Black Clouds in Manila: After the Ashes: Book 3

By Tessie Jayme

The Japanese are on the defensive as General Douglas MacArthur infiltrates the Philippines to organize liberation of the Filipino people from Japanese occupation. When the Japanese learn that Torio has joined the guerrillas, they actively go after his family in a retaliatory maneuver. Rissing is on the run in the Philippine jungles. Defended by a little Aeta hunter her family adopts, her friend’s teenage sons, and her own two pre-teen boys, Rissing is on the run. Her group battles Japanese patrols even as Rissing goes into labor with her fifth child. Torio rescues his family and they make it to safety.

As MacArthur makes his promised return, the Filipino people prepare for the battle to reclaim their country. In Manila, a pregnant Lucing says goodbye to her Camp Commander lover at Santo Tomas, knowing she will probably never see him again. On February 3, 1945, Santo Tomas is liberated by American troops. On September 2, 1945, the Japanese officially surrender to the Americans.

The separations, challenges and intense events of the war has frayed and torn the fabric of Torio and Rissing’s marriage, but somehow it has survived. However, back in a virtually destroyed Manila, Rissing decides that this dark and shadowed place is not where her children should grow up. It’s not that she’s abandoning her beloved Philippines. She is merely designing a better future for her children, and that means setting her sights on America… land of the free.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE SEQUEL TO THESE BOOKS: “BLUE SKIES IN AMERICA”

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483525778

Book preview

Translations

PROLOGUE

On the surface, the Filipino people followed the rules and regulations imposed on them by their Japanese oppressors. But even as they bowed and humbled themselves to the Japanese, they were joining guerrilla bands and doing everything they could to revolt against the enemy occupation.

Through it all, Torio and Rissing Santos do whatever they feel necessary to keep their family intact and whole. During the Santos family’s stay in the Capiz mining encampment, Torio assists the guerrillas, and when rumors of General MacArthur’s return become more rampant, they leave the encampment, preparing for the next battle which will return the Philippine islands to its own people.

Beleaguered but not destroyed, one more day of survival is one more day of transcending the spiritual, moral, and physical oppression of the enemy among them.

And so the story continues...

CHAPTER 27

ON THE RUN

Malinao, Philippines, 1944

As far as Dara was concerned, there was no woman on earth who deserved her respect and admiration more than her friend Rissing. She watched as Rissing consistently made decision after decision which somehow always turned out for the best. The way she'd confronted the camp Commander... ay apo! She'd never met a woman before like Rissing.

But then her experience was limited. Her own mother was like a puppet controlled by her father. It wouldn’t occur to her mother to question anything her father said. Nanay was sweet and obedient. Like Rissing, she had a compassionate heart, but she didn’t have the strong-minded way of thinking where she'd ever act on it... not the way Rissing did.

Watching Nanay’s behavior with Tatay, Dara thought that was the way it was supposed to be. It had never occurred to her to think differently than the way she witnessed personally.

When she had met the young boy from two farms over who'd treated her so nicely, she was immediately swept up by his kindness. He'd told her she was pretty. No one had ever told her that before. Certainly her parents hadn’t. When he'd suggested she take her clothes off in the barn and he did things to her, she'd loved his attention.

Then after she told him she was going to have his baby, he'd disappeared. Tatay had been furious with her. Nanay said nothing, so Dara had assumed her mother felt the same way as her father. Together, they'd made her feel ashamed and sinful. Then she'd had her baby, and she had something of her own to love and cherish.

At first, she assumed her daughter would grow up quiet and submissive like Nanay and herself. But, from the beginning, Serena had a mind of her own. She was social and from the time she could walk and talk, she was out making friends with the neighboring children and was exposed to people with very different personalities than her own mother, and her mother’s parents. She would ask Dara, "Why does Lelong treat me so mean, Inay? Talia’s Lelong treats her so nice and picks her up and kisses her."

Dara didn’t know how to answer these questions, but she learned from them. Not all people were like her parents. At first she'd thought it was because her parents were Ilocano and other parents were Cebuano or Visayan or from some other island.

She was an only child and didn’t have the muscle her father sometimes needed to work their small farm, so he'd hired Enrique, a third son of a farmer several miles away.

Enrique was a quiet, brooding man. He worked hard and after a while became indispensable to the farm. He saw this and asked Dara to marry him. She jumped at the chance, and Tatay gave them some land to build their own hut. At last she didn’t have to deal with their implicit daily rejection.

A week after their marriage, Enrique came home after spending time with his brothers drinking tuba they'd made. He took her to bed in such a rough and hurtful way that she got scared and tried to leave the bed. He'd grabbed her and slapped her until she didn’t dare move.

The next morning she had bruises on her face and body. When they were alone, Serena, who was now 14 years old, whispered to her, Ma, we have to get away from him.

"We can’t. Where will we go? I don’t want to go back to your Lelong’s house."

When Dara’s own father saw her, he'd nodded, You must've done something to anger Enrique. I hope you've learned your lesson.

The only lesson Dara had learned was that she'd chosen a man whose temper couldn’t be controlled. Once, in the morning, after a rough night with Enrique, Serena saw her and gasped, Ma, around your eyes... it’s all black and blue. Dara hadn’t even wanted to look in the mirror.

When Enrique came in for his breakfast, Serena had turned on him, "Why'd you hit Inay?" Without answering, he'd slapped Serena so hard she'd fallen to the ground. Dara had thrown herself on top of Serena, holding her down so Enrique couldn’t hit her again. That was when she knew someday she'd leave him. Even when Felita was born, she remained resolved that she would escape him at the first opportunity.

Then the war had come, and Enrique had gone off to fight, and Dara thanked God for each day that he didn’t return. He escaped when Bataan surrendered and came back home, feverish with dengue and thinner than she'd ever seen him.

She nursed him back to health, but he had nightmares and often woke up in the middle of the night, reliving some terrible thing he had experienced during his days in the jungles fighting the Japanese.

Meanwhile, her parents' farm had suffered. The Japanese had taken their corn crop and hadn’t left them with enough seed to plant for the next harvest.

So Enrique signed them up for work in the Capiz mines, where Dara met Rissing. Now she and Serena were free of her husband. For that, she would be thankful to her friend Rissing forever. She hoped Enrique would be as happy to be rid of her as she was of him. That way, he wouldn’t try to come after her and their daughter, Felita.

Being a part of Rissing’s life now was educating her in ways she never imagined. She saw how Rissing not only had the courage of conviction to stand up to her husband, but even to powerful men like the Commander! Never in her life would she have imagined a woman doing that.

Then when she saw the way Torio respected her and always tried to protect her, she was filled with an envy that nearly made her weep. No man had ever treated her with that kind of respectful regard.

Then there was the fact that nothing was too big a problem for Rissing to solve. Dara was sure that if Rissing had been the one married to Enrique, she would have left him after the first beating from the man.

Dara felt her own beliefs changing, her courage blossoming within her, and her convictions becoming clear and strong. She had a prime example to show her the way. Rissing was her example, and she felt herself fortunate that God had finally listened to her prayers and sent her a guide to show her the way.

* * * * *

Two weeks after Torio joined the guerrillas, Rissing still hadn’t heard anything from him. While she missed him, she was accustomed to being on her own and in control of things.

In fact, his absence reminded her once again what a perfect partner he was for her. He understood the order she wanted in her life, and he tried to provide it for her as much as possible.

While he did his share in guiding and educating their children, he accepted that she was the primary caregiver, and that her word was law in the family. When he disagreed with what she was teaching the children, which wasn’t often, he discussed his feelings with her, and usually, when she explained what she was doing and why, he was reasonable and flexible about it.

Soon Rissing would give birth to their fifth child. From the shape of her stomach and the movements in her womb, she felt sure this was going to be a girl. Torio had already agreed that she would name this child, and she'd already come up with a few different names.

Staying with Torio’s parents had proven to be a blessing in so many ways. They weren’t perfect. They were only in their mid-60’s, but with Rafing assuming the leadership of the maintenance of the farm, they tended to have too much spare time, which they tended to devote to drinking tuba.

Her parents would never have relinquished power like that while they were still alive. Especially Papa.

She told herself it was none of her business, and there was no point discussing it with Torio. So she accepted his parents as they were and reciprocated their hospitality and kindness with hard work. Torio was certainly looking out for his parents' welfare while they were here... more so than Torio’s other brothers, who lived close enough to provide better support than Torio could.

On her part, Rissing made sure that Dara, Connie and their children always contributed to the farm. Babaah and the boys, as well as Chito and Domingo, helped feed the pigs and chickens. They went out in the fields every day to pull weeds that would compromise the cassava tubers, and had repaired the fence around the perimeter of the farm. In another month, the tubers would be ready for harvesting, then sold to a factory, which would process the cyanide toxins out of them and further refine them for making flour, teas and juices.

Connie had confided in her that Chito and Domingo wanted to join the Rissing told Connie, You and Dara and your children are welcome to stay with me as long as you want.

As Rissing had suspected, a romance had blossomed between Domingo and Lessie, and they wanted to get married, but Lessie wanted to go back to Banga first so her father could meet Domingo and give his approval.

So far, nothing definite had been decided, and Rissing didn’t want to worry about any of it until the baby was born... which could happen any day now.

Dara and Connie were outside, washing clothes, and Serena and Lessie were in the main room playing with the little girls. Rissing was in the kitchen, keeping an eye on the rice cooking on the stove Torio had made for her.

She thought it was one of the best stoves Torio had made. His stint with the Capiz Boys in building homes had taught him a lot.

The stove was built of bamboo, then packed with dirt. Two sets of large stones had been arranged on the surface, such that an opening between the stones left room for twigs to be burnt. Four kettles could be heated at the same time. It was bigger than the one they had in Capiz, which only provided for two kettles at a time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside.

JoJo and Ramon came running up to the hut, shouting, Mama, someone wants to talk to you!

A thin, dark-eyed boy with a shadow of a mustache above his mouth, looked inside the hut, eyes wild, Manang Rissing, the Japanese are coming to get you. You have to leave. Right now.

Rissing took the rice kettle off the stones, set it aside, and walked to the doorway. Why?

It was apparent the young boy had been running hard, I'm Ernesto Camcam from the farm a few miles away. They've captured some guerrillas who've talked. They know your husband is a guerrilla and they're coming for you and your family. They took my parents and... Here he stopped, his voice catching in a desperate sob, ...if my brothers don’t surrender, the Japanese are going to execute Papa... maybe Mama too...

What are you going to do?

I don’t' know! I have to get back. And he turned and ran back towards the road.

Rissing made her decisions, "JoJo, run and tell Lolo and Lola what Ernesto said. Ramon, you run to Tio Rafing and tell him the same. Then find Chito and Domingo. They have to come home now. She called out to Dara and Connie, Pack what you need. We'll have to go into the woods to hide. She turned to Serena and Lessie, You too. Hurry!"

Serena asked, How much should we pack?

Just clothes. You'll have to carry your bundle yourself. We're going to Banga... She looked at Lessie, to your father’s farm. They won’t know about Torio there.

By now, Rissing had learned to have an evacuation bundle packed and ready for herself and her family. She had advised Connie and Dara to do the same, so final preparations wouldn’t take long. She'd packed Torio’s large take some things out... sheets and blankets mostly, because Domingo would have to carry it and he wasn’t as strong as Torio. Then, the only thing left to pack was food.

JoJo was the first one back, "Mama, Lolo says there’s a cave in the woods where everyone can hide until the Japanese go away."

She thought about it. If they stayed, that would mean Lolo, Lola, CingCing, Sola, Rafael, Elena and their five children all crowded together in a cave. She didn’t know the size of the cave, but she doubted it was big enough to hold so many people for however long. In a tight, underground space... no, she didn’t like the feel of it.

It didn’t feel like the right thing to do. Once inside, they would have no option but to stay put. If they were on the run, they had many options where to go and what to do. She decided her group was running.

"Go back and tell Lolo Maning we're not staying."

When Chito, Babaah and Domingo arrived, they were assigned bundles to carry, and within twenty minutes of Ernesto’s warning, they headed for the woods.

Domingo carried the duffle bag, as well as another heavy bundle slung across his chest and at his side. He carried a spear which Babaah had made for him.

His brother Chito carried Felita on his back, as well as his own smaller bundle. His strength had improved after Rissing had forced him to drink two cups of tea made from lagundi leaves every day. His cough had disappeared and he'd gained a few pounds. Like Domingo, he carried a spear in his hand.

Tonia was bundled against Babaah’s back, and across his chest and slung at his side was his own small personal pack. Five-year-old Flora would have to walk on her own, but if she got tired, they could reapportion their bundles and take turns carrying her on their backs.

Ramon had the family gun in his personal bundle, and JoJo carried the bolo knife slung on his back. Everyone else had their own packs.

At the edge of the woods, she looked back and memorized the scene: The new hut barely broken in, the coconut trees surrounding it, their wet clothes flapping on the clothesline beside the hut, and in the distance, Lolo’s hut.

Diyos ko. She prayed her baby wouldn’t decide to be born yet. Now was not a good time for such things.

As she entered the woods, she heard the whisper of a voice. It was Kal. Stay calm... the voice murmured soothingly, ...you will know what to do when the time comes.

* * * * *

When only two men returned from the six-man guerrilla excursion in Poblacion and they confirmed that the Japanese had captured three others and killed one, Torio knew things were about to get really bad for the relatives of the captured guerrillas. If the captured men were driven to confess who the other guerrilla members were, all of their families would be endangered.

Immediately, he considered getting back to Rissing and his parents. On the other hand, if all members of the various guerrilla bands dispersed each time their families were endangered, there wouldn’t be any guerrillas at all.

Wasn’t it the point of this resistance that they refuse to be manipulated by incidents such as this?

Other men with families were staying the course. He could do no less. He had to trust that his parents knew how to take care of themselves and their farm.

As for Rissing, he knew she had probably already considered this outcome and was prepared to act immediately to protect their children and her friends. His biggest concern was the fact that Rissing was due to deliver any day now. Again, he forced himself to trust that Rissing’s luck would hold out and she and the children would overcome this latest challenge.

His brother Liso’s unit leader, Osario Mangduyan, was an old, scarred veteran whose left eye had been blinded in battle. He wore a patch over his eye and his men called him Bulag (blind), an appellation which he welcomed with a sardonic grin.

Bulag thought it was a bad idea for the three brothers to stay together in the same unit... that it might impair their judgment under certain critical conditions. He accepted young Tonio in his group but sent Torio back to Lt. Felipe Campana, whose headquarters was in the Malinao municipality, in the woods near Poblacion barangay.

Torio was happy with this, since Malinao was where his family lived. Liso had started out as part of the Malinao group, but Bulag had persuaded him he'd be more effective the further he got away from his family because he'd be less vulnerable to extortion.

For most of 1942 when Major Hanks had been assembling his guerrillas in Capiz, Lt. Felipe had been organizing his own guerrilla units as well in the Aklan province.

In 1943, thanks to re-established radio communication, the two soldiers who'd battled together had touched base and agreed to coordinate their efforts on behalf of the island of Panay.

Like Torio, Lt. Felipe had been in the Philippine Scouts. He had escaped the Bataan death march by pretending to be dead beneath a pile of other dead soldiers. When a nearby village came to collect dead bodies left behind by the Japanese, they nursed him back to health, and after a month, he returned to Malinao to organize a resistance guerrilla group.

He was only a few years older than Torio – a stern-faced Filipino with crew-cut, graying hair over a square face and black eyes.

The Lieutenant had confirmed that he had received Major Hanks' radio message about Torio. He told Torio that the guerrillas scattered throughout Panay were finally organizing, agreeing to report to a leader in each province, with those leaders recognizing Major Hanks as overall commander in the island of Panay.

After fifteen minutes of talking, Lt. Felipe had met Torio’s eyes with unwavering authority, "We need to train and educate recruits coming in every day who have no military experience at all. Most of them come from farms

Torio didn’t hesitate. He accepted the assignment.

Most recruits were sent to Lt. Felipe’s main headquarters in Malinao; however, Felipe gave him free rein in his job, and Torio often traveled with patrols to train recruits in other locations. He liked this because it gave him a chance to study and know the woods.

Aside from the four guerrilla units in the Aklan province who acknowledged Lt. Felipe as their leader, there were still two or three smaller guerrilla units who wanted to remain independent. The Lieutenant admitted to Torio that his goal was to ultimately persuade those rogue units to accept his command.

In the two weeks since he'd joined, Torio had traveled and trained in all four Aklan camps under Lt. Felipe’s leadership, including Bulag’s unit in Madalag, and those in Tangalan and Banga. During his travels, he took time to educate himself, committing to memory the caves, streams, and watering holes where he could hide if he needed to.

Since his swimming days a decade ago, he'd kept up his breathing exercises, holding his breath for minutes at a time. It was a habit now and second nature to him. This was a personal habit, something he felt compelled to do because of his strong swimming background. It wasn’t necessarily something he taught his new guerrilla recruits. What he did teach them was that it was just good sense to know the terrain. If you were being chased by enemy, it never hurt to know good hiding places.

In his experience, watering holes were fed not only by surface streams flowing downhill, but sometimes by artesian aquifers.

So far, he'd found three such holes during his travels from one unit to the next. These holes were usually close to the unit’s base camp, and in fact the fish they provided was probably a factor in the camp’s location choice.

After investigating the holes, he'd discovered that two underwater tunnels were large enough for him to swim into. One led to an underground cave about six feet high and ten feet wide. During a heavy rain storm, it might fill up, but since it was inside the mountain at a higher level than the watering hole, it would eventually empty out into the water table of the fishing hole below.

The second tunnel had a small area where rocks formed a ceiling three or four feet above water level. There were cracks in the rock ceiling where light seeped through, and some areas were even covered with algae. The algae would take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen... which meant if he needed a place to hide, the air might be good enough to keep him alive for several hours.

It didn’t take him long to find his niche among the guerrilla units. His inherent sense of fairness, his common-sense approach to life, and his sense of humor quickly assured his acceptance among the men.

Then the Japanese had intercepted and captured those men in Poblacion. It took all of Torio’s discipline to stay calm and focused while he waited to hear more news about the captured men from the units closest to where his family lived.

Finally, a few days after the event, someone in Poblacion managed to send a radio message to headquarters. The prisoners had given up Torio Santos and three other men to the Japanese. The prisoners had been executed after their confessions.

Two of the named men’s families lived in Poblacion; the parents of the first man and a 16-year-old son of the second man had been executed. The third named man’s family lived in Capataga and had escaped.

Torio’s own family in Navitas – parents, siblings, wife and children – had also escaped and so far hadn’t been captured.

His family, then, had been warned in time. If any of them were discovered, they could still be executed, but so far... salamat sa diyos... they were all still alive.

* * * * *

Dara kept a careful eye on Rissing as they moved through the woods. She hated walking through the forest, with the ground covered with ferns and buildup of moist leaves and soft earth. You never knew when a snake was going to come slithering out. Or how deep you'd sink with the next step. Or whether you'd step on soft earth or a dead branch. Or if there was water underneath the leaves.

Ahead of her, she watched Rissing moving behind Babaah with no hesitation or fear. She forced herself to follow, because she wanted to be as brave as Rissing.

Dara knew Babaah was careful to use his spear, jabbing the ground ahead to chase away snakes which might be hiding under the brush. But that didn’t guarantee anything. Dara had been bitten once when she was 12 years old and had almost died. She hated the woods.

Whenever they stopped to rest, Babaah scouted ahead and was usually back by the time the rest of the group was ready to move on. She didn’t know when the little Aeta ever stopped to rest, but he must be resting, because as far as Dara could see, Babaah never got tired.

Back in Capiz, Dara had considered him just another pugot living by the good grace of the Santos family. In her mind, Aetas were nothing but crude and ignorant aborigines... itinerant travelers who didn’t hesitate to steal food and supplies.

She'd never voiced her opinion to Rissing because it wasn’t in her nature, and she sensed it might offend Rissing, who treated the Aeta with respect and consideration.

Now she noticed even more how Rissing trusted Babaah with her life and the lives of her children. She wasn’t sure she was prepared to do that herself, but she did trust Rissing, and for now, that was good enough.

Rissing had told them they were trying to get to Banga, where she owned some land, and Babaah was taking them there through the woods. Dara wished they could just take the road, but they wouldn’t be able to hide fast enough from the Japanese patrolling the roads.

Guerrilla activity had increased, and so Japanese patrols had increased proportionately to keep them at bay.

Ahead of her, Rissing suddenly stopped, placing both hands over the

Dara moved up beside her, Should we take a break? Are you all right?

Huwag ka mag-alala. And Rissing moved on.

Remembering her own pregnancies, Dara thought that the baby was probably restless with all the walking Rissing was doing. She hoped it didn’t make the baby come sooner.

Just before it got dark, Babaah returned to say there was a stretch of swamp just ahead. He suggested they go around it, but Rissing was reluctant to lose time and miles, so when Babaah assured them the water wasn’t deep, they decided they would move through it rather than around it.

Serena, slightly taller and sturdier than Dara, offered to carry Flora on her back. Babaah said he was stronger, so they rearranged bundles. Babaah took the heavier Flora on his back, Serena took Tonia, and Dara and Connie each added one of Serena’s bundles to their own.

As long as her back carried the bulk of her bundles, Dara knew she could do it.

They began to smell the swamp before they could see it. It was at the bottom of a long slope where the water had nowhere to go, so it just stagnated in place until