The Incarnates

CHAPTER II : Flashbacks

Jose remembered the day he first met Gertrude. She came with her parents to visit the home of the family his mother was serving. His mother is a native of Filipinas, she belonged to the group the Spanish calls Indio and as such, she had dark skin and was a woman of less than five feet tall, but she was very strong and beautiful.

As a child, he helped his mother perform her duties as the servant of the family. He did chores that was more than what one would expect from a child at the age of eight-- he carried the masters' laundry for his mother after she finished washing it down the river, he gathered and chopped wood for fire to use in the kitchen, and he took the blows to protect his mother whenever the wife of his master tries to hit her with anything she gets her hands on-- regardless of reason, whether it did or did not concern the performance of his mother's menial work.

It was a hot summer afternoon ten years ago. The eight year old Jose was watering the plants at their masters' garden when a carriage arrived at the front stairwell. He ran towards the carriage to assist the people inside, and met the beautiful seven year old Gertrude in her white, frilly European dress. She smiled at him and he smiled back, tipping his salakot (hat) slightly forward with his right hand to respectfully bow, but after realizing that the girl's father had been looking at him with much disgust, he looked away, and after assisting them he went back to the garden to continue watering the plants.

Several minutes later, the young girl came running to the garden. He pretended not to notice her and continued on his work tending the plants.

"What are you doing?" she asked in Spanish. He couldn't understand a word she said though he figured it is the same language the masters of the house use when they converse with each other.

"Uy!" she tapped his shoulders. He looked back at her and then stood up, gave a reluctant bow and walked away. The young girl was left in the garden alone standing in wonder.

The next day, he was in the garden again. Just like the day before, the sun was blazing... giving everyone a very warm afternoon. Wearing his salakot, he squatted in front of a plant bed to take out the weeds that have grown around the plants. Suddenly, a piece of marzipan appeared in front of his eyes. The hand that held it was small and fair, and when he looked to his right, he found the girl smiling brightly at him.

"Eat." she said.

He was so surprised he fell back, his salakot falling down to the ground. He shyly looked away and stood up, putting his salakot back on his head, bowed to the girl and was about to leave when the girl blocked him in his tracks.

She pointed her index finger at him and came closer, until her fingertips reached his left chest, then with the other hand, she offered the marzipan by placing it near his mouth.

"Eat." she said again.

He wondered whether she wanted him to eat what she was offering him. He bent his head forward and opened his mouth and the girl raised the marzipan towards it, he took a bite and afterwards raised his head to look at the girl.

"Hmmm! Very good! Delicious, no?" the girl asked, smiling.

Not understanding her words, he just stared at her while munching on the marzipan. She placed her thumb on his lips and wiped the crumbs away. She finished the remaining marzipan and told him,

"I'll bring more again tomorrow. I'll be here tomorrow, so make sure you come!" and with a smile, she left.

He couldn't understand a word she said, but he smiled and respectfully bowed to her and walked towards the servants' quarters in high spirits. Throughout this innocent exchange, what they didn't know is that someone had been attentively watching them. Before he was able to reach the door, someone stopped him from his tracks. It was his young master, the fourteen year old Felipe.