DIWATA

 

Chapter One

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mist came out of nowhere. Thin and wispy in the beginning, the condensation soon turned into fog, shrouding the forest known as Bundok Lambana—Nymph’s Mountain. One moment it was high noon, a split-second later it turned to dusk. Blind to everything but the arms-length of space in front of him, Julio stood still. He summoned his military training to take over, heightening his other senses. For the moment, he didn’t perceive any danger.

Alongside the haze came quiet. No wind. No tinkling of the stream he’d been following for the past hour. It wasn’t raining, though moisture sluiced over his face, dampening his day’s growth of beard and raising goosebumps on his arms. He tried to regulate his breathing, but his heartbeat started to race. She’s coming. 

The strong fragrance of sampaguita wafted through the air before the gray mantle parted and there she stood, an apparition forming out of vapor before his eyes. Long, abundant hair he could only liken to the sky on a moonless night framed a heart-shaped face. Silky clothing floated around a shapely body, hiding and at once hinting at the generous curves underneath. The rise and fall of her chest as she breathed were his only indication that she was flesh and blood. A woman. An incredibly desirable one.

With her presence, the forest came to life. A wild hog snorted, frogs croaked, and the nearby spring gurgled as water began to flow again. Dark clouds moved to reveal the moon, low in the sky, shining full and bright. It illuminated her skin, as brown as the ground on which he stood. Big black eyes regarded him seriously.

Her voice, when she spoke, was hushed, but he heard it clearly. “You’re here. I’ve been waiting for you.” She beckoned with a delicate hand. “Come.”

Without a second thought, Julio followed her floating figure until she came to a stop at the bank of the stream. A waterfall cascaded over a high cliff before them.

Her back to him, the nymph swept the airy garment off her body. His pulse, already rapid with her anticipated arrival, hammered within his ribs. He willed her to turn, even though he enjoyed looking at her round backside. She obliged, as if reading his mind. Grace imbued every motion as she moved her head, her shoulders, and her chest around. His gaze lingered on her breasts; his mouth watered at the beauty of female flesh, displayed for his enjoyment. By the time she fully faced him, his erection throbbed within his pants.

A small smile playing about her lips, she looked him up and down. With a wave of her hand, a gust of wind removed his shirt from his torso. Another puff, and his pants fell off his hips. A third left him naked. His cock stood proudly, pointing straight at her.

“Come closer. Lie down with me,” she said, moving to kneel by his feet, her dress a white blanket over the short grass.

Although more used to giving orders than following them, Julio did as he was told. A mix of awe and desire rendered him mute, acquiescent to her every demand. That this fantastic being appeared to want him as much as he did her, dazzled his mind. He lay on his back and she rose above him, positioning her opening above his hardness.

“What you’ve desired for more than a hundred years, I give you tonight,” she chanted as her softness engulfed his rigid manhood.

He groaned at the liquid heat of her where they joined. Raising his hips, he met her, stroke for stroke.

“Moments of bliss, quicksilver pleasure ...” she whispered close to his mouth, her movements gaining speed.

He writhed on the ground, nearing completion; his flesh swelled as her narrow channel squeezed him, milked him. Grunts and growls left his throat, the animal in him unleashed by her sorcery.

“This flare of passion is all you will have. Take it now, for it will be your last.” In a flash of lightning, she vanished.

Shuddering, he released his seed into the air until he was spent. He couldn’t control it. He was too far gone.

¿Que mierda pasó? What just happened? Breathing heavily, he sat up to scan the forest for any sign of the enchantress.

“You seek me. Here I am,” a voice rang out from beside the waterfall. The lady of Mount Lambana was again draped in the white material they lay on just a few minutes ago. Her face serious, lips thinned, this wasn’t the same woman who’d wrung the climax from him.

Julio jumped to his feet and entered the stream, not bothering to don his clothes.

“Maria, yo soy—”

She raised an imperious hand. “I know why you came, Spaniard. Prove your worth to erase the past. Until then, the curse holds fast.” Thunder boomed before she disappeared again.

Bile filled his throat. He tasted the bitterness of it in his mouth. Defeat bowed his head, encased his feet in concrete.

He had to move. The offensive smell of sulfur pervaded the air. It came from what was minutes ago a waterfall. Thick smoke billowed from the same direction. His legs, which were cold when he came into the stream previously filled with water, now burned. Dense mud bubbled beneath him as it sucked him down. Helpless, he gave in to his fate.

He was going to die.

She had killed him.

“Diculpame, madre. I failed.” Julio uttered his final despairing words before the boiling mud swallowed him whole.

 

 

 

~~ * * * ~~

 

 

 

Julio bolted upright in his rented bed, drenched in sweat. Alive, unburned. He leaned back on the headboard and sighed. “Bienvenido a las Filipinas.” Welcome to the land of my death.