CHAPTER 1: THE CRY IN THE NIGHT
735 Words
The sun was sinking when Mang Reno and Aling Trena walked home from their farmland toward their nipa hut.
Mang Reno carried a basket of vegetables, while Aling Trena carried an oil lamp. They walked quietly, but Aling Trena was thinking about the child she had prayed for during their ten years of marriage.
“If only we had a child,” she said.
Mang Reno took her hand. “As long as I have you, that is enough. And if God blesses us with a child, I’ll be grateful.”
Before she could reply, Aling Trena stopped.
“Wait. I heard something.”
They listened.
“Uwaa… uwaa…”
Mang Reno's eyes widened.
“My God…”
Aling Trena did not wait.
She hurried down the slope.
“Trena! Be careful!”
She nearly slipped on a rock, but Mang Reno quickly caught her.
When they finally reached the riverbank, they could clearly see the dark object.
It was a garbage bag.
And from inside came the cries of a baby.
Aling Trena's hands trembled.
“Reno…”
“Yes.”
“There really is a baby.”
Mang Reno stepped closer.
Carefully, he pulled the black bag out of the water.
When they saw a small tear in the plastic, they caught a glimpse of the baby's tiny face.
Her eyes were red from crying.
But she was alive.
And breathing.
Aling Trena pressed a hand against her chest.
“My God…”
She knelt beside the baby.
“Who could have done this to you?”
Mang Reno quickly opened the garbage bag.
When they saw the baby wrapped inside, tears filled Aling Trena's eyes.
“How could anyone be so cruel to a child?”
She carefully lifted the baby into her arms.
The moment the baby felt the warmth of her body, the crying gradually softened.
“Shhh…”
Aling Trena gently stroked the baby's tiny head.
“You're safe now.”
She looked at Mang Reno.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
“Reno…”
“Yes?”
“It feels like God has sent this child to us.”
Mang Reno did not answer immediately.
He looked at the baby.
Then he looked at his wife.
And for the first time after ten long years of waiting, he saw a special kind of happiness shining in Aling Trena's eyes.
Mang Reno smiled gently.
“Maybe He has.”
Aling Trena held the baby tightly.
“We're not leaving her.”
Mang Reno nodded.
“No.”
Beneath the fading sunlight and beside the quietly flowing river, they had no idea that the baby they had found would change their lives forever.
They did not know that the child they had rescued carried a secret beyond anything the human world could explain.
And most of all, they did not know that their simple decision to save a baby would become the beginning of a story involving two worlds, an ancient curse, unimaginable power, war…
and a love powerful enough to change destiny itself.
Aling Trena held the baby even tighter.
“You're coming home with us.”
And that night, the life of a child who would one day be known as—
“A baby!” Aling Trena cried.
Mang Reno hesitated, but when he heard it too, he followed her toward the sound.
It led them down a steep slope to the riverbank. There, beside the water, lay a black garbage bag. A baby’s cries came from inside.
“My God,” Aling Trena whispered.
Mang Reno opened the bag and found a tiny baby girl wrapped inside. She was red from crying, but alive.
“How could anyone be so cruel?” Aling Trena asked, lifting the child into her arms.
The baby quieted against her warmth.
“You’re safe now,” she whispered.
Aling Trena looked at Mang Reno through tear-filled eyes. “It feels like God sent her to us.”
“Maybe He did,” he replied.
“We’re not leaving her.”
“No,” Mang Reno agreed.
They carried the baby home, unaware that she held a secret beyond the human world. Their decision would begin a story of two worlds, an ancient curse, unimaginable power, war, and a love strong enough to change destiny.
That night, the life of the child who would one day be known as—
Angel
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD