The Necklace (Part 2)

by pknc 2010

Keeta gave Rosa a glass of water to drink, this made her calm down.  They sat on the wooden chairs and talked over dinner.  Rosa told her daughter about the event that transpired more than 18 years ago, when Keeta was only two years old.  The event changed the lives of the people in their place and most importantly, it drastically changed theirs.  The event happened in their place, Barrio Masagana, named so because of the unusual abundance of their harvest.  Keeta’s father was the head of their village.  During his leadership, thieves rampaged Masagana.  Marco, as the barangay captain, tried to deal with them peacefully but the thieves were black-hearted.  They killed Marco, a bullet to his heart was the culprit.

Since nobody else tried to stand up tot he thieves, they conquered and started ruling Masagana.  “Your father was wearing that same necklace you have in your hands when that fateful day came.  I didn’t tell you this because I do not want you to suffer the same fate as your father.  Keeta, you are the only one I have.  I cannot afford to lose you,” tears were streaming down Rosa’s eyes.  “You will not lose me, Mama.  I’m staying.”  “You can’t stay Keeta, you need to go on a mission to save our people.

It was Keeta’s mission to chase the bandits away form their place but she first had to prove herself worthy of wearing her father’s necklace.  For nine days, she shall live in the mountains alone and she must return on the tenth day.  The next day came too soon.  It was time for Keeta to voyage to the mountains and survive.  On the day of her return, she will wear the necklace and save her people.

For nine long days, Keeta suffered the pangs of living alone.  Finding food was the hardest thing to do.  One day, she accidentally ate poisonous fruits that made her awfully sick that she nearly died.  But when she tightly held the necklaced and prayed, she felt a lot stronger.  This made her realize that the necklace had some sort of magical power.  When nighttime came, Keeta suffered from extreme cold, she made herself warm by making a blanket out of large leaves.  If she hadn’t ventured to the mountains, she would not have learned how to take care of herself and be independent.

The dawn of the tenth day came.  Just as she was about to heave her camp, she heard a man’s voice.  Shocked and perplexed, Keeta got hold of her walking stick and readied to attack.  She was furious but the man just smiled and told her not to attack him, “Keeta you have proven yourself worthy of my necklace.  It is yours now.”  The man drew closer to Keeta who was still in shock.  “Happy birthday, my Keeta,” hes said.  Keeta felt it, the man was her father.  She hesitated no more and ran closer to the man, closed her eyes and hugged him.  “Remember, I am always with you Keeta.  I am you,” the man whispered.  Keeta opened here eyes, her father was gone, she was only holding her father’s necklace in her hands.

Keeta wore the necklace and started walking home.  Little did she know that the crops in Masagana died when she wore the necklace.  The people in htheir village were in havoc.  The theives, who were still rulers, rampaged the houses for stock harvest.  After an hour of walking, Keeta arrived at Masagana.  What greeted her was the sight of mothers holding onto their children while fathers tried to haggle with the thieves.  Rosa ran to her daughter, “I’m glad you’re home.  You must now continue with your mission, save our people, Keeta!”  “But how, Mama? I do not know how…” “I am you,” her father’s voice came echoing in her head.  Keeta held onto the necklace and prayed hard, too hard she grew very weak.  She fell to the ground.

Out of Keeta’s heart came a spirit of a lion.  The thieves laughed at the sight.  They thought that the lion could not harm any of them.  But they were wrong, the lion growled and went nearer to one of the thieves and ate his right arm off.  This made them so afraid.  The spirit returned to Keeta’s body, she regained strength.  Staring angrily at the thieves, she said, “You are never to disturb our place again!  If you do, I will summon the lion-spirit.  You will suffer the same fate as your friend,” the thieves, including the one with the lost arm, ran away hastily.  The people of Masagana cheered for Keeta’s bravery.  They were all safe again.  Keeta went to the brook and touched the water to make a ripple; this made the crops that withered grow back to life.  Masagana will be prosperous again, thanks to Keeta, the girl who had the heart of a lion.

 

 

The Necklace

by pknc 2010

Keeta was a fine lass.  She grew up to be very courageous.  She has long been told that she got this trait of hers from her father.  But at twenty, she still has no clue as to where her father is.  She doesn’t even know if he were dead or alive.  Rosa, her mother, does not want to tell Keeta where Marco, her father is.  Keeta saw mystery in the absence of her father.  In just more than a week, ten days to be exact, she will be celebrating her twenty-first birthday.  Keeta needed an answer to her lifelong question.

“Papa, where are you?” Keeta whispered to herself.  She was sitting on her favorite rock by the brook a few meters away form their home at that time.  Teardrops fell from her eyes, these fell to the water making it ripple.  Keeta stared at the ripples her tears had made on the brook.  How she wished she were her tears, joining a bigger body of water.  She wished to be with her father.  She closed her eyes and clenched her fists in prayer.  She really wanted to see her father,  As if by magic, there was already a black, string-necklace with a rugged fang-shaped stone for a pendant in her hands.  She wondered where it came from but with delight in her eyes, she placed it inside her skirt’s left pocket and hurried home.

There was noise of pots and ladles in the kitchen when Keeta approached the three-step ladder leading to the door of their house made of bamboo floor and posts and nipa roofs and walls.  She has lived there with her mother for as long as she could remember.  The house now had its share of holes on the floor that have been repaired laboriously by her mother as there was no man in the house.  All their relatives have fled to farther villages, the reason why, she was not aware of.

“Oh, Keeta!  Your’re just in time for dinner,” Rosa saw her daughter enter the door of their house.  Keeta greeted her mother with a kiss on the right hand.  “what you’re cooking seems delicious, Mama!” the smell of sour fish stew enveloped the house.  “It’s a good thing that you went home earlier today.  Not feeling too adventurous, Keeta?”  Keeta was fond of wandering through the woods at night, unafraid of the dangers that darkness brings.  “It’s not that, I went home earlier because I found this,” Keeta said excitedly.  “It just  appeared in my hands out of nowhere..  I was praying to see my father.”

Rosa looked at what Keeta was holding.  Rosa noticed that the necklace looked familiar.  She asked her daughter to hand it to her.  Rosa gave the necklace a close inspection.  Her gut-feel was right, there on the necklace, a tiny letter M was inscribed.  Her eyes grew larger, “this cannot be, how did this necklace…” she could not go on talking anymore.  Thoughts of a tragic past came lurking in her head.  Rosa burst into tears and said, ” I could no longer hide the truth from you, my Keeta.  I have been lying to you for almost 19 years and can’t do it anymore.”  Rosa knelt on the bamboo floor, “forgive me.  I was only thinking of your safety.”  Keeta drew closer to her mother and helped Rosa up, “I do not understand, Mama.  What is it that you have been keeping from me?  Please, tell me.”

(To be continued…)