4th PART OF MY NEW STORY

THE REVOLUTION

“I have a daughter, Val. .” Liana said with a trembling voice. “ She is yours too, believe me or not, ..”

Val’s eyes widened and he turned utterly speechless.

“She came out of our love making. When I did not see you anymore at the Spanish grotto, I told a few close friends of my plight. Thanks God, they helped me with my pregnancy, then before the birth of the baby, I went home to Ilocos. My parents accepted me with open arms. I gave birth to this beautiful baby girl. When I was strong enough to travel, I went back to Manila. My heart almost broke when I left her but there is no way I can bring and raise her in Manila..”
“Liana, oh Liana,” exclaimed Val..” I am so sorry for my misgiving..”

“Don’t be sorry. At least you know already that you have a daughter... She is now 5 years old. I named her Valeria, after you..When I returned to Manila I worked again with the help of my friends and sent part of my earnings to my parents for the baby. Life hard in Manila during these perilous times, but God blessed me with generous and good friends. We helped each other, looking for work and sharing a small dwelling place.. God is good to me Val.. And my parents are doing a good job raising her.. so far..”

Val said silently I now have a boy and a girl..How could I tell this to Marrieta? And how could I tell this to Liana too?

One confession led to another.

“Another thing happened to me too, Val..I can not keep anything from you anymore. because I love you very, very much. My love for you is beyond bounds. I can never love any other man anymore.

Then, she started to weep and said, “One night, I was walking home late,.Two men abducted me, bound, gagged me and blindfolded me..They brought me to a certain place and when they removed my blindfold, I found myself inside a room with a Spanish friar!. He raped me..!!!”

Her voice broke into sobs. When she gained control of herself, she said, “He sees me at church regularly and I knew from his looks that he lusted for me. I think he paid the two men to abduct me. Before the night was over, the same men brought me out again and left me half conscious in a street alley. I walked home weakly in the early dawn. Passers by stared at me and nobody even asked what happened to me. They looked at me as if I was a leper. There were a few blood stains in my skirt. When I saw my friends again, I told them what happened …

“They took care of me, Val and after one week, I was back on my feet again. Only the thought of having a daughter who needs me made me strong.

“I never went to church anymore…Fortunately, I did not get pregnant. And the hatred for the person who who raped me became so strong that nothing but revenge dominated my consciousness for days without end…..

“Six months ago, my friends and I joined the secret society founded by Andres Bonifacio..The society’s aim is to free our country from the rule of Spain through a violent revolution. But the only reason why I joined it is to seek revenge from that priest who of all people, was promoted to a Bishop..

Val maintained his silence as Liana continued her story..”One night, I told some of the male members of the society what happened to me, and who did it..”

Again Liana broke into tears..”The next day, 3 of them said, they will pay him a visit..I wanted to stop them but I relished the feeling of revenge, of extracting an eye for an eye..I told them to go and do what they want to do with him. One of those men love me, but he knows that I can not love him back..

“Two days later, they came to me and told me my honour was avenged..They were able to kidnap him, bring him to a secluded part of the city..They removed all his clothes, tied him to a tree, mutilated his genitals and left him there to die as most of his blood flow through his wounds…

“I am now very remorseful of what I did, telling my friends of what happened to me. It seems I have committed murder the same way as they did..I am so sorry!!!I do not know now how to seek forgiveness from God for what I have done!”

Val found the courage to speak at last. “Liana, oh Liana!! Again I am sorry to hear all of these..Yes, that incident was the talk of the other guards in my outfit during that time..It remains an unsolved case.

“I am a Civil Guard, but I did not hear anything you said..Now, I am also breaking my oath …I will not arrest you, even if it is my duty to do so…”

“ Since you have poured out all your heart’s secrets to me, I want to tell you also, although I am not married, I am living with a woman who bore me a son. He is almost the same age as our daughter..”

“I know that,Val” Liana said with a faint smile. I asked you that question a while ago, because I want to test how far you could go in telling the truth..At least you did not lie to me. You just did not tell me everything..

“One of my friends told me she saw you with the mother of your son, and you looked very happy. So I left you alone. Many times I wanted to come to you and ask you why you did not show up at our meeting place..

But now, now that I found you again. I feel very happy, Val..But, at the same time, my heart grieves..I am very much afraid of what will happen next…

“Tommorow, Dec. 30, you and some other Civil Guards will execute a man who is loved by so many of our people…He is a fearless writer whose writings angered the Spanish priests. “

Liana took out a small poster lithographed poster of an announcement of an execution. It showed the picture of Jose P. Rizal..

“I met this man already Liana“, Val said... “Just a few days ago.. In fact he saved the life of my son..I did not know then that he is Dr. Rizal, until I saw this poster in the municipio near our office..”

Then he related to her also the whole incident..

Liana listened with astonishment and then he said to Val. “ I am also breaking my vow of secrecy to our society by telling you the following..The start of our revolution will commence with a bold plan to save the life of Jose Rizal..I think we can do it, without the knowledge of the Spanish authorities…Eight provinces in Luzon have pledged to join our cause…

“But we need your help.. We need an insider, and you are the only one I know who can help us….”

“What is your plan?” asked Val.

To be continued….

part 3 my new story

JULIANA DE VERA

“JULIANA De Vera!” Val exclaimed..” For 4 years, I have been looking for you all over the city”

Juliana’s face changed from surprise to anger…“Liar!” She answered angrily. “You stood me up..I waited for you at the Spanish Grotto in Bagumbayan..You did not show up!”

Val approached her but she turned around. If this is not only 1896, he said silently, I could have grabbed you and kissed you on the lips.

But the Spanish friars who are the real power in the government had spies everywhere. He did not want to lose his job if someone will report to his Commandant he commited a lascivous act.

Kissing in public is considered one of them. Especially he is a police officer, a guardia civil…

He continued talking with her while following her in a crowd of pedestrians..“Please, Liana! I even visited your town in Ilocos just to look for you. It took me a week to travel by horseback . I met your parents, but they did not know where you are living in Manila. I slept in your house for 2 nights before riding back again for Manila.

Liana stopped. “Yes, I heard about that. I thought my parents were lying.”

She wiped her eyes. “Yes, I started hating you when you did not show up. Why ?..”

“I was in a hospital..Our company made a surprise raid to a group of fanatics who called themselves Colorum. They did not not believe in the church or in the government. They have a leader whom they believe have supernatural powers. They had this small camp at the base of Arayat. They had a few guns..”
　
“What??” exclaimed “Liana . “Wait, let us go to that wall beside Manila Bay.. Let us talk. …”

“Okay,” said Val..He took out his pocket watch. Three more hours left before the steamship from Zamboanga arrives.

Shall I tell her about Marrieta? He asked himself silently.

“So Val, “ said Liana. “Are you already married?”

“No, I am not yet married,” he said. Which was true. He was waiting for her next question. He did not want to tell her more than necessary--at the moment. Both stopped when they reached the low wall at the edge of the Bay.

The water was calm. Is it the calm before the storm? Val asked himself..But his heart started to palpitate.

After they sat down, Val asked her. “How about you?. Are you still single?”

“Didn’t I promised you before that I will never fall in love again with any other man? You are my first and only love, you know that..”

“How could I forget that? You whispered that to my ear after the first time we made love..” said Val.

“ You look haggard and worried, but you still look beautiful..”

“I was sad for a long time. But I have to go on with my life. I went from one lousy job to another…But I survived. Now, having met you again, I feel much better.” She smiled sweetly. “ God must love us both. He allowed us to see each other again..”

“Yes,” answered Val while looking at the sea gulls hovering above and diving into the water like carefree children.
　
“I thought you were assigned in another town. I did not know you were hospitalized. I am sorry for getting mad at you..”

“It’s all right. I am so happy to see you again..”

“Yeah?” He wanted to embrace and kiss ther there and then. But they knew the rules of society under the strict Spanish regime.

Liana was also Val’s first love. She was so young and pretty then, and she was very intelligent. There are many Espaniolas and Mestizas but they were so haughty and arrogant. Most of them brag about their parents or houses in Mother Spain. They look upon Filipinos as Indios. Many of them treat their dogs better than their Filipino servants.

“You are still my true love, Liana. I still carry the handkerchief you gave me. It kept me company in so many skirmishes. Life is dangerous during these times. There is a rumour of an impending revolution. It will start here in Manila. A man named Bonifacio founded a secret Society..”

Liana’s face became more serious and he turned her face towards the sea.. “I know. The Spanish authorities are getting worse every day. Many crazy laws being passed. They are stealing so much money from the poor. The jails are now full of innocent people and many could never be free anymore..Bonifacio seems to be a good leader. But he needs also the help of Filipinos”

“I have to tell you something, and I want to ask from you a favour..” she said.
　
“I will do anything for you....What is it?”---#
　
　
　(to be continued)