Once In A Lifetime

Chapter 21: The Past

"Life is a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors."
-------

Meeting and knowing her uncle for the first time, somehow, gave her a sense of worth. She finally had a home between his embrace as he welcomed her in his life, bringing her to the past. Her imagination was too keen to visualize all the events her uncle told her. She had come to know her mother through the family album her uncle kept for many years. And for the first time, when she saw her mother in those pictures, she saw the reflection of herself. Mother and daughter are exactly the replica of each other except her mom's eyes were soulful and penetrating. There was a certain glow that speak of hope and compassion while hers were drab and sad.

There were pictures in black and white revealing her great grand parents dressed in such a dignified manner together with their three children. The only boy, Carlo, was the father of her mom and uncle and the twins, the sisters of her grandfather, had resemblance to uncle Luis. The family pictures revealed her ascendants in three generations in the ancestral house that looked more than a century old.

Somehow, the pictures gave a vivid individual image of her ancestry,  even in the deep recesses of her mind they did not exist, all were unknown and completely strangers, except for her mom,  who even if faceless to her as it appeared, had become a permanent  engraving in her heart since she was young. This  time, she  would never appear faceless anymore in her imagination. She had her image captured forever not only in her heart but as well in every fiber of her being, consuming her memory with treasure of a lifetime. A legacy she wished to relive so long as there is life on earth.

Linda had her image reflected everytime Denise would look at the mirror or cast a shadow of herself somewhere. She felt being with her mom everywhere. She had her looks and above all, her daughter.  That's all that matters now.

Denise saw photos of the old house inside out. The house was indeed a beautiful one, where bricks  were perfectly blended with mahogany and capiz in the entrance. Doors and window panes, along with the curved staircase, were all chiselled perfectly, revealing an artist's master piece showcased inside and outside of the house.

Denise felt some aspects of the past becoming alive before her very eyes. The pictures were too precious being the only remains preserved outside the devastated ancestral house of the Santoses.  As she held them  on her hands, Denise felt the heaviness of bringing this legacy visible and a consuming desire to  rebuild them from ashes engulfed her in a way that she could not understand.

"Denise, I want you to keep them," Uncle Luis said softly touching her hands and continued saying,

"Promise me,  you will treasure them." He reached out from his gown and held to her a sealed envelope.

"Take this as well.  Everything that you need to know is inside. Take heart to study them. You are the rightful person to make things happen. I know your mom will be very proud of you, my child."

"I don't understand," she was confused as she received the sealed envelope. "What is this for, Uncle?"

"You will know in due time. Besides, it's been only two days since you got to know me. You still have some few days to stay here unless you are bored and wanting to move out already."

"If only I can stay here with you forever, Uncle, you know I would do that. You're the only family I got."He hugged her tenderly and he felt embracing his little sister Linda like he used to do when they were young everytime she would be afraid of or confused  over something.

He was in denial when he learned about her death. He mourned in silence when he could not go out from the monastery  and give his last respect for the only sibling he shared life with. He was on fire at that time, taking his vow of chastity and penance, a ritual that lasted for weeks, one that could never be interrupted with secular matters though how important and urgent they seemed.

He grieved, but was altogether thankful for he was led by the spirit to a circumstance that caused him to realize God's sustaining grace and power to consider such a lost a victory won for the Master. When finally, after the ritual, he was officially accepted into Aaron priesthood with the highest order - a privilege and honor that not everybody had a chance to live with.

"Take some rest now, my child. See you in the Dorcas Dining Hall after an hour."

Denise slipped the envelope under her arm as she made her way back to the guest room and heard Uncle Luis' steps fading along the pavement towards the sanctuary for the monk's regular meditation.

Twilight started to envelop the ground leaving an eerie feeling as the usual silence deepened in the compound for about an hour. While waiting for dinner, she opened the envelope. It contained documents of all sorts. Among others that she could easily identified were corporation by-laws, land titles, banks records, stock certificates, trust funds, will and testament and a lot more. She started reading some. She could not believe as one by one, the wealth of the family was being unfolded before her very eyes by the unseen spirits of her ancestors.

One particular set of documents caught  her attention bearing her parents' names being the Chief Executive and President - Owner of a company named  Sanrom Corporation. She was already engrossed reading them when suddenly, the chimes on the tower sounded, a sign that the meditation hour - the partaking of the spiritual food - had ended and to be replaced by the bread intended for the body waiting in the dining halls.

Denise was in awe as she contemplated the possibility of carrying such a great weight of responsibility which her parents left for almost two decades already.  She could not imagine inheriting all these properties, aside from the vast of lands Manang Pacing had told her. In disbelief, she hurriedly walked, passing the dining hall towards the entrance leading to the Prayer Garden, as  Uncle Luis called it.

Then, she remembered that every corner of the monastery was hallowed and inaccessible to non-monks like her, especially the sanctuary. Monks dine in the Last Supper Room at the opposite building where simple meal was being served throughout the week. Some monks abstained from food for a couple of days or weeks for reasons only heaven knows. Guests dine in the Dorcas Dining Hall located in a separate building within the compound with complete basic necessities every guest could wish for. It was in this building, that she received constant visits from Uncle Luis since the day she arrived here and from where she could meet other monks also if there were visitors coming.

From behind, she heard a voice. "Denise, where are you going?" It was Uncle Luis in his usual and casual tone.

"Oh, I am on my way to the dining hall uncle to meet you. I guess, I lost my way again." 

"Come, my child, let me show you the way."

Going back inside, Denise could imagine walled-mirrors along the hallway where scenes of the past were being reflected in a maze of  panoramic view that only herself could see.
-------
72016