Angevil's Portrait of Portals

Chapter 3. A Dream For You And Me

The afternoon sun was quite hot today. My cousins and I started singing "Bahay Kubo", a Philippine folk song which talks about the various vegetables growing in the land outside of a nipa hut. We were inside the big house when all of a sudden we heard a woman screaming from outside the village gates. We all rushed onto the windows to get a sneak peak of what was happening outside. Two of the male villagers opened the gates to let a woman enter the village. I could barely see the woman's face from afar but I thought I heard her call me by my name. "Diwa! Diwa!" I soon recognized a familiar voice. My cousins and friends looked at me curiously. The woman's voice came from my mother. I couldn't believe what was happening and I felt my heart racing. 'Is it really her?' I thought for a moment. It was as if my feet had a mind of it's own. It started running outside to where my mom was. We embraced each other so tightly that I couldn't even breathe properly as I held back my tears. I started crying when another warm touch caressed me. It was grandma. She was crying as well. "My son, Asterio.." Grandma wasn't able to finish her words when mom said, "Asterio helped me escape the old church but we were quickly spotted by the Spaniards. They followed us into the woods. He was following me from behind until we got separated. I figured that he might have lured the Spaniards so I could get away. I was indeed right." Mother cried helplessly. My father. I couldn't imagine what he had endured but I was sure he was in pain. I wanted to go after him. I know that he is still alive and I really want to believe that. The elders then assisted us back to our hut. Grandma took care of mom by way of bandaging her wounds and changing her clothes. I on the other hand was told by the elder villagers to get some food and supplies in the big house for mom. As soon as I got back to our hut, Grandma spoke out the words, "Your father is a hero. My son will always and forever be in my heart no matter what happens." I looked at grandma as she cried heavily. Mom hugged and comforted her. I couldn't resist crying myself. I knew that I had to act fast. I was determined to save my father. After dinner, everyone prepared for bedtime. Grandma was looking after my mom who slept soundly next to me. I felt happy that she was okay. I glanced at grandma as she stood up and stared at the dark sky through the open window of our hut. I started praying silently with her.
The next day, I was awakened by a kiss on my left cheek and a warm embrace from my mom. I opened my eyes with a smile on my face.
"It's a beautiful day outside. We need to stay strong for your father until he comes back. We need to help in any way that we can here in this village." Mom said to me. I nodded. Today was very productive. I learned some farming skills with my cousins and friends while mom and grandma did most of the adult work. At the end of the day, I couldn't get rid of the thought about my father. During the late afternoon, my cousins and I saw the beautiful sunset and that was when I strongly decided that I must find my father at early dawn tomorrow. I have high spirits that I will be able to see him again. I wanted us to be a complete happy family. That was all I ever hoped for.
I slept early that night so I can regain my strength for tomorrow's big day. I also managed to pack some of my things like a bottle of water, a pair of clothes and two pieces of bread that I put in a cloth bag which I made by myself. During the early dawn, I carefully got up from bed before anyone notices that I'm gone. I left a letter to my mom saying, "I will be fine and I promise to bring father back home with us. Please wait for me here. I love you." I know it sounds careless of me to venture out and have my mom and grandma worry about me but I want this. I believe this is my fate. Slowly but surely I climbed up the fence and ran thru the woods. I pulled out my ragged bag which was hanging from a tree branch. I looked at the village one more time and prayed for their safety as well as mine. I turned my back and heard a male voice which caught my attention. "Psst!" He said. I walked back to scan the inner village premise and saw Bisig coming towards me from behind the village's fence. He then asked, "Where do you think you are going? You want to save your father, huh? I'm in." I was shocked and so I asked him how on earth did he knew what I was planning to do this whole time? He then climbed up the fence and answered back, "I saw you make that ragged bag but I didn't think much of it until I saw you put some handy things in there. I figured that you might escape again and this is the right time for it. So come on, let's go." I was very surprised and honestly my jaw dropped. I replied, "No. You have to stay in the village. My life is not yours to worry about and please do not let anyone know about this. I am leaving so goodbye." I walked away but he was still following me. I stopped and stared at him irritably but before I could even speak, I noticed he was bringing his own ragged bag. I looked at him in amusement. He then smiled and said, "Ladies first so please lead the way." I didn't argue with him anymore and therefore I let him come with me. The noise we were making would just wake the sleeping villagers. But deep inside I was thankful that I wasn't alone in this journey and that he made me feel secure. I looked at him with admiration. He looked back and smiled at me so I got a bit shy and faced the other way. We stopped by the barn and pulled out my lovely horse, "Unicorn". We then set out to town. Halfway through the forest, we decided to take a break and eat breakfast. He brought a large bun with him while I brought 2 pieces of pandesal. 'Pandesal' is a common soft bread in the Philippines and is sometimes refered to as 'salt bread' in spanish. He broke half of his bread and gave it to me. He then asked me, "Why are you still looking for your father?" I answered, "Wouldn't you look for a loved one who has gone missing? Even though you are not sure if you'll ever find them?" He frowned after taking his last piece of bread and replied, "I tried." He gazed upon my eyes with pure sadness and added, "I tried but I ended up being the reason why my father died." I almost cried. I saw tears running down his eyes and with that I consoled him with a hug on his right side. "I'm sorry for your loss." I said. He then put his arm around my shoulder and gently patted it as a form of reply. I took a last bite of my bread and after resting for quite some time we continued on to our journey. We soon got to the entrance of town. We left my horse, Unicorn, tied up on a tree trunk in the nearby forest. I pulled Bisig's arm to a farther direction when I saw a Spaniard walk outside of the gates. I told him that I knew a way to hide ourselves and get through the old church. The church bell started ringing. People from all over town gathered together for the Sunday mass. It was a perfect opportunity for us to sneak inside the chambers of the old church. I might have a chance to see my father, I thought excitingly. Bisig was astonished with the sight of the big old church as we stood infront of it. It was indeed a sight to behold. We then went up the stairs and entered the church where we gathered around the crowd of people who were standing, many of them having no available seats left. I held Bisig's hand and showed him to the hallway which lead to the underground chambers. I prayed hard as Bisig and I met eye to eye, signalling to each another that it's time for us to do our mission. I hope everything goes well for all of us. Mom. Dad. I love you.