1 Prologue

He felt his chest constricted once again. The pain used to be bearable, like a small fish bone stuck on ones throat. But right now the pain is too much.

He stopped for while. The darkened forest blurred out as he tried to navigate the confusing path of towards the barangay*. He knew this path from the very beginning. He lived on this barangay all his life. Now, he felt so disoriented, left and right doesn't make sense.

Pain hit his chest once again. Sudden gust of air got stuck on his throat. He tried to scream but the only sound that he made is a short "ka" sounds. So words came out. His stomach churned as another vomit spell erupted from his stomach. He cannot bear it anymore. He slouched and bent over and spit out a mouthful of blood. The copper taste of blood and tangy acidity from stomach, sent his brain into over drive: Was he dying?

Another vomit spell came, this time even bigger. He doubled as his stomach cramped as it tried to expelled that thing on his stomach. A feeling of something large slipped out from his stomach, it travelled up to this throat and expelled through his mouth. In his dark blurry sight, he saw a dark large mass of flesh spat out of his stomach. It moved a little bit; wriggled in its place like a newly born puppy.

A feeling of relief came to him. He felt nothing but lightness. His head was light. His body also felt light. His head felt like it is floating on its own. He didn't noticed that his head tilted back. This place is not a clearing, this is a mangrove. But why is it he was seeing stars above. Did the night guardian, Bituin*, visited him now?

As he closed his eyes, his mind flickered with memories. His childhood town, his childhood crush, his lovely wife, the old village chief blessing their wedding, his two little boys, his peaceful kubo*, his own scared place. Pictures after pictures flashed before his mind.

****

In the middle of the mangrove forest, a solitary man was seen kneeling before the old mango tree. His posture was frozen in time but relaxed. His royal turban fell back from his head; his upper giving out. He fell on his side with a soft thump. On his side was his still beating heart, spat out from his body. As the heart stopped, so was the whole mangrove.

Datu* Bagsik passed away.

****

Back in Gulod* Palace, everyone was still frantically looking for the missing datu. After successfully securing the border against the Lawin* Tribe, Lakan Awit* led the army back to the barangay. Datu Bagsik set forth ahead of everyone. Dahon*, his trusty tigmamanukan*, flew to village without any sign of the datu.

Dayang* Mayumi stood still from the second floor terrace of the Gulod Palace, overlooking the large lake and a sacred mountain. She was hoping that Bagsik will be back soon. She knew she is lying to herself, but she still hope that her datu will return. She closed her eyes and hope.

******

Notes:

Barangay - a tern used to denote a village in Philippines; it has its roots from the ancient shipping vessel, balangay.

Bituin - Tagalog term for "star"

Kubo - a traditional bamboo house in Philippines.

Datu - a title for a pre-hispanic Philippine ruler; commonly used on the Visayas.

Gulod - Tagalog term for "edge of the clif"

Lawin - tagalog term for "eagle"

Lakan - another title of Filipino chiefs; usually used in Luzon.

Awit - Tagalog term for "song"

Dahon - Tagalog term for "leaf"

Tigmamanukan - a mytical bird that served as the messenger of god for good travel.