Tales Of The Wisp ~AYU INDAH

MEETING INDAH

"Naay duha ka kabus na magtiayun...there lived a poor couple, a "tumandok" native of this Indigenous tribe, a garlic farmer and his wife who had a putri, a daughter whom they called Indah, meaning beautiful child."

I was suddenly aware of a presence-someone nearby.

Quickly, I turned my head around to look behind the tree trunk and was completely startled to see.

Squatting on a low slab of rock beneath a leaning tree's shady branch, was a fair child!

Hala! I shrieked in surprise, Ingkanta! Is that a fairy? I am surely bewitched!

I squeezed my eyes shut, shook my head and cried, Tabi-tabi poooo. Tabi-tabi poooo. I supplicated with hands clenched together, entreating any beings I may have offended to spare me.

Reassuring  myself that I'm either suffering from a sunstroke or an anxiety attack; therefore, I'm imagining things and hearing Nai's voice.

This is not real. This is not real. I kept repeating it to myself.

I did not dare open my eyes just yet, as I needed to think, breathe slowly, and gather my reason.

I took my time to calm myself down, then slowly, taking a deep breath, I turned around and, very slowly still, opened my eyes to look again, releasing a sigh.

She was still there-a chubby little girl with wisps of platinum white hair, seated on a flat boulder of rock, with a vision so alien that it seemed out of place.

Is she a foreigner's child? But what was she doing out here in the sweltering heat all by herself? Seeking sanctuary as well? But how did she get here? I'm really lost by now! I wondering if what I'm seeing is real or just imagined.

The toddler was keeping a watchful eye on something in the distance. I followed her gaze, and it was on the couple I had seen earlier.

Next to her was a well-laid-out mat, a banana leaf spread out, and on it was a slightly large clay jug, which I assumed was a water vessel, with a variety of native fruits: mangoes, tundan, or tiny bananas, and black berries that I recognized to be lumboy, which the youngster didn't bother with or was interested in eating. There were also some knotted stuffs; I wasn't sure what it was that was tied together.

"Puso na sya. Humay na gi putos ug dahon sa lubi." We call the knotted stuff "puso," or sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves.

I heard Nai Ceri voice again! Clearly explaining it. I searched for her, but she was nowhere in sight! Is she in my head?

'Nai? Asa ka? Where are you?

I must still be a little dizzy.

"Nai, I can hear you!"

However, the child, who resembled a vision from Raphael's Madonna and Child painting except that this one climbed out of the canvas, diverted my attention.

"Oh my gosh, you are adorable!" I exclaimed, feeling so gigil, I was thrilled! She' was literally a living picture of pink and white! I could not resist, so I walked towards her.

"Hello," I called out gaily, waving my hand slowly so as not to startle her.

Closer, she looked about three-year-old, a cherub with hair the palest of gold! Poor thing; she wore nothing but beads around her wrists and ankles. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes squinted from the glare, and her entire body was flushed a bright pink!