*Note this story is in Aklanon

Nabatyagan ko ro kaeamig it saesaeon ku siyaw nga nagaduot sa akong panit.

Nag-umpisa raya ku 5:30 it hapon. Ro hampang nga basketbol hay owa man magbuhay ag ginapauli ako it timprano ku akong nanay ngani pinaspasan ko ro pagpadueong sa baeay. Ro huni hay mahinay, apang bation nga mayad. Tumueok ako sa akong tuo ag kat hakita ko ro puno it santoe hay sayod ko eon kon ano rato.

“Wak….wak…..wak….”

Bati ko gid nga mayad ro tunog sa akong mga dueunggan ag gulpi eamang hay habatian ko man ro mga limog it akong lolo ag lola, “Kon ro huni it wakwak hay mabaskug buot-hambaeon karon hay maeayo ron imaw, apang magdahan ka kon mahinay ro limog kara, bangod ro buot-hambaeon karon hay maeapit eang imaw ra nga mayad.” Maemae ro akong kakueba kat sumueod eon ako sa baeay.

Ro puno it santoe hay una git-a pa man sa ibabaw it hueot ku akong mga ginikanan, ngani sayod ko nga hikita ko gid kon may una gid man idto nga mailaan du wakwak. Kat hakita ko ro akong nabdos nga nanay nga nagapamantaw it TV, sayod ko eon. Ro away hay nag-umpisa eon.

Nagpaeangumang ako sa pagbuoe it siyaw sa kusina, matsa kaugan kara sa akong alima, bangod siguro nga sayod ko kon ano ro akong ubrahon. Tinago ko ro siyaw sa akong shorts, ag lumingkod kaiping ni nanay, hinueat ko ro pagguwa it puea nga dila ku halimaw.

Humueat ko.

Naghilinueat ko.

Mga 30 minuto akong gabilinantay. 30 minuto asta ako hay gumuwa sa liwan padueong sa puno it santoe agud pamatian kon una pa ro limog.

Hinueat ko ag daya hay owa eon.

Asta makaron, gusto kong isipon nga habatyag it tinuga nga ako hay haum sa pagsukoe ag ro akong nanay hay indi basta-basta nga hikaon. Apang ginakilinuebaan man gihapon ako sa kada pagtueok ko sa puno it santoe, naga-eaum nga hibatian ro kanamiton nga falsetto nga

“Wak…..wak…..wak….”

=——————-=

English Version

I could feel the cold steel of the knife pressing against my skin.

It started at 5:30 pm. The basketball game didn’t take too long and my mom wanted me home early so I rushed home as soon as I could. The sound was faint, but very distinct. I looked towards my right and when I saw the santol tree I knew exactly what it was.

“Wak….wak…..wak….”

The sound rang in my ears and suddenly I was hit with my grandparents voices, “If the wakwak sound is loud then that means the creature is far, but be careful if the voice is soft, for that means it is very near.” My blood ran cold the moment I entered the house.

The santol tree was right above the bedroom of my parents, so I knew I had to see if there was anything there that the wakwak might want. When I saw my pregnant mother watching TV, that’s when I knew. The fight had begun.

I raced to the kitchen to get a knife, it felt light in my hand, probably because I was sure of what I had to do. I hid the knife in my shorts, and sat next to my mother, waiting for the moment the monster would let loose its red tongue.

I waited.

I waited.

It was 30 minutes that I stayed on guard. 30 minutes until I ventured outside to the santol tree to hear if the voice persisted.

I waited and it was gone.

To this day, I’d like to think the creature sensed that I was ready for a fight and that my mother wouldn’t be easy prey. But there are still shivers down my spine every time I look at that santol tree, half expecting to hear a soft falsetto of

“Wak…..wak…..wak….”

=——————————-=

*Aklanon (Akeanon), also known as Bisaya/Binisaya nga Aklanon/Inaklanon or simply Aklan, is an Austronesian language of the Bisayan subgroup spoken by the Aklanon people in the province of Aklan on the island of Panay in the Philippines. Its unique feature among other Bisayan languages is the close-mid back unrounded vowel [ɤ] occurring as part of diphthongs and traditionally written with the letter ⟨Ee⟩ such as in the autonyms Akean and Akeanon. However, this phoneme is also present in other but geographically scattered and distant Philippine languages, namely Itbayat, Isneg, Manobo, Samal and Sagada.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Aklanon Translation by WJ Manares
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © WJ Manares

Inspired by a story told by Ian Quirante

Wak-wak Illustration by Ian Quirante
FB: Ian Quirante Illustrations

*Note this story is in Aklanon

Kaso #JKGM 9888

Ro Kapitan it Barangay San Pascual hay nagpaeangumang sa pagtawag it pulis. May tawag nga nag-abot bago mag-Pangaeagkaeag ag may mga reklamo parti sa bandalismo sa pinakamaeapit nga sementeryo. Daywang ka pulis ro ginpadaea agud mangusisa.

Suno sa andang mga report hay bukon gid man it malala ro bandalismo. Ro eugta sa palibot it mga eubnganan hay hinueag ag ro ibang mga kabaong hay binuksan. Ro mga pulis hay nakasayod nga owa gid man it masyadong may haega sa mga eubnganan, ro mga singsing sa kasae ag iba pang mga maeahaeon nga igdaeapat hay una mat-a. Owa man it ibang pinasahi, purya eang sa mga nagkaduea nga mga kamaeagko sa siki it mga eawas nga hinaw-as.

Naghingyo it presensiya ku kapulisan ro Kapitan it Barangay asta sa paeaabuton nga Tigkaeaeag. Ro mga pulis man gihapon ngato ro ginpadaea agud magbantay it nga eubnganan kada gabii sa pag-eaum nga hidakpan ag hi-aktuhan ro mga gapangmalit.

Nagsueumbaki ro report it daywang ka pulis. Hambae it sambilog kanda hay may mabahoe kuno nga ayam nga umatake kana ag haeos masamad ro anang sapatos. Ro sambato mat-a hay naghambae nga isaeang ka unga nga eaki ro gapangmalit ag nagpaeagas pa raya kana, hasayran na eang do pang-atake nga hatabo sa anang kaibahan pagkaagahon.

Bangud nga sangkiri ro mga pulis, owa gid kami it ibang paagi agud makabantay it mayad sa bilog nga Tigkaeaeag, mayad eang hay matawhay man daya nga natapos. Owa man it mga report parti sa pangmalit, parti sa tawo o sa bisan alin pa man.

Sa mga masunod nga dinumingo, ro mga manugtatap it sementeryo hay nagreneklamo nga naglala pa gid ro pinangmalit. Bisan ro mga musoliyo hay ginpangbringka. Owa man it binuoe sa mga eawas apang suno sa imbestigador hay may mga parti nga pinamaeos sa mga tudlo it siki.

Ro hambae it mga gapangusisa hay isaeang ka sahi it sapat nga gausoy it pagkaon ro nag-ubra kara sa mga eawas.

Ro ibang mga pulis, kapin pa kat naghambae nga ro gapangmalit hay isaeang ka unga nga eaki, hay indi magpati kara. Indi man abi makasarang ro isaeang ka sapat nga bringkahon ro mga kandado it musoliyo. Ag may ginasugid nga abong mga warang ro gaistar sa sementeryo ag sa palibot na kara.

Bangud nga owa man it ebidensiya agud suportahan ro andang mga sugid hay gintapos lang ro kaso. Kada buean, nakakabaton it mga report ro istasyon it kapulisan halin sa mga manugtatap parti sa mga kinutkot nga eubnganan, apang do mga may haega nga mga igdaeapat hay una pa mat-a, apang sa kada report hay pirmi eang may gakaduea kuno nga mga tudlo ag kamaeagko.

=——————=

English Version

Case #JKGM 9888

The captain of barangay San Pascual called the police in a state of distress. The call came a week before Undas and there were complaints of vandalism in the nearby cemetery. Two officers were dispatched to investigate.

Based on their reports the vandalism seemed minor. The ground around the graves was disturbed and some coffins were left exposed to the elements. The officers noted that there was nothing valuable in the graves themselves, wedding rings and other expensive objects were still with the remains. Nothing else out of the ordinary was noticed, except for a peculiar lack of thumbs on the bodies that were fully exposed.

The barangay captain insisted on a police presence in the graveyard on the days leading up to Undas. The same officers were sent to guard the graveyard during the night in the hope of catching the vandal in the act.

Conflicting reports from the two officers were submitted. One claimed that a large dog attacked the officers and nearly tore his shoe off. The other officer insisted that he saw the vandal was a young boy and gave chase, he was not aware of the attack on his comrade until the next morning.

Due to the lack of officers we are not able to spare resources to guard the whole Undas, but thankfully the holiday finished peacefully. No reports of vandals, human or otherwise were reported.

The next few weeks caretakers from the cemetery complained of the vandal becoming more bold. Even the mausoleums had been broken into. Nothing was taken from the bodies but a senior investigator noted that parts of the toes appeared to have been torn off.

The conclusion that the inspectors reached is that some sort of animal had been foraging for food and chanced upon the bodies.

Other officers, especially the one that said the vandal was a young boy, disagreed with the conclusion. An animal could not have broken through the mausoleum locks, and there were reports of vagabonds living in and around the cemetery.

With no evidence to support either theory the case was closed. Every few months the station gets calls from the caretakers about graves being dug up, but valuables still remained intact, though with each report the curious description of missing toes and thumbs is highlighted.

=————————–=

*Aklanon (Akeanon), also known as Bisaya/Binisaya nga Aklanon/Inaklanon or simply Aklan, is an Austronesian language of the Bisayan subgroup spoken by the Aklanon people in the province of Aklan on the island of Panay in the Philippines. Its unique feature among other Bisayan languages is the close-mid back unrounded vowel [ɤ] occurring as part of diphthongs and traditionally written with the letter ⟨Ee⟩ such as in the autonyms Akean and Akeanon. However, this phoneme is also present in other but geographically scattered and distant Philippine languages, namely Itbayat, Isneg, Manobo, Samal and Sagada.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Aklanon Translation by WJ Manares
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © WJ Manares

Umangob Illustration by Erik John Paredes

Inspired by the Ifugao Umangob legends