A woman stood by the riverside looking at the water for answers.
She didn’t know why she was back in this place. It had always been her desire to break the shackles of this small barangay and taking a chance in the bigger world, to spread her wings and fly to the sun.
But, like Icarus, she burned.
Now she was living with her family again, though it didn’t feel like home.
The river’s sound soothed her troubled soul. No matter where she went, water would be the first thing that she sought out.
There was the Danube, of course. The taste of his kiss still lingered, even after all these years. But in a moment, it was all washed away. Her heart could never belong to anyone, at least in her mind.
The cold never sat well with her; the tropics had a hold that she could never seem to break. It was worth it though, to see the sun rise and paint the ice with a scarlet brush.
She rubbed her arms and thought back to the blistering heat of the Nile. Her friends warned her that she might catch the fever, but she didn’t listen. The call of the water was too strong for her to fight.
Enlightenment was what she found in the Ganges.
Fear in the rapids of Chilko.
Lifelong friends cruising down the Mississippi.
Wonder at the Naga lights of the Mekong.
And what would she find in the Linothangan? She didn’t know.
She didn’t want to know.
It was late in the afternoon and she chided herself. She had done nothing the whole day. The time could have been spent finding work or doing chores or…. Nothing. That was what her life was now anyway.
She closed her eyes and breathed deep.
When she opened them, she was surprised to find a visitor intruding on her… nothing.
It was a small boy, her hair and clothes dripping on the river rocks.
“Hello,” he said. “Who are you?”
Her soul almost escaped her body. “Don’t do that! You startled me!”
“I’m sorry. I just want someone to play with.”
“Well…”
“Please, miss. I’ve been so lonely here by the river. No one goes here and I’m so alone.”
She stood up and got a better look at the boy. He reminded her of one of her cousins, same age and same energy. This was the type of child that would fight a ‘no’ even in the face of failure.
“What do you want to play?”
“….I know! Here, grab this ball and throw it in the river so I can catch it!”
“Really? You think that’s fun?”
“Pleeeeaaaasseee”
“Okay, okay.”
Her face betrayed a smile, the first since she got back. He was right, this was fun. It almost made her forget about what happened.
She tossed the ball again for the 10th time and it washed away to the right of the boy. He tried to swim as fast as he could, but suddenly froze as the ball drifted.
“Hey, why aren’t you chasing the ball? Isn’t that the whole game?”
“I can’t go there miss, not in that part of the river.”
“What do you mean?”
“They say it’s dangerous to go there. All the old people forbid it.”
“Well they’re not here are they? Let’s get your ball.”
The boy still didn’t move.
“I went there once miss. It was a long time ago, but I can still remember. There’s something in the river.”
“Do you know what that something was?”
“Maybe it was the dark man.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My lola said that there was a dark man living by the river. He doesn’t want anyone to go to his place.”
She had been around the world a dozen times and was no stranger to tall tales. The boy looked really nervous, but there was strength in numbers.
“Hey, go with me. I’m sure whatever it is it can’t take the both of us.”
Her second smile of the day made the boy nod and take her hand.
“Okay miss. I trust you.”
They walked down the river following the current. The boy had been out of the water for a while but it seemed that he would never stop dripping.
“Just walk next to me okay? I don’t want to get my clothes wet.”
“Alright.”
It was nearing sundown and after a few miscalculated attempts at grabbing the ball, luck finally shined on them. The current stopped, which left the sphere static on the river.
“Well what are you waiting for?” she said. “You’re a pretty good swimmer, the ball’s not that far. You can grab it and go home.”
“I don’t think I should be here miss.”
“Hey, come on, let’s get your ball alright? There’s nothing here.”
“I’ve been here before miss. I can remember.”
“Remember what?”
“It’s going to come here! Please miss run!”
“Wait—–”
At that moment a figure emerged from the water. It had tentacles and reminded her of an octopus. It held the ball and the boy cried out, “The dark man doesn’t like people to come to his place.” He clutched his head and dropped to his knees.
“Let’s go!” she grabbed the boy’s arm but it was as if he was made of stone, nothing could move him.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please just let me leave!!” The boy cried out even harder, his tears mixed with the moisture dripping to the ground.
“We have to run! It can’t catch us if we go away from the river.”
The boy looked at the woman with despair in his eyes.
“I can’t leave the river. I never could. Not as long as—–”
“As long as what?!” The monster was moving towards them now, she didn’t want to know how long its tentacles could reach.
The boy pointed at the ball.
Her mind was a whirlwind. She should run, there was no way that she could fight the monster. It wasn’t her problem, if the boy didn’t want to follow that was on him. She should think of herself.
Just herself.
Just like then.
The creature was inching closer to the riverbank still holding the ball. In defiance of her instincts, she ran towards it. The monster’s tentacles darted towards her but they only hit empty water.
She spent her life around rivers and with that came a dexterity that surprised even the most experienced of swimmers.
She rounded the creature, trying to confuse it and plunged to the tentacle that had the ball.
At this point she was out of ideas. She could hold her breath for longer than a normal person, but would that be enough time to wring the ball from the monster.
She grabbed the ball and felt a gentle heat surround her.
“I trust you miss.” The boy’s voice echoed in her ears.
A bright flash suffused the ball and tore it away from the tentacle.
With the orb under her elbow she weaved through the water like a dolphin, dodging the monster’s clumsy attempts to catch her.
As soon as she surfaced, she ran as far as she could away from the river.
Her lungs burned and she fell to the ground.
She was awakened with a gentle whisper.
The boy stood in front of her, his form translucent. He smiled and took her hand.
“I knew I could trust you miss.”
She hugged him for what felt like an eternity, until he melted away and the light faded.
The woman returned home, soaked. She asked her lola for a towel to make sure she didn’t drip inside.
As she was drying herself, she asked her lola about the river.
“Oh that place? A long time ago a man went fishing in that part of the river. He never came back, the poor soul. Some say it was a giant beast that got him, but it was probably the current. The river gets violent sometimes and carries them off to who knows where. ‘specially the kids, always playing in the river, we lose one every few years.”
She thanked her lola and went into her room.
What had she found in the Linothangan river?
Peace
Finally
Peace
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the tale ‘The Monster’ in Negros Oriental and Siquijor Island Legends, Beliefs and Folkways. Aldecoa-Rodriguez. 2000.
The Monster of Linothangan River Illustration by Fam Telmo
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