"Once we find a way out of here, we'll know where we want to go. And where we shouldn't. I don't think you'd want to take a route like this again either."
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A Story about...
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January 28, 1877. Sampaloc District, Manila. Approximately 5 years later.
From the start, Del assumed that life in Santo Tomas would be difficult and full of unfamiliar people. However, the system worked much differently for Country Masters than the humans who studied at the same university.
There was a private place in the building with a private teacher, and the only students there were him, Martial, and Hukbalahap. The room was far from the crowded area of the building, and nobody else had the prestige of being able to interact with the Country Masters other than the school staff and the teachers responsible for them.
While it was nice, Del slowly began to take note of how lonely it felt being in the farthest part of Santo Tomas, and how far away they were from their home.
This place was meant for adults, not children like them.
And since the day school began, Del had not seen José in person for the longest time. Sir Miguel, whenever he had the time, would often be the one updating Del about José since his father is close with José family. Overall, José was doing just fine. Excellent, actually, as he excelled in most of his classes and had great marks in his tests.
But from time to time, José would write to Del. He would write about what was happening in Ateneo, what was happening in Quezon, or things happening in his family. If Del wasn't busy with studying or training, he would often write back.
In one letter, José had written the following:
"Ateneo is a challenging new environment for me. My class is full of Spaniards, Mestizos, and fellow Filipinos. But despite my previous educational background, I am treated as inferior in my class and placed at the bottom! How absurd!"
Del wrote back to him saying:
"People are very quick to judge. But that shouldn't define how you perform in class. I suggest you get back at them and prove your teachers wrong. How about your skills in poetry? Why not impress them with that first of all things?"
It took a few months for José to reply, but he was still able to recieve a message from the human boy,
"The poetry was a brilliant idea! My professors noticed my talent and praised me and my family for it! I feel as if I had made myself a better reputation in my school now that I've been doing well in class and writing poems that impress my teachers. However, I've been feeling conflicted lately about my surname "Rizal". If you look at my parents' surnames, it would make it seem as if I were an illegitimate child!"
