XVI. Ang tunay na misyon.
᯾✵𖣘⍟۞✫᯽᯾
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Titig na titig sa'kin si Serissa at hindi siya mapakali. Her cheeks started heating up at napailing na lang.
"W–what are you.."
Ngumisi na lang ako sa kanya and I pat her head, "Our pact, I broke it once again. We had an agreement not to cross the line yet I did. Kaya sabihin mo, anong gusto mo."
"Date,"She said shyly, "Yung sa museum sabi ko sa'yo di'ba? Tsaka ano ba! Wag mo na ngang ipaalala na nagkiss tayo mas lalo lang akong nahihiya!"
Serissa just put on her hood at kitang-kita ang pamumula ng kanyang mukha. How she is always shining in my eyes, napakaganda niya. Sobrang ganda.
Hinawakan ko ang mukha niya and I put my head on hers, "I haven't forgotten. Well, I kissed you twice. So you can request anything you want. This time, makikinig ako sa'yo Serissa..."
"Geez—"
"Rule no. 1, Don't cross the line. No force touching and especially wag na wag kang gagapang sa'kin or kahit dumapo yang mga daliri mo."
Mas lalo nahiya si Serissa at tinago ang mukha niya, "Talagang kabisado mo pa with full sentence!"
"Well, ako lang naman ang top sa buong College of Architecture sa university natin, nakalimutan mo na?"I crossed my arms at mas lalo lang siyang namula dahil don.
"Why are you saying this? Wag mo nga akong lituhin. Are you courting me? Nanliligaw ka ba? Because I need to understand, Rebel. Hindi yung landian tayo ng landian tapos mapupunta lang naman ito sa wala." Sabi ni Serissa at ibinaba niya yung hood niya at tinignan niya ako ng seryoso.
"What if I am?"
Mas lumaki yung mata ni Serissa sa mga sinabi ko. I held her waist and then I quickly pulled her close to me at diretso ko lang siyang tinignan. Hinawakan ko yung kamay niya and I put her hand into my chest at mas lalo lang siyang namula.
My heart beats faster. Lalo pa't kasama ko siya ngayon. She had no idea how I looked at her. And if she can't understand it, then I'll make her look at me. In the ways that I know.
Hinawakan ko ang labi niya and I smirked at her, "So you gotta be ready, dahil liligawan kita and I'll make sure you won't get enough of me, love."
"Kainis ka! Bakit ang gwapo mo!?" Sigaw na lang ni Serissa and she pushed me. Halatang-halata ang pamumula ng mukha niya.
"I take that comment because you like me?"
"Ha! Asa! Sabi ko naman sa'yo di ako bibigay....kahit na pogi ka...tsaka ayoko sa redflag ah."Paliwanag ni Serissa. She can say what she wants pero kitang-kita naman sa mukha niya na namumula na siya.
This woman! She's cute but barumbado pa din talaga yang bibig niya!
Bakit ba feeling niya na lolokohin ko siya?
Hindi ako pinalaki ni Mama na ganun. Plus, when I was a kid she always taught me that true love can happened, sa isang bagay na hindi mo aasahan. And I don't want to waste that. Ayokong sayangin ang pagkakataon na yon.
Humarap sa'kin si Serissa and she crossed her arms, "Kung gusto mo manligaw, I'll give you a chance. If you promise to me na hindi ka na maninigarilyo at hindi ka na mag-vape. Bitawan mo yung bisyo mo. If you do, get ready to meet my grandma by that time!"
Humarap na lang ako ng diretso sa kanya, "Fine. Pag-uwi natin itatapon ko lahat ng sigarilyo at vape ko. If you don't want me to smoke anymore, I'll stop."
"May isa pa." Sabi ni Serissa
"Ano yon?"Tanong ko
"Wag ka na mag-alak—"
"Huh, really? Says the one who gets drunk at yung sumampa sa'kin just to mark me. Really, woman?"
Mas nag-init ang mga pisngi niya at mas lalo ako natuwa sa expression niya.
"Rebel! I'm serious here! Manliligaw ka ba talaga o nag-iinarte ka? Kainis ka naman e!"Sigaw ni Serissa
"Joke lang po, love. Sige na, ano yon?"
"Don't drink anymore. Lalo na kung hindi mo ako kasama. Mahirap na! And please lang, bawas-bawasan mo yung init ng ulo mo. I don't like guys who raise their voice to me. At higit sa lahat, wag ka na makipag-away. Just try to be decent, if you can. Please?" Tanong na lang ni Serissa at nagmakaawa pa siya.
Well, we've been living together ever since the incident with corrupted souls happened. At kabisadong-kabisado na niya ako. She would rolled her eyes to me sa tuwing naiistorbo ko siya at nagsusulat siya sa thesis niya. I couldn't stop smiling whenever I remember about it.
"Serissa,"
I grabbed my cigarettes at saka ako nanigarilyo then lumapit ako sa kanya and I gave her a hot and deep kisses which made her surprised about it.
"Sabi ko wag ka na maninigarilyo, e!"Sigaw ni Serissa
Inakbayan ko siya and kissed her forehead,"Sorry can't do. Alam mo namang isang rebellious and one of the hottest Demigod ang manliligaw mo."
"Bwisit, ang pogi talaga!"Irap niya.
I think gusto ko na masanay sa mga tono niyang iyon.
"Teka nga pala. What did actually happened here pala? Asan yung Mandurugo?"
"Wala na. Tinapos ko na. I got some information from her though. Alam ko na kung sino ang nagpadala ng mga corrupted souls. I know who's responsible for them." I answered her.
"Who?"She asked.
"Manggagaway." Diretsong sinabi ko
I still can't understand what my old man's trying to tell me about my true mission. About my mission as a hero. And now that Manggagaway is making her move, mas magiging delikado pa ang sitwasyon ko at ni Serissa sa susunod. I hate my blood pero hindi ko maitatanggi na ito ang nagligtas sa'kin. I can't deny that.
Then I guess I need to make a move. Alam ko na hindi ko kakayanin ito ng mag-isa. I need to know more deeper about my mission para malaman ko kung ano ba talaga ang role ko.
To be the Nemesis or to be the Hero.
"Kaya kailangan ko malaman kung ano ang totoo kong mission. Apolaki told me about it. Pero gusto ko imbestigahan ang lahat ng ito." Sabi ko sa kanya
I cracked my fingers and I glared, "For now, let's find her. Tala, the goddess of the morning and evening star."
"Why her? Why don't we find Apolaki—"
"We can't. Maingat ang lalaking yon. He won't show up even if we searched for him. And absolutely not Mayari. Alam mo naman siguro ang ugnayan nilang dalawa. They're not in good terms."Sabi ko
So in this situation, I have no choice but to see my aunt.
"Is Tala even going to listen to us? About your existence.."
"Alam ko. All the Gods and Goddess are after me. They feared my blood. Dahil baka ako ang magdala sa destruction sa kanila. But not Idiyanale, and Tala...kaya nga kailangan natin hanapin siya. We need to find her to make her understand that I'm not the Nemesis."
Tumango na lang si Serissa,"I can contact my mom to call the Mischievous Bitbit or the Medicine Diety, Lingga. They might be a good asset here."
"Yeah, that will do. And while we're preparing for this war, we should go to the Sea. I need to tame Bakunawa. Kailangang ko ang dragon na yon. It's time to fight for our fates. Just because we're Demigods it doesn't mean we need to repeat history."Sabi ko na lang sa kanya.
I know that I'm the child that they all feared. Dahil sa pinanggalingan ni Apolaki. Because they all feared that I'm going to destroy everything. I'm the Nemesis.
That's why God and Goddess aren't fond of me. At kung kailangan ko na baguhin ang pananaw nila sa'kin then I have to do that. I used to think that everything that Apolaki has done for me was nothing but a curse.
But maybe there's something that he needs me to understand. Yung isang kakayahan ko bilang isang Demigod. I hated him. I hated him so much that's why I never used my blood. And until now, I'm afraid. I'm still scared of what my blood can cause to everyone.
At sa dami nangyari, kinakailangan ko na malaman ang lahat-lahat. Kung totoong malapit na ang araw na yon, yung araw na sinasabi ni Lolo then I need to start moving.
Serissa sighed deeply, "You're going to meet Bakunawa? But didn't Bathala curse the dragon? Isang Man-eater and Moon-eater ang Bakunawa. Sa tingin mo walang gagawin sa'tin yon?"
"Natatakot ka ba?"Ngumisi ako sa kanya.
"Hindi, ah! Bakit naman ako matatakot? Bakunawa lang yon, Rebel."Serissa rolled her eyes.
Alam ko naman yung tinutukoy niya. I know that talking with Bakunawa won't be easy. Pero kailangan ko siya. Kailangan ko siya dito sa mission na ito.
I need Bakunawa's powers to help me in fulfilling my mission as a hero. At bilang anak ni Apolaki. I need to stop this war.
It's not that surprising that Serissa is worried about me. At sa kagustuhan kong makita yung Bakunawa. She has rights to feel so worried about me.
According to the ancient people of the Philippines, Bathala—a supreme being or god—created seven moons that illuminated the earth, with one illuminating each of the dark nights of the week.
Every evening was ever so bright and so beautiful because of these moons, as the moons brought joy and happiness to the people of the earth. This, however, mesmerized one particular dragon that wished to have them all.
The Bakunawa, a huge serpent-like dragon that coiled around the earth and ruled the oceans, first fell in love with the heavenly magnificence of the "seven sisters" such that he envied the almighty for his creations.
But to the people of earth's collective dismay and disappointment, the dragon swallowed the moons one by one, each night, as he yearned to possess them all. This growing yearning turned into envy and greed, so the Bakunawa arose again and again from the waters to swallow the moons. The towering, ferocious dragon successfully devoured all—but one.
The Bathala became conscious of the sudden disappearances of the moons from the heavens. The people of the earth, in turn, learned to arm themselves to protect the last moon from being swallowed by the dragon. Hence, the dragon is not only termed as a "Moon-eater" but as a "Man-eater," as well.
One fateful night, deafening collective and ever-growing screams, moans, music, sounds, and banging of drums coming from the people of earth awakened the almighty to witness the Bakunawa in the process of swallowing the last remaining moon, slowly enveloping the whole world in deep, abysmal darkness.
The people of earth shouted altogether, they screamed "Return our Moon!" among many other unpleasant words. The dragon, taken aback by the multitude of resistances coming from the people of earth, hastily retreated to his caverns deep within the oceans while the deafening sounds grew louder and louder.
The last moon, now returned to the skies above, illuminated the dark skies once more. The people of earth rejoiced as the dragon hastily returned, hiding inside his caves, waiting for another right moment to gobble the last remaining moon.
To prevent this from happening again, Bathala planted bamboos that looked like "stains"on the surface of the moon from afar. The bamboo trees can be seen as dark spots in the face of the moon.
The dragon never gave up, as he would attempt to swallow the last remaining moon in the sky from time to time.
But the people remained on alert if such an incident were to happen again, ready to create thundering noises for the moon's return, guarding it with their own lives. And as long as the bamboo trees are not killed on the moon, the dragon will never succeed in his malicious deed.
I hate Philippine Mythology but look at now? Magagamitan ko din pala ito when it comes to war. How ludicrous this was.
Isang malakas na liwanag ng buwan ang tumapat sa'min at napahawak na lang ako sa mata ko. Whenever I see the moon, nanghihina ako. What's this?
"Kung nais mong makita ang Bakunawa, dadalhin ko kayo doon. Ang tanong, handa ka na ba sa tunay mong misyon, anak ng Diyos ng Araw at ng Digmaan? Kung oo ang Iyong sagot, nawa'y swertehin ka sa Iyong paglalakbay."
And we are both transported in another world apparently. It was all with the help of the Goddess. I don't know who that Goddess was. Next thing I know is that we're both in front of the sea. And there's a big Sea Serpent in front of us. Nakagapos ito at nagwawala sa harapan ko.
"Bakunawa," I called.
The dragon roared and hissed at me, "At ngayon kinakausap mo na ako!? Dinaan-daan mo'ko noon at wala kang pake sa presensiya ko noon, maangas kang bata ka! Ngayon magkaalaman tayo kung ano ang kaya mong gawin! Nanalaytay sa'yo ang dugo ng lalaking yon! May kaugnayan ka kay Bathala!"
Umagos ng malakas ang alon at it was strong. Hindi ito magiging madali. Ngayong kaharap ko na siya, kailangan kong mag-ingat. I need to tame him. That's the only thing that I need to do.