30 Chapter 26: Homecoming
" Yes. Sacrifices! Haven't you heard of that?" Sidapa asks the baffled katabang, " Did Tagahatid not teach you about it?" he pries.
"A-ah, Uhm…" Calista looks for the words to say, " Y-yes! He did tell me about it," she hesitantly blurts.
Sidapa nods with doubt written all over his face. She remained calm and composed. Calista fixed her gaze with his trying to mask her fear and confusion over what her Master had just asked her.
" Very well," he sighs, " Let's enjoy this night! Please make sure you know what to do once you receive the sacrifices," her Master smirked.
Sidapa begins to walk towards an opening that appeared at the end of the tunnel. He gestures to Calista to follow him as the spectral procession begins. The lights began to dance as they walked along the bright hallway. The hovering lights played above and under them, pulsating beautifully guiding them to opening.
At a distance, Calista could hear faint ringing sounds. It sounded like a gong but it wasn't a gong. It had a sharp sounding tone compared to the blunt sounding gong. The sound became more audible as they were nearing the entrance. The harmonious music finally takes over the silence of the hall. There was a mix of strings somewhere hidden along with the rhythmic percussion. The melody both gives an otherworldly vibe that is both enchanting and haunting at every beat.
Sidapa gestures them for a halt. He took a deep breath as if trying to absorb something from the air. Later, Calista found out that he was nourishing himself with the energy of the worshipping folks that maniacally danced and sang at another end of the hall.
" Can you hear it?" Sidapa asks her.
" Hear what, Master?" she inquires.
" You know, there are a lot of things you need to learn," he smiles at Calista. " It's a good thing I got all the time in the world to do that," he winks and gestures to continue.
Calista cracked an awkward smile and an embarrassing blush to top it off. Her mind is still stuck at the idea of the sacrifices. Her heart pounds harder as she imagines what sort of things could be gifted to them. The worst-case she could've think of, are living beings, people to be specific.
" Please don't be people. Please don't be people," she hopes under her breath.
As they come closer to the opening Calista finally hears what her Master, Sidapa, was telling her. It started faint and barely audible like whisperings from a ghastly plain. But with every step, the chants became louder and prominent. It meshed well with the haunting music of the spectral procession, the murmurs from the other plain fills the air with the skin crawling tune.
It was a mix of wailing and singing that is eerily similar to people who felt pain and jubilation melded into one euphoric mish-mash of a song. Calista could only imagine the people beyond the hall but kept it to herself. The last thing she wants is ruining her Master's mood, that won't go well for her.
Sidapa signals the end of the procession, they have reached the mouth of the hallway. Calista can hear the hymn in all its soul-stirring glory.
Sa Dakong Kahoy si Sulad ang Payaw,
Sa Dakong Kahoy si Sidapa naghulat,
Sa Sulad Akong Payaw ginahulat,
Sidapa, Oh Sidapa hinaot dungga!
Giliti ang Kahoy
Sa takna na akon mupahulay
Giliti ang kahoy
Sa takna sa akon pagkamatay!
[ At the Big Tree, Sulad is Home,
At the Big Tree, Sidapa awaits,
At Sulad, my home awaits,
Sidapa, Oh Sidapa hear us!
Draw a line in the tree,
At the moment when I rest,
Draw a line in the tree,
At the moment of my death.]
The tune found its way to the chant and harmonized into a ghastly song. The supernatural hymn played over and over again that Calista's heartbeat followed the rhythm of the song. She closed her eyes as the vexing rhythm began to sway her body, inviting her to a trance.
Sidapa snaps his fingers closed to Calista's ear. The otherworldly music fades and leaves her swaying her body in utter silence. She realized the music was gone and abruptly composed herself.
He saw the look of amusement in Sidapa's eyes as if telling her to go on. She stood stiffly in embarrassment as the eyes of the death god watched her intently.
" Sorry, Master I…" she tries to defend involuntary sways.
" I shouldn't have snapped my fingers too soon!" he laments, " Lady Hiraya, what you heard was their worship to me. They are calling me out. You best remember this. You might do it soon." he adds.
" Yes, Master?" that last statement bothered her, " W-what do you--"
By the time she asks, Sidapa had already walked towards the entrance where he was greeted by a small old lady. Calista notices the shriveled lady's clothes made from expensive silk with leaf-like patterns in a vibrant color of red, brown, and green.
Her arms had been inked with patterns of long swirls and zigzag lines that intertwined at her shoulder and elbow. The old woman's jewel also shouted her position in the society, with the lavish gold and gems wrapped around her neck, wrists, and ankles. Every time she moves, the jewelry chimes and lets out a subtle clanging sound.
The old woman bows low to Sidapa and kisses the ground he stood on. In return, Sidapa asks her to rise by a gesture of his hand. The old woman slowly rose from her prostration but manages to stumble by the time she was supposed to stand up.
Calista got worried about how her condition is affecting Sidapa's order. So she quickly sprung into action and tried to offer help to the old lady. Sidapa stops her half-way through the entrance by a menacing glare. Calista froze in terror but managed to stand her ground. She bows to him to apologize for her audacity and returns to where she stood last.
After a few struggles, the old woman finally got into her feet. Sidapa looked bored and not amused, Calista knows how temperamental her Master is when it comes to waiting. Calista held her breath as she anxiously waited for the worst. In her mind, she hopes that her Master would be lenient with the poor lady.
Sidapa places his hand on the old lady's forehead before dissipating into a cloud of white smoke. The smoke entered the woman's body through her facial orifices. It entered effortlessly like inhaling air. After completely disappearing, the woman began to convulse.
She contorted violently on the ground, foaming from the mouth and bleeding from her ears, eyes, and nose. Calista worries about the poor woman's safety. Sidapa is a powerful god and his presence is overwhelming even for a soul like her, imagine him possessing a mortal. It looks disastrous in Calista's eyes.
Finally, the shaking ends, and the old woman starts to get up. Surprisingly, she gets up with no effort. The old woman wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and pats herself to get rid of the dust and dirt she sustained from convulsing on the ground. She lifts her hands towards the crowd of people which Calista was unable to see.
The old woman then looks back at Calista smirking with arrogance. She knew that her Master had already conquered the old woman's body. Sidapa then stirred the body going to the steps. The rest of the ceremony was completely a secret. She can only hear yells of joy and excitement as the crowd cheered.
Calista stood there alone with her thoughts. Her mind ran on what these strange people and her Master are doing there. She was tempted to take a peek, but she dared not to as it may cause some incident and she doesn't want to be at the short end of that stick.
After an hour of standing alone in the hallway, Calista finally saw the old woman walking back to the entrance. She immediately notices the woven basket the woman had carried with her. In the distance, the old woman nods signaling Calista to help with the basket. She approaches the old woman and takes the basket from her withered arms.
" Were you waiting that long?" Sidapa's voice overlaps the woman's.
" N-no, Master..uhmm…" she awkwardly answers.
It was a first for Calista seeing someone with her Master's voice. Come to think of it, it's her first time seeing a possession. She never happened to see one when she was alive and it's quite the experience now that she saw it.
" Stop staring! We have a lot to carry back." Sidapa whispers, " Tagahatid! Come forth!"
Tagahatid comes out from the shadows with a wheel barrel in tow. He bows to them and takes the basket out of Calista's hand. That's when she noticed that whatever was inside that covered basket was round and wet.
Calista's heart sank just thinking about what it was. So much so that she blurts out a question to Sidapa.
" Master, what's inside this basket?"
Sidapa stared at her for a brief minute before shrugging his shoulders, " I don't know. Heads maybe. If you are so curious about it why not open the lid? Tagahatid would you do the honor?" he asks his alagad.
Tagahatid obliges and slowly opens the lid of the basket. Calista's heartbeat became erratic as the suspense became more palpable. She wanted to avert her eyes from a gruesome surprise, but somehow, she doesn't want to. She's unable to. She wants to know.
Tagahatid opened the basket to expose the inside in its full glory. Calista tried to squint out of fear but felt relieved to see that they were just wet coconuts. She sighs as her body relaxes from the intense reaction she thought she should've been ready for.
" Okay, now that it's settled. Let's get back to business," Sidapa commands, " We have a lot in our hands! Do your best!" He tries to boost morale as the gifts begin to pour in from the people of the village.
There were sacks of different vegetables but mostly were squash. Pigs' meat and poultry products were also offered to them and by the time that it was through, the cart was full and overloaded. It wasn't a problem for Tagahatid but Calista was just amazed by the sheer amount given to them.
Calista didn't notice but Sidapa was already out of the woman's body by the time they were done. She looked for the old woman and saw her lying on the ground, unconscious. She tries to ask her Master about the old woman but instead, she was mesmerized by his eyes. It was a shade of brown that she never saw before, it looked lively and happy.
" Perks of being a god," Sidapa winks at her after their eyes meet.
She drops her gaze down as she tries to hide her tomato-colored face.
" Okay, that settles it! Come young ones, welcome to your new abode." Sidapa welcomes the children that were waiting by the entrance away from Calista's sight.
Suddenly shivers rolled down Calista's spine. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw two young children, a boy and a girl by the entrance. This was followed by a third person, a young teenage girl.
They took Sidapa's hand and walked towards Calista. Who still cannot believe that the people of the village sacrificed their children to him. She's furious about the entire idea but cannot lash out or question her Master because the children were watching.
" Children, this is Lady Hiraya, my katabang," he declares. " Lady Hiraya, these are our new tenants! Please welcome them."
Calista is speechless. Her throat dried up and she is breathing rapidly. She doesn't know what to say. She doesn't want to say anything. She's disgusted and appalled by their practice.
A moment later, Sidapa approaches her. He reached for her chin and closed her mouth. He smiled back at the children who huddled closely together in fear of him.
" Sorry about that, children," he smiles again, " It looks like my katabang is speechless at the moment."
