How long has it been since they were married? Tomas is such a strong, virile
man, she thought. I can hardly keep up with him. But I should have been
pregnant months ago. Caridad, who got married, half a year after we did is now
heavy with child. Is something wrong with me? Josefina spent sleepless nights
casting doubt on herself. Her friends were laughing behind her back. and
teasing her to her face, saying she was barren and that she needed to make sure
to feed Manoy Tomas well or else he would start looking for other pleasures
elsewhere. And not just for food.
It was August 8, 1851. She was on her way home by herself, having done with
her chores at the convento and the church in Butuan. Manoy Tomas had left for
Manila on a long trip to buy some church related things but he should be back
soon. In a way, she was glad to be alone and to have time to herself. Their
marital encounters have taken on a sense of repetitive urgency. Manoy Tomas was
not immune to the teasings and was out to prove that he was a real man. Their
love makings were now more physical with the only the barest semblance of an
expression of love.
The sun was just beginning to set and the trees were casting long shadows on
the water as she crossed the river. She had done this countless of times
before. She did not believe in ghost stories, engkantos, and vampires and she
did not pay much attention to the tower and the balete that were there on the
way to their house. She was about thirty arm's length away when she noticed a
figure leaning against the tower. As she got closer, she noticed it was a man,
a white man, looking at her. She thought at first it was another priest,
perhaps a new assistant for Padre Itsi. The good priest really, really needed
help. The poor man, she thought. But every step that got her closer became
slower and more hesitant as she began to realize that Padre Itsi had never
mentioned anything about an assistant. She also began to see that the man was
white all over, the hair, the eyebrows. He did not look old. She squinted,
eyebrows furrowed, trying to clearly delineate the figure. He did not look like
anything at all, a featureless face. She was getting worried, scared. Maybe
the stories are true!
He spoke but he was not talking. She gasped, Lord, he is talking to my mind,
frightened now. She wanted to run, away, but she continued to walk to the man,
as if she was being sucked into the center of a massive vortex until she could
almost touch him. But there was nothing to touch, as if she could see through
him. A phantom? A ghost? She looked down at his feet but saw nothing.. He
seemed suspended.
I know your heart's desire, she heard, felt him say. I can make your dreams
come true. Submit your body and your soul to me and I will give you a most
beautiful daughter. I know that you know that your husband cannot fulfill your
dreams. He is empty. She heard celestial music in the background. Ambrosial
perfume filled the air.
Seduction of the highest order. Almost divine.
What, infidelity? No! She tried to fight. Even the thought of it horrified
her. But a daughter? A beautiful daughter? She did not ask the question but it
was asked and the apparition smiled and said, Yes, a very beautiful daughter.
He did not lie, you see. He just did not tell her that she would not be around
to enjoy her offspring. She tried to push away the images from her mind's eye.
But the temptation was indescribable as she imagined a daughter, playing in the
river. She was allowed to observe the different colors of her daughter's eyes.
The images intruded into her subconscious. A heavenly vision. She tried to push
the images away but could not. She was beginning to harbor a love for her
daughter even before she was conceived. My daughter, my own beautiful daughter.
No, no, I will not ! She was a strong willed woman but she was no match for
this ....power. The millisecond that she harbored a doubt was enough for the
engkanto to dominate her. Totally. She lay prostrate, cushioned on a bed of the
softest rose petals as he entered her body and took possession of her spirit.
She groaned in a state of virtual endless ecstasy that she had never
experienced before or hence.
"She shall be of your world for eighteen years. I shall watch over her then I
shall come for her and she shall be with me forever." He disappeared like the
morning fog.
Josefina was in a trance, getting home in the early morning hours. When she
awoke , she thought she had a dream. But she also knew that she was pregnant
now And she thought of her husband. Oh, Tomas, please come home! A week later,
Manoy Tomas came home. She did not know how to tell him. How could he possibly
believe her? She decided not to tell him.
Tomas was jumping with joy when his wife told him that she was carrying a
child. This was six weeks later. He announced to the whole village how
fortunate he was! The entire village celebrated with him as he bragged about
his son.. How wrong he was. The child was not his and the child was not a son.
Josefina was never the same again. Everyone thought it was just because she was
pregnant. Padre Itsi tried to be happy for Manoy Tomas.
But Padre Itsi knew. She had confessed to him. The night before Maria Elena was
born, Josefina could tell that she would not live to see the next sunrise. The
hilots did not know what to do. She was drifting in and out of consciousness.
Her face had gotten swollen with edema and her eyes were almost shut. In her
mind she continued to resist whatever was happening to her. She fought with her
heart. She knew she would lose. She begged him, "Padre, please take care of
her, protect her from all evil. Are you not God's instrument? I do not think I
shall survive this ordeal. Tell her everything before her eighteenth birthday
so she can fend for herself. Promise me." She held his hand so tightly that she
made a small tear on the sleeve of his white cassock. He knew she was telling
the truth. He was completely helpless. He finally answered, I shall be here for
her.
Maria Elena was born just after midnight, on May 3, 1852. Josefina died before
the the sun rose over Mount Hilong-hilong.
Previous Chapter - Chapter 7
Next Chapter - Chapter 9
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