I Will Take Hold of You

Chapter One

Philippines, 1905

"Take a carriage? Papa!"

"What's wrong if you ride in a carriage, Isa? Just now. My arthritis has been really bothering me since last night, so I can't take you," Nicholas de Leon said to his daughter.

"Papa, look. When I pass our gate, I'll walk to the street which is almost a mile from here. Then I'll ride a carriage if I'm lucky to be passed by one that will go to Avenida Rizal. When I get to Tayabas, I smell like sweat and wilted vegetables," the girl complained.

The old man stroked his leg. "And what do you want me to do, hija? Drive you to the market with my condition?"

"I can take Panyang, Pa...", the girl replied referring to her horse pet.

"Don't go to the market, Isa!" Nicholas replied stiffly.

The girl rolled her eyes and looked up. Six weeks ago she had an accident while riding her horse. She avoided a drunk crossing the street. When Panyang suddenly jerked and she fell.

Although nothing serious happened to her except for a knee injury. She planted her left leg hard on what part of the ground she could not remember.

Her left knee was also in a cast for two weeks.

"Because papa, we still have to move here to this remote place when we have a house in Hacienda de Mandaluyon," said the girl like a child.

"We are going back to that issue, again, Isa..."

"Because I don't see the logic in our moving here to Bulacan. And you rented our house to someone else..."

"Hija, I love this place," Nicholas' voice and face softened. "Your mama and I met in this place. Here in this house of your grandmother, we lived for the first five years of our lives. That was before you were born. And our farm is here..."

The girl sighed. "Down on memory lane, again..." she whispered. When it comes to this conversation, Isa doesn't answer anymore. Even if she wanted to reason, she didn't want to be an obstacle to his father's happiness that would disrupt the remaining years of his life in that place.

When her grandmother, the mother of her father, died five months ago. Her father, Nicholas, had the house repaired. The two-story house was not changed but replaced what needed to be replaced. Placed two toilets and baths upstairs and small storage of seedlings downstairs and paint it.

Three months ago, after she argued with his father about the impracticality of what to do, they moved here. Their house in Hacienda de Mandaluyon was rented to an American couple who are now teaching here in the Philippines.

Well, she really has nothing against the place. The farm owned by his father is large. the mango and star fruit, fruiting trees were lined up where a lot of money was raised from them. The breeze is crisp and fresh. However, her work is in Tayabas and that place is far from everything.

With her father, there is no problem, because he has retired from being a soldier, where his rank is high. How about her? Except for the ten to fifteen minutes walk to the highway, the carriage is thirty-five minutes traveling out of the exit and another fifteen minutes on the national road. When she arrives at Avenida Rizal, she can walk to the market where she puts her flowers. She will travel in less than two hours and that's only one way. In fact, almost half the time is saved if she uses her own carriage.

She faced her father again. "This will make me late, eh..."

"You own the business, Isa, what if you get late," Nicholas replied to his daughter's nagging. "Sometimes, I wonder why I'm still teaching you the business when all you wanted to do is just sell flowers outside," he added.

The girl's eyes widened. "Papa! I'm not a salesperson. I'm the one who arranges the bouquet and I have a colleague who sells there. My shop is full of flower bouquets."

"Why don't you move your shop here? Don't tell me the rich people who live here don't buy bouquets?"

"Pa, do you know who my customers are? Famous..." Isa stopped speaking. He saw the smile and sparkle in her father's eyes. She walked into its trap. Her father is deliberately annoying and angering her.

She picked up the bag from the table and kissed her father's hand. "I think, I'd better be going..."

The father nodded patting her arm. She was already at the door when she turned around again.

"When will the carriage be finished?"

"Hmm...Today is Thursday...My godson promised me it's on Saturday."

The girl turned back. That's another thing that annoys her. Her father made the carriage fix in the workshop owned by his friend. It's still new and maybe instead of being fixed, it will just get worse.

After leaving the house, she walked a little towards the road. Overlooking the carriage that may be passing by. It's eight thirty, it's definitely noon when she reaches Manila where her shop is. She had been standing for three minutes and still no one was passing by. If anything, there are riders. It only added to her annoyance.

She was even more surprised when a passenger carriage stopped in front of her, and its driver gasped.

"I'm going to Avenida Rizal, miss. Where are you going?" it asked.

Isa couldn't speak immediately. In front of her was a man whose face was still bluish from the shaved beard. She stared at the driver's eyes and at his whole face. She seems to be magnetized. Its hair is a bit curly.

The man nodded and smiled. "Miss, I said where are you going? My carriage is going to Avenida Rizal..."

The girl's eyes blinked. If later and it wasn't a rickshaw driver, she might have smiled at him. Without flinching, she went around the other side and rode behind the driver.

Isa looked at the driver who had already started the carriage. A suppressed smile was on his lips although his attention was focused on the road. He smelled like a mixture of bath soap and men's cologne. She wanted to think the cologne she smelled was imported but that was impossible. What does this driver know about imported and expensive cologne? And her, why is she conscious of the smell of cheap and imitation colognes? Her nose was just deceiving her.

In the corner of her eyes, she secretly glanced at the driver. He was wearing a white shirt, faded jeans, and sharp-pointed leather shoes. And those thighs! The girl blinked again and shook her head slightly. What is happening to her and she is wasting her time on this rickshaw driver?