A Paradise Lost

Last Resort

Queen Raya went back to Camotes Island. She felt betrayed after all she have done for her country. She lost everything she worked hard for including the achievements of her ancestors after the Spaniards attacked her kingdom. It seemed like the culture and tradition of Maharlika was completely canceled. The Spaniards re-wrote their history from the time that they conquered their country. They wrote that Maharlikans were ignoramus and pagan worshippers. The Maharlikans had no other God but Yahweh. The Spaniards also distorted the name of Yahweh into Yawa (Cebuano term for evil).

Queen Raya could not take the atrocity of the Spaniards any longer. She didn’t want the rich history of Maharlika to be forgotten forever. She took a paper made of cedar wood and started writing the history of Maharlika. She carefully selected this type of paper because it doesn’t burn easily and it would last for hundreds of years. She wanted the next generation to know the truly rich history of Maharlika. The title of the book she wrote was ‘A Paradise Lost’.

Rianna paused. She looked at the title of the book she was reading. She touched the title of the book ‘A Paradise Lost’. She touched the ink on some of the pages of the book. She couldn’t hardly believe that she was holding the most significant information in Philippine history. The book was the missing puzzle that would shape the future of her country. It was the key to the true identity of the Filipinos rather the Maharlikans.

“My queen, we have finally arrive in Camotes Island.” Captain Igor said.

Queen Raya didn’t want to disembark from the ship yet. She hated going back to her people without bringing any hope of freedom for them.

While on the port, Shiloh, Felipe, Bayani, Anita, and Ahmad were waiting for Queen Raya’s good tidings.

Queen Raya cried and hugged her brother, Shiloh.

“I’m sorry. I failed to unite our kingdom.”

“It’s okay. You’re still the best queen we ever have. No queen in the entire kingdom of Maharlika can ever beat you when it comes to bravery and wisdom whether it’s in the past, present or future. You did your best and you never left us no matter what. You still fight no matter how futile the battle is.” Shiloh said while hugging his sister.

“Felipe, I love you from the very first day I saw you fighting ten men inside the gladiator arena. I don’t know what’s with you but I felt like I am destined to marry you. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Felipe, will you marry me?”

“I am the one who is suppose to ask you that question. Since you ask me first, my answer is yes. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you my queen from the very first day I saw you when you spared my life. I promise you from the bottom of my heart; I will love till death do us part. I still wanted to be your slave and you are my queen.”

Felipe and Queen Raya hugged each other. Everyone clapped their hands.

Queen Raya and the rest of the islanders were baptized as Roman Catholic. There were also some islanders who were not baptized as Roman Catholic and she respected their decision.

Felipe and Queen Raya tied the knot. He went back to Spain upon hearing the death of his half brother King Philip due to syphilis. He was not appointed as the king of Spain but the son of King Philip, King Philip II. He didn’t know anything about running a kingdom. He would only serve as a puppet king just like his father.

King Philip II acknowledged the presence of his uncle. He didn’t give him any position for fear that he might take his throne away from him for he knew that he was the rightful heir of the throne while he and his father were only pretenders to the throne.

The Spaniards were glad to hear that King Felipe was back in their country and married the great queen of Maharlika.

King Philip II was threatened by Felipe’s charisma. He was afraid that he would be dethroned. So he accused him of treason. He fabricated a story against him that he was reporting to the pope of Vatican about the violent treatment of the Spaniards to the Filipinos. He couldn’t order a public execution for his uncle for it might trigger a riot among his people so his best option was to put him into exile.

Felipe chose to be exiled in Paris. He and Queen Raya stayed there for a while until she gave birth to their son, Juan.

“I miss my family and friends.” Queen Raya said.

“I miss them too. But what matters most is that we have each other. The most beautiful thing is that we have a new addition in our family.”

“The birth of Juan is the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me.”

“I will never leave you, my queen no matter what will happen till death do us part.”
“
I love you, my king. I will always stay by your side no matter what.”

Queen Raya continued writing the history of Maharlika. She tried her best to remember the exact events that happened in her kingdom before the invasion of the Spaniards. She wanted to tell the next generation about the true identity of the Filipinos. She wanted to tell the world that the Filipinos already had their own rich civilization before the Spaniards came to the Philippines. Most of all she wanted to let everyone know that the original name of her country was not Philippines but Maharlika. She kept on exchanging letter with her brother Shiloh. They missed each other so much. She was checking how her family and friends were doing. She was sad to learn that her country was no longer the same as before. Her country used to flow with gold and honey but it was slowly deteriorating because of the continuous looting of the Spaniards. The worst part was that they were using the Filipinos to do the hard labor.

On the other hand, Ahmad started hiding gold and precious metals like pearls, diamond, ruby, and emerald to the different caves in Camotes Island. He was writing a diary with a clue on how to find the treasures he had hidden inside the caves. He also draw a map on the last page of his diary. He was saving all these treasures for her newly born daughter, Maryam. He married Anita before Queen Raya and Felipe went to Spain.

There were also some Filipinos who hide treasures sneakily inside the cave. They hid their treasures during the night so that the Spaniards would not notice them. There were also some Filipinos who were caught by the Spaniards looting treasures and were punished severely. The Spaniards would torture them and seized all their treasures. They used the giants to cut off the heads of the Filipinos who got caught looting treasures inside the cave to instill fear to all them.

Queen Raya was horrified on how the Spaniards treated the Maharlikans cruelly. The Maharlikans didn’t deserve to be treated cruelly. The Spaniards didn’t have the right to punish the Maharlikans.

Queen Raya didn’t want to change the name of her country from Maharlika to Philippines. The Spaniards change the name of Maharlikans to Filipinos because according to them, the Filipinos were slaves of King Phillip. King Phillip was the most disgusting king she ever heard of. She was disgusted to the thought that her countryman was a slave to a corrupt king who was also a rapist and a murderer who shamefully died of a sexually-transmitted disease, syphilis.

She was looking forward to the day that the true identity of the Maharlikans would prevail again.

She wanted to go back to her country to fight for her countryman and overthrow the Spaniards before it’s too late. If the Spaniards would continue to abuse the Filipinos until the next generation, the next generation would think that it is just normal for them to be treated violently by the Spaniards and they won’t attempt to fight back. She had to keep the brave spirits of the Maharlikans alive before their true identity would be completely forgotten.

She looked at her son. She needed to train her son first on how to fight before they would return back to the Philippines. She would teach everything she knew to her son so that he would continue the legacy of her forefathers.