To Catch a Gust of Wind [COMPLETE]

Chapter 3 - Silay after Dark [#9]

They reached the public plaza at the center of the city. Streetlights illuminated the area where they stood. Cars and tricycles honked their horns past them. The city had started to light up in the gathering dusk.

If you gather the individual parts together, you could get something whole. It would then right to say that the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. But some things just don't work that way. The whole can be more than just the sum of its parts. A city or Silay City for that matter is more than just ancestral heritage houses or nameless people or El Ideal or Silay Institute or even the public plaza.

For Rafael, the plaza had changed a little, not too much, as far as he could remember the plaza he once knew. As he could see, the plaza was one big garden, lots of trees, each tree surrounded by a concrete bench, square- or round-shaped. Chains of white lights hung from the trees like giant fireflies in the night. Trees are now de rigueur for public plazas such as this, Rafael had a passing thought. They provide shade. Especially in the afternoon when people would start to converge on the plaza. He could see the fountain in the middle, built on a raised concrete platform with several steps. Oh, the fountain. If he were to name one thing he wouldn't forget about the plaza, it would be the fountain. It fascinated him as a child during the rare occasion when his parents would bring him to Silay, usually during the Holy Week or Christmas. The water sprouting into the air, spreading into multitudinous drops, dancing in mid-air before falling down into a square-shaped artificial pond. How could a boy ever forget his first impression of a fountain? It's his first experience of the magical and the wonderful that technology and ingenuity had contrived to put together.

He turned to Thea Marie. "Is the fountain still operating?"

Thea Marie was silent. Where the fountain was, Rafael saw the outline of a skeletal cone towering over the center. A silhouette formed by background lights. Must be the Christmas Tree from last December's festivities. Beyond was the arc-shaped roof of a covered court and the Rizal Cultural and Civic Center now renamed Sen. Jose C. Locsin Cultural and Civic Center, or simply the Civic as they were wont to call it during those days. It was where he stepped onto the stage to receive a medal and diploma. He saw how his father's face beamed with pride. Must be a very satisfying experience for his father. If there were moments of pure bliss for his parents, this one was in the book.

"What time would the parade start tomorrow?" Rafael asked Thea Marie casually. He was referring to the homecoming event of Silay Institute. Every year, SI, as the institution was lovingly called, organized a homecoming affair in February. Both he and Thea Marie were alumni of the school.

"Assembly is at 6:30," Thea Marie replied. She stopped walking when Rafael stood in front of the statue of Dr. Jose Rizal, the national hero. The statue perched on top of a tapered pedestal about three meters high, fenced in by eight small posts joined together by metal chains. During his high school years, there was no statue here.

Rafael espied several people walking towards the Civic. They must be preparing for tomorrow's event. Talk about parade and colorful costumes portraying make-believe characters.

Thea Marie tapped his shoulders. "You really want to go tomorrow? I prefer not to. Might turn into something I'm afraid would happen."

"What, what are you afraid of?" Rafael asked. Realizing a split second the conversation would lead to another serious exchange of words, Rafael changed the subject. "Don't you want to meet your batchmates? When was the last time we attended the homecoming?" It was so many years ago when they were still in college. He was dating her then, not yet sure if her feelings for her would blossom into something serious. It was one thing to be a lover and another thing to become one's best friend. And during his carefree days, he preferred to be the former.

Thea Marie lowered her head slightly. Rafael noticed the subtle act. A body language, that if he's not mistaken told him of a thing that should remain unknown, hidden, secret. Something told him he better not get started on this one.

"I want to go. It would be wonderful to meet my batchmates once again after all these years. It's been a long time I have not stepped inside SI," Rafael said still looking in the direction of the Civic.

"I hope so that's the only reason," Thea Marie spoke softly, as if she's talking only to herself. She knew she could get Rafael started on talking about what she had in mind.

However, Rafael simply turned away and started walking towards the church of Saint Didacus of Alcala or popularly called San Diego de Alcala...