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The village rose with a morning chant. This was facilitated by the women of the Manobo tribe headed by the village priestess. The men gathered around along with them. It was a prayer to the Gods asking for guidance and blessing for the day's chores. They chanted as they circled around the priestess, swaying their bodies harmoniously with heads up high facing the sky. It was the scene that Shayan woke up each day. But there was something about the hymn that mixed the air this morning. Shayan opened his eyes and waited for his vision to adjust against the dark. An hour before the first light yet the entire village was already awaked. He could hear women wailing as the chanting swelled in mournful hymn. Shayan's heart began to beat faster as he stood immediately from his cot to see what was happening outside. He was alone in the hut but a lamp was left for him on the bamboo table at the dining room.

"Mama!" He called but his mother wasn't there.

Shayan navigated himself in the dark until he reached the door. The chanting became louder by the minute and he knew that something bad happening outside but he didn't know what it was. It was more of a feeling. But the moment he went out of the hut, a lump rose in his throat. He swallowed hard to push back tears and braced himself as he walked towards the bonfire. He couldn't tell but he somehow knew that what was happening had something to do with his family. Shayan prayed to the Gods to spare his mother from any harm. The entire Manobo tribe gathered around the bonfire and as Shayan walked his way to the front, nobody noticed him. The villagers were engaged in a trance, chanting their hearts out with pure lamentation. Shayan was the only one who didn't succumb to the ritual. He moved quietly to the front to see what was happening. His heart thudded as if it wanted to break free and he stopped for awhile to take a deep breath. When he reached the front, his eyes bulged as he tried desperately to contain the tears that yet to fall. Seeing the object of the tribe's mournful chant, he took a doubled stepped back allowing for his young mind to process everything. Shayan was young but living in a Manobo tribe taught him that death is part of everyday life. Tribal people died by sudden illness, old age or accident in the wild. He was aware of this and he knew that it was inevitable. He was right; it had something to do with his family. The pain was immediate but he tried very hard to bury it deep for he needed to be strong, not for himself but for his mother.

The chanting rose and fell in cadence. Shayan couldn't believe what he saw; his grandfather's body was laid in his back on a mat beside the fire. The old man's eyes were closed and his body was rigid and un-moving – he was dead. His own mother was kneeling over the deceased body – mumbling and crying, along with other relatives and few elders. Shayan was in shock; he tried to move his body so he could come closer and stood behind his mother. The tears fell effortlessly from his eyes; he wanted to stop it but stopping it seemed impossible. He leaned forward to reach for his mother's shoulder. When she turned, and looked up to see him, she cried even harder. His mother pulled him down and hugged him tight as they cried together. To see his mother cry broke Shayan's heart. He was disappointed to himself because no matter how much he tried to protect his mother from all the pain, things like death was beyond his control. He couldn't stop it from happening. His grandfather was the chief of the Manobo Tribe. He was wise and old and earned his keeps as the village highest official. Shayan remember the last time he was with his grandfather, which was yesterday before dusk at the river. The Sun took its final bow as it burned the horizon before the mountain swallowed it. Its final light painted the sky orange until there was no more left. They were gazing at the river, at the horizon watching the spectacle. Before the temperature started to drop, his grandpa put a hand on his shoulder and ushered him back to the village. He was his grandfather's only heir since his father died with illness when he was 7 years old.

SHAYAN  ( A TRIBES REALM TALE)Where stories live. Discover now