Señorita and the Katipunero (Book 3)

1: First Encounter

Ten years later...

A teenage boy was sleeping in a bed made of bamboo. He had a pillow below his head and was covered by a blanket. He was fast asleep and snoring loudly.

“Leo, wake up. It is almost noon already. Time to get up and work on the field!” A loud female voice was shouting outside the room. Leo was awakened by the noise from his Tia Imelda (Auntie Imelda). She was his only family left after his parents were killed.

He tried to stretch and squint his eye. As he started to peek thru the window, it was still pitch black. “How is this noon? It is still dark outside.” He grumbled to himself. Even if he was sleepy and wanted to go back to bed. He had no choice but to stand up and greet his Tía Imelda. Otherwise, she would scold him like a raging machine gun.

He made his bed and went out of his room. He smelled the freshly baked pandesal from the table as his room was just beside their kitchen and dining table. If you could call it that. It was a small Bahay Kubo (cottage house made of bamboo) with two rooms. One for him and one for his Tía.

“Tía, buenos dias. (Good morning, Auntie.) Where am I going to work today? Did Don Luis call for me to work on his hacienda?” He greeted her while walking towards the kitchen sink. He washed his face and took a mug hanged above the sink.

Tía Imelda was sitting at the table, sipping her coffee while eating a piece of pandesal. “Buenos dias, niño. (Good morning, son.) Come, have breakfast with me. You look like a walking skeleton with that figure of yours. I haven't heard anything from Don Luis or his son. You must go to Hacienda Jiménez and ask if they need a farmer. I heard they were harvesting today. You might be able to get a job there before your senior year starts.” She responded without taking her eyes from the pandesal. Her foot was up in the chair while she was chewing. It was a mannerism of her.

“Tía this is what you call sexy." he flexed his arms to show a bulging muscle.

She laughed at his actions.

"Tia you do know they do not hire farmers. People said, they have their farmers living inside the hacienda. How I wish we were lucky enough to live there. Some say they have gold in their backyard and they just dig it up when they need it.” Leo poured hot water into his mug and made coffee for himself as well. This was their morning routine ever since she took him in.

“Just try. Whatever you heard are just rumors people in town talk when they are bored. We do not have that luxury. The shop is not making enough money for the two of us, lately. I need you to work as well.” She complained for the first time. Leo was about to start his last year in school and after that, he may be able to apply for a job in the shops surrounding the town plaza.

“I will make no promises, but I will try. Let me finish my breakfast and then I will walk all the way to the hacienda.” Leo said as he took his first bite of the pandesal. They were not rich like the mestizos who were descendants of Spanish migrants. They were normal people who needed to work in order to be able to eat.

“Make sure you tell them, you have worked with Don Luis. It might help you get a job. Even a kilo of rice will do for your services. We no longer have rice. I will try to find fish or chicken for us to eat.” his Tía reminded him. He nodded to make sure he understood her. She was very strict being a spinster and raising him all by herself.

“Tía if they will not offer me a job, where do I go to?” Leo asked again. He was losing hope as chickens started to coo to signal it was almost sunrise.

“Finish up eating and go there as fast as you can. If you will be late, then you won’t get any work.” His Tía said again. She was very beautiful even for her age. She was almost in her thirties, but she looked young.

“Yes, Tía.” Leo swallowed the last pandesal and gulped his coffee in one go. “I am going now. See you later at dinner Tía.” Leo kissed her in the cheeks and grabbed his straw hat before he went out. He did not take a bath as she might get angry with him. He will just freshen up after work, he said to himself.

He was walking in the dirt road towards Hacienda Jiménez when a kalesa passed by him. He saw a young lady riding it. She was so beautiful. Like a diwata, he read from the books. Her hair was swaying as the kalesa (a carriage of sort with open sides) traveled in the rough road.

She was wearing a bandana covering her hair from the dust. It was flown off by a gust of the wind. Leo was able to grab the bandana as it was falling to the ground. He ran as fast as he can to return it to the owner.

“Wait! Chica wait. (Girl, wait) Your bandana has fallen off!” Leo shouted as he ran to catch them. He was able to get to them as the kalesa was moving slower than usual.

“Hey chica, I believe this is your bandana. I picked it up from the ground.” Leo offered it back to her. She smiled at him with a hint of longing in her eyes. She knew him somehow.

“Thank you, Leo.” The lady said to him. He was stunned to hear his name being called. The lady just smiled at him and ordered the kalesa to move. Leo was unable to move from where he was. He never saw the lady before but somehow, she knew him. Like really knew him well.

After some time, he was able to recover from his shock. As he looked around the sun was already high enough. He rushed towards the hacienda. He was now running as fast as he can. He did not look in the ground he was stepping in. ‘c***k’ It was the sound of his head hitting the stone in the ground as he missed a step and fell.