SCIAS OF THE UNDERWORLD

FIVE

"Nag-eenglish ka, la?" tanong niya rito matapos marinig iyon at agad naman siyang siniko ng pinsan. She never heard her grandma speak in that language. Ngunit napaisip din siya. Matagal siyang wala sa tabi ng kanyang lola. Surely, things have changed. 

She clicked her tongue at tiningnan ang lola niyang seryosong nakatingin sa kanya. 

"Nararamdaman ko ang galit niya, Ally," saad ng lola niya.

She sighed. "Tanging sama ng loob mo lang ang nararamdaman ko 'la. And I think your crane left a bruise on my butt—"

Hindi niya naituloy ang nais sabihin nang hubarin ng  lola niya ang kwintas at binigay ito sa kanya. "Suotin mo ito. Suotin mo bilang proteksyon."

She was about to decline as politely as she can ngunit siniko na naman siya ni Juno kaya wala siyang nagawa at kinuha ito bago suotin.

"I suppose this necklace could protect me from evil spirits now."

"Ang kwintas na iyan ang magpapatunay na isa ka sa amin. Hindi ka niya sasaktan kapag nakita niya iyan. He will reward you."

"Sana naman pera ang ireward niya sa akin," she mumbled under her breathe ngunit alam niyang narinig iyon ni Juno. The latter didn't say anything.

Dahan-dahang tumayo ang lola niya. She sighed and looked at the window overlooking the sea. She never understood how her grandma could be so devoted to her belief in gods.

"Whoever it is, bakit po siya galit?" tanong niya sa matanda.

Tiningnan lang siya nito bago umiling. "Walang nakakaalam. No one has ever known but one thing is for certain, Alaska. The god's wrath shouldn't be taken lightly," tanging sabi nito bago bumalik sa kusina. Napatingin siya kay Juno na prenteng nakaupo katabi niya. Saka naman siya napatigin sa kwintas. 

It doesn't look extraordinary. It looked too...plain. How could this thing protect her from whatever her grandma warns her of? Assuming what her grandma said was true, of course. But it couldn't be true. Kung gaano katibay ang paniniwala ng lola niya sa mga dyos ay siya namang tibay ng paniniwala niyang hindi sila totoo. 

She heaved a deep breath at napag-alaman niyang mag aalas diyes na ng umaga and she hasn't unpacked. So she spent the whole afternoon unpacking and contemplating her life decisions so far. Napatingin siya sa kwintas na nasa mesa. Wala namang mawawala kung isusuot niya iyon. Ngunit napagdesisyunan niyang isusuot lamang niya iyon habang nasa bahay siya. 

Napahiga siya sa kama at tiningnan iyon. The pendant was big enough a kernel of corn could fit inside it. And when she looked closer, may nakita nga siyang bagay sa loob ng pendant. The intricate design of the pendant made her unable to see what's inside kaya naman naisipan niyang subukang buksan iyon. But she couldn't open it for some reason so she gave it up and observed it once more before she wore it around her neck. 

She walked towards the mirror and nodded at her reflection. "It doesn't look bad," saad niya sa sarili. 

She was pulled away from her thoughts nang makarinig siya ng mahinang katok. 

"Bukas 'yan!" sigaw niya. Dahan-dahan namang pumasok si Juno and looked at the mess on the floor. Nakita niyang napangiwi ang pinsan niya sa kalat kaya agad niyang kinuha ang bukas na maleta at isinara iyon. 

"What is it?" tanong niya dito. He looked at her before he smiled. 

"Maraming taon ka ring nawala. Baka gusto mong gumala muna? There's a festival coming soon." He stuffed his hands inside his pockets. 

"Festival? Anong klaseng festival ba iyan?" tanong niya dito. 

He shrugged. "For the dead," tipid nitong sagot and she couldn't help but wonder. Hindi niya maalala ang ganitong selebrasyon noon. Maybe because she was too young to care? And besides, sa pangalan pa lang, alam na niyang tungkol sa mga diyos ang festival na iyon. Maybe that's why hindi niya pinagtuunan ng pansin noon. 

And then a realization hit her. "Is this what grandma meant? The god of the underworld is coming? Was she referring to this festival?" tanong niya sa pansin na nakatingin lang sa kanya. Looking at Juno, he looked like he's done with everything she says about the gods. Kagaya ng lola nila at halos lahat ng mga tao sa village, they all that gods exist. And they're even celebrating festivals about it. 

"Who knows? Maybe it is just a metaphor. But maybe the god of the underworld is really coming," saad ng pinsan dahilan para umismid siya. 

She decided not to indulge in another debate whether or not the gods exist or not. She waved her hand dismissively and shooed away Juno before changing into something more comfortable. Plano pa naman sana niyang matulog but Juno's offer of roaming the town was far more enticing.

Juno was already waiting outside the moment she was done. It's been a while since she got to roam the town. The only thing she misses about festivals is that she got to play all day kasi walang pasok. And her grandma would be too busy preparing for it that she would pay no attention to her. 

"Do you remember that little girl who was so frail before?" Juno asked out of the blue. Napaisip siya. 

"Yung anak ng mangingisda?" 

Tumango ang pinsan. "She died."

She never really got the chance to get to know that girl better. Ang naalala lang niya ay nanunuod lang ito sa kanya kapag naglalaro sila. She never really knew why and she didn't care. At ngayong nabalitaan niyang wala na ito, she couldn't help but feel sorry. She should have been friendlier to her when they were still kids. 

"Sabi nila, nakakapaglakad naman daw siya noong bata pa. But for some reason, one day, she lost the ability to walk." 

Napatingin siya sa pinsan. "All of a sudden?" 

"They went to have her checked in the city but the doctors couldn't understand what happened to her. Kaya naman nahinto ang pagpapagamot sa kanya and as you can still remember, she spent most of her time in her wheelchair." 

She looked at the road ahead kung saan kokonti lang ang dumadaang sasakyan. "That's strange. But it's still tragic. Kailan siya pumanaw?" 

"Just last week. Natagpuan nalang nila ang bangkay ng babae sa dalampasigan. She drowned. What baffled them is how could she even go to the sea in the first place kung hindi naman siya nakakalakad? She even left her wheelchair in their house." Juno looked at her. 

Hindi niya rin maintindihan kung paano iyon nangyari. "Maybe someone brought her there and killed her. Or killed her first before throwing her into the sea to drown. To make it look like she died drowning." 

Juno didn't say anything for a while. "She wasn't killed first. Ayon sa imbestigasyon, she didn't die before she drowned. Nalunod talaga siya kaya namatay. That's why it was strange." 

She scoffed. "I'm guessing the elders here are associating that tragic event as the work of gods?" 

Tahimik si Juno habang naglalakad and that answered her question. "I don't really understand why people could believe in something so devotedly even to the point of blaming it for somebody's death. I mean, sinasamba nila ang mga diyos, hindi ba? If they blame the gods for the death of someone, shouldn't they be hating the gods instead?" 

Juno shook his head. "The gods don't do something unless if there's a reason, Ally."

"Hah! And people who believe them would spend all their life trying to guess what reason could that be. I mean, it's not like those gods and their believers communicate to each other." 

Juno looked like he was about to say something but then somebody walked towards them and offered them some bracelets. Ally tried to hide her grimace as the lady insisted on giving them the bracelets. Juno, on the other hand, was kind enough to take the bracelet from the lady. 

Akmang maglalakad na siya palayo nang harangin siya ng babae and tiningnan sa mata. She looked older now that she got to take a closer look at her. At nang maglakad ito papalapit sa kanya, agad siyang napaatras. The old lady looked at her and she took a step back. It wasn't her blank face that frightened her. It was the words the lady said next, 

"You'll die, love. If not today then soon."

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