OUTING IN ANTONG FALLS
"ARAY! Anak na lase! It hurts!" Blade treated his bruise on his left cheek.
Raphael's punched is solid, he was still in pain.
"It's your fault. You lose yourself and you knew that Raphael was there. And that's what you get for being crazy!"
Drake laughed and scratched his neck. They are in the kitchen and they just came home from school.
"Enough with your sermon, Drake. And stop laughing at me." Blade smirk.
He stood up and Drake was looking at him.
"Are you going to sleep?" Drake asked.
"Yes, why? You want to go with me?"
"YUCK!"
"Huh, it's just a joke!"
Blade put away the ice and ointments he used. He went straight upstairs and fell asleep. He really forgot that Raphael was there, he even promised him that he would avoid speaking brutally. But, his mouth slipped over when he was angry or upset. How can this be? This is just Raphael. What if the great Saint Michael thought of visiting him? He is going to be dead!
The next day... Blade is busy watching...
"All right! Beat that animal Crocodile, Luffy! That! Son of a bitch! No more water!" Blade's favourite anime is One Piece!
Ehem! That's how Blade really watches his favourite anime. He records the episodes for Drake to watch at night. They are both addicted to anime.
"There! Crocodile is weak! Finish him!"
Until....
"ANIMAL! BROWN-OUT!"
Blade turn off the T.V. and unplug it. He is about to go to upstairs but he stopped when he heard a series of knocks on the door. He frowned and went to the door. He opened it and...
"GOOD MORNING SIR!"
The whole class II-A, and they also include Rane's younger brother Conrad. To Blade's shock he suddenly closed the door.
"What are they doing here?!"
He opened the door again. And his eyes widened.
"HELLO SIR BLADE!"
Class II-A is with class III-A. He slowly came out and frowned at them. What is going on?
"HAYSS... What are you all doing here?!"
"Sir, we just want to tell you about the outing. It's tomorrow, right?" Barry reminded.
"All of you... When we are outside the school... You just call me Blade, okay? Wait, why are you with class III-A?"
"Err... We heard about your outing. We want to come along. Can we, fafa Blade?" Leah.
"It's up to you. It's KKB(Kanya-kanyang bayad-pay your own expenses). Oh what? Is that the only reason why you came here?"
"We all worried about you last night. After you were knocked out." Rane replied.
Blade was stunned and he looked at the children.
"Oh gosh! I'm okay, I'm still! Don't be like that and I might even cry. Come on! You all go inside!" he was happy to find out that they were worried about him.
"Yeheey!"
"Help me clean up the house!"
Everyone reacted and complained.
"It's just a joke. I was able to clean up earlier. How much will your fare to Antong Falls cost?" he asked them ..
"The fare for the jeep to Sison is ten pesos and the fare for the tricycle to Antong Falls is fifteen pesos, and the entrance fee is ten pesos." replied the gay Van.
"Is it really nice there?" he asked curiously.
"Yes! That was a very nice place." Leah replied (He really doesn't want to call by his real name Leo)
Everyone's meeting place is at school and they have already talked about what they will need to bring for the outing tomorrow. Everyone is excited. Most of them have never been to Antong Falls and so is Blade. He is curious about the place. The place is said to be beautiful and just nearby.
The next day, Rane was busy with the things to bring. As well as the food. Of course, Conrad will go with her. Because her brother loves to tail Blade.
"Here is the sandwich you are going to eat. Take care of Conrad, okay? Your food bag, is it okay? Bring a medicine kit. Don't let your brother dry out a sweat. I also made your favourite cookies. "
Rane frowned as she looked at what her stepmother, Aunt Kristine, was packing. She was kind, it was not like the stepmothers she was reading on books.
"Mom, I don't think I can take all this anymore." she complained.
"It's just light, don't worry. Karen, won't you go with them?" she asked Karen.
Karen belongs to class III-A.
"Hmf! I don't like Ma. I'm just going to be tired and I might get my skin burn from the sunlight." She said before ascending up to stairs.
Rane knows the real reason why she doesn't want to come. She hates Blade.
"Be careful there and watch your brother. Do not swim in the deep." her stepmom reminded.
"Yes, I will remember all your orders."
"Okay take care!" she kissed her on the cheek. And so did Conrad.
"Mommy, that's enough!" his brother's complaint.
"Oh my baby!"
She messed up Conrad's hair before they left. They went straight to school. When they arrived, almost everyone was already there. A few more moments and they were also completed.
"Is everyone here yet?" Blade asked everyone.
"Everyone is present!" Alex announced.
"Let's go, then!" Blade's command to everyone.
They went to the highway to park a jeep. There were some unaccompanied students in class II-A and III-A. It looked like a jeep would just fit them. Then suddenly a jeep, stops at them.
"Where are we, boss?" the driver asked Blade.
"In Sison. We're going to Antong Falls. How much is the fare?"
"Ten pesos, boss!"
"Eh when hanging?"
"It's free."
"Free?!" he was excited.
"Yes, boss!"
Blade turn towards the children.
"Hoy! Take the ride! Slow down, don't push each other!" he calls the children.
They immediately complied...
"Tatay, I'll just hang up. It's free, isn't it?"
(Tatay-literally means father but we used to address this on old folks even they are not related to us. It is a sign of respect.)
"All right, boss. There are many of you." the driver laughed at him.
"You drive slowly, okay? Your passengers are children." he reminded him.
The driver just nodded and he went to the back of the car. He hooked up. Hmmm... Well, that's just a way! They left and soon they were in the town of Sison. They got off and Blade thanked the driver for his free ride. His the only one who didn't pay the fare. Because he hang at the back of the vehicle for the whole ride. (don't do this because it is dangerous)
"Where are you going, Sir?" one of the tricycle drivers asked him.
"At Antong Falls. How much is the fare?"
"Only fifteen pesos, Sir!"
"If I hang, can it be only ten pesos?"
"Err.. All right... That may be okay, Sir." he shook his head on Blade and laughed softly.
"All right, we'll all ride. How many tricycles can we have? Me, I'll hang up ah."
"About four maybe..." he laughed looking at Blade and called some of his fellow tricycle drivers.
They got on the tricycles and of course, Blade... Rode on top of the tricycle. He sat there and the view was very pleasant. (Again, don't do this. Riding on top of the tricycle is dangerous.)
"I want to be there, Sir Blade!" Conrad whispered to him.
"You're just inside, with your sister Rane. It's dangerous here. I got stuck because I don't have enough fare."
The tricycle drivers and the students laughed at what they heard.
"You are embarrassing Sir!" everyone's comment.
"Anak na lase! That's just the way it is!" the laughter grew louder.
His students took a picture on him and what he did is to pose and smile at the camera!
The vehicles started moving. The way was up and down. There are some parts of the road that are not concrete and when you gossip... You can definitely bite your tongue. It 's really very far, it' s a long trip and you will be shaken. In fact , the fifteen pesos fare is well worth it. Even though gasoline is still expensive these days. As they passed by, people look at Blade at the latter just smile and wave. He feels like he was a celebrity!
Finally, they have reach their destination, in barangay Immalog. It is said that the vehicles will not be able to pass the way to Antong Falls. They will have to walk towards it. They got out of the car and paid their respective fares.
"Okay, those who know to Antong Falls... Be the first to walk!" Blade commanded.
"All right, Sir!" presented by Van and Leah ...
They first passed the side of a creek. The water was very clear then, there were snails and fish. It was flowing towards the fields. They were stunned when they came up to a hanging bridge. It was thin and rusty. Only one person can pass through it (but for now this hanging bridge was already fix and upgraded). Below it is a river with huge rocks. The bridge is high. Conrad is riding on Blade's shoulder. Van is already on the other side and Leah also.
"Fafa Blade! Come on!" Leah called.
The two waved at them. Blade look at his students.
"Only one by one will pass. Conrad and I will go first. When we cross to the other side, then you will follow one by one. Just one by one, clear?" he asked everyone.
"Yes!"
And that 's it! When you have not yet balanced your body on the bridge it is slightly tilted. It seems to be reversed when you lose your balance. Blade and Conrad cross the bridge, first.
"Aray! Don't tweak me, Mr. Conrad!" Blade complained.
"It's scary!"
"Don't look down!"
When Conrad and Blade finally cross the bridge, everyone followed them one by one. Rane was scared while she is crossing the bridge. She gulped, because she was afraid of high places. She guess that she'd called all the Saints she knew in this moment. She wants to cry in fear but she's restraining herself. They might laugh at her and it's embarrassing. She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached where Blade and his brother were They even waited for the others. And finally... Everything also went well.
"Sir Blade! Looks like we're close!" Alex's happy language.
"Why did you say that?" he asked frowning.
"Look at that arrow on the camachile tree. There is a sign and its written-To Antong Falls! It means, we're close!"
"Yes indeed! " everyone said happily.
They walked vigorously towards the vast countryside. You will not find any houses there. Only a few trees and farms. They stopped at a large mango tree. As they walked away, they saw of a few huts and households. They don't think they even reached ten.
"It's close, isn't it?" Blade's sarcastic language.
They are all sweating and out of breath. They have also been drinking a lot of water. They are under a large mango tree for now. They stopped to rest for a while. This tree was different from the mango tree they had been passed before.
"Sir, it looks like we are close. Look at that arrow on the mango tree... To Antong Falls!" Katrina gasped.
"I hope so?!"
After they rest... They got up and continued walking. They were still on a wide field. Again they passed an arrow with To Antong Falls written on it. Anyway, that was a big help so that the tourists would not get lost. They enter the forest, and the road would go up then. They rested for a while again... There were many tamarind trees.
"To Antong Falls..." Blade seems to be running out of patience.
That's all he can read.
Where is that Antong Falls?! The distance they are walking is not a joke. After they rest for a while, they immediately walk again because they might even catch lunch time on the road. They are running out of energy and it looks like that Antong Falls was just invented.
"Sir Blade! Sir Blade! Look!" his students were excited ahead.
He also hurried to see what they were looking at... A large sign with the words... WELCOME TO ANTONG FALLS!
His eyes lit up and he shouted with joy. So did his students. They were still taking pictures in the area and across from the sign. Everyone was very happy. There were wild sunflowers around. Finally! They are very close! They are excited to walk. They are crossing narrow bridges. And finally, it opens up to them... Tantanan! Another arrow-To Antong Falls!
'Son of a-! I guess this is crazy.' Blade's thought.
"Hoy! Is that Antong Falls really true?!" he asked Van and Leah impatiently.
They are all tired...
"Yes, we are close!" Van answered.
They passed two more arrows with the words... To Antong Falls. Then, Alas! They entered the narrow paved road. It was next to the river with a huge white rock. They stopped when they saw the road to a large mango tree on the side of the river. He curiously went to it and he was impressed by what he saw...
That road was really meant. Because, you can see below the big frog-shaped rock (for now, you can't see this rock anymore. It was already covered by cement). They did not miss that beautiful view. Picture here, picture there! After that they continued walking. And it really is true! They can already hear the loud murmur of water coming from Antong Falls!
They have to cross the river and they have to be careful because they will pass through the rocks. They support each other. Until...
"EEHHH!!" Rane shouted.
She slipped and her ass fell first! Her shorts were wet. After that...
"EEEH!" the slips followed one after another.
"Are you all okay?!" Blade asked worriedly.
Conrad was still riding on his shoulder.
"We're okay! We're just paddling... Just so excited!" Rane excused ...
"That's right!" according to Katrina.
They all laugh even though they slipped.
"I captured that! I'll upload it to Facebook!" Louie's teasing language.
Those who slipped were angry and suddenly chased him. Case, it did not give up.
They went upstairs. And they saw the hut and cottage. Everyone was crying... Tears of joy!
"FINALLY!" everyone was crying.
They thought they would never get to the place.
The guards at Antong Falls who are watching them are shaken. They have already paid the Entrance Fee of ten pesos. It is safe to leave the belongings in the cottage because there is a guard. There is also a rinsing faucet and bathrooms for dressing. There are many balete(banyan) trees around. There is a high rock there and you can go to the top of it because it is meant to be a ladder.
Everyone who went to the waterfall was excited! The road to it was rocky and slippery. But it was beautiful! There is a part that looks like a round swimming pool. It is deep and the water is blue mixed with green. It is at the bottom and you will jump there to take a bath. The water was deep then. When you go upwards. Paul's bathroom (In tagalog it is Banyo ni Pablo, the locals gave that name.) is just nearby. It's a little swimming pool.
Antong Falls has three levels. The depth is the lowest at level 1, that is at the bottom. The depth is just right on the second level of the waterfall, children can bathe there. And the third level, it is very deep and very high. At the top you can see the natural rock formations and what they call Liming galing. Level three is wide and deep.
They didn't flinch anymore! They immediately rushed to take a bath! And wow! The water is cold, icy-cold! All the hard work they went through was worth it. It was as if they suddenly forgot what they were drowning in!
It was lunch time. They took out their foods. But there was a problem... No one even remembered to bring plates! Blade scratched his head. He sighed and look at his comrades.
"Just wait a minute, I know what to do." He said.
"Okay, Sir!" everyone said.
He turn to his male students and...
"Alex, Richard and Louie. Come with me."
"Yes, Sir!"
They followed him.
They went to the hut of the guards at Antong Falls.
"Tatay, where can we get banana leaves here? Is it okay? We would have used it to make a plate." he asked one of the guards at Antong Falls.
"No problem, Sir. I will help you. Just follow me." the man volunteered.
There were three guards at Antong Falls.
He did accompany them and the place where the banana trees is a bit far. But never mind... They got banana leaves and came back immediately. They washed the large banana leaves and kept them from tearing. The rice and dishes were laid on the banana leaves arranged on the cottage's table. They first prayed to give thanks to God and...
"Now those in the left corner be ready! Those in the right corner be also ready! Now, let's eat!" Blade announced.
And they eat, because they are very much tired from walking a while ago, they ate as if there's no tomorrow. They just used hands while eating, of course, they wash first. There was adobo, roasted eggplant, tomatoes, salted eggs. Fried galungong( a variety of fish) and grilled meat. They also have chili.
"Picture-picture!" Leah said to everyone.
Rane did not continue to suck a food as did the others because they don't want to be captured eating a lot. But those men did not care. Especially Blade who just continued to eat. After they ate they immediately put it away their clutter. Strict as a rule that it is forbidden to litter in the area. Many butterflies surround there. There is a balete(banyan) tree that can be used as a cradle for its hanging roots. After they lower their food, they go back to bathing and of course. Relentless picture taking.
They begged one of the guards to take a picture of them all together. It stopped when he finished taking a group picture of them. He just stared at the tablet he was holding...
"Eh, just a moment! Something's wrong. I'll just repeat it!" the guard said wearily.
"It's okay!" Blade smiled at the man.
They are all cute and wacky... Until they are done.
"Can I look at our pictures?" Blade said to the man.
He hesitated to hand him the tablet. Blade looked at the pictures and his eyes widened. There was a man in black. He had no face and it was behind them. He looked at his students and there was nothing like them. Something is wrong!
"Sir, that also happened to other tourists who have already come here." the guard explained.
"Does this happen often?"
"Not so much. But many have already seen that ghost insert in the pictures."
Blade was silent. Why did he seem to feel different? He was suddenly nervous. It was like a bad vision... He went to his students.
"Okay, stop aleady! We're all going home. We still have a long way to go. We can't be overtaken by darkness here because we might get lost. The road is dangerous! Hurry up!"
He still don't want to go, but... He felt strange since he saw the black man with no face in their group pictures. Blade did not show the pictures to the kids. They might panic. He does not want to scare them. After they fix themselves they immediately leave. They are in the forest when the crows suddenly fly around. The wind blew hard and the leaves on the trees moved. The whole place seemed to suddenly cool down.
"W-What is that ?!" Rane's scared language.
She even clung to Blade's arm and even those next to her Van and Leah.
"Just walk, don't pay attention to those birds. It's late in the afternoon so they go out. Just walk." he calmed himself even though he felt a little different.
They were just walking when Jecon, Francis, Wilbur and Brian suddenly ran away. They were at the back.
"Run! The ghost is chasing us!" Jecon shouted.
Everyone turned around and saw the black man with the hood covering his face. It was as fast as if it was just blowing in the wind! Ghost! Everyone is scared!
"WAAAAAH!"
Everyone ran fast. The narrow roads... It seemed to be ignored. All right, they just run! They didn't even realize that they had reached the hanging bridge right away! They all stopped. That bridge was meant for only one person at a time and it is danger of falling when they pass through it at the same time.
"Louie! Take Conrad!"
"Opo, Sir!"
(We say po and opo to elders for a sign of respect)
Louie immediately took Conrad and put him on his shoulder. The black man was still following them. Getting closer and closer, everyone was terrified. Blade confronted him and immediately attacked. He was the one who met him!
"You animal! I will not allow you to hurt my students! You will pass me first! Lightning fi-"
Blade was stunned. He heard a camera flash from the black man wearing a hood.
"How are you, Blade? You're saying bad words, aren't you?" his phone is focused on Blade's face.
"Who are you?" Blade's tongue stopped.
It removes the hood that covers half of its face. Short and emo hair is exposed to all. Beautiful light brown eyes... Sharp nose and teasing lips while smiling.
"AAAH! HANDSOME!" the student's shouted.
While blade was amaze.
"Azrael?!" Blade whispered.
Azrael is called the Angel of Death.
"Yah, it's me. All of you are having fun, so I thought about inserting my self in your pictures. I'll post it on my Facebook account. I'm sorry! Did I scare you?" smiling at his explanation to everyone.
Blade pulled Azrael away.
"Is that all, ha... Death?!"
"What do you mean, Blade?"
"Son of a bitch! Aren't you going to fetch them? I won't allow you." Blade said emphatically.
"Don't worry. Their names did not appear on my list. I just inserted my self in the pictures. I chased you because I wanted to say hello. You were in a hurry to go home so I didn't get close to you before. And stop saying bad words. It's earache!"
Blade took a deep breath. Azrael was rude. They were all really scared. He approached his students, along with Azrael. The latter say hi to the kids and smile.
"Hello! I'm Azrael! I'm Blade's friend. Add me to Facebook ah? My account is deathangel@yahoo.com. I'm sorry if I scared you before. I was just shy because I just came."
"Wait, you weren't there in Antong Falls before? I didn't see you. Where did you come from?" Conrad ask in interrogating tone.
Azrael and Blade looked at each other. They did not know how to explain.
"I-I was in the balete tree earlier so you didn't notice me. It's dark in their, right?" Azrael explained.
Conrad would have asked more, but Rane reprimanded him. They went home and Azrael went with them. He went with Blade. And...
"Wow, if I only knew that I would pay for your fares. I would not have come here to the house where you are staying. You are really extraordinary, Blade! You have a thick face! Your shameless!"
"That's the price for what you did to intimidate us. Ha ha ha!"
"Tse! Add me on Facebook and tag me the pictures in Antong Falls. I'm leaving and I have a lot of work to do. Goodbye!" Azrael disappeared into nothingness.
Blade just laughed. At night, Drake was very jealous when Blade showed his pictures at the outing.
"She's really beautiful. Kegtot my heart!"
"Hey! Don't stare at Rane's picture. It'll melt!" he looks at Rane's single picture in the water.
"Tag me!"
"Pay first!"
"How much?"
"250! Cash!"
"It's just a tag, it's expensive! Is there no discount?! Don't be abusive!"
"Sorry but my salary is delayed, I need money badly. Now what? Deal or no deal?" Blade raised his right hand.
Let's just leave these two.