When Back In Time

"Who was she again?" Esperanza asked. Under her eyes were bulged after bawling her eyes out.

Bangun Bangun looked at her. She was finally calmed down. "She's Maguayen. She's the goddess of death and the first water and sea deity."

"Cou-could you tell me more about her," Esperanza asked.

She was trying to calm inside of her by directing her attention to other things. It was after all 'a fault' saving people in the time that she doesn't belong. And now she regretted everything she did. And now she's worried about Pepe, what will happen to him after what she did? She did remember Bangun Bangun said that she will cause Pepe's misery. Pepe…

"Pepe…. Wait, where is him? Where are we?" she asked.

"You are still in Visayas, specifically in the island called Cebu. After the storm came, it washed some of you here. As for the whereabouts of Pepe, you will surely find him later. For the meantime, I've something to tell you. Before this, I will first answer your question about Maguayen."

Bangun Bangun, the god of Time and Cosmos, stopped the time by tapping his staff on the sand. He raised his hand and wiped it on the air. The clear blue sky faded into jet black with twinkling stars, the colorful constellations.

"Maguayen is a Visayan goddess like me, " he said. "She is the wife of Kaptan, the Sky God. As the first deity of water and sea, she personifies the great wide ocean. She's nurturing, calm and the provider of foods from the sea. Yet, she can be terrifying when she's angered. That's why she can create those phenomena like giant tsunamis, whirlpool, floods, and heavy rain. On her hand, she always carried a 'budyong' or a conch shell... "On the other hand, she's the goddess of the Underworld. In this aspect, from being a n.a.k.e.d woman, she now wears black grieving clothes. She became a ferrywoman. She ferries the dead souls down to 'Sulad' or underworld in her majestic balangay (plank boat). She became the goddess of Sulad (underworld) because of her daughter Lidagat...

"Long ago Lidagat died. In grief, Maguayen followed her only daughter's soul to Sulad and accompanied her there for a long time. Maguayen then abandoned her role as the goddess of the sea and gave it to the other deities. This, she did, so she can be near to her daughter."

"In the beginning, Maguayen had a big role in the creation of your kind, the humankind. Her husband, Kaptan, gave her divine seed he created. He told her to plant it and take care of it. Maguayen did this deed and work and took care of the plant as if her own child. Then, came the time, the plant grew into a very big bamboo. The bamboo split open and here came the first man and the first woman. She was greeted by Sikalak, the first man, and Sikabay, the first woman."

Bangun Bangun looked at Esperanza, who had her eyes wide open. "Guess you don't know about these stuff right?"

Esperanza looked at her feet. Her thoughts drifted again towards Pepe. She grew worried. "Bangun Bangun, I need to see Pepe, right now."

"You will find him. But before that I told you, I have something to tell you. It's more than a week since you've been stuck in this timeline. The other gods and goddesses are anxious about your existence in this era," he said.

She looked at the god of Time and Cosmos. "Anxious? The gods? On me?"

He continued, "They were anxious that the more you stayed here in the past, the more you'll destroy the timeline. If you stay here longer and will not accomplish the quest soon, chaos might erupt in your nation. The history of your beloved Philippines might change. That's why I've decided to make some changes in your quest."

"What changes?"

"I'll give you a deadline for your quest," Bangun Bnagun said.

"A deadline? What do you think you were giving to me? A school project? A class presentation?" she retorted. "Finding a man without a clue is even harder than you think. Why give me a deadline?"

"I'm giving you a chance, human. Nothing more, nothing less," he said.

Bangun Bangun continued, "You are near to your destination, in Mindanao. That's why I'll give you five days to fulfill your tasks. Find Jose Rizal and the other clock, and you will surely come back to your time, in 2019. But..."

The atmosphere went still. The stars on the sky dully and ominously twinkled.

"But," he spoke, "If you fail to triumph the task, you will face a severe consequence."

"Se-severe consequence?" she stuttered.

"You well know that you don't belong in this era, right? If you fail, you will never go back to your time. In addition, if you fail, your existence will vanish in this era."

"V-vanish?" she said, "Vanish?"

"If you fail, you will face your demise Esperanza Valdez," Bangun Bangun said. "Your time is ticking. Godspeed, human."

With that, the god of Time and Cosmos disappeared. The time continued to flow and the starry night sky melted away into the clear blue sky.