Santa Carmela

By GB Callister

After eight years of being away, 19-year-old Joanna Diaz returns to Santa Carmela to look after her ailing grandfather. She runs into her childhood best friend and next-door neighbor Eric, the son of the renowned inventor, Dr. Gerardo San Gabriel.
Eric had transformed from the small dorky boy she knew into a young and handsome surgeon. However, their unexpected reunion rouses Joannas suspicions on the whereabouts of Erics father. What has happened to Dr. San Gabriel?
This question prompts Eric to confess his familys deepest secret to Joanna. Together, they travel into Santa Carmelas glorious past in search of the missing doctor. As they travel more than a century back in time, they both find love and friendship amid the turmoil that had enveloped their beloved town during this period. They live among people who have links to their very existence, and who possess the keys to unlock the well-kept secrets about their families.
Staying would be tempting yet impossible. Would they be strong enough to know when to leave?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: May 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543746013

GB Callister

GB Callister grew up in a small province in the Far East. From an early age, she had always known what she wanted to be, a writer. As soon as she was able to, GB started writing prose and poetry. When she got older, she became a staff news and features writer for a provincial tabloid and the associate editor for her University publication. GBs dream was derailed when her young life was threatened due to her ardent passion to report the truth. She decided that was not the time to work on her dream yet. She instead joined the corporate world and eventually left her birthplace to be a part of the global workforce. With support and motivation coming from her loved ones, GB managed to get back to writing and finally completed her first novel, Santa Carmela. She is now working on two more books to be published next year.

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Copyright © 2018 by GB Callister.

ISBN:                  Softcover                          978-1-5437-4602-0

                            eBook                               978-1-5437-4601-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Preface

Chapter 1 - Blast from The Past

Chapter 2 - America

Chapter 3 - Return to Santa Carmela

Chapter 4 - Eric San Gabriel, MD

Chapter 5 - A Journey Like No Other

Chapter 6 - Entry to the Past

Chapter 7 - Delfin Anderson

Chapter 8 - Enzo

Chapter 9 - Return of Dr. Gerardo San Gabriel

Chapter 10 - Secrets, Salacious Secrets

Chapter 11 - Caught in War

Chapter 12 - Ferdie’s Wish, Eric’s Confession

Chapter 13 - Deaths and Goodbyes

Chapter 14 - Truth Unveiled

Chapter 15 - New Beginnings

This novel is dedicated to my Brian, Leona and David

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T his is the first novel I have written and I could not have done it without the love and support of my wonderful husband, Brian. Thank you and I love you.

I would also like to thank my wonderful children, Leona and David for inspiring me to be more imaginative. Without you both requesting me to make up bedtime stories every night, I would not have created many of the characters in this novel.

To my beloved Lolo and my late Lola who regaled me with stories of their families in the past, you gave me the foundation for this novel. I am very grateful to both of you.

I thank my illustrator and my good friend Jaimie Lee Vaughan whose sketches made this novel more interesting.

PREFACE

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

M any times in my life I have looked back and said, Oh the good old days! On some occasions, I meant this as the past that I have known and lived in. But oftentimes, my fascination harked back to time periods that existed long before I came into this world.

As a child, I was always enchanted with the past. Whilst most of my peers were into cartoons and comic books, I was more enamored with classic movies and books. In my formative years, I started collecting old photographs from my grandparents’ house. I was particularly enthralled with the photos that had my grandfather’s hand-written descriptions on the back of them. My grandparents used to tell me the identities of the individuals in the photos and some of the stories about their lives. And every story, every person piqued my interest each time.

At school, I frequented the library reading stories about people from the 1940’s down to the 19th century. The smell of those old books made me feel like I was actually there, living amongst them. I was captivated by their way of life.

The town of Santa Carmela was loosely based on the town my grandmother grew up in. It was a town prominent in the 19th century. At the time, the affluent people, usually Spaniards or ilustrados owned acres and acres of land called hacienda which was used as plantations to different kinds of crops, from coconut trees to tobacco. The hacienda system was akin to the feudal system in Europe. The workers had their dwellings inside the hacienda, usually with an agreement with the landowners that they could stay as long as they worked for them.

In the novel, both Eric and Joanna were descendants of ilustrados that were hacienderos at one point. They belonged to old families of Santa Carmela.

As they journeyed to the past, only one of them had their own agenda in doing so. Eric was trying to locate his missing father who had been searching for the ancestors of his late wife. Joanna, on the other hand, walked in on 19th century Santa Carmela not knowing that her presence would make a huge difference.

CHAPTER 1

BLAST FROM THE PAST

B risk walking from the parking area of Santa Carmela Memorial Hospital to my grandfather’s private room. I was still thinking about my editor’s comments on the latest article I had submitted for my column. That pretentious nutcase Andro Alviz, the editor-in-chief of The Times called my writing ‘lame’ and challenged me to bring new ideas to the table.

Joanna, your new article is littered with clichéd historical nonsense! Everyone in Santa Carmela already knows what happened to that orphanage. Yes, it mysteriously burned down…. Yes, there were fatalities…blah…blah…! he glared as he was walking towards me with the copy of the piece I had submitted to him about an hour ago. I gave you this weekly column because I thought you could give me a fresh insight into the subject. You are young, for Pete’s sake! You have no reason to give me this hackneyed piece of fish wrapper! Andro said with clenched teeth as he spoke to me at my desk. I noticed his balding middle-aged little head got all red every time he was agitated. Here, he gave me back my article with his red marks scrawled all over it, It’s just a big ‘yawn’! Fix it! I looked over my shoulder, across to the desks of the staffers, all of whom seemed to have their eyes fixed on me.

There’s nothing to fix! I said as I stood up, making this five-foot man look like an Oompa Loompa in front of me. There is no playing around with history, Andro! I can’t make it fun or invent things to make it more interesting!

To be honest, I really felt I had let him down. I was off my game. For the first time since I joined his team, I knew I had submitted a mediocre article. But I would not give him the satisfaction of making me admit to this! I was just so distracted by the deteriorating medical condition of my grandfather that I never really put that much effort in writing this last one.

He sighed and looked at me in sheer disappointment, I believe you can, otherwise I will take it down. He said matter-of-factly.

My column? Do you mean you would take down my weekly column? I asked staring straight at him. He nodded. Is this a threat? I could not believe what I was hearing.

Sure. Or take it as a challenge, he said with an impish grin. Remember, you have been warned. Think about it. There’s always the news beats. And then he walked away. I sat back down; well, more like slumped down in my seat with exhaustion.

He has a way of sucking the life out of you, the little…! whispered Jenny Mendoza, my friend and co-intern. She and I went way back. She was my classmate in primary school and her mother was my grandfather’s physician.

I looked at her and started to laugh. She started laughing too. We had the giggles for like two minutes straight until I inadvertently glanced at my wristwatch. It was already half past one. I had to be at the hospital in half an hour.

Shoot! I said loudly. I have to go!

Grandpa? asked Jenny.

Yes! I’m gonna be so late! I turned off my laptop, put it in the case and hurriedly picked up all my belongings. I ran towards the door and then out to the parking area.

The traffic on the M14 was horrendous. There must have been a graunch somewhere which would explain this unexpected bumper-to-bumper situation.

It was nearly three in the afternoon when I eventually arrived at the hospital and I was supposed to be there at two! My grandfather would have been waiting for me for ages. Damn that Andro and his rants! Damn the traffic too!

As I was walking deep in thought, I suddenly remembered I was still clutching my car keys. I slowed down for a second to put them in my purse when I heard a voice softly call my name, Joey? It was not a familiar voice but it struck me senseless. As I looked up, I did not instantly recall the face of the tall man standing right in front of me. I looked at him as he smiled, towering over me. I was trying to remember where I saw those beautiful eyes before. My stare involuntarily moved down to his chest to read his name badge and I gasped. It said Dr. Enrico San Gabriel, General Surgery. It was Eric!

The last time I saw him was more than eight years ago.

Things may have happened in a blur, but in reflection, I was shocked to see how this guy had changed from an awkward nerdy boy to a handsome adult man.

They were our next-door neighbors. He was my childhood best friend.

I was five and Eric was seven when we first moved in to my Grandfather’s house in Santa Carmela from San Bartolome, my mother’s hometown. My Grandfather, Don Leonardo Diaz Sr. had just lost his wife of 45 years, my grandmother, Doña Gliceria Francisco Diaz. My father, Leonardo Jr. was their only child. He decided for the family to move to this town to look after the patriarch who was all alone now. Grandpa, or "Lolo (from the Spanish term abuelo meaning grandfather) as I fondly called him, was in his late sixties but still was strong and sharp-minded for his age. He was a renowned restaurateur and the original owner of the Leonardo’s, a fine-dining restaurant that had several branches in the country and three in the United States. The ownership of this business was transferred to my father seven years ago upon my grandpa’s retirement. Along with his fame in the culinary world, Lolo was also known in the business world for being rather cut-throat. He epitomized the saying There is no sentiment in business" by showing no mercy to his competitors and doing everything to stay on top of the league. I heard people say if anyone did not dance to Don Leonardo’s tune, he removed them from the dance floor. Until recently, I never understood that. I just thought that Lolo just wanted the dance floor to be rid of bad dancers!

He loved his son so dearly. And he loved me even more! But he detested my mother, Sabrina and my older sister, Maxine.

Lolo never really liked my mother. I always heard him arguing with my father and call my mother a stupid dolly bird.

My father was my mother’s second husband. Her first husband was her half-local, half-Italian fellow ramp model who was apparently both vain and irresponsible, in equal measures. As soon their daughter Maxine was born, he fled the country and left my mother and my half-sister alone to fend for themselves. Young, divorced and jobless, Sabrina Enriquez worked as a waitress in one of my grandfather’s restaurants in San Bartolome to provide for her daughter. She worked there for three years, eventually becoming the Restaurant Manager. She met my father, Leonardo Jr. during one of his visits in the area when he had started managing the business. He was then engaged to be married to an aviation heiress who was his college sweetheart. The restaurant was the most popular Leonardo’s in the country, so my father frequented the outlet to acquire tips on how to make the others succeed in the same way.

One night, the two of them were left to close the restaurant after a busy day. To cut a long story short, they spent the night together, yet carried on the following day like nothing happened. They agreed that the previous night was just a fluke so there should be no strings attached.

Three months later, Leonardo Jr. came to see Don Leonardo and Doña Gliceria to inform them that they would become grandparents soon. The couple was initially ecstatic thinking that the baby belonged to their son’s fiancé. Unfortunately, ecstasy turned to anger when they found out this was not the case. The realization that their unico hijo knocked up one of their employees must have felt like a kick in the teeth. Not only that but the fact the woman was divorced and had a two-year-old daughter! What would their friends say?

My father, being the decent man that he was, tearfully broke off his engagement and instead proposed to marry my mother. Sabrina, being the pragmatic woman that she was, agreed to marry him. They sealed the deal in front of the town Mayor, who was my father’s close friend. The Diazes refused to come to the wedding, and from then on always made a point of airing their displeasure about their son’s marriage every chance they got.

Leonardo Jr. brought his new wife and step-daughter home to his parents in Santa Carmela. Any fairy tale that my mother may have envisioned when she agreed to marry my father soon turned into a bit of a nightmare.

The first dinner she had in the Diaz house was a disaster. Doña Gliceria instructed her maid not to set a place at the table for Sabrina. So, the table was only set for three people, as usual. When they came down to the dining room, Sabrina saw this arrangement and realized that she was not welcome in that house. She ran up to their room on the second floor in a flood of tears. Leonardo Jr. lambasted his parents for such a blatant act of disrespect and rudeness towards his wife. Subsequently, he had little choice but to move his pregnant wife and step-daughter back to San Bartolome. My father had legally adopted Maxine before she turned three years old.

However, the tension between my father and my grandparents did thaw slightly when I was born later that year. Don Leonardo and my grandmother came to our house to see their first grandchild. Sadly, their views on my mother and half-sister never really changed.

It was one afternoon when I was riding my bike around the fountain in the middle of my grandpa’s garden when I heard a rustling of leaves by the wall of the estate. I was curious and pedaled towards the source of the noise. As I went closer, I got frightened when the bushes started moving. I was about to scream until the head of a bespectacled boy stuck out among the shrubs, clearly scratched all over but facing me with a broad smile.

Hello, he said sweetly as he was getting himself out of this sea of branches and leaves.

I said Hello back waving my left hand.

I caught a butterfly with colorful wings, he said as he was coming closer to me. Do you want to see it?

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I caught a butterfly with colorful wings, he said as he was coming closer to me. Do you want to see it?

I agreed and he handed me a jar containing the most beautiful butterfly I had ever seen. It was so beautiful and multicolored. Its wings glistened in the sun.

I was watching the butterfly when I remembered what my grandfather had told me. I looked at the boy and muttered, Sorry, I don’t talk to strangers.

Just then, I heard a chuckle from behind me. It was my grandfather standing there with his cane.

Good girl! he exclaimed proudly. I am very proud of you! He then looked at the boy and said, And you, young man, you are indeed a stranger until you introduce yourself.

Yes, sir, he was smiling nervously; I’m Eric from next door. He extended his hand to me. I froze. I did not know what to do. Lolo looked at me and nodded which meant he was waiting for me to say something.

Hello Eric, my name is Joey, and I finally reached for his hand and shook it. That was the start of our friendship.

Eric was the same age as my older sister Maxine. He did not play with other kids before he met me. He would rather go to the lake alone with his butterfly net and a magnifying glass in his back pocket. The other children thought he was a bit odd, but the adults thought he was normal. They attributed his behavior to the fact that he came from a family of scientists and doctors.

Yes, Eric was the only son of the famous inventor and renowned scientist Dr. Gerardo San Gabriel, the inventor of Cama de Vida, the cancer killing bed that helped both prolong the lives and cure millions of cancer patients around the world. This bed appeared to be like any other bed but the mattress and headboard produced laser rays