Friday, January 7

siquijor.


i have to dig into my memory deeper, because this story was only relayed to me by a college acquaintance two, or maybe three, years ago. i remember we were engaged in a frenzy of stories about our childhood days -- and his story stood out, because until this very day, it is still clear in my mind, except for a few hazy details.

so you need to bear with me.

the story takes place in the sleepy island of siquijor, in one of the more obscure poblacions there that bears the name of the spanish conquistadores who had claimed ownership over that wide parcel of land. if my memory serves me right, the name of the town is don herminigilio, and the story takes place during the wee hours of the morning.

at two in the morning, to be exact.

a man, by the name of pedro, or juan -- i can't really recall what his name was, but it was a probinsyano name nonetheless -- was scurrying in the dark. at two in the morning, the night sky was cold, dark, and starless, save for a few tinge of crimson red that pierced through the dispersed cloud formations above.

the nameless man, since there had been no resolution as to what his real identity is, felt his heavy breathing amid the irregular drumming of his heart. he had a reason to be in a hurry after all, since his wife would be giving birth any minute from now. the island's health center was still two poblacions away, but since siquijor's land mass is relatively small, it would only take him roughly 30 minutes to get there.

he would've opted to get a habal-habal ride, but during ungodly hours such as this, the habal-habal operators would have already retreated to their homes, or were in the pier area, patiently waiting for the first ferry trip from dumaguete that would give them their handful of naive tourists who can easily be fooled into forking out their dollars for one quick trip around the mystic island.

his pace hastened as he began to feel the cold streaks of perspiration running down his face. and even when the night was starless, it was not as dark as most nights, and through the dispersed moon streaks, he could see that the early morning breeze had humbled the mais leaves into inevitable submission.

the constant gusts of wind made a sound that was half-eerie, and half poignant.

with his hastened pace, it did not take him long to reach the salagdoong junction, where if he turned left, he would be passing through the asphalted national road, but it would take him a much longer time to get to the health center, or if he would opt to continue treading forward, he would get there much faster.

but he would have to pass through a hectare of cornfields by foot if he chose the latter.

the mais leaves shone under the moon's illumine -- seemingly an invite for him to choose efficiency over conveneince.

hurriedly, he sprinted ahead and chose to pass through the endless maze of cornfields, since clearly, he had no more time to spare.

as he used his hands to fend off the mais leaves that slapped his face with his every step forward, he heard the flutter of the night creatures, and the intensity of the wind's incessant howl. he heard the crackle of the dried leaves that he stepped on, and felt the damp soil that soiled his slipper-less feet with his every movement.

the streaks of perspiration in his face glistened under the moon's radiance, but he was unmindful of all these. he was racing against time, and there was nothing that could slow him down.

except for what he saw just when he was in the heart of mang julio's cornfields.

it was about 20 meters away from him, but he could clearly see the seemingly thick puddle of shiny object that had the sheen and texture of silky black as it slithered its way into the ground, just like a slimy reptile.

he momentarily stopped to have a good look at what he just saw, but he was perplexed to see that it was not there anymore.

'ah, guni-guni lang to nako'.

he moved forward.

he was surprised to see that the slimy puddle was already just about 3 meters away from him.

and when he took one more step, it was already underneath his breath.

it took a long time for his reflexes to take over, so unintentionally, he stepped on the mysterious puddle of impeccable black.

upon instant contact with his foot, the shrilly cry of a newborn infant pierced through the eerie silence of the cornfield.

and just like a snake that had been accidentally stepped on, it slithered its way into the ground and disappeared in an instant.

17 comments:

gillboard said...

Is it aswang? anaconda? what's with siquijor and scary stories anyway? :D

Anonymous said...

hala parang magic lang,... pero nice i hint of kababalaghan... nagno daghan man hadlok sa siquijor chong?

Nimmy said...

waaaah! lagi na lang ako natatakot sa mga kwento mo kuya. hehehe

The Gasoline Dude™ said...

Anak ni Janice?

claudiopoi said...

gillboard, depende nalang sayo yun. hehe. use your imagination. chos! hehe.

kikomaxx, ambot dyuddddd. although it's known mang gud to be the island of fire and magic. plus, headquarters sa mga mangkukulam, so iskeyri jud na siya. hehe.

nimmy, sorry naman. sana hindi mo ako isumbong sa kasintahan you. haha. happy friday nimmy! :)

gasoline dude, oo. anak ni janice meets anaconda. hehe. :D

Carlo said...

undin yata sir. hehe. o diba babalik ka ng siquijor soon? hala ka hehe

Noah G said...

what in the name of Basyang was that?
oil spill? baka Pokemon? O baka di kaya'y metaphorical representation nung ipapanganak na sanggol nung asawa niya?

weirdness in all it's glory...

Peter said...

For a while I was torn among possible themes -- maternal death? horror? rural idyll? I'd actually liked to visit this island famous for you know what.

Mugen said...

Parang gusto ko yata bumisita sa siquijor. Hehehe!

nomadicmillionmonks said...

baka yung baby kinain ng sawa tapos buhay pa sa loob ng tyan? 0_0

claudiopoi said...

carlo, oo nga eh. dun ako mag rerest and recreation. sana hindi ko makita yang foreign object na yan!

nowitzki, ikaw na ang bahala. but for the most part, me likey weird stuff. :)

peter, yes sir, you can do that. im actually planning a siquijor trip soon. to unwind. the place is just immaculate.

muglen, sama ka na din! para makatipid sa travel package. hehe. :)

claudiopoi said...

mr lakwatsero, hindi naman sure na reptile talaga yun eh. hehe. mejo ambiguous ang description nung friend ko, kaya nga mejo natakot me ng slight.

Anonymous said...

Anu yun? anak ng may-ari ng Robinsons???

claudiopoi said...

haha. oo, namamasyal sa siquijor will!

Noah G said...

ahaha! sama ako siquijor! with all the weirdness and all its glory :) ahaha...

glentot said...

Haha sensya ngayon lang nakapagbasa at nakapagcomment alam mo naman pare-pareho tayong busy sa U-bloggers hahahaha parang naikwento mo nga ito sa amin noon sa GB tama ba? Parang dream sequence... mapopost rin ako ng folk stories soon!

claudiopoi said...

haha. oo glentot! ito yung kwinento ko senio sa greenbelt. sige, aasahan ko ang post mo about dun. sorry lang at wala sa panahon ang panghohorror ko. :D