by AA Lee
Kenda raised her hand to show the water where to flow. “Harder! Break the soil to make a path!” Without the staff, it seemed impossible to command water using her mind. She discovered that she could only do it if she was angry enough.
“Easy, Kenda. Don’t overdo it. It’s your first day,” Goni reminded her. He was crouched a few meters from her and was touching the ground. Kenda didn’t know what he was doing, but it looked like he was feeling the ground and communicating with it like she did when she communicated with water.
She had been able to command the water in town easily enough, but it didn’t seem to be following her commands at that moment. She was beginning to feel frustrated.
“Kenda, it looks like the water can sense that you’re not willing to do this, and that’s why it is hesitating. It can feel your emotion. Try imagining that you want to do this.”
“Oh, great! Now I have to fake it. Just great! The water is smart enough to know that I really don’t want to be doing this.”
“Oh, but you will.” Datu Romu suddenly appeared. She didn’t know when he had arrived, but he was just a few meters away. “I guess we made a good decision in allowing Goni to be here.” He turned to the magician. “Try and nip your niece’s stubbornness in the bud. It will help you and save you from the blistering sun.” He pointed toward the sky and Kenda felt the heat, as if he had summoned the sun himself. “The two of you should not leave until you get my farm thoroughly watered.” He whistled happily and walked toward the shaded path to go home.
Kenda was furious. She knew that he was deliberately trying to make her mad, but she could not stop herself from not getting angry. She raised her hand and looked at Datu Romu with hatred. The water rose.
Datu Romu turned and, in a split second, ran to escape. The rice field in which he was standing had turned into a lake.
“Crazy bitch! What have you done!”
“You wanted irrigation! Your field has plenty of water now!” Kenda answered, still fuming with anger.
“Kenda! Stop!” Goni walked toward her. Water still rose here and there, responding to Kenda’s anger. “You need to control your emotions. I didn’t tell you to get angry at someone. I said that you have to find the will and not hesitate.”
“Getting angry is a lot easier. The water listened to me. I could have just killed him so we don’t have to do his silly commands.”
“Do you want to end up in prison with Jinja?” Datu Romu walked back to them. “I guess you really like him, after all. Kill me, and I am sure that you will end up in the mercy of that beast.”
Kenda clenched her fists, and it took all her effort to keep her sanity.
“I am sorry.” Goni bowed, and it made Kenda angrier to see her uncle bow to the horrible man. “I will teach her well.”
Datu Romu slapped Goni hard in the face. “Do not just say it. Do it.” He looked at Kenda. “Now, look. When you make silly mistakes or protests, your beloved uncle here will suffer.”
Kenda cried in frustration.
“Now, the two of you need to put things back to how they were. Cover that damn hole and irrigate the field. How hard can it be? I don’t care if you have to use your hands to carry dirt or you use your power. If you can kill people, why can’t you make an irrigation?” He slapped Goni one more time before leaving.
Kenda bawled and sat down on the ground. “I hate that man! I wish you’d let me drown him.”
“Kenda, I’m okay. Really.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right. I’m not, but I’m not dying. Now, we have to keep that temper of yours in check so that we can get our work done.”
“Uncle, if we show him that we’re doing a good job, he will tell us to do more things. Why don’t we just show him that we’re sloppy at it so that he asks us to stop?”
“Datu Romu is smarter than that. He will know that we are faking it and will not let it pass. I am still thinking of ways to get out of this, and that is not a good solution.”
With Goni’s guidance, Kenda was able to cover the hole and make an irrigation. Datu Romu was impressed and Goni did not get slapped when he returned that afternoon.
They continued irrigating fields for several days, but Goni did not come up with a solution to convince Datu Romu to stop using them and Kenda grew tired of the work. It left little time to enhance Kenda’s talent except in controlling Kenda’s anger and making water follow her commands to make irrigations.
The last rice field that they worked on was about three hours away from the village. They had asked permission from the farm owner to eat some of the sweet potatoes that grew next to the rice field, and the owner had agreed. The owner was more than happy to finally have an irrigation system without having to spend too much, and sweet potatoes were nothing to him.
Kenda collected twigs and dried leaves. They were getting ready to roast some potatoes.
“I wish I had brought some of my powder bottles to start this fire because I am too exhausted to start it using branches.” He slumped on the ground, his back against a big tree.
“Don’t worry about that, Uncle.” Kenda pulled out a lighter from her pocket.
“Wow! That must have been expensive! How could you afford to buy that?”
“Not at all. In town, this was a lot cheaper. I made some money selling Christmas lanterns.” Her voice was low. “But we should not let others know, especially Datu Romu.” The Datu rarely worked in the rice fields anymore. He only visited the farm owners to get money and was happy to let Kenda and Goni do the work. As long as the farm owner did not complain, all was good.
“I think you learned a lot while you were in town.” Goni sounded excited, but his voice was low, as if he was fighting the tiredness.
“Indeed.” Kenda focused on having a quick meal. She stacked branches, put dried leaves underneath, and started a fire. In less than two minutes, sweet potatoes were roasting on top of the fire. Kenda was so impatient to for the sweet potatoes to cook that she constantly turned the firewood here and there to make sure that the fire was strong.
As soon as one of the potatoes turned dark brown and looked ready to be eaten, she snatched it quickly from the fire. She blew air on it to cool it off and divided it into two parts, giving the other half to Goni. They ate in silence as they were both hungry.
Kenda stopped eating when she felt that she couldn’t eat anymore. She motioned for water to come and drank with her hand when it came near.
“Looks like you have no problem telling the water what to do.”
“Maybe because I only needed a little,” Kenda explained. She was not really sure why it had followed her command this time without her needing to make an effort.
“I don’t think so. I think it follows what you truly feel. Right now, it knows that you need water to drink, so it follows your command to come near.”
“Right, but I also want the work done when we do the irrigations, yet it makes it harder for me. I wish I could just use Grandma’s staff. That would make things much easier.”
“No, it is dangerous. I saw how it controlled you, rather than you controlling it. You need to learn more about your power. Besides, we don’t want to start a controversy once people see you using it.”
“What should we do, then? It looks like our work is endless. I’m sure that once all the irrigations are done, Datu Romu will find other things for us to do.”
Goni nodded in agreement. He spoke again after a few moments of silence between them. “I have thought of a way to get away from this, but it is dangerous, and I don’t know the steps for us to carry it out.”
“What is it?” Kenda leaned forward in excitement.
“We know that Datu Romu is receiving money from the government and is pocketing it. People know it, too, but they are turning a blind eye because they don’t want to be on his bad side. You know how nasty he can be.”
“Right. So, you mean to say that we should catch him? Then, once he’s caught, he will be removed as the le
ader of this village and he won’t have the right to order us around!”
Goni clapped. “Correct. But the problem is, how are we going to catch him? I can’t read, and even if I use my magic to understand some of the papers from town, I don’t think he will just hand the papers to me. I have been to his house only once, when he was celebrating being appointed as the datu. That was ages ago.”
“Hmmm. You’re right. Perhaps I could offer to put water in his tubs, so he won’t have to ask his helper to do it.”
“I have thought about that as well, but he will be suspicious right away. You are known to hate him. Why would you offer to help?”
“We can tell him that I have changed my mind; that I’ve decided to be a good member of the village.”
“I don’t think that will work. We can show that we are supporting him, but he will not buy it if the change is sudden. The best thing we can do is wait and slowly make him notice that we are accepting his rule, so that later, once he trusts us enough, we can carry out the plan.”
Kenda pretended to vomit. “It makes me sick! I’ll never accept that man, but I guess there is no easier way.”
“I don’t think so, no. I’m sorry.” Goni sighed. “While slowly making him believe that we are changing our mind, the best thing we can do is to hone your gift.”
“About time! I had been waiting patiently for my lesson.” Kenda grinned.
“I think this is the perfect place for us to practice this.” Goni put out the fire. “I don’t want people to see us.” He fished a bottle from his pocket and started making a big circle on the ground around Kenda using the powder from the bottle. The pinkish powder glowed in the dark night like little stars.
“Wow! When did you learn to do this? It’s amazing! And the colors are lovely.”
“My father did this when I was young, to help me hone my talent.” Goni walked to the center of the circle. “Now, what we’re going to do is strengthen your mind and control your temper. You will see visions. The experience varies, but whatever happens, don’t try to break free from it until I am done.”
“What if I do?”
“This process is a double-edged sword. It can make you stronger or drain your power entirely. Some visions are false, and it is up to you to distinguish which one is true and which one is not. It will all feel real. Don’t try to run away from it. If you do, some of your magic will be stripped from you and will be absorbed by the powder. It is dangerous, as we don’t know if we can get it back or not.”
Kenda’s heart beat faster. She didn’t want to lose her power, but she wanted very much to enhance it. She swallowed and spoke. “So how will I return to the here and now?”
“I will pull you out. I will not know what you are seeing, but I will see your reaction. I will not hear you speak, so I will leave it to my best judgment to pull you out. If you are not ready to do this, it’s okay. We can try another time. This process is easy for me, as all I have to do is to decide when to pull you out, but it will be hard for you.”
“No, I will do it.” Her voice cracked, but she didn’t retract her decision. Goni gave her a few moments to think about it, but Kenda thought that it would been better to have started the process right away.
“All right, then. Good luck and be brave. The village’s future is in your hands.” Goni sat cross-legged in front of her and motioned for her to do the same. “Close your eyes.”
Goni murmured some incomprehensible words. “Now, open your eyes.”
Kenda gasped when she opened her eyes. Nora was stood in front of her. She was alive and was trying to get away from Jinja and his team of magicians, but she was too weak to evade them. In a blink, her grandmother’s face was covered with blood, and Kenda couldn’t help but scream in agony because she didn’t have time to protect her. She didn’t see the iron rod hitting her grandmother’s head.
“This is your fault,” Jinja sneered at her. “It is your fault that your grandma is dying.” Kenda punched Jinja in the face with all the strength she had, but her hand passed through him as if she had just punched the air. She remembered that this was only a vision. Kenda thought that this vision was true, as everything she had seen so far resembled what had happened in real life.
“Kenda.” Her grandma spoke, and she turned toward the voice. “Why did you let him hit me? It hurts here.” Nora touched her head.
“I am sorry, Grandma. I am so sorry. You should rest now. It might hurt, but you should go and cross to the other side. Don’t make me suffer any more of this. I know this is just a vision, so please go.”
“No, I don’t want to go yet. I want to live. I want to live longer. Jinja was right. It was your fault. Deep down, I really don’t want to die. I protected you because you are my granddaughter, but I don’t want to die. I want to be with your grandpa for a long time.” Nora cried, blood-red tears running down her face.
“You are not my grandmother!” Kenda looked at her painfully, wishing that she was real but knowing in her heart that she was nothing more than a wish. “My grandmother is brave. You are not.”
“I am your grandmother. I have taken care of you since you were young. I brought you to the farm when no one was able to look after you. If you don’t believe me… you have a scar on your right knee. You got that from falling down the stairs. If I am not your grandmother, how would I know that?”
“Go away, fake vision!” Kenda said in a commanding voice, and her grandmother floated away with the wind.
She blinked again and her surroundings changed. She was standing in the middle of the village. No, it couldn’t be the village, as her Uncle Goni’s house was not there. Neither was her grandparent’s house. Instead, she saw completely different structures. The houses were roughly built with straws and logs tied together, as if they were only there to shield them from the sun and the rain. No thought was given to the aesthetics of the structures, so Kenda came to a conclusion that the vision was showing her something from a long time ago, probably decades before she was born. The river below the village confirmed that it was indeed the village of Daa, but not as she knew it.
She looked at the people going here and there. The male inhabitants were only wearing fiber cloths around their waist and under their crotch to hide their genitals. Kenda remembered the stories of people of old wearing only this kind of attire, and it was called bahag.
Some people still called their clothes bahag sometimes, but they knew the distinction between the real bahag and the current clothing. Women, on the other hand wore dresses that covered their bodies down to their knees. Most were plain, but some had elaborate embroideries.
She walked around and realized that the people could not see her, unlike in the previous vision. One thing that she noticed was that there were a lot more women than men in the village. They were also wearing one-piece clothing, but they were wider than the men’s bahag. They looked like skirts in her time but coarser. Some had only one color while others were styled with intricate designs and vibrant colors.
Startled, she quickly stepped aside as a naked girl ran toward her, laughing, as another girl was chasing her. They looked to be about seven or eight years old. A woman shouted and told them to stop running. The kids did not listen, and the woman stared in horror as the girls stepped on some rice, knocking them to the ground.
The kids stopped. Wide eyed, they looked up from the ground, but they were not looking at their mother. They were looking at a tall man who was covered in tattoos. They stood, unmoving, clearly afraid of the man. The man picked up a rope made of dried banana stem. Was he going to hit them? The rope was as thick as Kenda’s big toe. She ran toward the man to stop him, but she stopped in her tracks when she remembered that what she was seeing was just a vision.
A whipping sound made Kenda gasp. The woman flinched when the rope hit her. Holding her breath and clenching her fists, the woman cried silently. The kids watched, cowering in fear, but they did not cry.
“Watch! Don’t look away!” the man said to the two
girls. “Remember this every time you cause trouble.” The man stared into the woman’s eyes and hit her again until her legs became red with blood.
Kenda wanted to run away. She wanted the woman to say a word, to run away, or to fight back. She didn’t want to see the woman just letting her husband hit her, but she remembered that she couldn’t just walk away as she wished.
“Go away,” she told the vision, but it was not going anywhere. She knew in her heart that this vision was true. But what does it have to do with me?
“Kenda, you can’t wish true visions away. I can see that you have accepted this as true, so it will not go away as you wish. It will only go away once the magic is satisfied that you have passed the test.” Goni’s voice sounded distant, like it was being carried on the wind. She wanted to answer, but she remembered that Goni couldn’t hear her.
Shaking her head, she focused and saw that the woman was already tied to a tree in front of a big house made from grass and bamboo. It was still shabby compared to modern-day houses, but it appeared to be the biggest in the village.
Kenda walked inside to find that dinner was being served. Her brows drew closer when five other women sat with the tattooed man were taking turns to feed him. The women themselves were not eating. Ten kids sat in a circle about a meter from the man and his group of servers. Kenda’s blood boiled in anger as she saw the unfairness of the situation. The man looked like a god, being served by five women while the kids ate by themselves. Even the one who looked no older than two years old was eating on his own.
Kenda looked outside the house, trying to stem her anger, only to see the woman tied to a tree, swallowing her saliva as she looked at the food. She understood then why the woman was tied to that specific tree. Kenda wanted to punch the man in the face. He was not only treating the women as slaves; he was also making them hate each other by making one envy the other. Blindly following his orders made Kenda angrier toward the women.
Kenda walked away from the house, no longer able to bear watching what was going on. To her surprise, the same scenes were unfolding in other houses. Countless abuses unfolded before her eyes.
