Lost to you

Chapter 1

"Tangina!" I exclaimed.

Pinagtitinginan na'ko ng mga tao dahil sa pagmumura ko. Ang kaharap kong babae ay tinakpan ang tenga ng kanyang anak at itinalikod ito sa aking direksyon. Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako.

Hawak ng kaliwang kamay ko ang barya na natitira sa wallet ko. Malayo pa ako sa office namin dito sa Mountain Province. Nasa gilid ako ng daan, mag-aabang sana ako ng tricycle para hindi na ako maglalakad ng malayo makarating lang sa office namin pero kulang na ang pera ko.

I am a Volcanologist. I study eruptive activity and the formation of volcanoes and their current and historic eruptions.

It's cool but It includes danger. I had a classmate who was killed while investigating volcanic activity in Hawaii. Kaya as much as possible I like to work in the office, doing paper works and such. I really don't get myself involve in field works because It's dangerous, but here I am in Mountain Province.

I was sent here by my boss in Manila to get samples in a hot spring in Mainit Village. We need to study the elements of the water and the soil of the hot spring for our research.

I'm so tired, mabuti na lamang nag eroplano ako papunta dito at sumakay ng taxi papunta sa bayan pero kahit higit sa apat na oras ang aking byahe nagpapasalamat ako dahil nakarating ako dito ng ligtas.

Hindi ako nakapag withdraw sa bayan dahil sira ang mga atm machine doon at sarado na ang mga banko dahil 6 pm na'ko nakarating. And now here I am mukhang NPA. I have a black suitcase and a big backpack for my important things. I am just wearing a plain white shirt, black leggings paired with white sneakers.

I think I'll just headfirst sa hotel ko. I fished my phone out of my pocket and google map the location of my hotel. I almost kneeled when I read na malapit lang ito. I look at my watch and its already quarter to seven. I better hurry because it's already dark.

When I reached the hotel I was greeted by a simple house design in the exterior and a warm interior inside. Mahahalata mo na modern Filipino design ang hotel. I checked in and when I opened my room I was in awe.

It's a log cabin, the ceiling and walls were wood. I feel like I was in a military barracks but it was wood and there were windows on each side of the room. It's beautiful. This is my first time in fieldwork and it's also my first time being away from home.

I didn't really sleep much last night kahit maganda yung room ko. Namamahay siguro ako, I was just staring outside looking at the trees. Natatakot ako dahil baka may lumabas na cannibal katulad sa wrong turn. Napraning ako dahil do'n kaya hindi ako nakatulog kaagad.

Maaga ako umalis because this is my first day. I only wore a brown sweatshirt, black pants, and flat brown ankle boots. A convenient outfit in the mountains.

My first stop ay isang liblib na lugar sa bontoc, ang mainit village. I commute to the office and borrowed a car because it's hard to commute to a province like this. According to Waze and my map, It'll be an hour and a half drive. I'll be exhausted because I'm not used to long drives but it's a good thing I bought all the things I needed. Mabuti nalang may ATM yung hotel so I withdraw cash.

When I reached the village I was welcomed with a few houses and the rest is trees at mga talahiban. There was a stair beside the road so I first parked my car in an empty lot, just across the stone stairs.

I trekked for about 30 minutes, hindi ako nahirapan dahil gawa ang daan para makarating sa hot spring sa barangay mainit. The people here called the hot spring 'kumukulong bukal' at pinaniniwalaang mayroong misteryo dahil sa kulo ng tubig at kulay ng lupa.