Manny was the only son of the Butuan City Treasurer, a gentleman of
considerable social and political influence. Mr. Vicente de la Verdad had
become concerned about the boy who seemed to be having wide inexplicable mood
swings. His wife shrugged it off. "He's just undergoing puberty." But he
started really getting worried a year later when he discovered twelve year old
Manny one late Saturday afternoon under the porch, in an obvious state of
agitation.
"What's the matter, son?"
Manny did not answer him. With a kitchen knife, still wet with blood, he
pointed at a lump of fur, blood and flesh, ten feet away from where he was
squatting.
"God Almighty! What happened here?"
Manny was sobbing, wiping his eyes and face with his shaking left hand, still
clutching the knife with his right. "I killed him!"
"Why?" Mr. de la Verdad asked, voice shaking, incredulous, unable to believe
what he saw. On the ground were the mutilated remnants of Hirohito, their six
month old puppy, segments of intestines and clumps of canine fecal material
strewn all over, abdomen partially sliced open, some part of the skin with
matted fur peeling off, several puncture holes on the rib cage, oozing dark red
blood. One eye had been sharply gouged out.
"What have you done? He was your pet. What have you done?"
"I poured boiling water on him! And I stabbed him and I stabbed him and I
stabbed him. He won't obey me. I hate him." Manny was shouting uncontrollably.
"Why?"
"He snarled at me. I told him not to growl at me. He would not stop. I could
not help it. I told him never to growl at me. I hate that dog. I hate that
stupid dog." Manny answered repeatedly.
Father and son stood facing each other, not saying anything for almost a
minute.
"That's it. No more pets for you. Go to your room and stay there. You're not
having supper tonight!"
Manny stopped crying. He looked at his father and in a most contrite little boy
voice, said, "Dad, I'm sorry"
"I promise I'll never do it again." He turned around and walked slowly up the
stairs but as soon as he got to his room and had closed the door behind him he
started whistling while washing away the blood from his hands and face.
Mr. de la Verdad's gaze followed his son, concern, anger, pity, and
helplessness written all over his face. Hirohito was Manny's pet. Manny loved
that puppy. He played with him day and night. He sometimes even insisted on
having the puppy sleep in his bed with him much to his mother's displeasure.
And now, this.
That night, Mr. de la Verdad suffered his first stroke
Manny was the golden boy of the Butuan Central Elementary School. He was
excellent in academics and was into all the extracurricular activities such as
oratorical contests, Glee Club, student politics, and school drama
presentations. The teachers loved him for his good manners and his winsome
smile. He was also eager to help out, even after school hours, like cleaning
the green bulletin board and picking up trash, putting them in the proper
garbage containers. It was no surprise then that Manny graduated from Butuan
Central as class valedictorian. Some said that Josefina de Gracia was
academically better than him, but that he had a way with all the lady teachers
whom he could charm with that sweet crooked smile of his. Besides, Josefina
seemed somewhat distracted during the last four months before their graduation.
That was when her grades started falling.
"But I don't want to be a priest. I want to be a doctor."
"You can still be a doctor when you graduate from high school. You don't have
to be a priest."
Mr. de la Verdad had enrolled Manny at the St. Peter's Seminary near Ampayon,
across Magsaysay Bridge, east of the city. He was a major patron of the school,
having donated books, microscopes, and other educational materials. He also
sponsored the education of six seminarians who planned to go into the
priesthood. He believed exposure to the strict discipline of the priests would
help keep his son out of trouble.
Manny did well at first but then, after about six months, he begun hating the
suffocating confinement of the place. He harbored disgust and contempt for some
of the effeminate students and a couple of the priests who seemed to tolerate
if not encourage such behavior. Although he never directly challenged the
seminary hierarchy he manifested his rebellion by escaping from the dormitory
some nights and spending hours shooting pool with some of the locals near the
Navarra Rice and Corn Mill. He would slip back into the seminary compound,
undetected for a couple of months, and would have gotten away with it except
that one day he was too drunk to return early enough and was missed during the
dawn mass.
He was also suspected of having written a highly controversial quasi-scientific
article which was punctuated with innuendoes and entitled "Interactive Behavior
Between Priests and Students In A Confined Environment." The article was
smuggled out, printed in the underground and circulated among the students in
the seminary, Agusan High School, Urios High School, Agusan Insitute, and
Agusan Colleges. The piece was supposed to have been written by two writers,
Vic and Tim. The significance of the two names was not lost on most of the
readers. Mr. de la Verdad got a copy of the article.
"My son and I are having a private conversation. You may leave the room." Mr.
de la Verdad hissed at his wife, who sheepishly left the dining room although
she was also pretty upset about the article and its implications.
"Tell me truthfully, did anything happen to you? Did anyone attempt to touch
you?"
"No, Dad, nothing happened to me. Just get me out of there."
His move to Agusan High School coincided with the transfer of a seminary priest
instructor to San Diego, California. The explanation for the transfer was for
an extended vacation as well as for health reasons, the same explanation for
the previous deportation of another priest from Buenavista although in that
incident, the priest was almost physically thrown out by the townspeople.
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