Lolo Cres

The Real Nazareno • 1

Is this it? That's very... underwhelming.

Rafa is standing in front of an old mansion in Malate. The mansion must have been absolutely fantastic back in the day, but now? Parts of the roof have collapsed, the paint was peeling, there was obvious termite damage, and the garden was absolutely overgrown. Is this really the home of a respected, legendary academian?   

Well, let's get this over with, Rafa thought. 

He rang the doorbell, rang it again, before realizing it didn't work. He tried knocking on the gate, but there was no response. "Tao po!" Rafa shouted over and over again, but to no response. 

Maybe he's not home right now, Rafa thought. Maybe he's on a trip somewhere. Where do retired teachers go ba? Maybe this house is abandoned for all we know. But how do I know for-

"Dyaryo, Lolo!" A middle aged man on a bike shouted before tossing some rolled up newspapers inside the garage. The man was getting ready to go, but Rafa stops him from leaving.

"Does anybody live here?" Rafa asked.

"Oo naman! Lolo doesn't go anywhere. He's just inside!" The man goes on his way.

As if on cue, an elderly man, clad in a sando and pajamas, steps out of the house to pick up the newspaper. Rafa was under the impression that the man he was to meet was really old, but this person would barely qualify for a Senior Citizen card. Maybe he's an assistant or something.   

"Hello po!" Rafa calls out, "I'm looking for Sir Cresencio Delos Reyes. Is he inside?"

If the man heard him, he steadily ignored him. He made his way inside the house. Rafa was stunned. There was no way this man could have not heard him. Maybe he was deaf, Rafa thought, but if that's the case, how did he hear the newspaper man call out?

Rafa was incessed. He was not a physically imposing man, but what he lacks in muscle, he makes up for in a healthy dose of attitude. Nobody ignores him in that manner! He reached through the gate and opens it. He makes his way to the front door before the middle-aged man could close it. The man was definitely startled to see the stranger inside the house, but he catches himself.

"How did you get in?!? Go away!" The man shouted at Rafa.

"Sorry for barging in," Rafa backed off a bit, "But my name is Rafael Isidro and I've been trying to get your attention for a long time. Why were you ignoring me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please leave." The man tried to close the door again.

Rafa tried to force the door open, but the man was stronger than he looked. Come to think of it, even for a middle-aged man, he could probably beat me up, Rafa thought. But then again, the bar is not that high. Sigh. 

"I really need to talk to Sir Cresencio Delos Reyes," Rafa blurted out while trying to force the door open. "Please! It's very important!"

"What could be so important that you need to bother me this early in the morning?!?"

Shocked, Rafa let go of the door, which caused Cresencio to launch himself out of the house and stumble on the pile of boxes in the garage. "Puñeta kang bata ka!"

"You're Sir Cresencio Delos Reyes?" Rafa said, still surprised.

"Can you not say my full name like that? It's so... formal!" Cresencio brushed himself off and picked up an upturned box.

"Should I call you 'Cres' or something?" Rafa remarked, rather snidely.

"That's Lolo Cres to you and to everyone else," Lolo Cres snapped back. "Now why are you bothering me?"