The Moon of Bathala

Chapter 3

(A/n: Sorry po sa matagal na update hahaha mahirap maging SHS 😂 Hope you enjoy the chapter! xx)

"Girls, gising na. Alis na tayo!" Mom's voice shook me awake and I rolled over at my side to spy at the clock. It showed 4:48 AM, and I slumped back in the pillows. Another shape groaned underneath the covers and Marissa's head emerged, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

I sat up and stretched, whilst Marissa just tugged at the blanket and covered her head again. "Five more minutes ..." she mumbled. Sleep was still also riding high on my body, but I shook my sister by her side.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. Instagram pa kasi eh. Kasalanan mo yan," I told her and then shook her again. I don't understand why Marissa had to stay up until half past one just scrolling through pictures on her phone, but I figured it was her obsession. "Wake up," I told her again and then slapped a pillow on the space where her head was covered.

Marissa just muttered something in response.

"Fine. Maligo muna ako ha. Huwag kang magtampo kung matagal ako, kita mo," I told her threateningly before sliding my feet out and then making my way to the bathroom.

Surprisingly, after a cold bath, I felt more awake than ever. I had my towel wrapped around my head and I listened amusingly as I heard Marissa squealing when the water turned on.

Buruwisan Falls was indeed our destination for the day so I packed my hiking things, and added of a bottle of sunscreen, a black crop top and shorts, a very colorful printed sari, my shades and my other paraphernalia, and most importantly, two power-banks (Marissa having a cute orange oblong bank with 'BB-8' stamped at the side, and mine being a simple blue square one), just in case. Our rash guards were also brought up, and I wore mine underneath an olive green shirt.

Absent minded, I walked to my book shelves and then brought out a thin paperback, flipping through its pages until I settled for the information about the falls.

The Buruwisan Falls is one of the five falls found in the Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges, the others being Guiling-Guiling Falls, Lanzones Falls, Binaytuan Falls, and Sebakon Falls. Most of these falls are still unexplored. Buruwisan Falls is the most popular because it is the most accessible, and a must-see for mountain climbers.

I flipped the next page.

...The Binaytuan Falls was once called the Old Buruwisan, and at the end of this waterfall is a sheer deep drop between the last stone and the shore, and it is no easy feat to come to this waterfall.

I reread the note, intrigued, because it wasn't printed, and was definitely written with a ball point pen by Lolo Rohan. I bit my lip and then reread it again and again. I wasn't five anymore to keep on believing all these legends and stories that my lolo kept on telling me, but it was a relief to find out some of his books and notes anywhere I could.

"What's that?"

Marissa's voice made me jump, and the book fluttered from my hands and landed on the floor with a soft thunk. "Anak ng- Don't scare me like that!" I told her.

"Tchh, sorry. Mom wants us down to breakfast. She wants to start early." Marissa was drying her hair and also looked ready to dominate the hike to the falls.

I doubted that.

*

"Ugh, are we there yet?!" Marissa had her leggings soaked up to the knees with mud, her hair was disheveled, and her face was red with effort from hiking up the slope. Papa was leading our little group, and had a tour guide leading us up. Mom laughed when she saw Marissa's face and shook her head no.