The Third Reason

By J. B. Villegas Villegas

A story of love that was never meant to live yet refused to die

Set against the backdrop of one of the most tragic events in Philippine historythe imposition of the Martial Law Regime in 1972and a seemingly innocent yet an equally enigmatic story for children, the novel focuses on Lisa Rubio, a woman haunted by her deprived childhood, a lost love, and a broken identity after her incarceration during the President Marcos regime.

Resolute and strong-willed, she slowly resurrects from her bitterness and disillusionment against lifes baffling questions, the deceit and trappings of the adult world that she learned to despise. By excelling in academics and in her chosen career as a woman of science, she regains a sure footing and rebuilds her shattered self. But fate has other plans, in the person of a young man named Leo.

Thus begins yet another painful journey of her self-doubt, psychological trepidation and moral dilemma. Lisas psychiatrist helps her navigate and dissect her emotional turmoil at falling for a boy half her age. Here is a brilliant woman who studies the stars, who stands on the shoulders of Galileo, but peeps through the eyes of Ichabod, as Dr. Mores allegorically described Lisas person.

Yet, when despair takes her almost to the brink, salvation comes from an unexpected strangerProfessor Justin Pullin, a man whom Lisa distrusts. With stoic calm and gentle prudence, the professor leads Lisa through a deep introspection and to the wisdom behind suffering that is almost too heavy for the human heart to bear.

Just when she resolves to make a right decision, a restless and capricious fate taunts her again: a strange twist of reality brings her and Leo together, and now that they are both adults, their restrained love is suddenly freed and opens like a floodgate.

That fateful meeting, however, proves to be Lisas adamant yet ultimate act of love, a poignant redemption afforded her by the third reason.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462023417

J. B. Villegas Villegas

J. B. Villegas is the author of the poignant novel The Third Reason. She lives in Texas.

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Copyright © 2011 by J. B. Villegas.

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4620-2343-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-2342-4 (clth)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-2341-7 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011908508

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 06/27/2011

To James F. Adams, F.M.S.

a great mind

a gentle soul

a brother

Contents

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Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Armela Rea Mariano, an artist, who did all the accompanying illustrations with a happy heart. Truly, she is a source of joy. To Paulo and Dino Mariano for the inspiration and to Ms. Raquel Ramon, an exceptional librarian, for her valuable advice.

A lawyer asked:

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?

Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22: 36-39

NKJV

But I protested: Lord, you forgot the third one.

1

Lisa Rubio was a child of a raped country. Raped by conjugal dictators, world class despots. It was in the heat of Martial Law, 1972, in The Philippine Islands. The infamous Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, plunged the once economically developing nation into martial law by his Proclamation 1081. To rationalize this oppressive act he drew upon a plethora of excuses: a communist insurgency; a Muslim secession movement; or just plain lawlessness in an already desperately poor country.

The Philippines had its share of historic upheavals. In fact, the HUK rebellion of the 1950’s was of greater gravity, and yet, martial law was not imposed by President Ramon Magsaysay, whose decent and honest governance went down with him into his premature grave. He could have done more. Ars longa, brevis vita.

The military rule gave Ferdinand Marcos, a virtual free hand to rule with corruption through his crony capitalism and his perkonomics psychology in cosmic proportions. With his wife, he plundered the country to the bone. No amount of writing on the wall could move the dictator. He was his own writing. He was oblivious to such portents of doom, more oblivious than King Nebuchadnezzar of the Book of Daniel. It was almost a miracle that this sun-drenched archipelago, the Pearl of the Orient Seas, survived this colossal corruption and greed. Indeed, a twist of divine magic came into play that this nation, once ravaged, still stands today; ironically proclaiming to the whole world that she is the only Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic country of Asia. The only holy country, which produced world-class thieves, conjugal thieves.

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Lisa Rubio was a child of a raped country.

The only Catholic country of Asia, yet enmeshed in one of the bloodiest peasant revolts whose repercussions still drag on to this day. No amount of land reform can correct the bitter animosity between the moneyed landlords and the miserable peasants, whose sweat and blood feed the extravagant lifestyles of their masters. The only apostolic country, where eighty-five percent of the population wallows in abject poverty. Only a handful of Filipinos known as Chinese taipans, rank among Asia’s billionaires. An Asian country that sends its minions of apostles overseas as worker bees to bring home the honey.

All told, ironically, this country, the Philippines, is neither Holy, Roman, Catholic nor Apostolic.

2

Lisa was about to finish her PhD degree, Physics, at the University of the Philippines, during this period of turmoil. Her idealism prompted her to join the street parliamentarians. She used to debate with her political science professor, about violent resolution of conflicts. Her professor in fact, was a dyed-in-the-wool proponent of peaceful protests, so much so he pledged to grow a moustache as protest to Martial Law. Lisa wouldn’t buy it. There are wars that are won decisively by elements of surprise or a lightning speed resolution of conflicts to avoid protracted wars and much collateral damage. That was the crux of Operation Entebbe, the Manhattan Project and the Blitzkrieg. She would remember her closing statement in the final exam she took for that course:

"Keeping peace in this world is a paradox. It doesn’t always proceed from the sweet call of peace. Sometimes it