What just happened?" I ask aloud, shaking my head to dispel the fog
clouding it.
"Pa?" "Honey!" I called out for my husband. "Paaaa!" I shouted, my voice slicing through the stillness, desperation lacing each syllable.
Silence hung in the air, a hea...
And now that I've had my bite, I feel so much better. "I'm sure I was just hungry, or maybe I had a heat stroke or something that pushed me over the edge, so don't worry about me, Pa." I reassured Jun.
"Or was it the overpowering stink that finally did it?" was his retort, which made us both laugh.
I've got to talk to Nai-Ceri. I told him again.
She was still there, tidying up in the kitchen, when Jun called her to see me in the living room.
At first, she seemed reluctant to enter but readily followed when she heard me call her name.
It was her first time inside the main house.
"Ma'am" was all she murmured when she saw me resting on the sofa. I gestured for her to sit closer.
"Pasensya Nai," I was apologetic. I did not want her to think she was responsible or otherwise for what happened to me.
"Nabuyod rah ko," I thought, using dizziness as an excuse.
Her demeanor was calm as she took her seat beside me; she seemed unperturbed. Her expression was blank. Acting as if nothing had transpired.
I got more intrigued. I had to tell her that I was aware. I know.
I looked her straight in the eye, and I told her, "Tua ko didto Nai." I was there, "Ug nakita nako ang tanan," and I saw it all.
She did not reply. Her expression remained unruffled.
I was seriously calm, as well, when I requested "tiwasa Nai."
"Finish your story."I told her.
She nodded without hesitation and acted rather pleased with this, knowing that I felt connected to and caught up in her tale. It prompted her to continue.
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"Ug iyang gibuhat." And Ayu Indah did.
"Did what, Nai?"
"Nilayas siya uban kaniya." She ran away with him, they surmised.
Leaving without a trace, "ni biya sya na wala man gani magsaba sa pagpanamilit," not even bothering to say goodbye.
Early the next morning, her parents woke up and found her gone.
She had apparently not returned from the revelry that night, leaving behind all of her treasured belongings.
No one had seen her, and Ayu Indah was nowhere to be found.
The whole village was in an uproar. The chieftain ordered the warriors to search for and find her. They caught up with the merchant and his son, who swore she never left with them.
They searched everywhere and down into other villages and fishing towns looking for her, but no one had seen her nor knew of her whereabouts.
She simply vanished.
Saddened by the loss of their only child for years, the garlic farmer and his wife pined for her return. Eventually, they died of a broken heart.
Since then, the villagers have been overshadowed by fear. They wondered what became of the beautiful Ayu Indah, for she never came back. She was never seen nor heard from again.
The old folks, karaang mga tawo, claimed that she left that night and became one with the forest.
"Ug si Tokoh, Nai, na unsa man siya?" I wanted to know what happened to him. He was enraged, he grew mad, and he forbade anyone the mention of her name. Since then, he seemed haunted and afraid, and sometime later, they said, "Nabuang siya." He lost his mind, she said.
"Sa kasugiran, according to legends, many years later, and unexpectedly, around Ayu Indah's old, abandoned home, a strange new plant began to grow.
It coiled and wrapped itself around its broken structures. Oddly, some noted that it was holding it up and did not want to let go, spreading throughout the area. And when it bloomed, they noticed that its flowers were cascading clusters of luscious purple.
For all its beauty, the curious thing about this vine was its strong, pungent odor, which strongly resembled that of garlic.
The impos and ingkongs-the old folks soon called it "Ayu-Ayu." She has come back, they say.
The plant is believed to help ward off snakes, witches, and even Pontianak, blood-sucking demons! And its leaves, made into tea, aid longevity.
"Hala ka!" Would be mother's warning, "Sige ha na, naa's Ayu Ayu!" You better watch out! Keep that up, and Ayu will come for you! Frightening their children with the memory of her to get them to behave.
The lesson to be learned from her story may be left to the listener, or you and me to determine for ourselves.
She came back in plant form, remorseful for her mistakes. Where once she was selfish, now she has turned generous and prolific. Expressing her love for her aging parents, her leaves soothe and heal when brewed into a tea. Her loathing of garlic had turned into her own distinct fragrance.
And when all she ever wanted to do was leave home, now she clings on to love wherever she is sown, trailing the parameters with her flowering grace, proving herself at home to grow, be loyal, and be protective.
Oh, but she has clung to her vanity and pride, refusing to let go of the traits that define her. As a woody, flowering climber, she trailed high and tall, basking herself in the sun's glaring stare. Her vivacious perfection was on full display as she reveled in her carefree existence. She was a humble forest vine yet possessed a potent healing power.
When the Spaniards arrived, they propagated her cuttings, which quickly spread. She traveled with them around the globe. These foreign tribes showed her more honor and reverence. Among Amazon basin Indigenous tribes, she became known as Amos Sacha, revered as a guardian against bad spirits and a harbinger of good fortune, and they viewed her as magical or supernatural. For protection, they frequently strung swags of her leaves throughout their huts and dwellings. They smudged or smoked her leaves over people or places to "purify" and "cleanse" them of unwanted energy. Indian shamans used her leaves and bark as one of the key ingredients in hallucinogenic concoctions for spiritual rites and ceremonies.
The Native American Indians of the Peruvian Amazon brewed tea from her bark for themselves and their dogs to improve their hunting and fishing skills and bring on success.
Not only has she gained popularity in their kitchen, adding scent to most dishes with her leaves, but Indigenous people and other cultures also heavily utilize her for medicinal purposes.
Her bark-based poultices treat swellings and inflammatory skin diseases.
They made cane-alcohol tinctures and decoctions of cough syrups, decongestants, and laxatives from her leaves and roots to treat rheumatism, arthritis, colds, influenza, pneumonia, uterine issues, epilepsy, and other diseases.
As a bath soak, her leaves treat cramps, muscle pain, and fevers.
Her renown extended beyond the Amazon's cities and towns, with cultivation spreading to Puerto Rico, Southern Africa, India, and the West Indies. She had a long history of usage in herbal therapy for her anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, and antipyretic qualities."
