There was once a fisherman and his daughter in the province of Hinigaran. The fisherman was known as one of the best throughout the province.
The fisherman doted on his daughter and didn’t want to her to live the life that he did.
He would always say, “Leticia, once we get enough money saved, you can go to school and be free from this life.”
But Leticia would reply, “’Tay, I want to help you. I love going out to the sea. Sometimes when I listen to the waves, I can hear mama’s voice.”
That only made the fisherman feel grief. Leticia’s heart was with the waters and he knew all too well how that could end in disaster.
How it did end in disaster.
He pledged every single day to protect his daughter and on those long journeys on their boat he wished most of all that she would finally see the sea for what it was.
One day the father woke up with a terrible cough.
“’Tay you have a fever. You can’t go out to the waters today,” Leticia said. “Get some rest and I can go get the catch today.”
“No! I forbid that!” The fisherman tried to stand tall but his legs were weak.
“You’re in no condition to forbid anything.” Leticia laid her father on his bed. “I’m going to get us a big catch and you just stay here.”
“You’re too young! You can’t handle the boat by yourself!”
Leticia just smiled. “Of course I can, I learned from the best.”
She shut the door and stepped out to prepare her boat.
Leticia’s skin was tingling. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous. After all, her father was right. This would be the first time she was going to go fish by herself.
She took a deep breath and took in the salty air.
The sea could be cruel.
The sea could kind.
She just had to know how to navigate its disposition.
And she would. She couldn’t face her father if she couldn’t.
If there was anything left of her, that is.
It was sundown and the fisherman stared out into the water.
He rubbed his temples, but that provided no relief.
He had been by the seaside since noon, praying that he could hold her in his arms.
And he hoped that God would grant his plea this time.
As the first stars started to light the night sky, he couldn’t help but notice.
The tide was rising.
Leticia closed her eyes.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why did I think I could do this alone?
It was so simple. Go out to sea, get a catch, go back. Somewhere in the middle her boat wandered and here she was, lost out at sea.
Her last chance was to try to navigate by the stars, but she knew very little about it. Her father would always take them home right before the sun set and her only practice were games they used to play to get her to sleep.
No — the thought rang in her head.
I will not let the sea win. It won’t claim me like it did—-
It wasn’t time to think about that. She shrugged off that memory and went back to the task at hand.
Leticia made her plan and set out, taking a direction that was fueled by hope and desperation.
It may have been near the Hinigaran river, maybe near Confesion, but she wasn’t sure.
She kept on her course.
And the water burst with wonder.
A giant *Lapu-lapu shot out of the sea completely filling Leticia’s view.
It crashed beside her boat and dragged it below the depths.
Leticia tried to scream for help as water filled her lungs.
I’m sorry ‘Tay, she thought, as the darkness enveloped her.
The fisherman dreamt of his grandmother.
It was a Sunday morning. He was maybe 6 years old and walking to the church in his best shirt and pants.
“Why do we have to go to church?” he would always ask with his hands in his pockets.
“We go because it protects us,” she replied
“I hit my elbow on a rock and it hurt! It didn’t protect me then!” he said with the certainty that only a child would know.
“Not in that way, mijo.”
“Then what?”
“A long time ago there were very bad people that would come to our town. They took away friends, brothers, mothers and daughters. It was something that we all were afraid of, every day of our lives. One day they went to this same church and found a bell, right there in that tower.”
“But the tower’s empty!”
“Mijo, let me finish my story. They took the bell and put it on their boat. By some great power the bell became heavier and heavier until the boat could not carry its weight. They tossed the bell in to the sea and the once calm sea became outraged. Its waters whipped into a violent frenzy, dragging them to the depths of the sea, never to be seen.”
“Did that really happen, or do you just want me to go to church?”
“Hay mijo, one day you’ll learn that prayer can split the sea.”
Leticia couldn’t believe what was happening.
She could somehow breathe underwater. The sea looked so much more different from the bottom. The starlight pierced through the waves and glistened on the sand. Surrounding her were broken ships, some rotting from age, others relatively new, hers among them.
It would have been beautiful if it wasn’t so terrifying.
The Lapu-lapu’s eye twitched (or was that a trick of the light?). She could feel its gaze on every pore of her skin, digging to her core.
WELCOME TO MY KINGDOM
It spoke. Of course it did.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?
“I’m sorry… great…fish…I only wanted to go home.”
WHERE IS YOUR HOME?
“It’s by the bay, near the church.”
The Lapu-lapu stared, unmoving. Leticia became uncomfortable and became the first to break the silence.
“Can you help me get home?”
IMPUDENCE! SUCH AUDACITY TO ASK A FAVOR FROM THE KING
“I’m sorry, I just want to see my father.. I just…. Please.”
Her tears mixed with the saltwater, covering her face with a bitter warmth.
TELL ME YOUR STORY
“My…what?”
HOW IS IT THAT YOU CAME TO BE HERE
“I…My name is Leticia Gallaga. I live with my father by the bay. We make our living catching fish. Today my father got sick and I thought I could go to the sea and get the catch by myself. I sailed too far out to sea and lost my bearings. I didn’t know where to go. I waited until it was dark and I thought I could use the stars to guide me home, but I didn’t know enough and you burst out of the water and I got pulled underwater and the next thing I know I’m here, in front of you and… I couldn’t..”
COULDN’T?
“I couldn’t handle the sea.”
NO HUMAN CAN
“Yes we could! We only need to learn how to grasp its complexities. To mold it into our own. To make sure it never hurts anyone again.”
THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH LIFETIMES THAT COULD MAKE THAT A REALITY
“No! No… It’s not true!”
LOOK AROUND YOU, THIS IS THE FATE OF ALL THOSE THAT THINK THEY COULD MAKE THE SEA THEIRS
“…..”
DO NOT DESPAIR, GREATER HUMANS THAN YOU HAVE TRIED AND FAILED
“Why are you talking to me? Just drown me like all the rest.”
I WILL NOT, AS IS MY ROYAL PREROGATIVE. BUT KNOW THIS:
THE SEA IS CRUEL, THE SEA IS KIND
YOU ARE IN A CURRENT STRONGER THAN YOU WILL EVER BE
YOUR FIGHT WILL ONLY PULL OTHERS DOWN WITH YOU
SWIM WITH IT AND YOU WILL FIND YOUR WAY
As the king ended, numerous fishes sped around Leticia creating a whirlpool.
The last thing Leticia could remember as she was swept away was a giant, white bell, solid on the sea floor.
And the king watched his subjects carry the girl to her home, content in answering an old prayer.
The fisherman awoke to find his daughter next to him with a full net of fish.
He cried out and held her tight.
“Leticia! I thought I lost you forever!”
“I know ‘Tay. It’s okay, I’m back now.”
They held each other for many eternities, both refusing to end their embrace. But Leticia knew that she had to do the first act.
“’Tay. I need to talk to you.”
“I forbid it! If anything, this should have taught you how dangerous this life could be. I won’t lose you again! You are not going back to the sea! Not with me or anyone else!”
“Okay.”
“I—-what?”
“I won’t go back on the boat. I can go in town and find work there, maybe save enough money so I can go back to school.”
“How…why..?”
“It’s nothing ‘Tay. I guess what you’ve said sunk in.”
“But you love the sea.”
“And it will always be in my heart. But things change. I have to swim in other waters.”
“Is that really what you want?”
She gave a slight smile. If it would mean that she wouldn’t lose her father to the sea then she would do anything.
“Yes ‘Tay, now let’s get these fish inside and clean them.”
The fisherman stood flabbergasted at their conversation. His prayer was answered, but not in the way that he expected.
Leticia never told her father what happened that fateful day and he learned to stop asking.
It was between her and the sea.
*Grouper
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the tale ‘The White Bell’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.
The King of the Bell Kingdom Illustration by Art of EDOY
