Angevil's Portrait of Portals

Chapter 8. The Past And The Present

As soon as Alon and I got home, grandma welcomed us with a bag of pandesal bread which she baked this afternoon. "Did the two of you had a great day today?" She asked. Alon hinted that I need to be honest that is why I told grandma the truth. "We went to the Art Gallery Museum. I am sorry for not telling you the truth, grandma." I said. "I see no problem with that my dear. If you really wanted to see your painting, well that's fine with me as long as you are in safe hands. Thank you, Alon for accompanying Diwa on her way to the museum." Grandma said. "You are always welcome." Alon replied with a smile. It felt as if there was something odd about the situation but I couldn't figure out what it was. Wait, grandma didn't remember the text from the letter? Same as Alon and Ginoong Marso. How come they all forgot about it? Atleast I had gotten to remember again. For now, my next destination will be the hilltop in my hometown. But how am I going to ask for grandma's permission? I knew that she wouldn't let me go anywhere near there. Should I ask Alon to come with me? Should I tell a lie once more? With that I can finally go visit the village again after so many years and see Isla, Bisig and the others. I would love for them to climb up that hill once again. That was exactly what we used to do back in our childhood. Either way, I still need to be truthful to my grandma. I then approached her and asked, "Grandma, I would like to ask for your permission if I could go back to my hometown to visit my favorite hilltop? And also I was hoping if you would let me visit the village again." She was washing the dishes right after we ate her freshly baked pandesal when she paused for awhile after hearing my request. She then turned around with great concern in her eyes and replied, "All I ever wanted was for you to be safe and happy. But I knew that this day would come. And so I will let you go there, but promise me one thing. You will come home with a fulfilled heart. By then we can both live peacefully and move forward from all that has happened in the past." I nodded in reply. I felt relieved as I held back my tears. "Thank you, grandma. I love you." I said to her as I gave her a warm embrace. We then heard Alon choke on his pandesal so we checked up on him and saw him gulping a glass of milk while in tears. Grandma immediately rubbed Alon's back while I handed over a napkin to him. He was still crying even after he got better then he said, "It felt like I was watching a drama in a classical theatre. But this scene was my favorite. It was certainly the best." I almost hit him hard on one shoulder and looked at him annoyingly because he was joking around at our precious moment. Grandma messed up Alon's hair in return for his silliness. We all laughed so hard that we forgot about our worries.
The next day, I was in a hurry to travel in excitement. I wore my backpack and slippers then bid grandma goodbye. As usual, she would hand me over a lunch box on my every travel. I hugged her tight with a huge smile on my face then she said, "Please come home soon and say hello to the villagers for me. Have a safe trip and may the Lord God guide you throughout your journey." I then replied, "Thank you, Grandma. Please take good care of yourself as well. I will be back soon, I promise." The moment I got out of the front door, I was greeted by my neighbors and so I greeted them back with a "Good Morning". The fresh air outside smelled like 'Sampaguita', a traditional fragrant white flower in the Philippines. "Diwa, are you ready for the ride of your life?" A familiar voice called out to me. It was Alon. He brought his uncle Destino's carriage with him. He stood right next to it while munching on a pear. "What are you waiting for? Let's go." He added. "Wait. You mean, you are coming with me to the village?" I asked. "Sure, why not?" He replied. Grandma appeared from behind my back and said, "Alon is always a reliable companion. You should be thankful, Diwa." I then looked at Alon and saw him smiling while getting his horse ready. "Thank you, Alon." It was the only response I spoke as I ran towards him and gave him a hug. I wondered a little why he was always there for me and my grandma even though we were not in any way related to each other. He reminded me a lot like Bisig. We then waved goodbye to grandma and set out on a wonderful quest back to the village. We were both silent until we got out of town. "Alon?" I called to him. "Yes? Is there anything you need? Just let me know." He replied. "Thank you for accompanying me back to the village. You shouldn't have, I mean you have done so much for me and for my grandma. I don't know how else to repay you for your kindness." I said. He then hauled the horse and looked back at me. We met eye to eye without saying a word and it made me fluster a bit. He laughed and said, "You are like a little sister to me whom I needed to protect. We both don't have our parents with us anymore although I have my uncle with me and you still have your grandma. We got the two of us, right? We should always have each other's backs." It sure made sense. "You are right, Alon." I replied with a smile then he smiled back at me. Alon once told me years ago about his past life after being adopted by his uncle Destino as a baby. He mentioned about him being born as a product of maliciousness by his wealthy father and his mistress. His parents were said to have migrated to another country and has never reached out to him ever since. I then asked him to drop by the wet market or what we call 'palengke' in Tagalog word in which we bought some purple yam or 'ube camote' for the villagers. A few hours had past until we reached the village. "We are finally here." Alon said. My cousin, Isla, who was a sole survivor in their family after the tragic fire incident hesitantly but slowly came towards me once she caught sight of me. She was planting some seeds in the garden just infront of the village gates. I then saw how well constructed the village was compared to years ago. It looked better and more developed just like how the city looks like now. "Diwa? Is that really you?" She asked. "Yes, it's me Diwa. How are you, Isla? I miss you so much." We both felt emotional as we hugged each other tightly. She began to cry while saying, "I miss you too, Diwa. It's good to see back in the village but the people here do not want your name to be mentioned anymore. I am sorry but maybe you should leave before they could even see you." I suddenly felt sad. I thought that time would heal everything in the past but I was wrong. An elderly woman saw us and said, "You came back. How are you and your grandmother?" People from the village started gathering one by one to where we were until news spread quickly and they found out it was me, Diwa, the child who almost had all of them killed years ago. I started crying. "Welcome to our village. Please come inside." The elderly woman added. Alon slowly came up to me and wiped my tears with his towel. He had this sad look in his eyes but still he managed to put up a smile. We then entered the village with Isla's help. People were staring at us as we sat in a bench quietly. I said hello to the toddlers as they happily played around the playground. Two small bowls of warm porridge were served to us by my cousin, Isla. The elderly woman sat down infront of us and asked me once again, "How are you doing? How is your grandmother?" I answered, "She is doing very well and is in good shape. How about you and all of the villagers?" She then replied, "It was really difficult for us at first but we managed to get a hold of the situation with the help of one another. Also with tons of help from your friend's uncle and the city people. What is your name again, young man?" Alon replied, "My name is Alon. Nice to meet you." I then remembered our small gift to them from the market and gave it to the elderly woman. A while later, Bisig's mother heard about my arrival and approached us and said, "Diwa?" I turned to her direction. She then recognized me and said, "It is really you. How are you?" I noticed how the villagers have aged after years of surviving tremendously after the tragic fire incident. I replied, "I am fine. I came back because I miss the village and all the people here so much. I am glad that you are all doing fine as well." She patted my shoulder with a smile and said, "I am too. Welcome back. Kindly say hello to your grandmother for me." I smiled back and said, "I will. Thank you." She then went back to her usual chores inside the hut. Isla then toured us inside the village and outside the fields. We had some time to talk about how their life was after the incident. I wasn't surprised that Isla didn't held any grudges against me even after she had lost both of her parents due to the fire and I knew exactly the reason why. Since she was 5 years old, Isla was living with her father and step mother after her biological mom was beaten to death by her own father. Her step mom didn't care about her either even when her father beat her up as well. Growing up, she had entrusted herself to Bisig since he was the only person who constantly protects her. Also, Bisig's mom treats her like her own child. Isla had lost her father and stepmother due to the fire years ago. I noticed how Alon was so silent all this time so I asked him if he was alright. He nodded back in reply and said, "Of course. Don't worry about me." Isla was staring at Alon and said, "You seem sleepy. You can rest in the nearby hut before you head back home later." Alon replied, "Sure, thanks. What's your name again?" I totally forgot to introduce them to one another. My cousin replied, "Isla. And you are Alon, right?" He then nodded with a smile. The word 'Isla' means Island. Their names were actually connected in terms of meaning. Alon as the 'Ocean wave' and Isla as an 'Island'. While Isla and I chatted, Alon went straight to the hut to rest for a bit. He sat at the openings of the hut facing us. "Ouch! Hey, what do you think you are doing? This is my hut, okay? So back off." A man argued with Alon inside the hut. Alon immediately got up and apologized. Isla and I ran towards them. I held on to Alon while isla grabbed the other man. "Listen, Bisig. This is Alon, Diwa's friend. He didn't mean to hurt you. I told him to rest in the hut without knowing you were here. We are really sorry." Isla explained. "Diwa?" Bisig asked. He then approached me and looked at me closely from head to toe. He turned his attention to Alon once more and stared at my hand holding Alon's arm then he asked, "Is he your boyfriend, Diwa?" I was greatly surprised to see him again in person. I tilted my head in response. He then grabbed my other hand and gave me a hug. He was and had always been this rough young boy I knew back then. He is the total counterpart of Alon, a sweet happy go lucky type of guy. But both have such gifted aesthetics. They are both loving individuals in their own simple ways. Alon pushed Bisig slightly and pulled me away. "Is that how you greet a friend? A female friend?" Alon asked. "Yes." Bisig answered and added, "Is that how a guy friend should react when seeing his female friend with another guy?" Alon didn't answer back. The tension was there and so I intervened and said, "Bisig, I need to talk to you about something important. Alon helped me along the way so I hope both of you will get along well with each other." Bisig looked straight into my eyes and replied, "Why didn't you come see me alone?" Alon moved a little forward and wanted to talk back but I stopped him by grabbing his shoulders. I looked back at Bisig and said, "Please. If you will not cooperate, I have no choice but to leave." Alon interrupted and said, "We better go, Diwa." Bisig smirked as he looked at me. "Let's talk then." He said. Alon couldn't contain himself and blurted out, "If only I knew you were here to come see him I shouldn't have..." He paused and then walked out of the village. I was about to follow him when Bisig said, "Diwa, I want us to talk." I didn't know what to do next so I just stood there. I had this strong feeling of wanting to accomplish my intentions with the village people and with going back to the hilltop, although it wasn't clear to me why I had to do all of this. I had to let Alon go so Bisig and I could talk. He then offered his hand and took me to the hut where we can talk in private. "Diwa, I will go check up on Alon so don't worry." Isla assured me with a smile. Bisig and I were left gazing at each other's eyes. We were both silent. I couldn't believe I am seeing the boy I once knew turn into a man in just a blink of an eye.