Hiraya
"Haliya, you nearly gave us a heart attack. You asked us to look for your favorite mangoosteen even if it was not in season only to find you gone," Kala sniffed and was teary-eyed as she combed my hair after changing my clothes into maroon malong stitched with gold thread on the edge. Kala maiden who was ten years older than me and devoted her life to serving me since I was five years old, complained. We were at the haliya’s hut to prepare me for my visit to the balanghay.
"Did you really plan that so you can escape? Do you know that your father will punish us?" Maya, another maiden who took care of me since I was a baby, asked me while rubbing my feet with essential oils. "Have mercy on us. We only want to serve you well. Do we deserve to get punished for following the haliya?"
