Sunday, March 3, 2013

The Mystery of the Balite Tree by Regine del Carmen, Jesthony Achivar, Shernan Eustaquio, Hera Joy Cahoy, Charlene Capillo and Angelie Salut


            Once upon a time, a fair lady named Bella lived in a secluded barrio. She has a beautiful garden envied by everyone. Yet, she scorned all those appreciations. Whenever people praised her colourful flowers, her veins bulged and seen protruding on her white skin. This trait erased all her positive features which rendered very disagreeable to her barrio constituents.
            However, a man came into the barrio unexpectedly. He called himself Edward, a handsome and most perfect creature your eyes could set upon. His past was unknown as well as his origin was a question. What added more into the mystified crowd was his love for Bella. Edward as often, visited Bella on her hut in the garden’s heart.
            As always, Bella rejected people who appreciated her. She always shooed Edward away. In as much as she drove him out, it also equalled to Edward’s return. Meanwhile, it was Bella’s habit to stroll around her garden every afternoon. She was surprised in an instance when she saw a white-robed figure standing in the midst. She was deeply enraged that someone intruded her solitude. Vein started protruding and her fair face was a picture of a greenish vessels. But the figure just disappeared when she took her next step to approach it. It happened several times and the usual scenario repeated – the figure quickly disappeared as it came.
            Then one gloomy afternoon, the white-robed figure didn’t nudge when she drew closer. And so, Bella had the opportunity to speak the words she longed to say. Every foul word came out. Every profanity you could ever hear spilled out as she reprimanded the trespasser. While she spitted out the words, her veins protruded as usual. But, the figure only stared at her with glowing eyes and disappeared. Bella’s veins didn’t return to its original form and even grew longer and sturdier. Bella’s eyes popped-out as she recognized what was happening to her. It grew longer as her feet were rooted on the ground. Then she was stocked and turned into a tree.
            Many days passed and the people begun to notice her absence. One of the folks dared to trespass to check on her. He searched every nook of the garden and came across a strange tree. Without Bella anywhere, they immediately deduced that the tree was her. It had her very prominent feature, the veins protruding - every time her rage ruptured and on the tree’s branches vein-like roots fell from its limbs. They even speculated that the strange man, Edward, cursed her into a hideous tree.
            Several days again passed, Edward unknowingly visited the garden. Tears ran down his cold, pale face as Edward beheld the transformed figure of Bella. At this point, the truth was then revealed. The one who really cursed Bella, the white-robed figure was in fact a fairy sent by the gods to investigate about her disposition. On the other hand, Edward belonged to the dark forces that were tamed by the beauty of untamed Bella. He tried to break the curse but in vain he failed. Out of love and deep grief, he often visited her and afterward decided to reside within her, to be a part of her eternally.
            The people named it as “Bella Tree”. Whenever they passed by the tree, they felt a force lingering around. Since then, people had begun to fear it even hesitant to pass by her place.
            Generations passed that “Bella Tree” undergone derivation. It was then called “Balite Tree”. It then explains why it has many veins and always associated with the “Engkantos”.

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