TAGALOG VERSION
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| English Version at the Bottom |
Sa buong sulok ng bayan at maging sa mga ibayong dako ay rinig ang tungkol sa kagandahan ng dalaga. Si Dahlia ay may mapupungay na mga mata, mahaba at itimang buhok, mapupulang mga labi at makinis na kutis. Dahil sa kanyang angking kagandahan, maraming mga binata ang naglalayong makuha ang kamay ng dalaga upang mapangasawa.
Ngunit si Dahlia ay mailap sa mga tao. Siya ay naninirahang mag-isa malayo sa kabahayan ng mga taong bayan. Tuwing may mga binatang umaaligid sa kanya at nais magtapat ng kaninlng pag-ibig, siya as nagtatago sa kanyang bahay. Hindi ito lalabas hanggang sa ang mga binata ay mawalan ng gana sa pag-aantay at mag-kusang umalis ng hindi nasisilayan ang dalaga.
Kadalasan, si Dahlia ay nagpupunta sa kakahuyan at doon namimitas ng mga ligaw na halaman na may mga magagandang bulaklak. Sa pag-uwi nya, itinatanim niya ang mga halaman sa kanyang hardin, kaya ang kanyang hardin ay puno ng mga magagandang bulaklak.
May isang binatang nakarining tungkol sa kagandahan ng dalaga at ng masilayan nya ito, si Juan ay nahalina kay Dahlia. Naging masugid si Juan sa panliligaw sa dalaga. Bagamat hindi siya hinaharap ng dalaga, hindi siya sumuko na kausapin at ipahayag ang kanyang pag-ibig. Alam ni Juan na naririnig ni Dahlia ang kanyang mga sinasambit.
Araw-araw dinadalaw ni Juan si Dahlia. Dahil napansin nito na mahilig ang dalaga sa mga bulaklak, araw-araw din itong may dalang mga bulaklak para sa kanya.
Ito ay nagpatuloy hanggang sa, dahil na rin sa mga bulaklak, unti-unting lumabas si Dahlia at nakipag-usap sa binata. Nahulog rin ang loob ng dalaga sa binata, hanggang sa sila ay naging magkasintahan at di nagtagal sila ay nagpasya sa pag-iisang dibdib.
Ngunit bago ang kanilang kasal, nag-paalam si Juan kay Dahlia na ito ay umuwi sa kanyang bayan upang mag-paalam ng maayos sa kanyang mga magulang. Kahit ayaw ni Dahlia na magkahiwalay sila ng matagal ni Juan, pumayag na rin ito. Ipinangako ni Juan na kaagad itong babalik kay Dahlia upang ituloy ang kasal.
Araw-araw na inantay ni Dahlia ang kasintahan. Lumipas ang mga araw at mga buwan, ngunit walang Juan ang bumalik.
Hanggang sa ang pag-aantay ay umabot ng isang taon, hindi na nakayanan ng dalaga ang kanyang hinagpis. Lumabas siya ng kanyang bahay sa kanyang magandang hardin. Lumuhod siya sa tabi ng kanyang mga tanim na bulaklak, nag-iiyak at maya-maya ay kinitil ang kanyang buhay sa pamamagitan ng pagtaga sa sarili ng isang tabak. Dumaloy ang dugo ni Dahlia sa mga bulaklak na nakapaligid sa kanya. Habang unti-unting nalalagutan ng hininga ang dalaga ay may isang anino ang nakitang parating. Si Juan ay nagbalik.
Ngunit huli na ang lahat, ang dalaga ay wala ng buhay. Nag-sisi si Juan pero hindi na nya maibabalik ang buhay ng magandang si Dahlia. Inilibing ang dalaga sa kakahoyan kung saan madalas siyang naglalagi.
Matapos ang ilang araw, ang mga bulaklak na dinaluyan ng dugo ni Dahlia ay nanatiling kulay pula. At kahit na maulanan ang mga ito, hindi pa rin mahugasan ang kulay ng mga ito. Mag mula noon, ang mga umusbong na mga bulaklak ay ganoon na ang naging kulay. Dahil sa napakaganda ng mga bulaklak at hindi matanggal ang pulang kulay na mantsa ng dugo ng dalaga, ang mga ito ay tinawag na Dahlia.
ENGLISH VERSION
THE LEGEND OF THE DAHLIA
A long time ago, there once was a damsel who was well known because of her exceptional beauty. Her name was Dahlia.
Her beauty was renowned in all the towns, barrios and even far beyond the shores of the Philippines. Her eyes captured the gaze of many admirers whenever they saw her. Her long flowing black hair, blood red lips and fair skin has made many a young man swoon and desire her even just in their dreams.
But there was something strange about Dahlia. She was not quite keen on mingling with other people. She lived far beyond the edges of her barrio and lived on her own. Whenever a young man tried to approach her, she went inside her home with nary a glance to leave back at the young man. She would not come out until the young men left, disappointed upon not having seen her.
She spent most of her time in the fringes of the woods where she'd pick up stray plants that have beautiful flowers. She'd bring them back to her garden and plant them with care. Her garden of flowers could make any gardener quite envious. Everywhere you looked, were dazzling colors and rainbows of flowers. The morning dew drops made tiny little prisms that made the sunlight dance and the flowers sway.
A young man heard of Dahlia's beauty and his name was Juan. Once, when Dahlia went to the market to buy food, Juan chanced upon her and was immediately captured by her beauty. He wasted no time in courting her and sending her flowers for he knew that she loved them all too dearly.
Unfortunately, Dahlia always ignored him and pretended that he was not there whenever he tried to speak to her. But he never gave up and patiently tried to come up with ways to get her attention. He'd muster up all of his courage for he was a shy young man, and approach her even though he knew that she would not talk to him.
Nevertheless, she liked the flowers and accepted them. Once, he thought that she'd steal a glance at him. Though when he tried to look back to see if she was looking at him, she'd quickly look the other way.
He smiled as he saw her cheeks turn pink.
His persistance and sensitivity rubbed off on Dahlia and she eventually gave in to his persistent monologues. He was reciting a poem whilst Dahlia was going over her flowers in her garden, when she corrected him about the words.
He was very surprised to hear her speak to him and couldn't hold back his glee.
From this moment on, Juan had the distinct privilege of being the only man that Dahlia would talk to other than the baker and the fish monger.
She found his witty charm and patient demeanor to be comforting and somewhat easy to be with unlike the other men who did nothing but brag about their prowess in hunting or chopping wood.
Eventually she also fell in love with Juan.
One starry night, Juan decided to surprise Dahlia by proposing to her. Dahlia was elated and said yes to Juan with no qualms at all.
But before they are to be wed, Juan needed to ask for his parents approval. His parents lived in the next barrio which was quite a long way from Dahlia's and the journey could take a few days. Having been with Juan for some time somewhat made Dahlia reluctant to part with him, even for just a little while. Juan promised that he'd go back as soon as he can after he got his parents approval.
Days and nights passed by with no Juan walking to Dahlia's home. Every morning, she'd wake up to open her window and try to see whether there was a new bouquet of flowers lying around near her porch. There was none.
Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months and finally a year. Still, there was no Juan who came back.
Dahlia was distraught for she knew not what happened to Juan. In her intense longing she walked around her garden with no direction and cried endlessly. She fell on her knees to the ground amongst the now wilted flowers which she has not tended to for a long time. She sobbed and cried and took her own life with a knife.
As she breathed her last breath, she sensed that there was a shadow of a man nearby. It was Juan. He came back but he was too late. Dahlia was able to get a last glimpse at Juan before her eyes then stared blankly into space.
Juan could not hold his pain and cried shamelessly before the lifeless body of Dahlia. Her blood flowed from her veins to the wilted flowers which made them blood red. Then the rain started to pour as Juan carried Dahlia away to bury her.
But the flowers that were stained with Dahlia's blood were still red. Even the rain was not able to wash off the color of Dahlia's love.
The next day, new buds began to appear beside the old ones. But unlike the others, these were far redder and more vibrant looking. To this day, the Dahlia remains vibrant and colorful, perhaps signalling the intense love that Dahlia had for Juan.
Researched and Rewritten by Lovedy
Translated and Formatted by Daniel Andrei Garcia
Researched and Rewritten by Lovedy
Translated and Formatted by Daniel Andrei Garcia
