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Alamat (Legend)
Act 2: Beginning of a Journey; chapter 11: Mawi

Act 2: Beginning of a Journey; chapter 11: Mawi

Lumawig also noticed that the floor is made of concrete but does not have a glossy finish. There are two windows in the bedroom, one is beside the bed near the headboard, and the other one is located on the opposite part of the room where the cabinet is located. All these, Lumawig observed, and he concluded that the house he was staying in was not that big. As he was making his eyes roam around the room, Lumawig noticed the buntot pagi and the pasyawan whip placed in one corner of the room. Curious, he stood up and approached them and just as he reached for them, Lola Yma entered the room.

“So, you finally noticed them.” A hint of expectation on her face.

“Them? You mean these two items? Are they yours?” A confused Lumawig asked. From the tone of the voice of the old woman, it sounded like she was expecting him to notice the two items.

“Hmm? No. They are yours.” Surprised by the young man’s question, Lola Yma still provided the answer.

“Sit down first, so we can talk.” Not waiting for Lumawig’s reply, Lola Yma instructed the young man to sit.

“Before anything else, let me introduce myself. My name is Fatima Rosario, you may call me Lola Yma. The little girl that greeted you earlier today, is my apò. Her name’s Jesabel Rosario, she is an orphan – you can call her ‘Sabel’. Five days ago, we found you unconscious in the forest not far from here. Since then, I took the responsibility of nursing you back to health, and to be honest, I was not expecting that you would wake up so soon considering how weak your breathing was when we found you.” Lola Yma introduced herself and her apò to Lumawig.

“Thank you for saving my life, Lola Yma. My name is…” When it was Lumawig’s turn to introduce himself, he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

“My name is…” A struggle could be seen on his face, as if trying to recall something.

Seeing the struggle on the young man’s face, Lola Yma could only sigh. She knew that the young man before him had lost his memories because of having a damaged soul.

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“My name is…Mawi.” Finally, Lumawig was able to utter a name. Although his tone sounded like he was not sure if that was even his name. However, he recalled the dream he had and the sentence he heard when he was still in his dream.

“Mawi? Is that your full name?” Although Lola Yma was surprised that the young man was able to give him a name, she still knew that this ‘Mawi’ in front of him is not entirely certain if that was really his name.

“I…I am not sure…I…I cannot remember anything!” Panic finally decorated Lumawig’s face. His two hands clutching his head, and a look of terror can be seen on his face. His breathing became rapid and he started to sweat profusely.

“Calm down…Mawi. Take some deep breaths. I have some idea on what caused you to lose your memories. Maybe, there is a way for you to regain them back.” Lola Yma tried to soothe Lumawig, eventually helping him calm down.

“For now, let us just call you ‘Mawi’. I think that this name is related to your origins. Whether it is your real name or not, since you are able to recall this, I can at least say that this name has some significance to you.” Lola Yma continued.

Taking some deep breaths, Lumawig did his best to calm down. But it took him quite a while to do so, and when he finally started to calm down, his head started to hurt again. Lola Yma has no choice but to end their conversation and tell Lumawig to rest. The young man can only agree to Lola Yma’s instructions as he is still feeling weak.

That night Lumawig dreamt the same dream he had yesterday. The scenes are the same and the events and how they unfolded are also the same. It was like a video playback of some movie, even the lines uttered by the old man in his dream are the same. While Lumawig was having the same dream, Lola Yma could be seen standing beside the bed and was just observing his actions during sleep. She is able to observe how the young man seemingly struggles with something, even to the point of crying during his sleep.

“Haaays… It seems that it will take a long time before his memory is restored.” Lola Yma could only sigh as she was observing Lumawig.

The following day, Mawi was awakened by Sabel poking his face with her fingers.

“Kuya Mawi! Kuya Mawi! Wake up! Lola said we should eat breakfast now!” Sabel’s high-pitched voice entered Mawi’s ears. Eyes still sleepy, Mawi got up from bed and ruffled Sabel’s hair.

“Okay, okay. I’m up now.” Even though he is still sleepy, Mawi flashed a warm smile to Sabel.

“Quick! Let us go eat! Lola boiled some cassava roots; we can dip it on her delicious sauteed bagoong! It is my favorite!” Sabel grabbed Mawi’s hands and started to pull him up from the bed. The young man can only oblige with the little girl, and he lets her pull him towards the kitchen.