“Hey, let’s go home it looks like a heavy rain is coming!”, I desperately called my two brothers but they can't hear me it's as if some enchanted fairies charmed them to continue climbing the jackfruit tree. Out of frustration I decided to turned myself into a stone.
Hello there! I'm back again. As I've told you already I'm not really good at writing but still I want to give it a try hehehe. This time I'll gonna share to you one of my memorable childhood experienced back when my two brothers made me turned myself into a stone. Enjoy reading 😁
Every summer, when the Sun was so proud of himself to bring out all his hotness into the world in its maximum level, our Barangay experienced drought and shortage of water supply.
Our barangay was just a small community back then with only few houses standing but still the water supply was not enough especially in sunny season. Since we were living in a mountainside, still we're grateful and lucky because natural springs were accessible. If your not familiar with a spring it is a water coming from the ground.
Back then, when not a single drop of water was coming out in our faucet our mother used to asked us with my two brothers to fetched some drinkable water from the spring not too far from our house. Please don't be confused, the water that comes out from our faucet still comes from a spring, but the water from that certain spring is so strong and abundant that it can supply each household of our Barangay. However, when drought came the water level in that spring reached bottom that is why we need to look for another spring that's still flowing.
Patiently and industriously we walked a miles away in order to arrived at the spring where the water is still present. You can surely relate if you’re in a Barangay such as ours.
Our house is located at the top of a plain wide hill. You need to come down from that hill before you can find some small springs. By the way, I forgot to mentioned that our spring has it names. The spring I've told you earlier that supply our barangay was named "Pagsa". The first spring found not too far from our house was named "ka-Olipyo nga tabay" (in bisaya dialect it means spring of Olipyo, since the spring was located in the land of Olipyo). Olipyo is actually the named of my grandfather. From the spring of my lolo or grandfather you can find another spring named "ka-Piya", named after a woman who used to lived near there. There's still a lot of other springs that can be found in our place with its name but it just I can't mentioned it all.
It was a hot sunny afternoon. Mother looks exhausted as she gets the empty water jar. She called my name and at that moment I exactly knew she'll gonna asked me together with my two brothers to fetched water we can drink from the spring ubos sa amua (ubos means below while amua means our). We're both too little back then but our mother already trusted us with that kind of errand. I am eight years old that time while my older brother was ten and my brother next to me was seven. We go down first to the spring of my lolo. But the spring there was already run out of water. So we just decided to go to another spring. As we arrived at the "ka-piya" the water there was not enough too and no longer advisable to consumed. So we just passed by again that spring and decided to go to another spring. We still have another spring left to go named "ka-melchor"; named after the owner of the land where it is located. However, an eight year old me back then was not used of going to that place. It's already way too far.
Before we can go there, we need to pass through a very narrow bridge. The bridge was short and made out only of four logs place together above a stream. As I walk through the bridge I'm a little bit nervous because I am afraid I might fall. After the bridge we still need to pass through a very narrow path that only single person can pass through. The path was sorrounded with tall grasses that equal my height. After passing through the dense path, you'll need to come down in a very steep path. You really need to be careful while you walk to avoid getting stumble. While walking I just imagined Dora the explorer's face. She's surely got impressed coming with us towards the spring. Lively, she will gonna open her map and lively point out which location will gonna go next hahaha.
Well anyways, after the steep road is a dry river. You need to pass through that river, though it was run out of water you still need to be careful because it was slippery. A leech was also used to live there too and I'm sure there's still few alive that's why be careful not to get one or else it will stick to your skin and suck your blood. You won't noticed the leech that already sucking you unless you feel itchy and sting to the part where it stick.
I carefully made my stride above the stone found in the empty river. I grasped some breath because finally we almost reach our destination. In every step I take I always made sure that no venomous snakes was on my way.
There’s also a lot of different kind of grasses and trees that you can see as you journey towards the spring, so many that I cannot mentioned all. That's the reasoned why everytime I come down to fetched water I always wear long pajamas so that the grasses like kugon grass don’t touch my skin, for you know it's kind of itchy.
You can also hear and see different kind of birds that perch on the branches of the trees; small, big, blue, yellow, skyblue, brown and even black bird it was there. You can also passed by different kinds of worms that comes in different sizes, small hairy caterpillar, big hairy caterpillar, centipede, millipedes and earthworm. But what really makes me most afraid was not the snakes, the worm neither the leech that sucked blood it was the creature named "wakwak". A little girl like me back then do really believed in that mythological creature. They said, that fearsome creature is a half human with a very huge black wings that is similar to that of the bat. Her lips is black and her glaring eyes is black too. You would know when she's around. When she's far from you, you can hear her loud wak (wak is what they said the sound she produce). But when she's near, you can only hear her frail wak. So you do really need to be careful because she's very tricky. They also said that she loved to feed on children's kidney and liver.
As we walked through the forest, I enjoyed hearing the chirps of the birds, until my older brother said he heard a very eerie sound. He said he heard the sound of the wakwak, I’m not sure if he was just joking but whatever it was I am super afraid. Just the thought of the face of the wakwak running with us was so already frightening. But ofcourse, I pretended to be cool. I didn’t showed my two brothers my fears. I followed my two siblings like nothing had bothered me because knowing this two they will just scares me more if they know I am afraid.
Alas! after a thousand walked we already arrived safely to the spring "ka-melchor". I checked my skin no rushes, I checked my feet no leche sucking and I touch my tummy; kidneys and liver were still intact. "Oh, what a relief", I sighed.
As we arrived near the spring we took a little rest first before we started putting our small container to the mouth of the bamboo. The bamboo was used to be the way of the water from the spring, it is also used to make the access of the water easy to the fetcher. When all our containers was full we carefully and tightly covered it not to get contaminated and wasted as we journey again back home.
The weather was very hot that day when suddenly I heard a very loud boom from the sky. I heard thunder. I jolted by the loud explosion. But my two brothers didn’t mind it. They still looks happy, they still even laughing. No marks of fear or anything in fact they're having fun when they heard the thunder while me on the other side was already so damn afraid.
The sorroundings go back to its peacefulness after the thunder made sound from the sky. The only voices you can hear was the laughter of my ten year old brother and the jokes of my seven year old younger brother. At that time I started getting annoyed with my two siblings because they're so stubborn and naughty.
I just kept following and observing them. I wonder how these two maintained their energy from all the walked we have already took plus the fact that each one of us was carrying two heavy containers full of water. They walked like they never know how to get tired and they keep seeing things out of nowhere. Like I'm just looking at their back when suddenly they shouted "Look, there's a lot of guava here". "Look there's a kokok (a big black bird) over there!". And then they would started making plans like some real hunters with superpower. I just frowned hearing their plans because all I want at that very moment was to go home already. My younger brother said, "big bro let's go over there I saw a nest there let see if it has egg". So I got no choice but to follow my brothers to the thickets. And when we're already under the tall bushes we have seen neither nest nor egg.
These were the reasons why I hate being with them. Tiny little girl like me back then was not really a fan of adventure in the forest.
As we keep on walking, the sky seems not impressed too with my two brothers for disturbing the peaceful forest. The sky started gathering its thick dark cloud together. Looking at the sky I am pretty sure it will rain, a heavy rain.
I am about to complained to my two brothers to hurry our way home when not too far from where we standing we saw a Jackfruit tree. They was so enticed by the figure of the tree and started to approached it.
I just frowned when I saw my older brother started climbing the tree.
“Hey, let’s go home it looks like a heavy rain is coming!”, I desperately called my two brothers but they can't hear me it's as if some enchanted fairies charmed them to continue climbing the jackfruit tree. Out of frustration I decided to turned myself into a stone. Yes, into a stone. Since they don't listened to me, I decided to sit on the ground. I didn't move like a stone. I bend my head just enough to reach my knees. I keep silent there and waited for them forever.
In my mind I am already so damn afraid. What if it will surely rain so heavy that would cause flood to the dry river. What if a lightning will hit us. I already got so paranoid with the thought. I remembered what our mother used to warned us, not going to rivers because sometimes it suddenly go big.
After a few minutes I gathered all my courage to scold my two brother to hurry up but these two seems like no ear. From the moment they saw the jackfruit tree they goes deaf and can hear nothing. The sky was already so dark. And not so long from now it will surely rain. The two had started climbing the branches of the jackfruit tree. If my mother was just there these two would surely got scolded louder than all the thunder gathered together. I am already thinking of leaving the two but I'm just too damn afraid going home alone. If not worm, leech, wakwak or flood, I might met a stranger on my way that will kidnap me and get all my intestines. No, I can’t lose my precious life by that so I just patiently wait for them. Since I don’t know how to climbed the jackfruit tree I just patiently waited for them below. I keep praying that the rain won’t come. While the two singing at the branch of the jackfruit tree, I just watched them below. They’re laughing, joking and singing. I pictured them like birds perching and chirping from one branch to another. And me sitting below pictured myself as a hunter ready to shoot these two.
To save the day and my two brothers from danger. I started singing a hillsong I heard from the church;
All that I am,
All that I have
I lay them down before you oh, lord...
And now let the weak say I am strong,
Let the poor say I am rich,
Because of what the lord have done for us...
Give thanks...
Though I am not sure if I am singing the right lyrics still I sang it wholeheartedly, I dedicated it to the God Almighty that no danger would happened to us.
Fast forward. I forgot how long it already took but I feel delighted when I have seen the sky slowly turning bright. And what makes me more delighted was that my two brothers got already worn-out with their mischievousness and finally decided to end up their expedition on the jackfruit tree. At that moment the first thing that entered my mind is that God hears my prayer. Peacefully we walked together to go back to our home.
And from that experienced my little brain have realized something that everything will just pass by. When you’re very worried at a certain moment, for whatever reason it is wether small or big, serious or not, true or just in mere imagination, everything is just temporary and will just pass by. Just don’t forget to asked guidance from up above.
This childhood memories of mine is so precious and unforgettable. That’s the first time I have known as far as my mind can remembered that God is always with me all the time.
When we arrived home that day our mother asked as what takes us so long. My brother just answered so confidently and proud,
"The spring was indeed too far mother. In fact, we hurry our way home but still it takes us long to finally arrived home".
Not to make the story long I just listened to my two naughty brothers and agree with them while talking to our mother.
-End
Thanks a lot for reading 😊