by AA Lee
The boy nodded.
“So when you were like falling asleep, what did you do?”
“I heard you say something to me, but you sounded so far away. I remember that… I shouldn’t have been falling asleep, so I tried to shake my head like this.” He shook his head violently. “I remember there were scary ghosts inside the house. Sleeping wasn’t good, so I shook my head again and again.”
“And?”
“I heard my father calling me…”
“Yes, he did. So what did you do after that?”
“I shook my head harder. And then… and then… I heard Father again. So I tried harder to stay awake. But when I was finally awake… it seemed like someone was pushing me to a dark place. Scary…” Boboy’s lower lip quivered like he was about to burst into tears.
“You were very brave,” Kisig said. “Now, go to your mother. Tell her you helped us with magic today.”
“I did?” His eyes widened in a flash of excitement.
“Yes, you saved the village today. Now hurry and go!” High Priestess Mutya said.
The boy bounced toward the kitchen.
“That boy is really powerful, but his father had no idea.”
“Why didn’t you tell him then?” Kisig asked.
“Just let the kid be a child. There is plenty of time to develop his power later. Now we know that we can both exist in your body, Tala. Let me in.”
“I don’t know how to do that, but go ahead and enter my body.” Tala’s voice shook a little. She couldn’t hide her nervousness. What if my soul is tossed out and High Priestess Mutya takes control of my body completely?
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid.” The high priestess raised an eyebrow. If that kid could do it, you surely can.”
“I guess I can’t help but be anxious about something that I have never done before.”
“Don’t worry, child. If the worst happens, I will leave your body and have the magicians outside heal you. That at least is something that they can do.”
Tala inhaled and told her racing heart to calm down, but it wouldn’t listen. “I’m not ready, but please go ahead.” She opened her mouth, inhaling High Priestess Mutya into her body. Just like Boboy had said, a sudden feeling of sleepiness overtook her. She felt as though someone was singing her a lullaby and touching her hair gently, making her sleep. The feeling was similar to when the souls had tried to lure her to the afterlife during the priestess trials.
“Tala,” Kisig called, “wake up.”
She shook her head and felt herself waking, but as soon as silence enveloped her, she felt sleepy again.
“Tala, you’re doing well. Keep it up.”
Tala could feel her hand move, but it didn’t feel like hers, as though someone was controlling it, but who? She shook the sleepiness away and remembered that it must be High Priestess Mutya. She fought with all her might to stay awake. She pinched herself but found that she felt no pain. She thought she heard herself saying something. The words were alien. She was saying something in an ancient tongue. Then there was silence. Her eyes opened instantly, and she inhaled as though she hadn’t been breathing for a long time.
In front of her was High Priestess Mutya. “Good job, Tala.”
Tala stretched her hand and rotated her stiff neck. “How long was I out?”
“Not long,” Kisig answered. “But something happened to the torch.” Tala’s head automatically moved to her right. The blinding flame was reduced to the size of a lamp’s light, even when Tala was holding it.
“It worked!” she squealed. She tightened her grip on the wood and felt its smooth texture. She felt like a new person. Her hatred and jealousy suddenly gone, she could not stop smiling, and tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Something wrong?” Kisig inched closer.
“I just… didn’t know how heavy the burden was. Even when I wasn’t holding the torch, my feelings weren’t as good as they are now. It’s as if… as if… the sky suddenly cleared. And I don’t feel tired anymore! Let me try…” She put the torch on the soil and pushed it down until it stood on its own. When her fingers left the torch, she still felt the same—no rage, jealousy, or helplessness. “Oh, thank you, High Priestess! And… Kenda.” She sniffed. “I am so sorry for being jealous. I… I didn’t mean it. Oh, I should stop. I’m rambling on and on.”
“The girl will forgive you. She might be feisty, but the girl is understanding and intelligent. She would have known that you would feel that way,” High Priestess Mutya said.
“Right. And now, it’s time to free her.” Tala inhaled deeply and leaned forward. Her hand reached for the torch. This time, she let her magic flow and felt no resistance. She explored the torch, its history, and its previous masters. Tala took in every detail, deciding which to see and which to ignore. And at last, the torch was hers completely.
Chapter 22
Kenda
Kenda stretched her arms and legs. Her head was pounding, like those days when she’d had too much sleep and needed a nap to feel better. Her grandmother used to scold her whenever she said she needed to nap because she’d had too much sleep. Her grandma said that didn’t make sense, but it did to her because it helped her headache.
After a big yawn, she opened her eyes. To her surprise, Kisig was looking down at her. High Priestess Mutya’s green, glowing body was floating above, and to her left, a girl with the darkest skin she’d seen blinked her eyes rapidly. Tala.
Kenda rose quickly, ashamed that the three were looking at her like some kind of strange thing. “I knew you could do it!” She smiled at Tala. The torch in her hand was a lot smaller than she remembered. “But wait… What about the curse?”
“Now that you’re out, it’s time to undo it.” Tala smiled, but something else was in her eyes. Her smile seemed genuine, yet it had a hint of sadness. “All we have to do is go to The Great Fall now.”
“Leave that to me. I can carry you there.”
Tala looked at the torch indecisively, as though she had to do something important that she didn’t want to say.
“I thought I heard Kenda…” Datu Goni stood at the doorway, his mouth hanging open in shock.
Magicians and villagers filled the door in an instant. Kenda stood, but her legs were a little wobbly. They felt strange, as if her muscles had lost their memory of how to move. She took one step and then another until her steps were finally steady.
Pilly wrapped her in her arms when she reached the door. The kids touched her legs, her arms, and her hair as if they could not believe she was really there.
“This is all thanks to High Priestess Tala. She freed me.” She looked back and bowed to Tala, who stood without her torch.
“You freed me, so it was only natural for me to free you, High Priestess. And I’m no longer the high priestess, so please call me Tala.” The girl bowed in acknowledgment. “And it’s okay now. The torch won’t hurt anyone. You showed me a way to control it. No one else saw the solution.”
As soon as Tala mentioned the torch, the kids backed away, clearly not believing her. Kenda wondered what could have happened for them to react that way.
“It’s true. I’m still here. Nothing happened to me even though Tala isn’t holding the torch,” Kisig said.
Datu Goni was the first to step toward the torch. He inhaled with relief as he stood a few steps away from it. “Indeed. It would have thrown me away by now if it wasn’t safe.” He turned to Kenda. “Let’s move to the living room. There’s so much to discuss.”
The people cleared out and moved to the living room. Kenda was overwhelmed at the number of people. Even though she couldn’t remember anything from when she was in the torch, her ears seemed to be used to the silence.
“Kenda, this is yours,” Tala called.
She handed her the high priestess staff, now devoid of the high priestesses’ hairs. It looked strange, empty, and meaningless without the locks of hair.
“Thank you so much. I hope the kids didn’t bother you too much
,” Kenda said loudly, because the house had erupted into excited talking.
“Oh, no! I love it here. And, quite frankly, I envy you for having a big family.”
“They also took me in. It would be better if you could stay with us. With your power, you won’t let us starve!” Tala smiled with gratitude and squeezed her hand.
Kenda looked for an empty spot in the living room and motioned Tala to sit. Before she could take a seat next to her, she heard a loud cry from the door. Priestess Pasi was holding a hand over her mouth as she stared at her. The normally shy priestess was shamelessly pushing people aside and making her way to her. Kenda stood and accepted her tight embrace.
The priestess patted her back gently. “I don’t know how I could face High Priestess Nora in the afterlife if you didn’t make it. You did really well. I knew you could do it.”
“It’s all thanks to Tala. She figured out how to free me,” Kenda said.
Priestess Pasi held her at arm’s length. “Really?” She kneeled and held Tala’s hand firmly. “You don’t know how thankful the village is for you bringing the high priestess back. Thank you, Tala.”
Tala nodded in acknowledgment, clearly uncomfortable at being the center of attention. The house became so crowded that sitting and seeing people at the door became impossible. Kenda felt so happy that she thought her heart would burst. That was the second time people displayed appreciation for her. The first had been when she defeated the townspeople at The Great Fall. She greeted people endlessly, telling them with any chance she got that she hadn’t broken free but Tala had freed her.
Tala had been in the village for a while, but she had no family there, and she didn’t look comfortable. Kisig had assimilated better than her, perhaps because he was a former datu. Even now, when he was quiet, he knew when to smile or show a serious face depending on the flow of the conversation.
After she hugged her Uncle Pali, Kenda looked around to find Tala, but she was no longer in sight, with all the people now standing. Kenda called her name, but she didn’t answer. Kenda asked the people to make way for her, but she ended up shaking their hands.
When she finally reached the door, Kisig was waiting for her with a concerned expression. “Something is wrong,” he said. “She kept saying that something is wrong with the torch.” Kisig raised a hand and pointed at a hut a few yards away.
Tala was standing in front of that hut’s stairs, holding the torch and looking lost.
“What’s wrong?” Kenda asked as she reached Tala.
Tala barely acknowledged her presence, seeming to be in deep thought. “I don’t understand. You’re already out, but the torch is behaving as though it’s still open to let you out.”
“Well, can you command it to close? It seems weak now.”
“I tried, but it seems like it cannot close on its own. I don’t know… It feels broken or something.”
“What if we remove the high priestesses’ hair?”
“No!” Tala said. “If we do that, it might kill us on the spot. Remember that we offered ourselves. And then no one would be able to hold it once we’re gone. It will only hurt the villagers.”
“You do have a point. What about if we return it to where we got it? At least no one can hold it there.”
Tala touched her cheek absently. “The curse will end, but it doesn’t feel like the right solution. I knew I was going to die, but you shouldn’t.”
The flame flickered.
“Look!” Kenda pointed.
What happened next looked like a blur of action. In a blink, a giant hairy creature stood next to them, holding a lit cigar. It looked around as though lost. Kisig looked in the direction she was pointing but shook his head. He couldn’t see the kapre.
Tala, on the other hand, looked at the kapre with surprise and grinned. “Kapre!” The girl walked closer to the hairy tree giant until it focused on her. “Do you still remember me? It’s Tala! You helped me in the competition four hundred years ago.”
The kapre nodded but focused on Kenda. “I must have been in the torch for more than a decade. How old are you?”
Kenda, still in shock at seeing the mythical being for the first time, just stared back. She’d thought it only existed in stories meant to scare children from going out at night. According to myths, it lived on a balete tree and chose exactly whom it showed itself to. Then she realized it had asked her a question. “Fifteen,” she said in a squeaky voice.
“Hmm… I’ve been locked there for fifteen years. When I returned the torch on the day of your birth, the torch sucked me in.” The kapre bowed. “Thank you for freeing me. I will surely pay you back later.” It turned to leave.
“Wait!” Kenda called. “I’m going to give you another cigar.”
The kapre smiled and stood still.
She ran back to Datu Goni’s house but aimed for the kitchen door, knowing she would get stuck if she passed through the living room.. The kitchen door was open when she arrived. When she asked her Aunt Pilly for two tobacco leaves, she did not question Kenda even though she didn’t smoke. She had never rolled one before, and in a hurry to get back, her rolls were sloppy and kept coming undone, but Kenda didn’t want to spend time perfecting the shape. She bolted out the door to hand over her gift.
Kenda’s excitement disappeared as soon as she exited the kitchen. The kapre was now fighting a tayho, a half-human, half-horse creature. According to myths, tayho were mischievous creatures known to enchant people who saw them. People flocked around the tayho, not caring that they were close to being trampled upon. Tala wasn’t enchanted by the tayho and ran around, trying to touch it, but as the kapre was dragging the tayho away from the villagers, getting near was impossible. The tayho kicked and thrashed, but the kapre was bigger and stronger. Kenda was baffled at why Tala had failed to control the tayho with her power.
“Stop!” Kenda shouted.
The tayho halted and looked at her. The kapre should not be here, it said in her mind. This is not a place for it. It cocked its head.
And it’s not your place either. Both of you should go to the forest, where you will not disturb the villagers, Kenda answered with her mind, just as she had with Lucy. Lucy. She hadn’t seen Lucy since being freed from the torch. She suddenly missed the cat and wished it hadn’t left the village while she was gone.
How come you can talk to me?
I am the leader of this village. Go in peace unless you want to fight with me.
The tayho ignored her and kicked the kapre with its hind legs.
Undo your power! Kenda commanded. The creature wouldn’t listen to her, and she knew the only way to banish it was to show her power. Just as when she destroyed The Great Fall, she called upon the earth beneath her feet. As if the earth was a part of her, she commanded it to move, slowly rising to cover the tayho.
Stop! I’ll go now. Panic filled the tayho’s words. But I don’t understand why the kapre can stay and I can’t.
Kenda handed two rolls of cigar to the kapre. “You should go too.”
The kapre let the tayho go and opened a hairy palm. It smiled at its two new rolls. Kenda knew kapres didn’t need new cigars because they were magical and their cigars didn’t go out, but kapres loved new cigars. Before it walked away, it glanced at Tala. Unlike humans, it had emotions that weren’t easy to read.
The tayho also left, and the villagers were freed from its magic. As soon as they realized what had happened, a shadow of fear was cast upon the village.
Tala got her attention despite the chaos. The torch flickered again, and Kenda knew something or someone was bound to come out.
“Stop it!” she shouted.
“I can’t. There is something wrong with the torch. It’s broken.”
Kenda hurried to hold the stave just where Tala’s hand was. “Strange. I can’t feel it. Teach me how to reach its power.”
“Close your eyes. Imagine that you’re meeting it for the first time. Imagine how it came to be and open up yourself. Taking cont
rol of something is like getting to know a friend until it is ready to open up.”
Kenda did as Tala instructed. She had never done something like that before. When she first held the torch, it had given her visions that made it possible for her to free Tala, but with other things or animals, she had but to speak and they would communicate with her. Today, the torch seemed deaf to her calls.
Her hand felt the smooth wooden stave. She imagined every inch of it, willing to know more. She thought about how it came to be. Perhaps someone with incredible power made it. Or perhaps it just accidentally came to be. Her imagination ran limitless until something finally came to her mind that she was sure she did not only imagine. The priestesses sang in a tongue she hadn’t heard before, yet she understood them because the torch could understand them. It relayed to her the message of its creation. She’d seen its creation before, when she first held it, but this was something different, as though she was looking through someone else’s eyes.
When Kenda opened her eyes, the flame still flickered, and she could feel that something was just about to come out. She moved her free hand up to summon water, just enough to put out the fire and not scare the villagers. The water slithered on the dry soil like a snake. She commanded the water to rise and put out the fire. The water rose and fell like a waterfall over the torch, but the flame still flickered and danced as if nothing had happened.
Kenda dropped her command of the water and thought of something else. She could not imagine what would come out next. With the torch’s hunger for power, she feared that beings more powerful than Romu would come out. If Romu emerged, they would have a hard time fighting him and his minions.
Steeling herself, she put a hand over the flame and slowly moved it down.
“What are you doing?” Tala said, moving the torch away. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Trust me on this. We have to do something, or we will be back to square one.”
Tala looked at her with uncertainty but did not move the torch when Kenda reached out again.
