“CARMELITA, ANAK, WHAT HAPPENED?" I heard the mustachioed man ask me and I remembered that it was Don Alejandro, Carmelita’s Father. Doña Soledad gathered herself and assisted me. She dusted off my clothes and wiped my hands, “Please be more careful with your actions, Carmelita," she reminded me.
A few helpers came in and cleaned up after my mess. "Hija, did you hurt yourself anywhere?" asked Don Mariano. I swallowed out of nervousness. Everyone was still looking at me. The silence was punishing.
I choked. I was about to point at Sampaguita when I caught a glimpse of Juanito slowly sneaking out of the hall with his dog in tow.
I wanted to tell on Juanito but he escaped too fast. I looked at everyone in the hall again and stole a glance at the *gobernadorcillo. I looked at Madre Olivia who was sitting quietly, with no discernible reaction on her face. I wanted to go to her and ask her what I can do to get out of this embarrassing mess.
"Don Mariano, there are paw prints on the floor,” said one of the helpers who were cleaning up what was left of my plate and glass. Don Mariano put a hand on his forehead, exasperated. "Juanito!" he shouted. The woman beside him stood up, maybe she was his wife. She motioned for the orchestra to resume playing.
“Captain Corpuz, go and look for Juanito. Bring him back,” ordered Don Mariano to a tall man with a bulging belly and a thick mustache who looked like they were of the same age.
"Sir … ah! Eh, Don Mariano … an ant bit my foot and that was why I shrieked,” I said. I was scared by his outburst, especially the way he shouted Juanito’s name in front of all these people. So, Juanito had strict parents.
“But how come there are paw prints …” before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the woman beside him. "Mariano, you’ve already heard Señorita Carmelita’s explanation. Please don’t doubt her words," she gently said to Don Mariano before turning to smile at me. If I was not mistaken, this woman was Doña Juanita Alfonso, Juanito’s mother.
“Good thing you didn’t hurt yourself, hija. I’m quite certain your Father won’t let even a mosquito bite you,” said Don Mariano laughing as he turned to face Don Alejandro.
Everybody joined in the laughter. I also started laughing even if I didn’t find anything funny. It was taking my brain too long to process their high falutin speech.
“Why don’t we all go back to dinner, shall we?” Don Mariano said. Everybody nodded in approval and went back to eating and chatting as if nothing happened. I sat down and looked at Madre Olivia who was still wearing a poker face. Didn’t we have any call a friend option here?
“Aren’t we going home yet?” I asked Maria. Some time had already passed since we finished eating. We were in the sprawling living room of the Alfonso mansion. Most of the guests already knew one another and had started forming little groups to chat. Doña Soledad, Josefina, and Madre Olivia were praying at the altar.
Maria and I were left by ourselves in the living room. Good thing that Juanito didn’t come back anymore, what with my mortifying moment at dinner. Maybe he was scared that his dad would scalp him alive.
I was starting to get bored and tired from standing up. I wanted to go home and sleep. "Carmelita, Father, and Don Mariano didn’t see each other for a long time, so let’s give them this," Maria explained, noticing perhaps that I was already restless.
"Why?" I blurted out without thinking. This made Maria confused and looked at Father and Don Mariano who were busy talking and laughing in one corner. "Have you already forgotten that they are childhood friends? And both are so busy that they don’t get to talk as often anymore,” I nodded in reply. My Dad and Don Alejandro were similar in that they were both always busy.
"Carmelita, please be mindful of how you speak, fix your skirt, and raise your fan to your face so that the men won’t be able to stare at you,” Maria reminded me. I inhaled sharply when she started fixing my baro’t saya, opened my fan, and let me hold it. Why couldn’t men look at us? Will that cause them to die? Anyway, I wasn’t in the present day so there was no use complaining and arguing.
A few moments passed when suddenly, a dove landed on the ledge of the window we were leaning on, surprising us. I almost jumped from fright, good thing the music coming from the orchestra was loud enough to mask the noise I made.
I was about to shoo the dove away when Maria stopped me. I was surprised when she held the dove and pulled out a tiny sheet of paper from one of its claws.
I couldn’t believe that doves were really used as messengers once upon a time! I noticed Maria smiling while reading the piece of paper. “Let me see—” I wasn’t able to finish my sentence because she quickly hid the paper in her pocket.
“Don’t tell on me to Father or Mother as you did before, please, Carmelita,” she told me. So there had been some cover-up happening even before. “But…” Maria didn’t let me finish my sentence because she started talking again.
“Remember, I didn’t tell them about Leandro,” she added. I creased my forehead. Who the heck was Leandro? Why did Carmelita’s sisters keep on mentioning him?
“I’m going out for a bit. Stay here. When Father comes looking for me, tell him that I just went to the toilet,” Maria said then hurriedly left. In her haste, she didn’t notice that the piece of paper she was holding earlier fell on the floor. I carefully picked it up and read what was written on it.
My beloved, I am now in our usual meeting place,
Under the mango tree that is witness to the blossoming of our love.
I cannot wait to see your face,
With a beauty that is unrivaled now and for all eternity
I was a little creeped out. That was so corny! With a beauty that is unrivaled now and for all eternity. How very cheesy! Had he already seen every single woman in the world for him to say that?
Almost half an hour had passed and Maria was not yet back. I was still by the window. Almost everyone was still busy talking. I looked out the window and saw that most of the neighboring houses still had their lights on.
What I remembered was that the Fiesta of San Alfonso was a two-day celebration. I was seven years old when I first experienced the fiesta here. I could never forget Mommy’s and Daddy’s smiles while they were laughing and dancing with Lola Carmina’s guests. A picture of a complete and happy family.
I was brought back to where I was when Josefina tugged at my arm. I didn’t notice that she was already sitting beside me. “Carmelita, where’s Ate Maria?” she asked me in a whisper.
"Huh? Uhmm ..." I wasn’t even able to utter a word because Josefina’s eyes grew so wide I thought they would fall off. "Is she with Eduardo?" she asked. I didn’t know who this Eduardo was.
“Did she secretly meet up with Eduardo again?” she asked me once more. I wasn’t sure why I nodded. It looked like Josefina was privy to the secret life of her sisters.
“Listen. We’re about to go home. Go to Ate Maria, bring her back before Father looks for her. Go quickly while I distract them,” she said with a panicked look. She looked so nervous causing me to feel nervous, too.
“Why don’t we just tell them the truth? They would know eventually anyway …” Josefina didn’t let me finish my sentence as she interrupted me to say, “No we can’t—Father will kill Eduardo!” she whispered, though a little too loudly that it hurt my ear.
"Okay. Okay. I get it," I tried to wriggle free from her tight grasp. I didn’t think she heard what I said because she continued prattling on.
“Eduardo comes from a simple family and Father won’t allow Ate and him to get into a relationship. It’s different with you and Leandro as he’s from an equally renowned clan,” Josefina explained.
I wanted to ask her what was going on between Carmelita and Leandro but she might find it weird that I didn’t even know my own life.
“Go now. Go to them before we get ourselves in trouble,” Josefina said and quickly went back to her spot beside Doña Soledad and Madre Olivia.
I read the piece of paper again. Nowhere was it written where they would be meeting up. He only mentioned a mango tree. Where would I go look for them? What with all the trees here! How would I know if a tree was indeed a mango tree? Did I need to inspect the fruits just to be sure? There was no map, more so Google Maps.
THERE WAS NO ONE OUTSIDE. I quietly stepped out, careful not to draw attention. I was surprised when all of a sudden, a pot-bellied man blocked my path. I remember his face. He was Captain Corpuz who Don Mariano ordered to look for Juanito.
“Señorita, where are you going?” he asked me. Now that I had a closer look at his face, I was quite certain that he, Don Alejandro, and Don Mariano were more or less the same age. His beer belly was distracting. I wanted to tell him to go try and drink Yakult sometimes.
“I’m just going to go get some fresh air,” I tried to reason out with a smile.
“That can’t be …” he wasn’t able to finish what he was about to say because Juanito popped out of nowhere and interrupted him, “Even if she’s with me?” he asked with a grin. I turned to look at him and saw that he had a silly look on his face.
"Apologies, Señor Juanito, it still can’t be because nobody else will accompany you both,” Juanito looked around and called on one of the helpers. “We’ll tag Nena along! We’ll just walk around for a bit,” he responded with an even bigger smile. I looked at Juanito and back to Captain Corpuz. Was he trying to pull a trick on Captain Corpuz with that devilish grin?
“I’ll take care of them!” Juanito insisted. Captain Corpuz finally stepped aside and continued smoking his cigar. Juanito gave me a meaningful look that seemed to say Hey, I got ya!
I chose to ignore him and went down the final three steps of the staircase that led to their mansion. Juanito followed right behind me together with Nena. I quickened my pace and heard Juanito talking to her. When I turned to face them, I was surprised to find her gone and I was left alone with Juanito.
I was about to ask where Nena went but decided to hold my tongue. I was still not ready to face him after all the things that I did to him that were considered taboo at this time. The evening breeze felt warm all of a sudden.
I winced and continued walking. My long skirt annoyed me, my wooden clogs or bakya were making my feet ache. “Wait!” I heard Juanito call after me. He walked faster and caught up with me.
We started walking side by side.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him. He gave me a bemused look, “Well, as far as I know, this is where I live,” he said while pointing at their mansion. He smiled that annoying smile. What a jerk!
“Why did you go out?” he asked. He had longer strides compared to mine, and he looked more at ease with his outfit and shoes. That was why he was able to keep up with my quick pace. I stopped in my tracks to look at him.
Now that I could inspect his face more closely, I could say that he’s good-looking. No wonder Carmelita fell in love with him. “Binibini?” I heard him say, pulling me out of my reverie. I didn’t notice that I was staring right at him.
I quickly pulled my gaze away. Oh yeah, I remembered that I had to look for Maria. I scanned the sprawling hacienda Alfonso, “Do you know of any mango tree here?”
“Why are you asking?” he asked me back. He struck me as weird this time around. He seemed much more confident, more sure of himself. He didn’t have the awkwardness that overcame him when we were first together. Maybe he had assumed that I was too aggressive because of what happened that night!
“I can’t tell you why,” I answered back. He widened his eyes at me. What was going on inside this guy’s head?
“Don’t tell me … Your Father will surely kill you when he finds out!” he blurted out, disbelief written all over his face. That made me think. So Don Ale … wait … so Father was a murderer?
“He would scour the whole world to look for the one who caused you trouble,” his words startled me.
“Hey! I’m not pregnant! Where did you get that idea?” I shouted at him, causing the guardia civil doing their rounds to look at us. Juanito seemed genuinely shocked at my reaction that he blinked a few times.
“Ahh ... I’m sorry. You didn’t want to tell me why you were looking for a mango tree. That was why I thought of reasons,” he explained. Wow. I didn’t expect people here to be judgmental.
I took a deep breath. “I’m not pregnant. I don’t even have a boyfriend … I mean, a special someone,” I said matter-of-factly and touched my forehead in exasperation. “Someone I have a special relationship with,” I added for clarity. I think I was going to have a nosebleed.
“A *novio? Is that what you’re saying?” he asked with a smile. What was funny? There was nothing funny. “Yes. That’s it.” I muttered and continued walking.
“Maybe that explains why you’re so irritable. You haven’t experienced what it is to fall in love yet. Am I right?” he pressed me for an answer. Judgmental AND a rumormonger!
“Binibining Carmelita!” he called on me. I didn’t look and pretended not to hear him. “Actually, you got me impressed because despite what you told me during our first encounter, you were still confident to face me today,” he said. He sure loved talking in long-winded sentences.
“Didn't you know that when something utterly embarrassing happens, it’s much better if you think that it didn’t happen at all?” I said in exasperation. This time, it was Juanito who had to ponder my words.
“It seems I haven’t encountered those words yet, whether in books or conversations. Where did you learn this? Was there anyone who advised you?” he asked. Did he think that he knew all the quotes in the world for him to not know what I was talking about?
“Nevermind. I just heard it from somewhere.”
"Huh?"
"It was Father who admonished me," I said. Maybe this would shut him up. He seemed so confused by my words.
We continued walking and silence finally settled in. Good thing the pathways were well-lit by street lamps.
“I’m also wondering why you haven’t thanked me just yet,” I heard him say which made me raise an eyebrow.
“Tell me, why should I thank you?!” I retorted. He smiled and answered, “First, I saved you from that oncoming kalesa. Second, I didn’t tell on you to Madre Olivia that night you tried to sneak out of your dormitory. And third … I’m here keeping you company on this dark night.” I stopped walking to look at him. I blinked a few times as I tried to process what he said.
To be honest, I’m the kind of person who hardly says ‘thank you’. I’m not used to it. But because there was this guy with his unrelenting questions and mischievous smile—well, I still won’t do it!
I started walking again. “By the way, we don’t have any mango trees here in our garden. But I know of one outside the hacienda,” he said. He still had a smile plastered on his face. I still didn’t know if I should trust this guy. He was still a stranger and he might put me in danger. Why would I come with him? What was he taking me for? A dimwit?
“Is it still a long way to go?” My knees were starting to buckle. We had walked about four kilometers already. I didn’t have a watch so I didn’t have any idea what time it was already. People might be looking for us by now.
We went through the back of Hacienda Alfonso, where, as per Juanito, no guards were around. He took a lamp to help light our way in the dark.
“We’re close. Why didn’t you just ask someone to pick a mango for you? Why did you have to go out to …” I didn’t let him finish what he was about to say as I gave him a sharp look, the one which I used to annoy Shae.
“I said I’m not pregnant! Are you an addict? Are you high on drugs?” Juanito raised his hands in mock surrender. “Yes, Binibini,” he answered with a grin. “What was that word you used? Addict?" he asked, clearly perplexed.
This was my chance to retaliate. “‘Addict’ is a term used for gentlemen,” I said. This made him smile, “Oh. So that makes me an addict.” He looked so proud of having learned a new word. I didn’t know if I should laugh or what. I would just let him think that he was, indeed, an addict.
“Why are you still with me anyway? I didn’t ask you to come along,” I asked him irritatingly. He had been complaining nonstop, now it was my turn. “You can’t be too careful out here, especially when you’re alone,” he said.
His words made me stop walking. I blinked twice. So, was this their version of a pickup line? Was this how they flirted during this period?
“I can handle myself, thank you. I’m not afraid of anything,” I said proudly while flexing my biceps. Nothing scares me even if I go home in the wee hours of the morning.
“Even if a creature is about to munch on your feet?” Juanito said while pointing at something blackish that was munching on the hem of my skirt!
I shrieked and quickly ran behind Juanito. Aside from dogs, I hate rats, too!
“You just said that you’re not afraid of anything,” he teased me while laughing loudly. I wasn’t able to snap a retort. I got the heebie-jeebies just by looking at that rat.
What made me even more surprised was when Juanito sat down to pet the rat, “Don’t worry little rabbit, she won’t be able to come near you,” he said while stroking the creature’s fur. Was it a rat? Or a rabbit—yeah, so it was a rabbit.
He let the rabbit go and stood up with his eyes locked on mine. He smirked which made me so annoyed. “The poor rabbit almost had a heart attack because of your loud voice,” he said while letting out a guffaw. I quickened my pace and hoped that the rabbit would come back to bite his ankle!
“WE’RE HERE,” Juanito said. The mango tree stood on top of a small hill. We had to hike up a gentle slope to reach it. Juanito led the way and reached for my hand which I promptly refused. I can go up the hill myself.
“Here it is! Now you can fill yourself up with all the fruits of this tree,” he said happily when we reached the tree. I scanned our surroundings.
“Where are they?” I couldn’t believe it. There was no one around aside from me and Juanito. I thought that they would be meeting here!
“Whom are you referring to?” Juanito asked, clearly confused.
“Are you sure that this is the mango tree?”
“Didn’t you say that you were looking for a mango tree? This one’s the nearest to our home,” he replied. I clutched my head in frustration. I was supposed to say something when we heard the clopping of hooves. A kalesa was approaching with what looked like some of the Alfonsos’ guards. Trailing that kalesa were five more.
We were rendered frozen by the sight of Don Alejandro and Don Mariano who both quickly leapt out of their carriage and made a beeline to us.
"Carmelita? Juanito? What are you doing here?!" shouted Don Alejandro. Doña Soledad, Doña Juanita, Josefina, Madre Olivia and Maria followed them. My eyes popped out in surprise at the sight of Maria. So they had already returned to the mansion!