To Have and To Hold (complete)

Chapter 25

The strong, brisk wind blowing from the sea accompanied by the darkening of the clouded skies urged the fisherfolk to hasten in their preparations for the coming storm. The women occupied themselves with storing fish from last night’s catch inside large, insulated boxes filled with ice while the men tied up the boats and gathered the fishnets. Even the children had their own assigned tasks, no hand was left idle. Tropical storms cause tremendous devastation in coastal villages. The residents had long been drilled on what to do. Instead of panicking at the first sign of a surging storm, they busied themselves with getting ready for the worst as best as they could. And among those presently engaged with the vigorous preparations was a tall, aristocratic man with seemingly inconsumable energy.

No task was too small or too big for him and he never complained even once. His dedication to his tasks pushed the residents to work harder, not willing to be shamed by this stranger’s efforts. And he was, indeed, a stranger to them since they’d never set eyes on him before. Yet, he worked like his very life depended on it and they’d begun to respect him for it. The fact that he was engaged to their beloved Ma’am Louisa only endeared him further to these simple folk. Most, if not all of them, owed their livelihood to the young lady from the mainland. At least half of the residents had relatives working at either the Hacienda Constantina or the Almendrez furniture factory in Tagaytay.

She’d been visiting them at least once a month for almost five years now and all of the modern conveniences and amenities they were now enjoying were because of her tireless efforts. She’d brought their small island to the attention of the local government, actively campaigning for all their immediate needs and, although the island remained a humble, fishing village, the people were now able to experience a few of life’s simple comforts. Because of her, a three-story schoolhouse complete with a basketball court/gym, a well-stocked health center, and a working pier had been constructed.

By noon, the boats were already tied together at the pier. Even the roofs of the houses had been battened down firmly with thick abaca ropes, the windows nailed shut and secured with thick planks of wood. All the livestock, which Matthew had patiently herded into the upper floor of the only warehouse on the island were finally settling down. Packed lunches were being distributed by Yaya Seling and Mang Tino at the schoolhouse while Don Ramon assisted Miguel in teaching the men how to use the emergency gear they’d brought with them.

As Gabriel helped Louisa in getting the women and children settled in the gym of the schoolhouse, her respect and admiration for her fiancé grew exponentialy. He had been working tirelessly since they arrived early that morning onboard Don Fernando’s yacht, and never once said a word of complaint. At first, she thought he was just trying to score points with her but as the day went on she realized his concern for the people was genuine. Who would’ve known her snobbish, highborn, billionaire fiancé had a soft spot for the helpless and needy?

His presence there was more an accident of fate. He caught her in the midst of their hasty provisioning for the island when he visited the hacienda two days ago. She’d asked him to lend a helping hand but instead ended up commandeering her household staff in doing various tasks and errands. A quick call to Miguel sent his younger brother hastily driving to the hacienda complete with all his high-tech comm gear and paraphernalia. Louisa was no longer surprised when the two men volunteered to go with them to the island the next morning. 

The first drops of rain began pelting the school’s rooftop just after they’d finished a very satisfying and filling lunch of Nanay Iling’s famous adobo, boiled eggs, fried rice, and fresh tomatoes. What began as a soft drizzle soon became a torrential outpouring from the heavens. Then, howling 200-km/hour winds shook the walls of the sturdily-built stone school building, bringing dread even to the stoutest of hearts. Mothers hugged their young children close to their breasts to calm them down, while the older children were distracted from their fears by the assorted board games Matthew had introduced them to. Miguel sat on one corner busily monitoring the progress of the typhoon while coordinating with their crew on the mainland through his satellite phone. Right across from him, Louisa and Gabriel sat huddled together with some of the younger men and women making a quick inventory of their stocked food, drinks, and other supplies.

As their building was being mercilessly battered by the winds and rain, a young woman came rushing to Louisa, her face twisted with worry. It was Maring, a teacher aide Louisa brought here from Tagaytay four years ago. She married one of the local fishermen and had decided to settle here for good.

“Ma’am Louisa, both my husband and his father are not here,” Maring frantically said.

“Maybe they’re in the warehouse with Mang Pedro and his men,” Louisa said.

“No, they’re not. I talked to Mang Pedro before coming here. I asked him if Lando and Tatay Inok were with him but he told me no, he had not seen them. I only assumed they would be here but upon asking the other men about them I realized no one had seen them since last night,” Maring sobbed.

“Okay, okay. Don’t panic, we’ll try to locate them. Maybe they just went back to the village to check on your house. Just stay with your children and we’ll go find them, okay?”

Maring nodded and reluctantly went back to the other women and children at the other side of the room, her shoulders slumped in sorrow.

“What was that all about?” Gabriel asked as soon as Maring had left.

“Two of the village men are missing. They went out to fish last night but their companions lost track of them,” Louisa replied.

“Let’s ask Miguel if he can get any information from the mainland. Maybe they had been rescued by the coastguard or something,” Gabriel said, tugging Louisa behind him.

“Migz, can you get hold of our crew and ask if they can get in touch with the coastguard? A couple of fishermen apparently did not make it back last night,” Gabriel told his brother.

Miguel nodded, got on his satphone, and relayed Gabriel’s instructions to their stand-by crew on the mainland.

“They’ll get back to us as soon as they get wind of anything. It might take a while since most comm lines out there are down right now. It’s a good thing I remembered to equip our guys with satphones, otherwise, we’ll be left in the dark, too,” Miguel replied.

A loud crash from below was heard while Miguel and Gabriel was discussing their crew. Gabriel and Louisa rushed to the stairs to inspect the source of the noise and were met by two thoroughly drenched young men frantically shouting Maring’s name. Gabriel grabbed the nearest one before he could bolt up the remaining steps.

“What’s wrong? Where have you been?” he asked the agitated youngster.

“Sir, we were just checking on our house and were on our way to the warehouse when we saw Mang Lando’s boat out there! He can’t get to shore, we need to pull them in,” was the young man’s anxious reply.

Gabriel immediately ran up the stairs before the two youths and strode towards Miguel with Louisa also running right behind him.

“Miguel, do you think you can handle the yacht in this kind of weather?” he asked his brother.

Miguel had trained with the Coast Guard, one of the perks he’d received after the Montoya Group of Companies contributed five boats to them a couple of years back, and could handle himself in emergency situations such as this yet he still blanched at the implication. Gabriel would never risk venturing out to open sea in this kind of deluge if it wasn’t a matter of life and death.

“Why? What’s wrong?” he asked, warily eyeing Gabriel’s and Louisa’s troubled faces.

“One of the fishing boats that left last night was spotted just a few minutes ago. It appears they need to be towed to the pier or removed from their boat. Do you think we have the gear for that?”

“Of course we do. But, Gab, the winds are too strong; we might not be able to leave the shoreline at all.”

“But we can still try, can’t we?” Gabriel’s persistence stilled Miguel’s doubts.

“Well, if you trust me enough,” he replied with a faint smirk.

Gabriel nodded solemnly at his brother then turned to Louisa. The panicked look on her face gripped at his insides urging him to reach out and pull her into his arms.

“I’m going with you,” she said with a slightly quavering voice. Gabriel tilted her face up to his and gently kissed her lips.

“You better stay here, my love. It’ll be too dangerous for you out there.”

“No, I’ll go with you. I won’t be able to stay still anyway, not without you. Besides, I’m a really good swimmer.”

Gabriel couldn’t help but smile at the stubborn, little face that was looking up at him. He hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head.

“Even if I were to let you come, I don’t think your father would approve,” Gabriel said as he gently nudged her face towards the direction of Louisa’s father who was now standing rather tensely beside them. “Stay here with your father. You can monitor us on the satphone. I’ll keep the line open so you can hear everything that’s happening on the yacht.”

Louisa nodded, then she reached up and kissed Gabriel with passion, unmindful of the open-mouthed stares from her father and Miguel. Gabriel felt his body responding but before he could properly react, Louisa pulled away and held both his hands to her cheeks.

“Promise me you’ll be careful, okay?” she said, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Only if you promise me that I’ll be getting more of that when I return,” Gabriel teased. Louisa blushed a bright pink but she nodded and smiled sweetly at him. Gabriel tweaked her nose then gently prodded her towards her father. The miserable look on her face almost made Gabriel back-out of their endeavor but the imminent threat to the men’s lives propelled him into action.

“Okay! So, who’s coming with us, Miguel?” he asked, turning to his brother.

“We need at least two more hands,” Miguel said, motioning to a group of young men hovering just behind him, waiting for just this opportunity. Hands were immediately raised, all the young men volunteering for a most dangerous task. Miguel pointed to two, burly teens and gestured for them to come forward.

Miguel grabbed his satphone and gear bag, all the while instructing the two volunteers on what to expect and what they’re expected to do. After a few minutes, he nodded to Gabriel and they all trooped out of the room with Gabriel waving his goodbyes, his grim determined face in stark contrast with Louisa's terror-stricken one.