The Ultimate Quest

By Anton Conoy

A historical fiction transcending about 5 generations that started close to the end of the Spanish regime in the Philippines.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Aug 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781489724366

Anton Conoy

Anton Conoy, a native of the Philippines moved to the United States of America to pursue further training in the medical/surgical field. Subsequent to a short stint in private practice, he was accepted and retired from the uniform services. after which he continued to serve his fellow-veterans until he retired. He has, since, dedicated his time to writing poetry (Sonnet), some of which were published at a Knights of Columbus State publication. This is his first book, based upon his native country’s settings and has plans to write more with similar genres.

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Copyright © 2019 Anton Conoy.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-2437-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-2436-6 (e)

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 08/06/2019

Contents

Prologue

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

XIII

XIV

XV

XVI

XVII

XVIII

XIX

XX

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XCIX

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CI

CII

CIII

CIV

CV

CVI

CVII

CVIII

CIX

CX

CXI

CXII

Epilogue

References

PROLOGUE

T his is a historical novel depicting five generations that spanned nearly three-quarters of a century beginning with the late Spanish era in the Philippines. Starting with a member of the Spanish military who earned for himself a grateful nation’s, namely Spain, recognition of his successes in his assigned missions to falling in love with a local girl and raising a family. Rather than live within the confines of the Spanish Military camp and society, he chose to remain with the local community, thus enhancing further his reputation as one whose heart it was, who dedicated himself to the ideals that his adopted home-country had planned. But circumstances shortened his commitment to a cause when, after having achieved the monumental coherence with peace in his area of endeavor, his life was cut short by those whom he had wished to reach out for something of historic significance.

The pursuit of medical studies by his son, grandson and great-grandson served as the foundation of a sound future, totally unplanned but enlightened by needs of the communities that they had lived in. His descendants decided to emulate their ancestor’s trend to remain local, so to speak. Their move away from the center of Spanish influences even made their decisions more relevant as they immersed themselves to honor this mix in their existence. The years that followed revealed further how much they had inadvertently touched on the lives of many others.

Many of the events and incidents described here may suggest similar instances to a reader but are purely fictionalized. So are the places and names fictitious.

Anton Conoy

Dedicated to the author’s beloved whose patience and understanding remained unrivaled during the duration of writing and multiple revisions of this narrative.

I

T he six-kilometer (4 miles) dust-road from town to the barrio (village) was built by the local villagers from a trail that ran across hectares (acres) and hectares of rice-fields in the early part of the 19th century. Legend had it that it was a Dominican Friar who wished to extend his parish’s reach to the villages west of town. He had to hike along the animal trail, which, depending upon the weather could sometimes be impassable. It took him sometime to convince the villagers that their abundant produce could find better markets if they had the means to transport them with either carabao (water buffalo) or cow pulled carts rather than depend upon what they could carry either on their heads or hung on the ends of bamboo poles resting on a shoulder. The Dominican Friar was smart enough to secure the governor’s permission to build a levee to span the stretch by promising him that the villagers’ enthusiasm was all that he needed to start the project. It took months of negotiation with all villagers to help, who modified therear-end of their bull-carts to facilitate the discharge of earth and/or gravel carted from a nearby foot of the hills. It took nearly a year to finish the project with nary a centavo spent except for the sweat and endurance of the villagers. It was a magnificent display of the bayanihan (community) effort of the people who recognized the essence of this project and how it would enhance their marketing outlets. Three culverts were built to allow the free flow of rain water from one field to the other side of the levee. These were initially built out of trunks of trees harvested from the forrest up on the hills with bamboo trusses cut to length. The crude engineering estimates made by a civil engineer, who was recruited by the friar, made the construction feasible. The engineer only asked for dispensation to allow him to enter heaven when his time to move over arrived. But over time the effects of weather changes and pedestrian-transportation movements caused the original bridges to rut and soon fail. Luckily the government saw the significance of how much this contributed to the welfare of the villagers and replaced the bridges with concrete culverts.

The road could be thick with dust during the dry season but nearly impassable after rain had fallen for days on end. There were attempts to reinforce the lower areas which were prone to turn into puddles with stones gathered from the river that separated two villages. This resolved some of the problems until the same sections would be treaded upon repeatedly by carabaos pulling cart-loads of produce to town. The same process would start over and over again so that the rainy season became a traditional pause for the sales of large volumes of produce. That would be the time when the villagers would resume the usual manner of carrying their produce either on their heads, their shoulders, horse-back or other pack-animals they could use. The name of the Dominican friar had since been forgotten after he was transferred to another diocese, fortuitously, after he finishing his project. Such was the case that spanned the past and present of a link between the town and other western based villages and the communities that progressed through the bayanihan effort. It would be this endeavor that would be repeated over and over in many other communities which insured similar outcomes.

As rain clouds gathered in the east, thunder and lightning rolled from north to south, a common weather pattern on this late summer day. Julio’s horse reared up a little with each thunder clap, its eyes remaining wide open and nostrils bellowing out misty breath. Julio’s tight grip on its rein kept his horse under control while following the same trail that is often used until he arrived at the rice fields of their family hacienda. He remained astride his horse while he watched over 50 people who kept bent as they harvested rice with their short-bladed sheaths. Now and then, one would look up at the sky, after a lightning has flashed and then signal to the rest to speed-up their work. Julio understood all of these motions which meant that they had to finish the harvest before the first raindrops fell. Nearly half of those harvesting were his regular farm hands while the rest were guest workers who were invited with terms to have the favor paid back when their turn to harvest their own farms arrived through the spirit of bayanihan (community effort). The darkening clouds made everyone to sense the urgency of completing the harvest as soon as possible. They also know, from experience that if the rain made this impossible they could leave behind whatever was not touched and attended to it on the next dry day. Depending upon how much rain may fall, they could resume the harvest the day after or perhaps the next after the grounds have dried up. They also knew that a soggy field would make it difficult to cut, sort and pile up a harvest into an orderly heap. Allowing the rice plants to dry up while still unharvested would be the best alternative. This may take between one to three or four days to happen depending how much rain fell followed by the number of days of dry sunshine. Andoy, Julio’s capatas (foreman) made a hand signal to him that they may stop now, before the rain dropped. He came running to him to stress what he meant. Julio understood the urgency. Rather than wait for his capatas to come to him in haste, he nudged his horse’s sides gently to move forward and meet with him. He could read his capatas’ face as he came closer that he wanted to get Julio’s permission to stop the harvest for now, and gather everything into a pile as soon as possible. He knew that once gathered into a heap, only those on top may get soaked while the rest would remain dry since the rain drops would cascade down to the ground quickly from the top down along the sides. And that once the sun has risen high up and with the winds freely passing over the fields, a drying process of those resting on top of the pile will quickly follow. As more flashes of lightning lit the eastern sky, Julio’s horse showed more restlessness although easily controlled. He did not have to wait for his foreman to reach him, however. They were now within shouting distance from one another. He also noticed that the rest of the harvesters have begun gathering their harvest to move as many as possible to higher grounds previously designated by the foreman before they started with the harvest. Some lugged large bundles of the harvested rice plants on their shoulders while others lifted theirs toward two sleds, harnessed to one carabao (water buffalo) each.

The higher ground was not too far away and the sleds facilitated the transport of as many bundles of palay (harvested rice stalks) as possible. Julio gestured that he agreed with his foreman’s decision. He did not want anyone to get soaked. His worst fears were that someone could be harmed by lightning strikes in an open field. A similar incident happened when his father, Dr. Don Ador, or Dr. Ador, as he had been customarily and fondly called was in-charge. His father ignored the warning signs of a fast coming rainstorm while supervising a harvest. He wanted the harvest to be completed in the face of a rolling thunder. A large bolt of lightning hit one of his tenants, killing him instantly. It was a very painful incident which caused his workers to lose faith in him. Julio did not wish to have anything like that ever happening during his time. Just the thought of that disaster was painful to Julio who was forced to take over the management of their hacienda (plantation) at a very young age of fourteen. This would be his third term to supervise the harvest and had risen up to the challenges.

Julio’s childhood friendship with Andoy has been historic. They were both born in the same year, with Andoy being about a few months older. While Julio grew up in a very well appointed environment, Andoy, on the other hand did not. He grew up in the farm. Andoy was the eldest son of the hacienda’s manager, Tatang Federico. Julio was sent to a parochial school while Andoy was enrolled in the village public school. Their close friendship was cemented by the frequent visits of Dr. Ador and son to the hacienda where they may spend and overnight rest. Over the next few years, this has matured into a deeper relationship such that Julio could visit the hacienda either alone or with Luciano, the family male servant. Julio especially would like to spend either a weekend with Andoy’s family where he learned to ride a horse or mount a carabao or a cow. He took pride in learning more about farm chores. It was quite obvious that farm-life made Andoy more mature, not in years but in his domestic responsibilities, either in the house or in the farm. He had two younger sisters, Alicia and Teodora, who often joined both boys with their games in the yard or when they may go wild-bird’s egg hunting. Julio and Andoy’s favorite game was kalit-kalit, patterned after bowling but instead played with a cashew nut snapped between two fingers to knock down a row of cashew nuts lined up about 10 feet away. Or a game of songka which determines who could place the most number of either pebbles or tiny sea shells in a couple of rows of holes etched unto a yard long flat board before his pile located in one end would be exhausted. Meanwhile, Julio’s sister, Rebecca, had never been to the hacienda. She has met Andoy and his sisters only when they may accompany their father, Tatang Federico and his wife, Nanang Inday, to town during his managerial consultations with Dr. Ador. This was not an uncommon routine, which almost resembled a direct order to review any problems or consider plans like when and what to do with the harvests for the season or whether to mill the sugar cane in their own or export it to another by loading these in railroad box cars. It was often deemed as a privilege for Tatang Federico since the hacienda owner must display his control over whatever surrounded his property’s needs.Those were visits of opportunity for Andoy and his sisters to meet with both Julio and his sister. Since they were nearly of the same ages, their taste for activities were similar except for one, which is Rebecca’s intent at learning how to play the piano. She begun with her piano lessons since she was able to reach the key board.

This owner/tenant relationship could not have been closer. They all have acted like a single family separated only by responsibilities and location. Dr. Ador’s wife, Señora Cornelia had grown fond of their tenant’s family and had always looked forward to their coming. She was especially touched by Alicia’s interest in the piano who would sit nearby whenever Rebecca receive her home instructions from her piano teacher. Señora Cornelia noticed how close Alicia would follow the moves by tapping her toes to the rhythms. One time, when Alicia noticed Señora Cornelia watching her, she blushed readily, lowered her eyes then slowly turned them away from where the Señora was toward the piano. Señora Cornelia noticed this display of self-consciousness and kept a mental note of it. She would surreptitiously leave the sala (living room) while Alicia continued watching Rebecca with her piano lessons. One time, Señora Cornelia returned to the sala during Rebecca’s practice session at which time she had asked Alicia if she would like to learn to play the piano. Alicia was caught unawares of this offer and obviously felt self-conscious of it. But her shyness overwhelmed her. She stood up quickly and without saying a word, ran toward the kitchen where her father, Tatang Federico and the master of the house, Dr. Ador, were in active discussion. On the other end of the same room, Julio and Andoy were busy playing songka, their favorite pebble distribution game. In the interim, Teodora, being the toddler would spend her time in Rebecca’s room, gently touching the display of dolls that had been kept in an open cabinet. Rebecca saw her once and asked her if she would like to touch any of the dolls, to which Teodora nodded with enthusiasm. From then on, Rebecca allowed Teodora to spend as much as time with the dolls as she wished whenever they were visiting. Then, it became almost customary for Teodora to receive her favorite doll whenever they went home to the village.

Judging from the intimacy between these two families, the apparent separation between landowner and hacienda supervisor was purely geographical. Their youngsters have developed a strong admiration for one another. Señora Cornelia had asked Nanang Inday, Tatang Federico’s wife, to address her without the title but she refused, in deference to their social relations. Neither would her husband acquiesce for the same reason both to her and to Dr. Ador. So that while their relationship seemed to be not merely out of respect and love between all of them, traditions governed their deference for one another. Dr. Ador had likewise been used to addressing his hacienda supervisor with his title including his wife’s. He would feel awkward if he addressed them otherwise as it would, by Filipino standards tantamount to a domineering posture. All of these had been enwrapped in historical conventions that had passed the tests of time.

The pattern of their relationship conveyed not only fondness for one another but also an attempt to share, as much as possible any house or social activities. Señora Cornelia, being the elder in her church’s sorority group attended mass daily. She and Nanang Inday would share the same pew in church, whenever the latter may happen to stay overnight in town. This display of their closeness had often caught the attention of many members of the sorority and commended their elder for being broadminded and generous. Señora Cornelia took these compliments with a nodding acknowledgment and explained, once, that Nanang Inday may, someday, establish her own chapter of their sorority in their village thus expanding their realms of endeavor. Since their aspirations had been to assist the church and those in need, they felt honored to have this opportunity to carry-on with what had been their original purpose and to spread it as far and wide as possible.

II

T he darkening clouds looked heavier and heavier suggesting the onset of a downpour within a short time. It was timely for everyone to move for home as soon as possible. The piling of the harvested rice was barely completed when faint hints of showers started. Andoy clambered onto his horse which had been restless due to the frequent outbursts of thunder and lightning. Together with Julio, they egged their horses to gallop home. The rain started to pour down in torrents as they neared Andoy’s home. They were wet but not soaked when they dismounted. Andoy offered to take Julio’s horse toward the shade of their lean-to shelter made out of palm leaves and bamboo posts to wait for the rain to pass over. In the meantime, Alicia heard their arrival and came to the door. She climbed down the ladder, greeted Julio with a hug then ran back in while commenting that she was busy helping her mother fix dinner. Teodora came out next to greet Julio, also with hug and noticed how wet he was. She then, offered to have him remove his shirt to hang it dry then handed him one of Andoy’s old shirts in return, which Julio took with profuse thanks. NextTeodora asked him if he wished to change his pair of wet pants. Julio declined and said to let it dry in place as it was barely moistened. After all, he would soon be riding back to town once the rain has stopped. In the meantime, Andoy returned from the shed and remarked how familiar Julio’s shirt was. All three laughed out loud at this, which brought Alicia back to the door followed by her father, Tatang Federico, who also looked amused. But the rainfall did not seem to die down.

It was getting late. Darkness has begun to enfold them. Andoy’s mother, Nanang Inday came out of the kitchen to meet with all of them. She looked surprised but at the same time thrilled to see Julio, whom she has not seen as often as her husband had during his visits to town. Being aware of tradition Julio moved a couple of steps toward Nanang Inday, gently held her right hand and laid it to his forehead (Mano po for a traditional blessing). Nanang Inday was touched by this gesture since she had always thought that the children of the well-to-do were not obliged to honor this tradition to anyone older. She promptly invited Julio to take his seat while saying that if anyone of them were hungry, food will soon be served. In the meantime, she moved toward one of the unlit lanterns resting atop a cabinet. She lifted the glass cylinder from its base, lit a match and touched the cold wick coaching it to catch the flame. A bright light immediately illuminated the darkening room. Both Julio and Andoy could almost feel the warmth that seem to move with the glow from the kerosene lamp. Julio had not gotten used to their lack of electricity but remained quiet about it. Electric power has not been extended yet to the farms. More lanterns were lit as the call to the dinning table was announced. Julio was starving since he had not eaten since he left town that morning but remained quiet about it.

They all slowly moved into the dinning room which was lit by the glow from a kerosene lantern that created a most pleasing tests to the eyes. As they all stood around the table, Tatang Federico, as has always been a custom, offered to Julio with a nod to sit at the head of the table. However, Julio, out of courtesy to the lady of the house, rather pulled the chair out and gestured for Nanang Inday to take it instead. She accepted the offer and lightly gestured her thanks with a nod to Julio as she sat down. Alicia took notice of all of these in stride and smiled at Julio while Teodora and the rest took their seats. Alicia took the seat next to Julio. Nanang Inday made a sign that they all say the traditional prayer of thanks before each meal. Once again, Julio was deeply impressed since they may offer a prayer before any meal at home, only whenever his grandfather and grandmother maybe visiting with them. The meal was simple but appetizing for a farming family. Julio’s appetite built up quickly. Not having had lunch made him feel ravenous. So was Andoy who expressed how much he had waited for this time to fill his empty tommy. It was Teodora, however, who broke the silence as they all proceeded to eat with their fingers. She noticed how Julio deftly fed himself too with his fingers. She inquired where he learned to do that. Julio admitted that he was taught by their maid whenever he may snack out of any left-overs after coming from school. Since his mother was particular with table manners whenever they sat down for a meal, he was very careful not to arouse any suspicion from her with this habit. To Julio, a fork and spoon could cause lots of noise as well as sounding too aristocratic. Their maid, Elena, had received instructions from the Señora that her children should never be pampered at being allowed to raid the pantry at their own behest. She was always concerned that Julio or Rebecca’s appetite might be spoiled and they would not eat adequately afterwards. But their maid was also very smart. She insured that these snacks may mostly consist of fruits of the season. She always had fruits in the pantry ready to be served whenever one or both children arrived from school.

As is customary, everyone around the table was encouraged to say something. Teodora loved to tell funny stories during mealtime. For instance, she narrated how one of her classmates in school fell down as he was rushing to class. When asked what happened, he replied that he tripped on account of his new pair of shoes which were two sizes larger for his age. Their teacher further inquired why. Teodora’s classmate, Berto, explained that it was his mother’s decision to purchase this size of shoes for she was afraid that he might out-grow it before he had a full use of it. Her classmates thought that was funny and poor Berto, had since, been teased as the boy with the oversized feet. Tata Federico remarked that he remembered having a similar pair of shoes while he was in grade school for the same reason—that he might out-grow them faster than expected. Luckily, he did not have to continue wearing them for he was forced to drop out of school to help the family when his father died. At which point, Andoy asked why he was forced to use the bakya (wooden clogs) rather than shoes. Nanang Inday defended her decision by admitting that they were too poor to buy a pair for anyone. Besides, they did not want to show that they were better off than some of their neighbors, who were all farmers and all had to wear the traditional bakya (wooden shoes) being more durable and could be changed at anytime. Besides, they were designed for all-weather use. There was laughter afterwards during which, Julio nudged Alicia’s elbow and asked her if she had anything funny to share. Alicia blushed, turned her face to Julio, squinted at him for a while then turned to everyone and said that she could only say that she was still using the same size shoes that were given by Señora Cornelia two Christmases ago. She was careful not to overuse them because they all looked very expensive. Besides, she preferred not to wear them to school as she was liable to be teased for wearing a pair of shoes that belonged only to those who could afford to buy them. Andoy interjected that he decided not to wear the bakya to school as he was teased several times for wearing one which was more apt for girls to use. Nanang Inday remarked that it was a silly thought but acknowledged that indeed, bakyas were mostly designed for girls or women only to which Tatang Federico interjected that such concept was over-emphasized. He admitted that he wore his bakya around the house and no-one had teased him about it.

As the meal progressed on, the story telling and teasing continued which entertained Julio no end. They did not have much of similar exchanges at home since his father was mostly interested with what each one had done for the day. Even the Señora was not spared from this round of table talks. It was almost tantamount to explaining one’s report card, not unlike what their grandfather used to do. Their grandfather was a stickler for protocol and every step nearly required a timing of sort, something, he had apparently learned from his father before him. Although Dr. Ador did not follow a similar protocol during mealtimes, he had sometimes shared some heartwarming stories such as a certain boy who would not leave his mother’s side while caring for her. His mother had been sick for sometime with a chronic cough. She had sometimes coughed out blood stained expectorant and had been losing weight besides. The boy was only about 7 years old and was an only child. He would not eat anything unless his mother ate even if it were just a morsel of rice. He attended to her by wiping her perspiration or help sponging her whenever she felt warm. He refused to go to school for fear that his mother might die without his help.

His mother died from tuberculosis. His father, a poor farmer from the neighboring village could not even afford to pay for the church fees to have her blest much less the cost of a funeral service in the cemetery. She would have been buried in the pauper’s section had it not been for the help of one of the merchants in town. It seemed like the woman had worked for the merchant for sometime in the past although barely earning enough to sustain them. The boy’s father was a farm helper and Tatang Federico, the hacienda overseer, may periodically hire him for the planting, harvesting and even milling of the sugar cane for modest fees.

Julio remembered the man and asked Tatang Federico what happened to him and his son. Tatang Federico recalled how the man reached to be so lonely and desperate, he wanted to give his son away to a friend for adoption. He thought of his friend and his wife, store owners, who had been childless after nearly five years of marriage and could possibly adopt the little boy. Then, Tatang Federico continued after a pause, something strange happened. All eyes turned toward him when he added, the friend’s wife became pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful girl after adopting the boy. There was silence in the room for a while with everyone waiting for the story to end somewhere. "The little girl is now a toddler while his adopted brother has grown to be a young man who is now managing their store. The boy’s father got over his loneliness and remarried. He and his new wife had been regularly invited to help in the hacienda either during the planting or harvesting seasons.

Julio remained silent throughout the rest of their mealtime, having lost track of the hours, and not realizing what Alicia was doing to him. She was wiping away the tears from his eyes. When asked why he was in tears, he remarked that he failed to realize that such a touching story had something to do with a very sentimental boy who loved his mother very much.

III

I t was an amazing evening. The sky cleared as quickly as it clouded over and with the stunning change was, a full-moon hidden behind those clouds all the time. It was close to midnight and Julio still planned on returning to town. Tatang Federico advised, however, that it might not be wise to make the return trip, even while riding on a horseback under a bright moonlight. The town was nearly 6 kilometers (4 miles) away and the roads were narrow and covered by heavy vegetation which would make many places shaded from the moon light. Tata Federico expressed some fear that some harm might fall on Julio, even if there were no known incidents that has happened in the past. Nanang Inday agreed with this. Julio, in the meantime, was certain that going back to town would be safe. He knew almost everyone in the village, his horse was well rested and could easily break into a gallop if needed. But the fears of both hosts were deep, sincere and palpable to everyone. It was then, that Andoy volunteered to ride to town with Julio. His horse had been rested and is well-known to sprint fast if needed. Alicia also expressed her fears. She moved close to Julio to let him know that she shared the concerns of everyone. Julio looked at Alicia’s eyes intensely for a while, briefly wrinkled his forehead, gazed at the others then back at Alicia. Nanang Inday was reading Julio’s face and could sense how much he seemed to be affected by this genuine display of worry from everyone. Once again, he laid eyes on Alicia who was now holding onto his right arm while Teodora remained somewhat impassively at the far corner of the sala (living room). Alicia continued to stare at Julio, her eyes welling and her lips trembling. She then spoke up and said that she would gladly let Julio use her woven palm mat for a bed which could be spread down in the living room to sleep on. Everyone nodded approval. Julio felt touched and obligated to honor their invitation and agreed to stay for the night. He was not concerned over not being home at that time of the night for, it had always been assumed, based from previous similar circumstances, that he might be prevailed upon to sleep overnight at the foreman’s residence should anything interfered with his safe return to town.

In the meantime, Andoy felt that Julio should not be left alone in the sala. He offered to unroll his own mat a few feet away from him so that they could chat a little while before calling it a night. Alicia suggested to Teodora to share her mat in the small bedroom. Julio was aware that up to this time, there were no beds. Woven palm leaf mats remained to be a bedding commodity. Mosquito nets were necessary, however, despite being rated as a luxury. Mosquitoes roamed freely at this time of the night since the plantation was not too far from the marshes which skirted the banks of the river about a kilometer away. Although there had been no known cases of malaria in the area, Dengue was known to affect some people now and then. To sleep under covers to keep the mosquitoes away was not comfortable since the heat could be unbearable, thus causing one to throw off the sheets away and take the mosquito bites in a stride. At this time both Julio and Andoy must have spent all their reserves as both talked with less enthusiasm as they lifted their mosquito nets with their sheets remaining folded on the side. Despite the rainfall, the evening remained too warm for comfort. No further talking took place as soon as the lantern was turned off. In a few minutes, Julio would be awakened by a strong snoring sound coming from Andoy’s direction. He was thankful for Teodora’s offer for him to have a second pillow which he used, together with the other one to bury his head in-between enabling him to get some sleep. On the other hand Teodora was without a pillow and had to improvise with a rolled blanket to serve as one. The night must have passed by very quickly for the next sound that woke Julio up was that of a rooster crowing. He mused that dawn had broken but he continued to lay down and waited for Andoy to show signs of awakening for otherwise, he might awaken everyone else this early in the morning. But he was wrong. Someone was already in the kitchen making some clanking noises with the pots and pans. The familiar creaking sound as one treads over split bamboo flooring was too familiar to him. He decided to wake up and join whoever might be in the kitchen. He must have been still in a daze when he tried to step out of the sala and walk as quietly to the kitchen as possible through a darkened room. Little did he realize that he would be running head-on against the side of the doorway toward the kitchen. He was thrown off balance and bumped his right shoulder against the other side. A flood of light from a lantern was directed toward him and he recognized Nanang Inday who showed concern over what just happened. Julio quickly regained his balance and remarked that he felt well, excusing himself instead for having caused a small commotion.

That small incident must have awakened others for Teodora showed up behind Julio asking the same question. She remarked that what woke her up was the loud bumping noise. She seemed tickled when Julio explained what happened while he showed her where he hit his forehead against the bamboo edge of the door. Teodora quickly approached Julio and gently touched the swollen spot on Julio’s forehead. Julio remonstrated by quickly moving back a little as fast as possible. Teodora apologized and suggested that she would do what her grandmother used to do, which was to have someone lick the area with a wet tongue. She offered to do it although Julio was not akin to this idea. His protestation was however overruled by Nanang Inday who remarked that, indeed this was the usual household remedy and asked him to take his seat near the table and have Teodora do the licking. Julio sat down as was told, leaned back and let Teodora bow down with her mouth open and her tongue stuck out to do its job. A soothing effect was felt by Julio and he remained as quiet as possible giving Teodora the moment she needed to complete the treatment. And while doing this, her sister, Alicia showed up at the door. She started to laugh out loud when she saw Teodora bent over Julio’s face, still unawares that a healing for a bump on the forehead was in the process. Her mother, in the meantime noticed her coming and gave Alicia the looks of admonition to stop her daughter from making further remarks. Only after the treatment was completed did Alicia pull Teodora aside and teased her for finding an alibi to kiss their guest. She added further that she was perhaps in love with him. Teodora looked at her sister straight in the eye and said with the tone of an elder person, to mind her manners.

Julio refrained from making any further comments. He had witnessed this sisterly squabble in the past and knew that they would be friends always. The aroma of cooked breakfast had just begun to fill the air. Nanang Inday had asked both her girls to set the table so that Julio could leave shortly after breakfast. And Julio remarked that he had to be on his way soon as he had other things to do back home then. Andoy also heard him as he stepped into the dinning room and prevailed on Julio to stay for breakfast. Besides, they still have to talk about when to complete the harvest. They have only completed half the work and Andoy promised to lend a hand to his neighboring farmers in return for what they had done for them. This made Julio to pause, turn toward Andoy and agreed with him. He felt as obligated as Andoy was for without the neighboring farmers lending them all a hand, their project for the day would not have been done, albeit only half complete. Tatang Federico showed up after feeding their pen-full of chicken after which everyone took their respective seats for breakfast. After the meal prayer was offered, Teodora, true to her inquisitive nature, asked Julio what he had to do at their house in town. She reminded him that they all had the help and what he could do was merely sit down and expect everyone to attend to his needs. Julio looked at her and with a twinkle in his eye remarked that he had to do other things that none of the helpers at home could. But Teodora would not let the subject rest. She further asked what was so important that he had to forget about continuing with the harvest, now that the rain has stopped. Tata Federico stepped in and reminded Teodora that Julio was not about to be quizzed for what he needed to do. With the wave of his hand, however, Julio excused Teodora’s questions and instead said that he had to prepare for his up-coming trip to Manila where he will enter a University Medical school. Alicia stared at Julio for sometime before she could place a finger full of rice into her mouth. Her reaction caught Nanang Inday by surprise who read Alicia’s reaction as one deeper than expected. Alicia never tried to show any closeness to Julio but it had been obvious, for nearly a year now that she had strong feelings for him.

A moment of silence again followed. Teodora was reminded once more to observe proper table manners when she tried to reach over the far end of the table for something. She stopped half-way toward the plate but gazed at her mother while inquiring why her father have all the rights and privileges to do what he wanted. Tata Federico looked at her daughter intensely and told her not to argue with her mother and should apologize. Teodora stared at her plate as tears started welling in her eyes. She then turned toward her mother and said in a very low, almost inaudible voice how sorry she was for her rudeness. She also looked at Julio, who was sitting in front of her, that she had a very poor night and barely slept a wink. Julio then kidded her that she must have missed her pillow following which everyone laughed. He then volunteered that he would be bring his own beddings and an extra pillow on his next visit.

IV

J ulio’s horse ride back to town was rather easy. The sun had started to rise and the road had not been as crowded as usual making the muddy areas easy to navigate through. The rain filled some areas previously rutted by the combination of the wet weather and the number of carts passing through them. These were easily identified and could readily be avoided. He arrived home early and was surprised to see his mother up and about in the living room- a rather unusual time for her.

Señora Cornelia welcomed Julio with a hug near their front door for she had been waiting for his return. She extended her hand for her son for a traditional sign of reverence. She noticed how tired and worn he looked. They had just finished with their breakfast. Dr. Ador had already left for his office which was starting to fill up with patients. Julio’s father was an only son and had taken over his father’s practice. It was his father, Dr. Don Vicente, who egged him to take his medical course in Spain where he graduated. Now, Dr. Ador expressed the same sentiments for his son, Julio. He wanted the legacy of having been trained in a Spanish University to continue in the family. However Julio’s choice prevailed. Two of his classmates in high and premedical school had already enrolled at the University in Manila with him. He also reminded his father of his responsibilities for the plantation which would require him to remain available. Quite frankly, he was conscious over his poor command of Spanish despite this being the lingua franca in the family. He blamed his frequent association with their neighbor’s children and also the climate of conversation in school which was often sustained in the vernacular as having had to do with it. Add the curriculum in English which impacted on his fluency in any language. Nevertheless, his maternal grandfather, Don Emilio, who was fluent in Castilian never failed to encourage him to speak in this language. His failure to pronounce any words fluently while conversing with his maternal grandfather would cost him visiting money including desserts that he had not wished repeated.

Julio loved his grandfather, Vicente who really enjoyed recalling stories about his Spanish background. Dr. Don Vicente was born in the Philippines. His father, Capitan Marcelo, was a commander in a Spanish garrison based near a suburb of Manila. His mother was a Filipina of mixed native and Chinese background. There were rumors that since her husband was away most of the time during the campaign against the Moros in the south, namely Mindanao, she often spent more time in church than at home. Rumors further escalated when a friend asked her if she was expecting. She denied this at first but as time went on, the obvious signs were there. The gossip chain among the parishioners gathered more momentum since they knew that her husband was away most of the time. They were also aware that the parish priest was also a good friend to the family and had never failed to spend sometime in their house, coincidentally whenever the commander was away on his military campaigns. The rumors became more profound after Vicente was born and no one would argue that he looked more Caucasian than an oriental although most had not forgotten that his father was a Spaniard. Unfortunately, his mother died shortly after his birth from hemorrhage while his father was away on a campaign. Luckily, his maternal grandmother was on hand to care for him. His father, the commander, never remarried claiming that his duties kept him from being at home long enough to oversee his son’s growing up. Vicente therefore grew up under his maternal grandmother’s vigilance. She barely spoke Spanish hence her grandson grew up speaking mostly Tagalog. Vicente’s father took notice of this and hired a tutor to teach him to speak fluent Spanish which he successfully did and assured him entrance to the notable school in the city.

Vicente graduated from high school with flying colors and was sent to study medicine in a university. Here, again, Vicente distinguished himself in academics plus more. He was paired at the dormitory with a Spaniard, named Eugenio, from Toledo who was enrolled in the school of laws. Vicente noticed how Eugenio often carried a sword which the latter identified as a fencing instrument. He added that this enabled him to expand his social circles especially among foreign students one of whom he has had fencing lessons on several occasions. Eugenio turned toward Vicente saying that among the Filipino students he has befriended, one stood out in nearly everything he did. He was a quiet, introspective type and whenever they took a break for lunch, he would see him sitting in one corner of the gymnasium busy writing on a tablet. Vicente inquired how he could have known this other fellow as being a Filipino. Eugenio smiled and admitted that he only guessed it because his friend consorted more with the group of Filipinos. Besides, he has strong Chinese features but with a darker complexion and a bushy hair. Vicente’s curiosity became more aroused and expressed a desire to accompany Eugenio should he plan on going to the gymnasium, one day to meet with his fencing friend. The gymnasium laid three blocks away from their dorm, not far away from the University. Eugenio had to show his pass, a requirement allow him to bring along one guest for the day. After checking-in their coats, they both proceeded to where Eugenio often met with his Filipino friends. Vicente was introduced to as many as a dozen new faces, most of whom greeted him in Spanish only to be surprised to hear him respond in Tagalog. Eugenio did not wait long to find his fencing-mate and introduce him to Vicente a medical student in his senior year. This introduction led to both Vicente and his new acquaintance search for a seat to chat momentarily before he would be called to the fencing arena located in the middle a ballroom sized hall. Vicente learned that his new-found acquaintance was from the province, located south-east of Manila. Vicente admitted that, being from the north gave him little idea of what was special about the province except that he heard they had one of the best lakes which was adjacent to Manila Bay. This was known to impart a slightly salty taste to the lake’s fresh water, which seemed to have enlivened its fishing grounds. Vicente probably did most of the talking during which he mentioned one place as having one of the best furniture making town. He remembered his maternal grandmother having bought some exquisite pieces of furniture originating from the place in the past. His friend was impressed with these pieces of information. However, he lamented that it seemed like the industrial and farming environment among the provinces circling the capital was in the middle of a turmoil. The people in the area were restless because of reported Spanish abuses at which point, Vicente’s new friend apologized to him for bringing this subject out. He recognized Vicente’s Spanish background and had not intended to discuss an offending subject. But Vicente set this aside. He finally admitted that while his father was one of the Spanish commanders, his upbringing were those with native textures. He did imply that his mother was a Filipina-Chinese mestiza (half breed) and grew up with his maternal grandmother, a Filipina, also married to a Spanish mestizo (halfbreed). His father’s frequent absence from the house on account of his military duties kept Vicente from being able to mix with a true Spanish society. This was further complicated by his father’s death in battle when he was about 5 years old. Luckily, on account of his father’s status and service to Spain, he was awarded a large tract of land, north of the capital with his maternal grandfather serving as his co-executor, known as the hacienda (plantation) where rice, corn and sugar were grown. The proceeds from the hacienda served Vicente well for through it, he was able to study in a foreign land at the behest of his maternal grandfather, Don Emilio.

Eugenio came by shortly after and informed Vicente that he and his new-found friend were now next to use the fencing arena. Vicente remained seated in the same place where he could watch them practice. In the meantime, he also kept his ear on a discussion between two Filipinos sitting nearby. They were in the middle of discussing the latest information received from the Philippines—which was that the surrounding provinces have started to agitate for reforms. Vicente faintly caught the name of his new-found friend having been mentioned, whose family was being closely watched by the authorities for activities not sympathetic to Spain. Vicente’s interest was intensified as he remembered faint rumors about this new-friend’s family had been under scrutiny for their lack of empathy toward Spanish activities in the Islands. He remembered his father showing similar sentimental traits although he died in the hands of a group of historically known group hostile to the Christian church. His new-found friend briefly alluded to his concern over his family’s status since it may affect where he could settle down to begin his practice once he has returned to the Islands. He added that after finishing his medical course that year, he planned on taking a further training in eye surgery, perhaps in Germany. After that he would take the first steam ship back to the Philippines. The current unrest now going on might impact on his trip back. After their chat, Vicente being a couple of years behind