Jeproks

Chapter 1

In Batangas, a place aptly called Poblacion Sarao is located. In this town, a Jeepney is the most beloved jewel of society. These military jeeps of the past were reinvented to become service vehicles for the common public. Their beautiful designs are all equally colorful, functional and majestic. They are customarily decorated with vibrant ornaments all over their bodies: the sides and hoods are mostly chrome-plated, their equally metallic roofs provide shades effectively and their seats are capable of accommodating at least more than twenty passengers. Therefore to nobody's surprise, they litter the streets in every turn of the road. A festivity is to behold when seeing them lined up in traffic. In contrast from the wake of World War Two's destruction from where they first originated from, and even with the smog they cause, the residents have nothing but praises for these national treasures. Nonetheless, they are thankful to have Mount Makiling only an adjacent away from their town. Littered with trees and other verdant lives, they entrust her the responsibility to soak up the gaseous chemicals from their adored vehicles. Furthermore, the town itself is located within a crater formed from the said mountain's rage. But now, she has calmed down for hundreds upon hundreds of years.

Poblacion Sarao's beautifully ornate vehicles are manufactured daily. The very reason why each household has their own jeepney respectively. Most families even have more than two at a time. In the household of the Soriano family however, they can barely afford to maintain one. Felimon Soriano is the breadwinner of this struggling home. Every single day, he wakes up the earliest in the depths of morning to drive his jeepney; as well as, goes home already late in the eve of night. The money that he earns is somewhat enough for their daily expenses. As the sole driver himself, he makes sure to take care and clean the family's only jeepney. His love shines for it when he even gave it a moniker. He called it Jeproks, after a vernacular description for someone or something that is cool and hip - as years beforehand, he used to play in a rock band and this was his way to recapture his lost youth. Together with this, he was also an artist by trade. And yet, he had to surrender such passions in order to support his growing family. Nonetheless, he found a solution. His influence and only known method of applying his creativity were through the designs he has created for his jeepney, reflecting all too well Felimon's passion for the rock-and-roll field of music. Marites Soriano, the homemaker of this residence, is a communal housewife. Nonetheless, taking care of their house, the expenses and their children are always her number one priority and calling it her daily life. She runs a tight shift and everyone, even her husband Felimon, is afraid to question her every order. Moreover, Marites is famous for having the most sought after Bibingkas - lathered with shaven cheese, coconut flakes and mascuvado sugar atop; alongside, her scrumptious ube pastries. All tagged as the best in Sarao. The aforementioned couple are parenting two children. They also happened to be identical twins. The eldest was born three minutes ahead and is named Honeyleth. She might be the older of the two but acts utmost the juvenile and is unlike any other girl from the barangay. Nonetheless, it did not thwart her from enrolling in the girl scouts. She excelled in all the physical aspects of the club, most especially her favorite past time - Swimming. Attributing to her playful character, she and her younger brother Jaime are very close knit. They are often seen playing together and are cited by the neighbors to be tied to each other's wastes. Despite this however, their father often subjects her to joining more of the girly things instead, aligned into something like their annual barangay beauty pageants for one. Lastly, the aforementioned Jaime is the youngest. He garnered much of the family's attention, particularly from their father. And alike his sister, he too outshines in manual pursuits such as sports. His favorite hobby is to utilize his legs as often as he can. To no one's surprise, he loves to play a lot of sports and is his school's varsity player in track-and-field. His mother Marites often conveys to the neighbors that his feet was probably a 'Pinaglihi', or obtained from consuming aplenty of coffee grounds during her pregnancy with him. Therefore, the boy won numerous awards to count; more so than his sister. Any wonder that there was slight favoritism from Felimon towards Jaime. Then again, carefree as Honeyleth was, she hadn't notice...yet. Anyways...beside from their jeepney, this family unit jubilantly also tends to their plot meant for planting rice, as accustomed to them and the rest of the barangay. Indeed, the Soriano household was livelier than ever before, especially when the twins came into the picture. It seems as though nothing will come between the strong bond of a brother and sister. Nevertheless, change was something inevitable. Honeyleth started to feel jealousy towards her brother throughout the years that they were growing up. The foremost reason was that their father Felimon was spending more time with Jaime than her. Every weekend afternoon, Felimon doesn't hinder himself to bring Jaime for free driving lessons. His intention was for his son to inherit the family business once he retires. In regular sessions of their drives, they always elapse through Mount Makiling. Jaime never fails to notice the biggest balete tree he has ever laid eyes upon. One time, he even thought to have observed the tree sort of shimmer in his direction. Nonetheless, an opportunistic moment conferred itself to Jaime. When Jeproks attained a flat tire, Felimon and his son were stuck on the middle of the road; where, the aforementioned tree stood just meters near. While Felimon fixed his most valued jeepney, Jaime decided assessing the evergreen out closely as ever before. Upon his initial inspection, he noted its intimidating companionship. The boy discerns something active behind him; but failed to catch it in action. Thus, he forgets his suspicion and saw a singular root below. Jaime commandeered it and forthwith left upon his father calling for his name. Following, Felimon and his boy traverses their favorite carinderia for something to digest, as reparation of Jeproks took time and affected their bellies. And as a habit between them, had a blast with each other's company while feasting on their individual merienda snacks. Blessedly, their relationship grew sturdier with the frequent drives together as father and son. Sooner rather than later would Jaime neglects the campaign's significance. Honeyleth would be accustomed to being beside the window whenever Felimon and Jaime arrive home. She would start to comprehend what being jealous is and as such,  redirected her vexation towards her twin brother. Ergo, the siblings had their first argument one evening right after school. Motion was set when Marites requested her to call their father and Jaime for dinner. She eventually found the two at their habitual space, the garage. Passing on knowledge, the Soriano boys were fixing a spare part for Jeproks. When Honeyleth informed them about the dinner being ready for consumption, Felimon left for the dining table immediately; whereas, Jaime remains tucked on his minute chair. Prideful ruling over, Honeyleth nagged repeatedly but the youngest was just as stubborn as his sister. Their dialogue forthwith escalated from quarrelling to a shouting match. From that moment forward, their bond begins to tatter. They barely hangout and even acknowledge each other's presence.