1 She is Here
That night was not like the other night. It was dark, the moon and the stars were nowhere in sight. The source of light in the night seems to have disappeared. What happened in the sky affected the ground. Chaos. The symphony that usually filled the night cannot be heard; insects are afraid to sing its song.
The only sounds that can be heard are from the people. Sounds of pewter and gongs being hit repeatedly can be heard, children cry and women wail. The ground was covered in things that people had laid. There are fish nets, fish, crafted bamboo, and more.
The bobolian are in a circle dancing and chanting the rinat. Near the bobolian ritual, a woman falls on her knees and held her hands out to the sky. She stares at the pitch-dark sky and shouts "Tarob, please give the moon back!"
As if the misery wasn't enough, it started to rain. Thunder strikes the earth as if heaven is mad. Winds are blowing and howling, and the temperature drops down. Yet, no one moves from their spot. The people become more persistent, and the sound of the pewter and gongs becomes faster and louder. The bobolian dance and chant also become intense.
Far away from the ritual, in a small wooden cottage, a woman was in labor. She was in great pain. Sweat covered her forehead as she heaved and pushed, and her left hand that grips her husband's hand is shaking and turned white. The evidence of her pain was clear on the man's hand as it turned to the color of red and purplish. If it hurt, the man didn't show it as the man pay full attention to his wife.
Down on her parted legs, a woman on her fifty helps the woman deliver the baby. The baby was in the wrong position as the leg came out first.
"My baby... my baby must be safe." She groaned. She knows the danger that her baby was in. Her baby could be suffocated before she gives birth. She also knew that she was in danger. The strong smell of blood that overwhelmed her senses was a reminder for her of the darkness that is approaching. But she didn't care if she didn't survive, as long as her baby survived. With that in mind, she screams and gives a final push, and the baby finally comes out wailing.
As the first cry of the baby can be heard, the mother's eyes turn cold.
"Kasia!" Her husband called his wife's name, but she could never answer as she had already come back to the creator. The man hugs his wife's cold body and cries hysterically.
The woman that helps deliver the baby paled as she spotted a mark on the baby's right shoulder.
"She has the mark!" The woman shouted. She tries to give the baby to her father.
The man pushes the woman's hand. The baby almost dropped from her hold. He holds his wife's cold body close to him and stares at the bundle on the woman's hand with hatred.
"Keep. That. Thing. Away. From Me." He forced the word to come out of his mouth.
The woman put the baby on the bed and forces the man to separate from his wife's body. She grabs the man by his collar, straightens him, and punches him on the nose. Blood oozed from his nose, and he hissed in pain, but the woman didn't care.
She looks the man directly in the eyes and says "That thing is your daughter. She needs you. She has the mark. You know what that means Bulawan, she is our savior."
As if sensing the distress, the baby cries louder for attention. The woman let get go of Bulawan and he slumped hopelessly on the floor. He covered his face with his hand as tears flowed down his face. The woman carries and clams the baby. The baby immediately stopped crying.
"You need each other." The woman stated. She placed the baby in his arms.
Bulawan looks down on his now-sleeping daughter.
"She is beautiful... just like her mother." He spoke and then hugged his newborn. "I'm sorry... father promises that father will take care of you with his life." He vowed.
The woman approached the still body on the bed and closes the deceased wife's eyes with her hand. It was a tragedy; the mother and the child didn't have the chance to get to know each other. This was supposed to be a joyful occasion for the family but turned into a sorrowful one. Her heart felt heavy.
"Rest in peace, little one." She whispered.
The moon that the people long for appeared in the sky. The dark sky slowly lit up by the moon. As the sky lit up so was the ground. The people look up, sensing the change that occurred.
"Look! The moon!" A boy shouted and pointed at the sky.
"Tarob had spewed the moon!" The woman shouted. She bowed her head. "Thank you Tarob." She murmured.
The people cheered and started dancing. The miasma was lifted, and all turn back to normal again. At least, that was what they thought.
In a mansion, a man dressed in a black robe was chanting a rinait. Sweat gathered on his temple as he focused on his incantations. He suddenly opens his eyes.
"She is here. The prophesied one," he uttered.
***
The whole place was filled with a somber atmosphere. No sounds of birds chirping and the usual buzzing of the insects. The trees were extremely long and grey and the sky was gloomy. It seems that nature was also mourning for the woman lost.
Bulawan put a lily flower on the freshly dug soil where his beloved wife was laid to rest. He had told himself to be strong, but his tears flowed and dropped on the lily petals. He quickly wipes his tears. He needs to be strong for their daughter. The infants were thankfully sleeping soundly in the arms of Sonod, the woman who help with the labor. He is grateful for that. He doesn't need a wailing baby to further fuel his grief.
"Rest in peace my love, don't worry about our baby. I will take care of her." He whispered and then kissed the grave softly like he always kissed his wife's head.
With a heavy heart, he stood up and left his wife's grave. He needs to settle the matter with his daughter now.
"Bulawan, no one can know about her until it's time," Sonod spoke.
"I know." He replied and stroked the sleeping infant's cheek. The baby smiled in her sleep upon her father's touch. "I need your help Sonod." He spoke.
"I can cast a spell on this place so that people will never find it." She suggested. "But she needs to stay inside and never stepped out from this place until it's time." She added.
Bulawan can already sense his daughter's frustration in the future for being kept like a bird in a cage. But he rather that she be frustrated but safe than gone like her mother. He cannot lose another family. She is all that he has now.
"Do what you needed to do." He gave her his permission and took her daughter carefully off her arm. He was afraid that the small movement would wake her up. But thankfully, the newborn remained sleeping.
Sonod stretches her weary body. A satisfying pop of bones can be heard throughout her stretches. She put her hands up and began an incantation.
After a while, Bulawan cannot see Sonod and the place anymore. He found himself in the wilderness. His sweet little house and his wife's grave were nowhere in sight. He suddenly felt fear. Fear that the only remains of his wife were gone and of the place that he wasn't familiar with. In his mind, there is an extreme need to get out of the place. His legs follow his mind.
"Sonod!" He shouted.
The infant in his arms woke up to his loud voice. For a moment, he had forgotten about the newborn.
"Shhh..." He shushed his newborn.
His daughter stopped crying and blinked her innocent brown eyes at her father. She makes noises like she was talking to him.
"Calm down, Bulawan."
He heard Sonod's voice. Her voice was close by, but the person was still nowhere in sight.
Sonod who saw the whole situation came close to the father and daughter pair. Bulawan was still in the same place, but her spell had made him feel like he was in a place that he had never been before, and he wanted to get out from there.
She chants a spell and blows it on Bulawan and the infant. Confusion was written all over his face then relief.
"What was that?" He asked.
"My spell. That is how anyone will feel when they entered this place." She answered. "Me, you, and the baby are the only that will know about this place." She added.
He nodded and slowly rocked his baby.
"Have you thought of any name for her?" Sonod asked.
He recalled a memory of him and his wife talking about their baby's name. He smiles.
"Maia." He spoke. "Her name is Maia." He stated.
***
Bobolian - Shaman
Tarob - Dragon that swallows the moon
Rinat - Incantations of the bobolian
