Compilation of my submissions for the AMACon3 project. Stories posted here are also on the @Amacon_Writers book 3 for Team Cat Dog Rabbit.
For Richard and Nicomaine.
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Later at the bonfire, Alden still couldn't keep his mind off the island girl he just spent the day with.
"She's like a fvcking princess, man."
"Sino? Si Divina?"
"Hindi lang dahil anak siya ni Teodoro Smash. The whole island treats her like a royalty – with fear and reverence and cautious distance. Even you!"
"Prinsesa talaga yun ng San Simoun. Isipin mo naman, bro – father side: mayaman at sikat, mother side: powerful at sikat. Pinangingilagan dito ang mga Lola nya. Kung hindi manggagamot, mangkukulam ang pagkakakilala sa matatanda. Wala talagang magtatangkang gumalaw dun. Kaya ikaw, tanggalin mo na yung babaeng yun sa isip mo."
"I wonder how lonely she is."
Napabuntong-hininga na lang si Kris.
Alden who had been looking out at the sea, noticed a flash of skin in the dark waters.
Tiningnan niya ang kaibigan, focused pa rin ito sa kakaibang kulay ng apoy ng driftwood na ipinanggatong nila.
"Bro, I'm taking a dip."
Nagtanggal siya ng t-shirt at hinubad ang sapatos.
"Huy! Gabi na! Ipagpabukas mo na yan."
"Just keep this fire burning para hindi ako maligaw." Lumusong siya sa tubig ng walang pagdadalawang isip.
In every stroke in the water that he takes, something frightened and determined sang in his chest. It was the precise same feeling that he'd felt when he woke up from the first drowning dream.
And the closer she gets to the girl in the deep waters, the louder it sang.
"Dyan ka na lang please" sigaw nito sa kanya. "Wag ka ng lalapit."
Tatlong dipa pa. Tatlong dipa na lang.
Usually when he's naked with a girl and they're wet, sexy things are going on. The distance between them definitely takes that out of the equation.
"Hindi ka ba natatakot?" he asks, "Gabi na ah. Delikado lumangoy sa dilim mag-isa, malalakas pa naman ang alon ngayon. Pano pag nalunod ka?"
"Matakot sa dagat? Sa alon? Malunod? Anak ako ng dagat, Alden. Ang buong San Simoun ay anak ng dagat. Mas natatakot ako para sa'yo. Bumalik ka na pampang."
"Don't worry about me, I'm a strong swimmer."
"Hindi ka taga-dito kaya hindi mo kabisado ang tubig. Bumalik ka na sa pa pampang."
Lumangoy sya papalapit sa dalaga.
Siya naman, lumangoy palayo.
"Bakit ba ang hilig mong mag skinny dip?"
She just stares at him.
"Skinny dip, lumangoy ng walang suot. Nakita din kita sa dagat nung araw na papunta pa lang ako sa isla."
"Alam ko ang ibig sabiin ng skinny dip. Nagtataka lang ako bat namumula ang tenga mo. May sakit ka ba?"
Lalo itong namula.
"Don't worry about my ears, ikaw—holyshit!" and then he got dragged underwater.
By what – he doesn't know. He can't see anything in the dark but it feels like there's a cord of water tied around his feet that just keeps yanking him down, down, down.
It was like just as the dreams prepared him but worse. The burn in his lungs is real and he knows that he is not gonna wake from this.
Until he felt someone catch him and tug him back up.
Divina- and who else could it be but Divina – wrapped her arms around him and swim with a powerful heave upwards.
He coughs water when they break surface.
"Fucking hell! The fvck was that?!"
"Hindi ka kilala ng tubig dito; bumalik ka na sa baybayin."
He could feel her. Her hands around him, her chest against his, and her legs—none of it, instead a scaly something swishes back and forth, brushing against his legs.
Slowly, the hands that were wrapped around her shoulders found their way down to the rest of her. Her skin is smooth and supple but her waist, her skin tapers into rows and rows of scales.
"Son of a fvck you have a tail!"
"Sabi ko naman sa'yo anak ako ng dagat, Alden."
She dragged him back to the shore.
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