The Festival of Flowers

“There weren’t always Dragons in the Valley. You were too young to remember it, but no one told us when to eat.” Talo looked up at his kuya, his older brother, he had grown so much bigger these past few years. They both were sitting and still, Sinukuan was a full head and a half taller than him. As Sinu got older, he would play games with his little brother less and less, but this didn’t bother Talo too much. What bothered him was that he rarely ever saw his brother smile.

Sinu held a fork and spoon in his fists that he jammed into his lunch, scattering rice and pieces of grilled fish over the table. “And we weren’t forced to use these stupid things to eat!” Some of the other boys let out chuckles at Sinu’s complaining. The same dozen or so boys have been working together on this farm for years -- they have grown used to his outbursts.

Talo agreed with his brother that it was ridiculous. They used their hands to eat when they were at home. It was quicker, and secretly, the boy thought it made the food taste better too. It was only around the foreigners that they had to use these things. Despite his own frustration, the boy felt the need to calm him down. Especially on a day meant for celebration, for today was the Festival of Flowers.

“You are just being stubborn, it is not so bad, saves us from having to wash our hands again before we get back to the field.” The boy flashed his brother a toothy grin and wiggled his fingers.

The older boy frowned and continued his grumbling, “We also didn’t need anyone to tell us when to go to the field and when it was time to go home. Only fools stay in bed when the rooster calls. And where else will we go when the sun goes down? They treat us like idiots Talo, we…”

He let the sentence trail off as he noticed one of the Dragons starting to walk toward them. He had been speaking too loudly. Talo shifted in his seat and straightened his back, trying to remember which hand he was taught to hold the fork and spoon. He saw that his brother still held his in tight fists. He had worked himself into a rage, the boy knew there was no room for wisdom in Sinu’s head when he got this way.

“Is there a problem with your meal?” The Dragon spoke in his native tongue as he looked down at the pair. The man was dressed in the scaled armor that marked him as a warrior from across the sea. Talo was eye level with the man’s waist and caught a good look at the steel sword that hung from his belt.

“I’m talking to you, is there anything wrong with your food?”

Sinukuan sat there, silently, and gritting his teeth.

“I swear you lot would be sticking these up your asses if we didn’t teach you any better, are you deaf?”

Finally, Talo found the courage to speak up, “Sorry sir, my brother hasn’t learned to speak your language yet. No, there is nothing wrong with our food, we are thankful for your worry.”

“We set up that school five years ago and he still hasn’t learned the language? Your brother must be an idiot, boy.”

At this last remark Sinukuan quickly rose to his feet and wheeled to face the soldier. Talo quickly moved in between the two.

“Sorry again, my brother can understand the language just fine, he just refuses to speak it.”

The dragon eyed the young man dangerously, inching his hand closer to his belt, “You better sit back down…boy.”

The moment lingered as everyone held their breath. Sinukuan looked up at the man with a fire, caught the frightened look on his brother’s face, and sat back down.

“Good, I think you all have had enough of a break today. Back to work the lot of you!” And with that, lunch was over and they all scurried back to the fields.

It was hard work, but it made their bodies strong and got them used to a life of hard labor. Close to sundown, Talo worked his way towards his brother. They worked better when they split up but would come together at the end of the day to walk home. They walked silently for a while after they split from the other boys. The hills and trees were all filled with flowers. White sampaguita, red santan, and yellow petals swayed in the breeze and fell into ponds. Halfway home it was Talo that broke the silence.

“We’ll have to eat a big dinner at the festival, kuya. I only got through half my lunch before you ruined it. Couldn’t keep your big head out of trouble again, huh?”

“Talo you can make it back home without me, right?”

“Yes of course, but where are you going? I’m sorry, I was just joking.”

“It’s not you, I’m just going to get some things ready. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait are you not going to celebrate with us tonight? We’ll be sitting at the big table, you saw Dad yesterday, his group brought down the biggest boar out of everyone! We’ll get to eat anything we want!”

“There’s more to life than food, idiot.”

Silently Talo wondered if that was true or not.

Sinukuan let out one of his frequent sighs, “Thank you for trying to calm me down, but you don’t know the Dragons like I do.”

“Why are you always so mysterious kuya? If I don’t know something, just tell me!”

For a moment, the young man seemed to struggle with something inside himself. Like when you can’t decide if it smells bad or not, Talo thought. Suddenly Sinu’s his face showed he had come to a decision.

“Fine. If you want to know about the Dragons, come to Unggoy’s house outside of town. You can learn what dad doesn’t tell us about the Dragons. Sneak off when mom is watching the ceremony, during the call of the birds. Dad will be too drunk by then; you’ll be back before they notice you missing.”

Talo felt a little uneasy at this, dad told him that Unggoy was a troublemaker and to avoid speaking with him. “I don’t know…are you sure it is safe there? Mom says he uses dark magic.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there too. I promise no one will hurt you while I’m around.”

This made Talo feel a bit better. After all, Sinu was the best fighter he knew. Besides, it was thrilling to find out something that dad didn’t want them too. He would make it to Unggoy’s tonight no matter what.

Many people came from all over the islands for the Festival of Flowers. Their village was a popular destination for the festival and home to a shrine to Lakapati, the goddess of fertility. Lakapati taught the people how to farm and take care of the land. The people built the shrine to commemorate the event. It was a raised stone platform that rose out of the ground ten feet tall. In the center was a bronze statue of the goddess, twice the height of any in the village.

Talo's family was seated at the center table at the foot of the statue. Talo told his parents that Sinukuan would be skipping the celebrations. His father looked away in disgust, determined to not let this ruin the night, and turned to get started on his drinks. His mother looked with concern but decided not to press Talo with questions on his brother’s actions. And so, the Festival was underway, drinks were shared, songs were sung, and laughs were had by all. Talo ate his fill, and then ate some more. Eventually it was time to call the birds.

The villagers took out wood flutes, almost everyone had one. Talo never participated as his hands were always too greasy from the feast to play correctly. If he left quickly he might be able to catch the end of the ceremony.

Talo ran as fast as he could, spurred on by the excitement of doing something he knew could get him in trouble. Past the village center where most people would be, past Talo’s modest house where he grew up his entire life, and even past the farms, at the edge of Talo’s known world, was the lone hut of Unggoy, the Monkey.

It was larger than he expected. Talo thought it strange as everyone knew the Monkey had no family and he lived alone. The adrenaline left his body as he reached the front door. He was tired from all the running, and it was fully dark out. The moon hid behind a cover of clouds. The only light came from inside the hut. Talo hesitated for a second but finally opened the door when he heard the sound of voices inside.

A group of about ten young men sat around a fire inside. They had grim looks on their faces. Most were from the village, but there were a couple of unfamiliar faces. In the middle was a man that Talo knew could only be Unggoy. He was much older than the rest, and hunched over the fire with his eyes shut, muttering something to himself. Talo saw Sinu and made his way towards him, sitting awkwardly. He realized that he was by far the youngest in the room, most being Sinu’s age or older.

Unggoy opened his eyes, “Finally you made it Talo. You are the last, we can begin our story.”

“When the Dragons came across the seas, the prideful Datu set aside old grievances to protect their homeland. They gathered their warriors on the beaches to meet them, believing that their full might could defeat any foe. Never before had so many clans come together against a single foe.

Their shields were decorated with symbols of their individual clans and villages the warriors called home. To fill them with pride and heritage.

On their arms and faces were painted the sun and twin blades of Apolaki, the god of war and death. To inspire strength for the battle ahead.

Tied to their armor, or perhaps tucked away out of sight, were small tokens for a loved one, a toy for a child or a flower yet to be gifted. To remind them for what they fought.

The Dragons sailed across the seas on ships of dark wood and bright painted sails. The fronts of their ships were fashioned to resemble a serpent’s head in a roar. And out of the open maw, streaks of flame burst forth. The fire burned the tree line the warriors had used as cover, forcing them onto the sand in a brave charge. They made easy targets for the crossbowmen shooting down from their tall ships. The lucky warriors that scaled to the top of the decks met them in a fierce melee. The warriors had been survivors of many battles, they knew how to find gaps in the seams of chain armor and to strike at the exposed face of an enemy. There were no gaps to find, the invaders wore plated steel armor well-fitted to the warrior. Their faces were not left bare to showcase the warrior’s bravery but were hidden behind helmets designed to match the serpent breathing fire. And so too did these serpents’ breath fire, turning to ash wooden shields, brave faces, and lost tokens.”

Talo turned to his brother and saw a familiar look in his eye, and he felt scared.