It was that day when the sun did not want to shine. There was a heavy fog that
seemed to follow the Suwatan river as it snaked through the mangroves to the
bay. The sounds of the nocturnal birds mixed with the crowing of the bragging
roosters made the morning the more stifling as they waited behind the bend,
crouching under the nipa palms, wet to the waist. It was getting warm that
November day but the water that flowed down from Mount Mayapay was still
freezing.
"Leonor, you "salamagan", you have to wait for my command!", Pinay hissed to
his assistant, Sgt. Leonor Trillo. "Goddamn. These hot headed mestizos are so
hard to control"., he swore under his breath. They have been there for two
hours now, wet and cold, waiting for Captain Watanabe on his way to meet with
his native concubine. Pilar was so ugly everybody wondered what the man saw in
her. But he had been seeing her for almost two years now.
They had to time it just right. They did not know if the Japanese head of the
Kempetai would be alone or be with his soldiers. Reports were that he did not
have a pattern and this concerned Pinay Cocon. He had never killed anyone
before. But now, to be face to face with the enemy made his heart pound like
the first time he had sex under the old acacia tree with that girl from
Nasipit. At that moment, he just could not remember her name.
Pinay stayed at the far end of the shallow river. There were six of them, he,
Leonor, and four others but he was the only one with a carbine, which he gently
cradled in his arms making doubly sure it and the precious bullets did not get
wet. He had not practiced shooting with the rifle as they did not have much
ammunition. Leonor and two others would be jumping in from the side but he will
have to shoot first as soon as the "bawoto" goes around the bend.
Leonor"s eyes were glazed as if he were drugged and the veins on his temples
were sticking out like little worms. " I shall butcher this animal. I shall
cut off his arms. I shall look into his eyes as I slit his throat so he will
know the meaning of fear. This animal killed my cousin and he shall pay for it
dearly. A life for a life.", he was saying this in his mind over and over
again, like a mantra, like a prayer.
Pinay knew what was in Leonor's mind. He could not blame this young man. Leonor
volunteered to join his squadron for this mission . He knew it was dangerous.
Revenge. Yeah, blood is what this man is hankering for. He shall have it.
The rhythmic thud of the paddle against the side of the wooden canoe told him
there were at least two others with the captain. The Japanese officers never
rowed themselves. His face tightened at the thought. He spat on the greenish
clear water with disdain and watched his saliva as it floated down river. Good,
he thought, as he measured the speed of the current. I shall go for the right
shoulder and give Leonor the satisfaction of ending this "sakang's" life.
Sunshine broke through the fog , hit the water in slivers as it went through
the gently swaying nipa leaves. The sun was to his back just as they had
planned. Pinay saw the Japanese officer sitting low in the canoe. In front and
behind him were shirtless soldiers, bodies shimmering with perspiration. It had
been hard navigating the narrow river on this little wooden canoe all the way
from Bonbon. They slowed down as they reached the curve. Pinay closed his left
eye, as he aimed his rifle towards Watanabe's right shoulder. He could feel his
heart pounding. His arms and hands were trembling. His pupils were dilated.
"Puta !", he yelled quietly to himself to stop the shaking. He braced himself
against the mangrove root that jutted out of the ground into the water and
gently pressed the trigger with his index finger as he was taught to.
"Boom !", the carbine exploded. There was chaos and a cacophony of complaints
from all kinds of living things scampering away from the source of the terrible
explosion that shattered the silence of the Butuan lowlands while white herons
flew away with graceful unhurried wings .
"My God, I missed him !," he cried out as he saw Watanabe try to stand up and
draw his pistol. But in fact, Pinay had hit him in the left shoulder. At the
same instant that his four companions went for the two completely surprised
Japanese soldiers, Leonor jumped from his hiding place and with a wide back
swing, slashed his double edged sword at Watanabe, who raised his right hand
instinctively to protect his head but the speed was so strong the sharp sword
cut through the right wrist joint. Watanabe cried out in pain as his partially
severed hand , still clutching his pistol, dangled in the air, blood pouring
out in jets. Leonore grabbed the captain's hair, pulling the head back,
exposing the front of his neck. And in one fluid continuous motion, he slid
the sword across the captain.s throat, cutting through the jugulars. He jerked
the man around, looked deeply into his eyes., and with a heinous smile and a
low growl, whispered, "Remember Erlinda." Watanabe looked back at him,
bewildered, unable to move now. "What?", he asked Leonor silently with his
eyes. Life was flowing from him in heavy gushes. He no longer felt panic or
pain. Instead, a comforting calmness engulfed him, perhaps this was because he
saw that death was now a certainty. His whole life flashed in front of his
eyes and his last thoughts were of a row of red ants lazily parading on light
brown dust.
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