Heshiena's Point of View

Nakatingin lamang ako sa kawalan nang ilang segundo. Pinupuri ang kalmadong panahon. Pinapakalma nito ang puso't isipan ko. Nabalik ako sa reyalidad nang marinig ko ang pagtikhim ni Miss Meriam. Doon ko napansin ang mga isinulat niya sa white board.

Binilang ko ito gamit ang aking isip.

Sa ibabaw ng labing-tatlong nakalista ay may paksang nakasulat doon. It says Mythical Creatures. Muli na naman akong nananabik. May iilang mythical creatures na akong alam katulad na lamang ng mga centaurs, satyrs, nymphs, cyclops, hekatonkeires o mas kilala bilang hundred handed, at ang mga pegasus.

"Minotaur." The words glowed in gold when Miss Meriam uttered it. "When King Minos of Crete failed to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon, the god caused his wife, Pasiphae, to lust after the animal. She conceived the Minotaur." My face was quick to grimace.

I heard Ace rambling sound of disgust. Habang si Miss Meriam naman ay napapikit habang tumatango-tango. When she opened her eyes, she decided to continue.

"From this union, a terrible child was born," she paused. "Ano'ng hitsura nito?" tanong niya sa klase.

"A monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man," puno ng kumpiyansang sagot ni Blaze.

Miss Meriam nodded in proud. "King Minos, not able to kill the monster and further displease Poseidon, confined it in a labyrinth. A great labyrinth, built by the great architect and inventor Daedalus and his son Icarus, served as a prison for the horrible creature," she concluded.

After Miss Meriam done telling us a brief history of Minotaur, the word written on the whiteboard mythically disappeared. Kasunod naman nito ay itinuro niya ang kasunod. Just like the first one, it glowed in gold.

"Lernaean Hydra was another child of Typhon and Echidna." Huminto muna si Miss Meriam upang tignan niya ulit kami sa mata. Alam kong may paparating na tanong. "Who is Typhon and Echidna?" she asked. "I hope you all still remember them."

Blaze once again raised his hand to answer. Miss Meriam pretended she didn't see him. Tila naghihintay na may ibang gustong sumagot.

She sighed in defeat, and let Blaze answer the question. "Typhon is the last and most powerful child of the earth goddess, Gaea, and is also known as the storm giant or the father of all monsters," he answered the first one. "Echidna, on the other hand, was a wife of Typhon, who mothered almost every major and minor horrible monster," he continued.

Napatango si Miss Meriam sa naging sagot ni Blaze. Pagkatapos ay tinapunan niya kami ng napaka-seryosong tingin. Tila ba'y pinapahiwatig niyang dapat namin itong tularan. Talaga nga namang nakakamangha 'pag anak ka ni Athena.

I heard Chry clicked her tongue.

"The Lernaean Hydra is a horrible sea monster with serpentine features and has numerous snake heads. When someone cut off one head, two others sprouted in their place," panimula ni Miss Meriam. "The monster lived in Lerna, Argolis, and spent her time torturing the world," she added.

Gaya rin ng nauna, pagkatapos ni Miss Meriam sa pangalawang mythical creature, biglang nawala ang salitang nakasulat sa white board. This time, Miss Meriam didn't read the next one. Instead, she pointed her index finger into it. As usual, it glowed gold.

"Hippalektryons or also known as rooster ponies." My eyes grew wider in admiration. The first two that Miss Meriam introduced to us were quite scary, I must say. But this! I think it's cute. "They are an endangered species of horse-chicken-like monsters."

The teacher raised his index finger. Telling us to stay focus. Napansin yata niya na may iba sa 'min na inaantok. Because I saw Ace and Fuego in my peripheral vision that they both flinched after what they heard from Miss Meriam.

She cleared her throat first before proceeding, "these creatures have the front of a horse and the back half of a rooster. Their rear feet have huge yellow claws. Their tails are feathery and their wings are red," she described.

Habang ako naman ay hindi mapigilang mapangiti. I pictured them out, that's why. Now I've started to think about the feeling of seeing them in person. And riding them as our transportation. I think that would be wonderful.

"Scylla," banggit ni Miss Meriam sa kasunod na creature na ituturo niya sa amin. "She was the daughter of Phorkys and Keto, once a beautiful nymph that god Poseidon longed for." That caught my attention.

"The jealous Amphitrite." Napapikit ako ng aking mata dahil alam na alam ko na kung saan ito patungo. "Poseidon's partner, turned her into a monster, poisoning her bathing water." Hindi na ako nagulat pa dahil pare-pareho lang ang mga diyos.

Driven with jealousy and revenge.

Wala rin namang pinagkaiba ang mga ordinaryong mga tao.

"She had a body of fish, a female upper torso, and dog heads protruding from her neck." My face was quick to grimaced when I imagined her face when Miss Meriam described her. Kanina ay na-cute-an pa ako sa mga Hippalektryons, pero ngayon parang ayokong naising makita siya. "She haunted the rocks of a narrow strait opposite the whirlpool of another terrible monster, Charybdis,"

The word Scylla instantaneously disappeared, but Charybdis glowed in gold at the same time.

"Si Charybdis ay isa pang nakakatakot na babaeng halimaw. Dati siyang Magandang giantess, ang anak nina Poseidon at Gaea. She takes the form of a huge mouth that swallows great amounts of water and debris three times a day, na lumilikha ng maraming malalaking whirlpool." Miss Meriam paused and roamed her eyes around in the class.

Checking her students if we are still awake.

"Next would be Telkhines." Napahinto si Miss Meriam nang biglang umalingawngaw ang malakas na paghikab ni Ace. When he realized, he smiled awkwardly. "Now." Biglang sumeryoso ang boses niya. Tila ba'y disappointed siya. "Ace, tell me about Telkhines."

It took Ace a couple of seconds to shake his head. A sign that he didn't know the answer. Muli na namang napailing si Miss Meriam. After that, she called Blaze to answer instead. Mabilis ang pagtayong nagawa ni Blaze habang namutawi ang ngiti sa labi.

"Telekhines are mysterious smiths and sea demons native to the islands of Keos and Rhodes," panimula niya. He cleared his throat first before continuing. "May mga mukha sila tulad ng isang aso, may itim na nguso, brown eyes, at matutulis na tenga. Ang katawan nila ay malambot at kulay itim tulad ng mga seal."

"Fully grown adult Telekhine can be at least seven feet tall. They bark and growl, and they waddle instead of walking," Blaze concluded his explanation with another informative one.

Tanging nagawa lamang ni Miss Meriam ay tumanga-tango. She couldn't conceal a proud smile on her lips. Nang mapansin niyang nakatitig kami sa kaniya ay napawi ang ngiti niya. Sinundan naman nito ay pagtikhim.

"What creature has a lion's body, bird's wings and a female head?" she asked the class. Kinabahan kaagad ako. "Siya ay taksil at walang awa na halimaw na pumapatay at kumakain ng mga hindi makasagot sa kaniyang bugtong," pagbigay niya sa amin ng clue.

Nagtaas ng kamay si Blaze, as usual. "I want others to answer," she said. Kaagad namang tumango si Blaze.

Dumaan ang ilang segundo ay biglang nagtaas ng kamay si Zuki. "This creature was stopping passers-by out of the Greek city of Thebes and asked them to answer her riddle. The riddle was: Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and then three-footed?" He gave us another brief explanation of the creature.

Tinapunan ni Zuki si Miss Meriam ng isang ngiti sa labi. In response, she crossed her arms. Tila ba'y hinahamon niya si Zuki. In Zuki's defense, he closed his eyes.

"It's a sphinx," he finally uttered the creature's name.

Our teacher smiled. "Very well," she said. Muli niya kaming tinapunan ng tingin. "This creature had three heads: a lion's body and a head, a tail that ended up in a snake's head, and in the middle of her back came a goat's neck and head."

While speaking, she was walking back and forth. Hindi naman nawala ang naka-krus niyang mga braso. Ang mga tingin niya'y mas lalong lumalaim. Hinahamon kaming lahat. Me, on the other hand, couldn't help but to gulp in nervous.

"This creature is also the daughter of Typhon and Echidna, it is said that she could breathe fire from her mouth," dagdag niya. "What beast I am talking about?" tanong na niya naman sa klase.

Si Blei na mismo ang nagtaas ng kamay. "It's chimera, Miss," sagot niya kaagad.

Napatango si Miss Meriam sa sagot niya. Kasunod naman nito ang muling pagngiti niya. Tumingin siya sa white board. Maging ako ay gano'n din ang nagawa. There are five remaining names of creatures listed on the board.

"Mavros," she suddenly called him by his name. "Perhaps, you could tell us about Cerberus, hmm?" tanong niya.

Napalingon ako sa taong nakaupo sa likuran ko. Napapikit siya ng mata. Sumunod naman ang pagbuntonghininga niya bago sumagot.

"Cerberus is the eldest child of Typhon and Echidna, and the only one who works for the Olympians directly, being fiercely loyal to his master, Hades," panimula pa ni Mavros. "He is standing guard at the Gates of the Underworld, making sure that no dead soul would escape and no living man would enter the realm of the dead," he continued.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw he crossed his arms. Tiningnan niya kami sa mata na tila nananakot.

"He is gigantic black. Mayroon siyang tatlong ulo sa isang katawan. Like his sister, the Chimera, he also has a snake for a tail. Cerberus wears a chain collar with three holes and has blood-red eyes, razor-sharp teeth and nails," he described.

Tumango si Miss Meriam pagkatapos sumagot ni Mavros. "But!" Napaalerto kaming lahat nang biglang tumaas ang boses niya. "Cerberus fathered all hellhounds in the underworld," she added.

"Moving on!" Muli niyang pagtaas ng kaniyang boses. Marahil ay 'yon ang pamamaraan niya upang panatilihin kaming gising. I mean, majority of us were sleepy. I even heard Chry's scornful clicking sound of her tongue. "Does any of you here ring a bell about the Furies?" she asked the class.

Of course, unang nagtaas ng kamay si Blaze. If any of us knows everything, it's likely the children of Athena. Pero kung nandito lang si Nkri, for sure, silang dalawa ang nagpapalitan ng sagot.

"The Furies, also known as the Erinyes, are spirits of vengeance who serve the god Hades." Well, another servants of Hades, I see. "They are his torturers in the underworld, and punish the crimes of the wicked." Napatango-tango ako. "Each Fury was sometimes represented as avenging a certain type of crime, such as crime, grudges, or murder."

Blaze paused for a while, and closed his eyes for about a couple of seconds. "Ironically enough, they are often referred to as the Kindly Ones, in order to remain safe from them," he continued.

Miss Meriam mouthed Blaze a thank you after he's back from sitting. Blaze just shrugged his shoulders and proudly held his head high.

"The Furies are Alecto, the angry, Megaera, the grudging, and Tisiphone, the avenger." Mabilis akong napasulat sa notes ko nang banggitin ni Miss Meriam ang mga pangalan nila. "Furies have a leathery wings like bats, claws, mouths full of huge yellow fangs, and glowing eyes," paglalarawan niya sa kanila.

After the Furies, Miss Meriam discussed the remaining three mythical creatures listed on the white board. Huli na 'yong tanong niya kay Blaze tungkol sa mga furies. Tila ba'y alam na niyang malapit ng matapos ang oras ng klase namin sa subject niya.

In her discussion, Kampê is the most fearsome and ferocious monster in all of Tartarus. Ito raw ang original jailer ng Tartarus. Maging sina Zeus, Poseidon, at Hades ay natakot sa halimaw na ito noong una nila itong makita. At ally raw ito ni Kronos.

Miss Meriam described her with a human head, with snakes of hair, like Medusa. She has a half human body, like a centaur, but with reptilian skin and a dragon half, with gigantic claws. She has a huge dark reptilian wings, a huge venom-dripping scorpion tail, and at the point where her halves meet, her skin bubbles and morphs.

She occasionally produces ferocious mutated animal heads that constantly change shape: bear, boar, wombat, tiger, crocodile, wolf, etc., like a gruesome, monstrous belt. Hundreds of violent darting vipers sprouted from her legs. Her eyelids blink sideways like a reptile's.

At first when Miss Meriam described her, I couldn't process it all. Dahil sa pagtaasan ng aking balahibo't takot sa katawan. No wonder why the big three shuddered with horror when they first time saw her.

Ang sumunod namang itinuro niya sa amin ang mga female reptilian creatures na may humanistic features. They are called Scythian Dracanae. Way back in time, the Scythian Dracaena once stole Hercules' horses and offered to return them to him if he slept with her. This resulted in three sons, one of which named Scythes became ruler of Scythia.

The last one she discussed is a Hippocampi.

She said, they are creatures that resemble a combination between a horse and fish. Dahil dito ay biglang nawala sa isipan ko ang magkasunod-sunod na katakot-takot na halimaw. And wishing to ride them somehow in the future.

Hippocampi are under the jurisdiction of my father, Poseidon. From their waist up have the body of a horse, and from the waist down, have silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow colored tail-fins. They were used to draw Poseidon's chariot and seafoam was created by their movement.

We heard Miss Meriam heave a sigh. Pagkatapos ay umupo siya sa upuan niya. "Ready in twenty minutes. We will be having an oral recitation," she said.

My mouth instantaneously fell upon the floor.