(POV Rusty)
Flashback...
"And that is one of the oldest recorded accounts of vampire story in the Philippines," pagtatapos ko ng kwento sa aking klase.
"Professor Rusty, bakit ngayon ko lang ata narinig yang kwentong yan?" tanong ng isa kong estudyante.
"Oo nga, Prof. Wala din sa books si Rajah Gatlan and Prinsipe Isagani. Based po ba yan sa real life events?" dagdag ng isa pang estudyante.
"Class, kailan ba naging totoo ang vampires? Kayo talaga! Of course, this is just an old fictional story dated pre-Hispanic times to scare children. This only shows na creative na ang mga katutubo nating Pilipino noong unang panahon."
"Sir, papagawain mo ba kami ng reaction paper bago mag semester break about this vampire myth?"
"Since mabait kayo at palaging perfect attendance, wala munang projects this semester break. Enjoy your vacation and class dismissed. Magkikita uli tayo sa pasukan."
Nagsimulang magpaalam ang mga estudyante ko at lumabas ng classroom. Ngunit naiwan si Diego Diaz.
"Diego, bakit di ka pa umuuwi? Last day ng class ngayon. Enjoy your long vacation," sabi ko habang nagliligpit ng libro.
"Sir, curious ako about sa story mo about the first Filipino vampire. Do you happen to have a book or papers about this?"
Si Diego Diaz ang aking top student sa Philippine Pre Spanish History class. Madalas kami mag kwentuhan after my class dahil pangarap daw niyang maging katulad ko na professor of history and archeology.
"Unfortunately, wala pang published books about this story. Remember my archeologist colleagues who are based in UK? They were able to unearth some old documents in Armenia, Greece and Syria about the origin of vampire stories. Lahat nagpopoint na ang pinaka progenitor ng vampire is not from Europe, but a man in Southeast Asia," sabi ko sabay umupo malapit sa kanya.
I know Diego. Alam ko mapapahaba na naman ang kwentuhan namin. He is intelligent and curious. He has so much potential and I am planning to refer him to an international school of archeology pag natapos niya na bachelor degree niya.
"Si Prinsipe Isagani ba ang tinutukoy mo? You must be kidding me, professor."
"Kwento lang ng matatanda si Prinsipe Isagani. Kumbaga, tsismis lang to na nakalimutan na ng panahon," sabi ko sa kanya.
"But you think it is real right?"
"Well, I think it is a myth. Kaso, my excavation team in Benguet recently discovered the remains of two royal couples dated before Spanish invasion. According sa mga writings, remains daw yun ni Rajah Gatlan and his wife Reyna Araya. We are still validating kung sila nga ito."
"If they are indeed real, it does not mean the vampire story is real right? At saka professor, bakit walang sa history natin si Rajah Gatlan if they really existed? Ang isang kilalang pinuno na tulad niya ay dapat may scribe o kalihim na nagsusulat ng history at accomplishments niya?"
"Diego, hindi ko rin alam kung bakit nababalot ng misteryo ang buhay ni Prinsipe Isagani na para bang sinadya na walang makaalam na nabuhay sila sa mundong ibabaw. Pwede din naman na totoo ang vampire story ni Prinsipe Isagani at walang natirang buhay noong panahon niya para magtala ng kwento niya."
"Are you planning to go to Benguet? Pwede ba ko sumama?" excited na tanong ni Diego.
"I will be leaving tomorrow and I am sorry, hindi kita maisasama. Next time, isasama talaga kita, son. Ikaw ang una makakaaalam ng kahit anong discovery ko doon."
Malungkot lang na umuwi si Diego at nagpaalam. Parang anak na ang turing ko sa kanya dahil ang kanyang parents ay nasa ibang bansa.