Tales Of The Wisp ~AYU INDAH

DISPELLED

It was like walking into a steamy sauna when I entered the small back kitchen. The heat was dense and heavy, pressing in from all sides—a sauna layered in pungent fumes.

Nai was already there, pounding away.

The potent, sharp scent of crushed garlic leaves hit me like a wave, flooding my nose and overwhelming my senses. The thick air clung to my skin, the smell settling into every pore—almost too much to bear. I nearly gagged.

Not wanting to offend her by covering my nose, I simply held my breath, letting the bitter, stifling air fill my lungs. After all, this old lady was making an effort to please me, so I stayed patient, watching quietly behind her.

She showed me which leaves to pick, explaining as she pointed to a cluster of leaves, her voice soft but steady. "Udlut shoots," she said, brushing her fingers over the tender green leaves, "make for milder teas, best for fevers and headaches. But these—" she gestured toward darker, mature leaves, their color almost ink-black in the dim light—"these are stronger." She showed me how a combination of leaves, bark, and roots could be remedies for other ailments she described, her words heavy with centuries of knowing.

It wasn't just information she shared; it was a ritual, one she'd perfected through countless seasons. I nodded, listening as she spoke of remedies for warding off ailments, skin disorders, and diseases I'd never even heard of. It felt as though I was learning secrets meant for another time, another place.

Enduring it all, with a grimaced smile, I stood there nodding and listening until, after a while, I felt like I could no longer take it.

And at that moment, as she started to demonstrate the brewing preparation process to me, I began to feel strange.

A dizzying sensation washed over me, and the room seemed to shift, taking on a dreamlike quality. The kitchen began to warp in my vision, shadows stretching and twisting, the warm light turning strange, casting deep hues that made everything look... alive, as if the walls and counters themselves were breathing.

The large, uncovered tea kettle of boiling water, wheezing by the fire and steaming over, morphed in my mind's eye. Its spout flared, releasing spirals of steam, and suddenly it seemed like a creature—like a dragon's nostril, huffing out thin streams of smoke.

I stared, and a quiet laugh bubbled up, unbidden. It felt absurd, but I couldn't help it.

From where I stood, Nai looked out of focus—a small, dark figure with her back bent toward the fire, its smoke creating a halo around her. She moved with deliberate, unhurried motions, her voice weaving through the room like a low chant. It was as though she was casting spells, not just brewing tea. Her gestures took on a new significance, each one an invocation, calling something forth.

The ringing in my ears drowned out her mumblings.

A wave of dizziness surged, and my heart thudded in my chest, hard and loud, almost as if trying to break free. Cold sweat prickled at the back of my neck, and I felt the blood drain from my face, leaving my skin clammy and pale.

Gripping the counter, I tried to steady myself, pressing my palms down on the cool surface to ground myself.

"Nai, what's happening?" My voice sounded strange, hollow, as if it were coming from far away, echoing in a space I could barely recognize. My pulse beat in my ears, loud and insistent.

She turned briefly, her eyes gleaming with the light of the fire reflected in them, but she did not seem to hear or notice me.

She seemed even stranger than usual, and this moment felt charged, as if some hidden force had driven her to share the tumo-tumo with me. I stood there stunned as she kept talking.

"Nahitabo ni sa unang panahon dire sa bukid... This happened a long, long time ago in this very mountain," she began. Her voice held a rhythm that felt like a spell, binding me in place. The present melted away, and I found myself drifting through her story as though I'd been pulled into it, anchored to this place and time.

This wasn't just a story; it was a memory, ancient and woven into the earth beneath us.

Am I hallucinating?

It was like I was watching a movie, but I was also right there inside as her story unfolded.

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