Cielo

There was no moonlight shining on Manila Bay on that May eve in 1763. Inside the walled town of Cavite Puerto, everyone was sleeping peacefully except for two Filipino soldiers serving as night watchmen at Fuerza de San Felipe Neri. One of them, Domingo, stifled a yawn as the evening breeze passed by. "Seven months with these damn Brits," he told his companion, "Are they staying here forever?" His companion, Ignacio, chuckled. "Sounds like you want the Spaniards back in power." Domingo grabbed the telescope from Ignacio and used it to look at Intramuros. "Nah," he grumbled, "How come those Brits and Spaniards are in Intramuros, ruling a country that isn't even theirs? Shouldn't we, Filipinos, be the ones saying what should be done and should not be done in our own country?" He spit out with disgust the tobacco he was chewing. "I tell you, a storm is coming! We'll drive those Europeans out of our shores soon!" As soon as those words were out of Domingo's mouth, they both noticed a movement on the waters of Manila Bay. Domingo used the telescope to see what was out there on the sea. To his great surprise, he saw a ship bobbing up and down with the waves. "Jesús! María! José!" he exclaimed, "It's a ship!" Ignacio grabbed the telescope from Domingo's hands to confirm what his companion saw. Indeed! There was a ship heading towards Cavite Puerto. "No one informed us that a ship was coming," he said, "Could it be a galleon from Acapulco?" "Fool!" Domingo exclaimed, "No galleon from Acapulco will dare sail to Manila with the Brits here!" Ignacio immediately ran to the fort's bell tower and started ringing the bell. One by one, the lamps inside the fort began to light up. The night breeze came in stronger than usual. Domingo sniffed the air, and its scent made his insides churn. "Something's not right here," he whispered to himself. * * * Captain Crawford rubbed his eyes as his boat approached the ship on Manila Bay. He was passionately making love to his Filipino-Chinese mistress when the bell rang. "Curse this damn ship!" he muttered under his breath. He looked at his men, a combination of Filipino and Indian soldiers, rowing towards the ship. Another boat was behind them, carrying Captain Smith and his own team of Filipino and Indian soldiers. One of Captain Crawford's men called his attention. "Captain! It's a British ship!" Captain Crawford looked at the ship before them. It was British all right. Atop the main mast, the British flag was flying. On the side of the ship, its name was quite visible - Earl Temple. "Captain!" Captain Smith shouted at Captain Crawford, "What is the Earl Temple doing here? Shouldn't it be in India?" "I know only what you know!" Captain Crawford shouted back. Facing his men, he shouted, "Get ready to board that ship!" With boats securely fastened to the sides of the ship, the British, Filipino and Indian soldiers boarded the Earl Temple. There was no light on the deck, and the moonless night made it even look darker. Captain Smith searched for a torch and lit it. As the light from the torch illuminated the deck, a ghastly sight greeted the men. Sprawled all over the floor were the corpses of the ship's crew. Blood and internal organs were all around them. One of the Indian soldiers cried out in fear, "Pisacha!" "What is he talking about?" Captain Crawford asked an Indian who knew how to speak English. The Indian looked around him, seemingly afraid that someone or something was looking at him. "An eater of raw flesh!" Suddenly, they heard something moving in the darkness. Both Captain Crawford and Captain Smith drew their guns. The Filipino and Indian soldiers took out their bolos. They tried to protect themselves from something they could not see. "Ahhh!" a Filipino soldier cried out before slumping on the floor. His fellow Filipinos rushed to help him. When they turned over his body, his stomach had been ripped open. Overcame with fear, Captain Crawford started shooting in the darkness. For a while nothing moved, no sound was heard. Then, in a swift movement, the men around him began to fall on the floor one by one. His bullets had failed to hit the enemy. Captain Crawford prepared to fire his gun, but before he could pull the trigger, a searing pain emanated from the middle of his body. He looked down to see blood pouring from a big gash across his stomach. His knees buckled, and the captain fell to the floor. As his sight started to dim from the loss of blood, Captain Crawford saw a dark, hairy and bloody hand grasp the ship's steering wheel. Where the Earl Temple was now sailing, he would never know.