「21」Weird Confession (2)

SIDAPA


EVENING came. I finished just in time. A few died today, but most of them ended in the afterlife.

“Did I make it?!” I almost fell off my tree when Libulan popped out of nowhere, haggard and a little disoriented.

“Libulan? What happened to you?” I asked in awe, and came down by jumping directly to the ground. It created a loud thud, and small animals nearby ran in fear and hid somewhere safe when they saw me.

「Even animals can sense the danger in me. So why can’t Libulan?」 I wondered as I looked at the clueless Moon Deity.

I didn’t become the God of Death just to deliver some cringe nonsense to be laughed at. In this physical world, I was the symbol of fear and the epitome of death. My looks weren’t just for show. I was meant to look hideous so I could bring out the negative sides of mortals. A human heart’s desire was the most fragile thing to deal with. If you inflicted it with the tiniest bit of fear, they could transform into something unimaginable.

But fear could also become a weapon. Humans that were exposed in years of fear sometimes developed a type of coping mechanism. It strengthened their will to live and fought for justice for those who couldn’t acquire them.

“Is the festival already over?” he asked and totally ignored my question earlier.

“It hasn’t started yet but it will begin soon,” I informed him, and Libulan was relieved. “What happened to you anyway? You look like you are in a hurry,” I noticed, and he flinched.

“N-nothing.” It was obviously a lie. He didn’t look in my eyes when he replied and he was anxious. Something definitely happened!

I came closer to Libulan then I gently lifted several strands of his hair and rubbed my thumb against it. “Your hair’s still wet. Did you fall into a lake or something?” I asked. My eyes went down on his clothes. They were dry. Did he perhaps take a bath before coming here?

“It’s Bakunawa,” he softly uttered. “He tried to eat me again. It was so close because he bit the tip of my robe and I fell into the sea,” he explained.

“But your clothes are dry,” I pointed out.

“I managed to escape and came home to change them,” he said. “I really thought I won’t make it to the festival,” he added.

“I see. But you look like you just cried,” I noticed again. Libulan’s eyes were swollen. “Did you have a fight with someone?”

「I knew it!」 I exclaimed in my mind when Libulan flinched.

“How can you tell?” he asked in a low voice, and slightly lowered his head. He probably felt shy when I saw him in this state.

“You said you were supposed to be up there tonight. Did one of your brothers scold you for skipping?” I asked. Libulan nodded faintly.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “It was Likabutan, our eldest, that gave me a good scolding for always going out without telling anyone. He was furious because they didn’t know where I went for the past few days,” he explained.

“You’re right. Today makes it two weeks in a row,” I said. “So you mean, you’ve been going here every night in secret?”

He nodded again and felt ashamed. “I mean, even if I told them they won’t believe me and they might even forbid me to go here. I don’t want that,” he defended.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Why?!” he squealed in disbelief. “Because I like being with you!” he yelled. When Libulan realized that his statement sounded more like a confession than a mere excuse, he gasped in regret and ran off in utter embarrassment.

“Libulan, wait!” I called out and went after him. For his size and physique, he was quite agile. “Libulan!” I called out again. He went into the thickets and vanished from my sight.

「Why? Why did it have to happen now? We were supposed to watch the festival together. But why did it turn out like this?」 I thought, disappointed at myself at the same time for being insensitive towards Libuan’s feelings.

I could already hear the rumbling sound of drums from the village. That was a sign that they were about to start. If Libulan kept running through these trees, he might fall off the cliff!

“Libulan!” I shouted on the top of my lungs. It left me no choice but to use my powers.

I unleashed the same black smoke that I used against Agui this afternoon but compared to that, this one could affect not only nearby living creatures but also those that were a mile away. I disliked using it for something like this because Libulan could also get hurt but I had no choice.

Animals react differently when faced with fear. Most of them would go in defense mode. Aggressive ones were the ones I was worried about. Libulan was afraid of anything that appeared scary to him. If an aggressive animal happened to be near him now, I would bet on the possibility that he would scream and that would help me locate him. But I couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t get hurt.

I stopped on my tracks and listened to my surroundings. All I could hear was the loud chirping of birds and the screeching sound of small animals trying to find a shelter after they felt my presence. But from a distance, I could hear the sound of an angry bear, but there was no scream from Libulan. I decided to go where the bear was.

When I arrived at the place, I saw a large brown bear growling at something. And there was Libulan!

“Libulan!” I called out to him, and both Libulan and the bear turned their heads toward my direction.

The bear growled at me and turned its anger on me. It charged without second thoughts even though it was aware of my daunting power. The bear stood up on its two legs and was ready to launch its deadly blow at me. I was about to fight back when Libulan halted the both of us.

“Don’t!” said Libulan. The bear backed away a little but it didn’t calm down fully. “Please don’t hurt her!” Libulan begged.

“What?” I was confused then Libulan pointed his finger to a bush nearby. When I looked carefully, I saw a small bear. It was frightened and trembled as it hid itself in a dark corner of the bush.