maja – Maja pero lain gajud katong ako nakitan sa una.

Pirmero sa Anilao nako sija nakitan, waya ako kabantay kun uno na klase adto na

isda. Murag dagko sija na Lizard fish, mas dagko pa sa ako nakitan sa una. Kasagaran

sa Lizard fish kay 30cm ra man, inin ako nakitan kay murag 400 cm o mas dako dako

pa.

Pila ka semana nako gihimo ug tiboon an panalubon sa isda na ako kinahanglan,

murag tag ganahan adto sa mga dagkong isda parehas sa Mahi-mahi ug Lapu-lapu.

Kay sa ako pamingwit kada adlaw, pirme nija gajud bangaon an panalubon kun jauy

mabilin gamay rakan. Makitan man gajud nimo na grabe ka talom an ija ngipon.

Murag manginahanglan gajud ko nan mas ligon na pisi.

Buntag sajo nan alas tres kay nimata na ko, ako na tag preparar an panalubon para

sa ija. Bisan bugnaw pa kay sajo pa man sab, naghuyat ako.

Amo gajud ini an ako tagka ganahan sa pamingwit, an pagka hapsay ug pag kalinaw

sa paligid. Murag gikan pagkahuman sa bagjo. Pirme sa ako iistorya ni papa na 90%

kuno sa pamingwit kay ang pag preparar. Dugay pa bago nako adto hinumdumi.

Bago mag paniudto kay nakitan na nako an ija kapay. Nahibayo na ko na amo na

ini,na human na an ako pag preparar. Tag itsa na nako an ija tagkaganahan na

panalubon, tag plastar nako an ako sarili kay hibayo gajud ako na arang ka kusog an

ija pwersa, basin madaya ako. Daan ko pa, nabugto an pisi. Amo na adto an pinaka

ligon sa tanan na pisi na pwede gamiton, tuyo sab kabuyan ako nag preparar pero

tanan hago nako na waya ra.

Usahay ako balikan sa Anilao an mingwitan basin ako na sab adto makitan, pero

waya ako tag pasuyod kay dili kuno pwede, ila ako tag bawalan. Kay jauy kuno

nalumos na mga mangisdaay dapit sa ila pambot.

Grabe gajud adto ka sayang waya nako nakuha, pirme nako isipon adto. Kagana tana

kun ako adto na dakpan kay ako isabak dajun, di gajud ako muhunong.

Bisan kanusa pa, basta dili gajud ako muundang.

Waya ako maka sabot sa ako nakitan pero hibayo gajud ako na delikado adto. Karon

na tuig,sukad sa ako pag balik diri sa Anilao pirme jauy ma lumos.

Jauy mag uyab na turista tag anod murag gikan nag picture picture kay ginunitan pa

nila an ila mga celpon pag kakita sa ila sa baybay. Laong sa mga lokal kay lain an

banga sa ila lawas makalaong ra kaw na aksidente an nahitabo.

Waya pa nagdugay kay nag sunod-sunod na an pagkawaya sa mga surfers.

Karon na simana lima na kabatanon ang nawaya. Laong nan mga lokal kay basta tag

uyan kay magkadako ang bayud jaun man pirme an pag bantajan nan mga surfers.

Kasagaran di na sila makabalik, waya na sab mahibagtan an ila mga lawas. Tanan

resorts nag pahibalo sa tanan tawo na ajaw anay pag kadto sa dagat.

Kada jauy mawaya pirme ako naa didto, didto dapit sa baybay ba. Waya ako

manlimbong pero ako gajud pirme makitan an ila kapay didto dapit kun asa malumos

an mga bata.

Nabuang na siguro ko kay makalaong man ako na an isda ang hinungdan sa

pagkalumos nila. Pero makalaong gajud ako na konektado ini sila.

Murag di na anay ako muuli sa amo, kada adto nako sa dagat kay nagkahamok an

ako makitan na kapay.

Nihunong anay ako sa pag mingwit basin mawaya sab ako parehas sa ila tas way

mutuo sa ako. Pirme nako sila pahinumdoman na delikado na gajud kaliguan an

dagat pero waya na sila mamati sa ako. Tag abrihan na pud nan mga resort an ila

area para sa mga mangaligoay, mamingwitay ug mansisiday kay nanginabuhi man

sab daw sila.

Di gajud ako muhunong, kinahanglan mag bantay gajud an mga tawo.

Kay dili raman gud isa an kapay na ako nakitan, hamok man.

=———————–=

English Version

I still think about the one that got away.

I’ve been fishing since I was four years old. The water’s in my blood. I’ve been to Pantabangan and Lumot to catch Bass, Cebu to catch Tikos, Mactan Island to catch Wrasse and I’ve even managed to catch a 120 cm long Maya-Maya. But none of them compare to this.

I first spotted it off the coast of Anilao. I didn’t know what to make of it. It looked like a large lizardfish, larger than any I had ever seen before. Typically a lizardfish only reaches a maximum of 30 cm but this looked more like a shark that was well over 400 cm, maybe more.

It took me weeks to come up with the amount of bait I needed. It only seemed to like large fish, Mahi-Mahi and Grouper most especially, though I couldn’t be surprised. Every time I fished the bait out of the water there was a giant bite taken out of it. The fish were ripped apart with incredibly sharp jaws. I knew I was going to need a stronger line.

I got up at 3 am and I waited. I strung the bait on my line and I sat in the cold early morning air. This is why I loved fishing. It was about the nice quiet moments, the calm before the storm when you can think about every eventuality that might come your way. My dad always told me that 90% of fishing is preparation. I took too long to learn that lesson.

I saw a glimpse of its fin right after sunrise. I knew the time for preparation was over. I threw some chum near the line. The fish had a taste for blood, I remembered. I braced myself for the inevitable bite and nothing could have prepared me for what happened.

The line was cut. I don’t know how that could be, it was the strongest one I could find on the market, but there it was. 3 months of preparation all for nothing.

I never saw that fish again, though I sometimes take trips to Anilao to see if I could spot it. I wanted to go again this year but the fishing grounds were off limits. A couple of amateur fishermen were found drowned by their boats.

I still dream about that catch. How it would have been amazing to carry it on my shoulders, but I won’t give up.

Tomorrow is another day and maybe someday I will find it.

I don’t understand what I stumbled upon, but I know for a fact it’s more dangerous than people let on. Ever since I returned to Anilao this year to find that fish again more people have been found drowned.

There was the tourist couple who was found by the dock. They looked like they were taking pictures, they were still holding on to their phones when their bodies washed on shore. The bites that appeared on their bodies weren’t like anything the locals had seen before. We were all prepared to say it was a terrible accident.

That was until the surfers started disappearing.

5 young people in total had been reported missing since the start of this week. The rainy season had made the waves enticing to them, and they thought it would be a good chance to try them. For some, it would be the last decision they ever made. The bodies still haven’t been found and the resorts have all issued a warning for people to stay out of the water.

I was there for each of the disappearances. I mean I was by the sea, and I could swear upon my mother’s grave that I saw a glimpse of the fins in the areas where those people disappeared.

I may be crazy to think that some kind of fish has something to do with missing people, but my instinct is shouting in my head. There has to be some connection between them.

I don’t think I’ll make the trip back home, because I keep seeing more and more of the fins around the waters.

I’ve even stopped fishing, I don’t want to end up like those people, and no one will listen to me. I keep trying to warn them, trying to say that the waters are too dangerous for anyone to go in. The resorts wouldn’t listen, they were losing too much money and they reopened the waters for divers and fishermen.

I won’t stop though. These people need to be warned.

There are more than one set of fins.

=———————————————=

Surigaonon is a Philippine regional language spoken by Surigaonon people in the province of Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Sur, and some portions of Agusan del Norte especially the towns near the Mainit Lake, Agusan del Sur and Davao Oriental.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Surigaonon Translation provided by Ara Conza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Ara Conza

Story inspired by the Siyokoy entry in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
FB: That Guy With A Pen

Watercolor by Mykie Concepcion
Tumblr: http://mykieconcepcion.tumblr.com/