The Illuminated Maiden

Chapter XIII

Paglinawan pulled herself out of the portal, where she fell on a pearl-white floor covered in dry moss. She gagged a few times and wheezed, as she tried to suck in air. She gripped the stone moss-riddled floor, and her face fell straight into it. She almost passed out, when she felt hands grabbing her by her shoulders, helping her stand upright.

"Here," a voice as soothing as mist on a humid night beckoned. "Sniff these herbs. They will help you with your sickness. I understand that humans are not used to going through portals as such. Oh, and you are perhaps confused. It is nighttime in the human world, but day here. We have different senses of time, you see, but there is an hour when the night of the human world clashes with the night of the diwatas."

Paglinawan closed her eyes and smelled the aroma of herbs in front of her nose. The smell pierced through her nose, making its way into her head, awakening her senses. Upon opening her eyes, everything was dreamlike, as the herbs caught her in a haze.

She was in a foyer made of cream-colored marble fortified by moss and vines flowing from windows outside, adorned with flowers she had never seen before. She looked around. The place gleamed throughout, and as she stared out of the windows on the topmost floors of the foyer, there was only a bright light. The diwata was right: daylight remained at that hour.

To her sides were doors with engravings of flowers, plants, and leaves. Before her was a grand staircase covered in lush vegetation leading to an open corridor extending through both sides of the foyer, where there were hallways waiting. In the middle of the corridor, against the stone wall, was a grandiose doorway almost serving as a gate. It had carvings of ladies in robes intermingling with trees, flowers, and nature itself.

Her eyes wandered off to the ceiling, where there were frescoes depicting valleys, mountains, gullies, and jungles, among others, against a once empty canvass of polished limestone, surrounded by vines serving as frames for the images. She spun as she kept her eyes on the imagery above her, before turning her head back down, noticing figures in robes and wreaths surrounded by those in tunics staring at her.

They were standing below the stairs in the middle of the foyer. She flushed upon noticing them, realizing they were diwatas. She hadn't seen any of their kind before. Joining their ranks was a petite diwata who was carrying crushed herbs, apparently the one who administered the remedy to Paglinawan.

"Just be yourself." She turned her head to her right to see Kabael beside her.

"The realm of the diwatas . . ." she whispered. "Amazing."

Kabael ignored her. She turned her head back to the audience of diwatas who greeted them to see a diwata with olive skin approach. Her ebony hair glistened under the light. She was beautiful, but she didn't look too pleased. Paglinawan shuddered. She glanced at the other diwatas before the olive-skinned one stood before them.

Paglinawan made an attempt at eye contact with the diwata who came before her, but the diwata's dark-brown eyes devoured her esteem, forcing her to look down the floor below. To her fortune, the diwata, with her hands behind her back, turned to her left, fixing her eyes on Kabael, who, although kept a stern demeanor, was pale. The diwata drew her head toward Kabael's face, and then, she spoke.

"Oh, lovely," said the diwata. "Welcome back to Araw, Kabael. How long has it been?"

"Liwangin," replied Kabael, who found it difficult to open his mouth. "It truly is good to see you."

"Really . . ." Liwangin raised an eyebrow. "What a relatively pleasant surprise, though. And who is this?" She turned her head toward Paglinawan again. Paglinawan straightened her stance. "A young maiden, much younger than you. You come here into my home, Kabael, the Councilhouse's foyer, at that, bringing a human stranger with you." She turned her head back to Kabael. "Do you truly believe the laws of this land do not apply to you?"