When The Sun and Moon Collide (Philippine Deities Series #1)

08

Chapter 08
Entente Cordiale

"It's getting better, I suppose."

Mayari said unsurely as she found herself staring at the moon.

"Bakit parang hindi ka pa sigurado?" Nagtatakang tanong ni Hanan sa kanya.

"I don't know. This isn't really what I had in mind."

Pagkatapos nang insidente na nangyari, Mayari finally listened to her sisters and fellow deities. Nagpahinga ito at hinayaan muna niya si Libulan na asikasuhin ang buwan. Even if she wanted to conduct her duty, she wasn't able to. Her energy was so drained to the point where the only thing she could do was bring the night.

Noong una ay naiinis ito dahil pakiramdam niya ay sobrang hina niya at para bang nawalan na siya ng pakinabang. She even asked her sisters not to tell their Father about what just happened. Nangangamba rin siya na baka mamaya ay mapagdesisyunan nito na tanggalin na siya sa kanyang pwesto.

At first, she felt so helpless and frustrated. Kung malalaman pa nga ito ng ibang diwata, lalo na si Anitun Tabu ay pagtatawanan siya ng mga ito. Mas lalo lang siyang nainis sa inisip niya na 'yon.

Mayari woke up as morning came, again. Hindi niya na mabilang kung ilang araw na siyang nakahiga at nagpapahinga. Isang linggo? Tapos kasama pa ang apat na araw na hindi siya nagising. Baka mamaya ay hindi na rin pala siya marunong tumayo pagkatapos nito.

Pagkagising niya ay napansin niya ang tambak ng mga libro sa kanyang tabi. Kumunot ang kanyang noo. Wala naman siyang natatandaan na nag-iwan ang mga kapatid niya ng ganito. She can't even remember the last time she held a book in her hands dahil sa Kaluwalwatihan lang mayroon nito.

She sat up slowly, grabbing the first book from the pile and opening it. Someone wrote a message on the first page.

'Wala na bang ibibilis 'yang pag-galing mo? I'm getting bored here. So, I'm going to help you out. Thank me later.'

Sa baba nito ay may nakaguhit na hugis na katulad ng araw.

Alam niya na agad kung kanino ito nanggaling.

She shook her head. Ayaw man niya itong tanggapin dahil kay Apolaki ito nanggaling, she couldn't help herself. Sobrang tagal niya nang hindi nakakabasa and she knew she still had a lot to learn.

Kaya naman sa tinagal tagal ng kanyang pagpapahinga, ang ginagawa niya ay ang magbasa ng mga libro. She tried to learn the basics again, kahit pakiramdam niya ay umuulit siya sa lahat ng nagawa na niya. Pero, small steps nga naman ika ng kanyang kapatid.

She felt that she regained some of her strength, so she moved on to increasing her energy again. Then, combat and so on.

"Maybe it's still a long way to go, we just have to be patient," Hanan replied. "It's all going to be worth it in the end."

"Yeah," Mayari just quietly mumbled. Totoo ang sinabi niya. She was expecting more from herself but maybe she just had to wait a little longer. Hindi pa rin gano'n kaliwanag ang buwan kapag siya lang mag-isa ang gumawa nito.

Some nights, Libulan helped her with it and those were the nights that the moon glowed brightly in its full glory. Minsan kapag siya lang ang gumagawa -- because she insisted to do so -- she could only make half a moon, sometimes even just a quarter. Mas maliwanag ito kumpara sa paggawa niya ng buong buwan, but then again, it was only a half and a quarter.