Rewrite the Star

Chapter 2 - Unknown

The lady waited inside the bahay kubo (nipa hut) and she noticed the herbal plants kept in small jars laying on hanging shelves. She knelt upright in front of the window and glanced at two men who were guarding on each side of the hagdan (stair). Ignoring them, she gazed at the starless sky and cried.

Oh, Brother! Oh, Brother!
How long will this last?
Your absolute absence
Blanketing the world with darkness
My undying loneliness
Has resigned the stars.
How can I tell mankind
That day lost its light
And that night became untouched?
Will they ever find hope?
Or will they stop believing to Grandpa
And pass ourselves to oblivion?

The lady was startled when she found herself in between of two (2) kampilan (sword). "Who are you," the huge man asked fiercely, but the lady was puzzled.

"Answer us," he exclaimed.

She flinched. She realized that her whole body glowed again. "Please do not hurt me. I am not an enemy." She closed her eyes and the light was gone.

The man pierced his kampilan closer to the woman's neck, causing it to bleed. "Just tell us your name."

But she was stubborn. She was quite agitated that she eyed the man and smirked teasingly, "You are afraid, aren't you?"

He was displeased so he choked her. The younger warrior tried to stop him from hurting the lady, but he did not listen. "I don't care if she was a princess. She no longer has any right since she had lost her village."

"But she is still a woman and we still must respect her. Besides, Datu Bangkaya instructed us not to hurt her."

"I don't care." He grasped her hands so tight and covered her mouth. "Give me your rope."

"What are you going to do?" The other man was detesting him. "What if Datu Bangkaya would come back?"

"I am going to bring her to Datu Paglinawan." The lady battled to free herself. "Come on. Help me out."

"If you'd do that, I will cut your head, Apo" Finally, Datu Bangkaya had returned together with the High Priestess.

The warrior immediately bowed to him and replied, "Forgive me, Datu Bangkaya, but this lady, I think she is a mangkukulam (witch) that is why the chief from the North was looking for her. We must tell Datu Paglinawan about this."

Datu Bangkaya rejected his plea. "I will that is why I invited the High Priestess. We must investigate her first, but what you did is unforgivable. Throw him in prison, Mangalangit. Later I will get back to him." Then, the two (2) warriors disappeared from their sight. "I apologized for what he did. He was never that aggressive before until we visited some islands from the North. He was accepting free candu (opium) to take away his depression. I guess he is still not over about the death of his family due to famine." He paused cheerlessly for a while, "And the gods are not answering any of our prayers."

Suddenly, the lady became uneasy, "No! Where is it? You shouldn't have brought poison to your people!"

"Wait. What?" Now Datu Bangkaya was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The medicine that he's been taking is very dangerous. Soon he will experience hallucinations in which the Sitan will take over his mind and body. We should never trust the North since they are already corrupted. Please get rid of it - every house in this village, but do not burn it for its scent is too powerful." Her tears began to fall as she remembered again the beast that assaulted her in the forest.

"I sense that she is speaking the truth, Bangkaya," the High Priestess intervened. "Go and report it to Datu Paglinawan."

"Yes, I will, High Priestess," Datu Bangkaya replied. Then he looked at the lady and his eyes went back to the priestess, "Please take care of her."

The High Priestess nodded. When Datu Bangkaya left, she started examining the lady's foot, but it was completely healed. "So tell me, what is your name?"

"I-," she paused. She got disoriented of how to explain. The circumstances that she was into was unbearable to her.

"Calm yourself, child. I know you have an anxiety attack. Just breathe in and compose yourself."

"This is all my fault." She could not restrain herself from crying. "All I could remember is that we had a feast. Then there was a war. So many people died, and he was dead."

"Hush now, child. Everything's going to be alright." The High Priestess patted her back, comforting, but the lady kept whispering to herself 'he was dead'. "Who were you talking about, child? Did you do something terrible?"

She pulled herself away from the priestess. "No. I didn't, and I couldn't tell you who, but I tried to help him, so I went to this room. And – there was a light." She wiped her tears and continued, "Then I reached to a very horrible place where people were killing each other just to survive." Her eyes were filled with horror.

"You – you have a blood from a god."