Angevil's Portrait of Portals

Chapter 14. Narra Tree

As if reaching for the sun's bright rays while lying down under the big old tree on the hilltop, Diwa recalled the dream she had last night showing two males of different characters. "Sinag (Sun's rays) and Liyab (Flames)." She quietly murmured their names to herself. "Good morning, Diwa." A familiar voice yawned from behind her. She immediately sat down and looked behind her only to see Bisig lying down next to her. "You did not just sleep beside me here last night, didn't you? There is no way!" Diwa exclaimed. "Why not? You sure missed me, right?" Bisig teased her. "Wait. Why are you here? Where are the others?" Diwa replied. "We weren't that lucky looking for help at the church. I knew you were here so I went to pick you up. I was in the middle of trouble yesterday though, but I got through it because of you. I wanted to make sure that I will return you home safe and sound so I didn't get myself killed you know." Bisig replied. Diwa's cheeks flustered a bit by what she had just heard. She then said, "I know I was a burden to you guys and I am truly sorry for that but still, after all the trouble I have caused, you still came for me. Thank you, Bisig." Bisig smirked and replied, "You're more than welcome." They then heard footsteps slowly walking towards them and another familiar voice spoke out and said, "How about you thank me as well? I know I am pretty late on arrival because I had some affairs to finish before coming to your aid, Diwa." Alon said. "You came for me as well. You shouldn't have, Alon. Thank you. By the way, where is Isla?" Diwa asked. "She might be awake by now. She's at my uncle's house. I left her a note saying that I will pick you up at the hilltop. If I had known you were lovey dovey with your boyfriend the entire evening then I shouldn't have interrupted your quality time together, am I right?" Alon teased Diwa while he laughed. Diwa's face turned red as she shouted the lines, "Stop it already. I would never do something that stupid, okay?" Alon then rubbed his right hand on Diwa's head like as if she was a little girl then he faced Bisig and asked him, "If you weren't at the brick of death when we left you with the Spaniard yesterday, then what happened to you after we left?" Bisig then replied to Alon, "You sure know me. Getting away from those Spaniards was easy as pie. Well, after I fought hard I then ran like there was no tomorrow. They couldn't catch up to me since they lack muscle strength inside of their pitiful armors. I then went straight here to Diwa." Bisig's smile turned into a frown and then he added while looking at Diwa, "I actually found you unconscious yesterday and I honestly thought you were going to die, Diwa. You were murmuring some things in your sleep. I tried waking you up by pouring some water on your head and repeatedly shaking your shoulders while calling you out, but with no luck. I was in a panic mode trying to wake you up but then fatigue overcame me. I then realized it was already morning so I tried waking you up again but thankfully you got up on your own." Both Diwa and Alon were shocked by Bisig's statement. Diwa then said to them, "I was very selfish to always put myself first and get you guys involved with this messed up brain of mine. I just kept on seeing images sort of like visions in my head and I wanted to find an answer to that. I might sound paranoid if that's what you want to believe but once I get an answer I will let you all know about it. Thank you for taking care of me despite my childlike behavior." Alon then spoke out, "We are just glad that you are okay. As an older brother, we accept your apology, Diwa. Right, Bisig?" Bisig then smiled sarcastically at Alon and said, "Of course, older brother it is." Diwa then asked Alon, "Alon, what happened to the mother and daughter?" Alon sat down with them and answered, "I decided to leave the baby to Ginoong Marso's care. Just for today. We brought the mother to a funeral home. Actually I asked my uncle for help in looking for the baby's family. We went from house to house in town but we still couldn't find an answer. As for bisig, I was planning to go back and rescue you but at second thought I said to myself, Nah. You sure can handle things on your own and I was right. Next thing I know, you slept next to Diwa all night long." Alon was about to burst out of laughter but was holding himself back. Bisig smiled roughly though, making it more embarrassing for Diwa to handle. Diwa suddenly got curious and asked, "Hold on, did you just say the mother was brought to a funeral home? Do you mean to say, she passed away after giving birth? No! That can't be. She was completely fine after.." Diwa then stood up and tidied her clothes. The two boys also got up and Bisig replied, "Yes, you are right. But still we brought them to church. The thing is, we escaped the priest yesterday from locking us up in the chambers. He never really had the intention to help us look for the baby's family but he sure knows how to make up a story infront of all the devoted followers at church in order to sabotage us." Diwa had a fierce look in her eyes then she said, "You shouldn't have brought the baby to church. You should have known that by now, Bisig. That priest and all of his men are evil!" Bisig then replied, "I get your point, Diwa. I just didn't know where else to go. Besides, I had faith in Isla. You're both from that town so I presume that she can atleast persuade the priest for help. I am sorry." Diwa realized the weight of the situation and asked for forgiveness upon her impulsive actions by saying, "I should be the one to say sorry. I was immature enough to let you guys worry about me. We had a serious situation yet I fled and left you all to solve everything on your own. Thank you for not giving up on me though." Alon placed his hand on Diwa's head and rubbed it while saying, "No worries. We figured you must be thinking of something lately that might have bothered you for so long, that is why we just let you do your thing. At least maybe now you have clear thoughts, right?" Diwa looked at both of the boys and smiled. Altogether, they went down the hill and rode their horses. Alon then offered his hand to Diwa to have her ride his horse. Bisig said, "Go on. Before we head back home, let us drop by the village and visit my mom." Diwa agreed with a smile and so they went to the village. Upon arriving, they saw the children playing happily outside the gates and some of the elders were busy caring for their plants. Bisig hurriedly jumped out of his horse and lifted a child high up in the air as he played with him. He then tickled the little boy which made him laugh so hard that the elders looked at them in amazement. "Bisig? You're here. Welcome back our son." An elderly woman greeted him and so he ran towards her and greetes her with a hug then he said, "Thank you, Lola. How have you been? How's everyone?" She then replied happily, "Everybody's doing great. Your mother will be very glad to see you. She is harvesting some vegetables in the garden. I see you brought some friends with you. Well, hello there." Alon and Diwa then gestured 'mano po' as a sign of respect and said, "Magandang umaga po." Which means 'Good morning' in English. "Diwa, right? Oh and you are Alon. I remember now. Happy to see you back in our village. Come on in." The elderly woman said. They all went in and mingled with the villagers. Bisig surprised her mom by hugging her from behind. She looked extremely happy upon seeing her son again. She looked at us and gave us a warm embrace then she asked, "Where is Isla?" Bisig answered, "She is at Alon's house helping with house work. The three of us were working at something in town and decided to drop by the village before heading back to the city." Diwa got nervous for a bit but maintained her composure after Bisig reassured his mom about Isla. She thought for a moment that he might stutter and expose what has been happening to them lately. "I see. I also miss Isla. Are you all living together in one house? The four of you." Bisig's mom asked. He then replied, "I am actually staying at Alon's place while Isla lives in Diwa's house." Bisig's mom then asked, "If that is so, then why did you say that Isla was at Alon's place doing house work? Are the two of them a couple?" She looked instinctively at Alon but he shook his head nonstop and answered in a fast pace, "We are not together, Ma'am. It just so happened that she wanted to look for a job so I referred her to my uncle to do housework." Alon was surely bad at lying. He was stiff as a rock and was sweating like a pig. "Well then, please say Hi to her for me and remind her to not pick any other man besides my son, understood?" Bisig's mom looked at the four of us meticulously. Bisig suddenly had this sad glance at Diwa. Her mother then noticed and looked at him in confusion. Alon glanced at Bisig and Diwa during that time. "Uh-Ofcourse. We will let her know. Next time we will bring her here with us, I promise." Diwa answered with a smile. Bisig's mom smiled back in return and asked us to stay for lunch, but Bisig said we were in a hurry for work and we'll come back again some other time. She then packed some fruits for us to eat while travelling. We headed back to Alon's place. As soon as we arrived, Isla was already waiting for us at the front yard. She hurriedly opened the gates upon seeing Diwa and the two boys riding their horses. When Diwa jumped down from Alon's horse, Isla hugged her tightly then she gave Alon an intimidating stare. Alon knew the reason behind that and so he said to Isla, "Hey, Listen. I am sorry I didn't wake you up, okay? I just had to do some things on my own without bothering your beauty sleep." Isla replied, "You have always made it seem like I was useless as a female. Not letting me take care of the baby or letting me accompany you. So why bother explaining? I noticed that you leave people behind as you please and just come back whenever you feel like it. You are just like Diwa. Maybe you are meant to be together. You know, If you were my boyfriend, I would have broken up with you by now." Bisig then laughed out loud and said, "How about if I was your boyfriend and I did exactly the same thing to you, would you leave me too?" Isla was lost for words. Her cheeks started blushing yet she kept her head up high while pulling Diwa inside of the house. The two boys then laughed as they followed the ladies inside the house. Alon introduced his friends to his uncle's wife, Aunt Emi. She was sitting peacefully in a rocking chair within the living room area. Their house had a touch of art gallery vibes that shows a number of huge paintings pinned on all sides of the house. Uncle Destino and some of his good friends went out in the early morning to help look for the baby's family in town. The moment they saw Aunt Emi, they noticed how pale and white she looked in person. She must be going through depression because she didn't talk much. After greeting each other, Aunt Emi went to the kitchen and offered them a glass of milk and some bread to eat. After lunch, Alon showed his friends around the front yard. Isla then told Diwa about Aunt Emi's miscarriage. Diwa felt sad about it and thought that she must at least do something to make Aunt Emi feel better. The four friends were walking in the backyard when they saw a narra tree on the right corner lot walled up by tiny fences. She remembered the big old tree from the hilltop in her hometown. It was similar to this narra tree. Flashbacks of her dream suddenly crossed her mind. She envisioned a huge whirlwind which encircled her while the man in a white shirt asked for her hand. Moments later, a hand grabbed Diwa on her right shoulder. It was Aunt Emi. Diwa soon came back to her senses. She then noticed Aunt Emi was looking at her straight in the eye with a smile on her face and said, "That tree is very precious, isn't it?" Diwa's gaze to the tree diverted to Aunt Emi who then stared longingly at the tree. Diwa then replied, "Yes, indeed. It is very precious. I also happen to admire a big old tree in my hometown which I visit most of the time eversince I was young." Diwa's friends were looking at them when Aunt Emi said, "My beloved daughter. She is one with the tree now. Let us all come inside and let her rest peacefully in this area." Diwa felt chills down her spine. But she totally understood that Aunt Emi's miscarriage may have resulted to depression. Her poor baby was buried under that precious narra tree. She then held Aunt Emi's hands to make her feel better and proposed that she and Isla buy the groceries and prepare for dinner. Aunt Emi smiled at them as they all walked back inside the house. Isla suggested they cook 'Sinigang'. A popular stew made of pork and vegetables with a touch of sourness from the tamarind fruit. Everyone agreed and so the four of them went to the heart of the city to buy groceries and the boys started working in the lumber shop. At the supermarket, Isla suddenly shared an experience to Diwa about her encounter with Aunt Emi and so she stated, "Yesterday afternoon when Aunt Emi and I were left alone at home while uncle Destino brought the deceased to a funeral home, I made us both a cup of ginger tea. I then offered it to Aunt Emi who sat still in her rocking chair. She was silent and expressionless. I calmly suggested she rest inside her bedroom. She then replied to me with a worried look on her face as she said these lines repeatedly, "I wish my daughter comes back. I pray for that everyday thru the Demons. Your God has no mercy." Diwa was horrified upon hearing Isla's story. The two of them grew quieter as they both head back home. The moment they arrived, they were greeted by Aunt Emi who was sitting in her rocking chair. The two girls greeted her back but were quite hesitant to start a conversation with her. They both knew this was a sensitive time to discuss even the slightest story about children even their personal upbringing and their families. They should respect a person's privacy at this crucial time of her mourning. In the afternoon, Aunt Emi checked up on the girls in the kitchen and started helping them cook tonight's dinner before finally sitting down on her chair once again. After tidying up in the kitchen, Isla went to the living room to look for Diwa but she wasn't there and noticed the empty rocking chair. She proceeded to search the whole house besides the master's bedroom which was shut closed by Aunt Emi. Diwa was nowhere to be found. She tried eavesdropping at the master's bedroom but heard nothing. She decided to knock on the door and thankfully Aunt Emi opened it and she was asked if she needed anything. She then replied, "Nothing. I was just making sure that you were okay." Aunt Emi smiled back at her as a form of reply. Isla realized where Diwa must have been and so she proceeded to the back yard where the great Narra tree stood by. She slowly approached it and saw a well-lit candle under the tree. Diwa was praying infront of it as she knelt down on the ground. Isla knelt down as well and silently prayed beside Diwa. A gust of cold wind instantly put off the candle's fire. Isla felt chills all over her body. She nervously looked at Diwa who was blankly staring at the tree infront of them. Isla then whispered, "Diwa. Diwa. Are you okay?" There was no reply. Again she asked her but this time Isla shook Diwa's shoulders while keeping a low voice, "Diwa. Diwa, wake up. It's getting dark out here. It might rain any moment now. Please answer me." Diwa soon fell unconscious and Isla started shouting for help. The wind grew stronger as the clouds formed together a black hue. Droplets of rain started pouring until such time that Aunt Emi hurriedly came to their aid to help lift Diwa up but to their surprise, her body was as heavy as a bulge of rock that was impossible to lift up using human hands.