Tales from the Inn in the Middle of Nowhere

CHAPTER 5: From the Mouths of Babes

Claro stared at the young woman before him. All at once, he was having second thoughts about his previous plan to get to know this family on a personal level. It was pretty obvious to him that these people were cuckoos.

"What do you mean lamang lupa? Seriously? Do you really believe in that weird stuff?!"Claro could not contain his incredulity.

"Why not?" Kat defended. "Way back, science was considered a heresy. But now it's practically a way of life. Why shouldn't I believe in the supernatural? "

The writer laughed in disbelief. "Okay. Let's pretend for one second that I believe you. Do you have proof?" He challenged.

"No, I don't. Not personally..." Kat began uncertainly, "but my Father has. He met one."

He could not control himself anymore and snickered. "So... you haven't got any proof but you claim that such creature exists and that your father saw one?" He tilted his head; his face expressing a look of a mocking inquiry.

Katriona would have retorted but she saw, from the kitchen window, a young man walking towards the kitchen door. "Good morning, Robbie!" She shouted her greeting. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

The lad opened the connecting door between the kitchen and the outdoor kitchen. "No thank you, Ate. I had breakfast at home, "he answered and added, "I'm just going to get the garden tools."

"Suit yourself. My offer will be gone in five seconds...four...three...two...last chance!" Kat called out. The young man just waved his free hand as he walked away towards the orchard with a shovel and a rake.

"Who's he? a cousin?" Claro inquired.

"Oh, no! He's a local boy. His tatay (father) used to be Father's electrician. Robbie used to accompany his father to work during school vacation." Kat explained. "He was a former student of my Mother."

"Your Mom's a teacher?" Claro was surprised once more.

"Yes. She's a part-time teacher in the local college. But she used to teach in the public high school. You've seen the school on your way here, right?" Kat waited for Claro's affirmation. "Robbie used to be a troublesome kid. My Mother was forced to transfer Bea to another school in town because Robbie used to bully her. You could imagine how much self-control my Mother had to exercise just to deal with kids like him. And there used to be a lot of them-- worse than Robbie--in that school. Mother lost a great deal of weight when she was teaching there." The young woman's face hardened.

"Really?" His voice resonated with compassion. "Well, how long did she...?"

"About two years and two months. She decided to leave after the incident." Kat suddenly stood up, taking her cup to the sink.

Carlo sensed uneasiness from her but his curiosity was again triggered. "Incident? What kind of incident?" He sounded casual enough but when Kat turned her head to look at him, he felt guilty of being too intrusive.

"I-I'm sorry..." He began.

"Oh, don't be. I understand...being a reporter and all," she sat on her seat once more, "Might as well tell you. You're here because you're meant to be here." She smiled flatly.

"Meant to be here? Whatever does that mean?" He smiled curiously.

"You'll find out for yourself sooner or later. Everyone comes here for a reason." She answered meaningfully, "Mostly for self-discovery."

Claro nodded his head in assent but he was more interested in her Mom's story than his own reason for coming. Then she began.

"It happened when Mother was growing more and more anxious of her job. She believed she had already exhausted every means in her power to discipline the students, short of physical violence. She could not understand why she's unable to win them over. She tried to be more tolerant and understanding—thinking that the students might have been having difficult times at home. But they just ridiculed all her efforts of kindness and compassion. Still, she exerted more in preparing her lessons to ensure that the students would pass. In spite of this, many students still failed. Observing them carefully, she noticed that although some students were earnest in studying, some of the boys were not and would try anything to prevent the others from learning. These boys intentionally disrupted their classes. Sometimes, one or two of them would start a fight without provocation. And when Mother would try to stop them, they would curse her saying, "Putang ina mo!"(Daughter of a bitch!). And no matter how many times these boys were sent to the Guidance Counselor, the outcome would still be the same --failure! This made Mother sick to her stomach and she would often cry her heart out at home saying that she didn't deserve such cruelty. Mother knew she's not a saint. She had her share of unguarded moments when she just needed to raise her voice at the top of her lungs to get the attention of the pesky delinquents.