This is a romantic novel originally published in Filipino. If I continue this, I’ll need a big family tree later on.
1993
At the fork in the road ahead, the young woman chose the narrow, rocky road and turned that way.
The road less travelled… That was what came to mind.
Who was it who wrote that again?
The road on the right was wider and more open, so it probably led to a more populated place.
Could Paso del Blas be within town? And did the left-hand road she was taking lead to Hacienda Kristine?
She wanted to laugh.
Villa Kristine. Hacienda Kristine.
How odd! The modern-sounding name did not seem to harmonize with Spanish terms like “villa” or “hacienda.” Why not just call it Villa Esmeralda or Hacienda Esmeralda?
That would be more fitting, since her grandmother’s name was Kristine Esmeralda, and the villa and hacienda names had been taken from her.
And it was very funny. Her dad had given her that kind of name too, only more modern, or more English-sounding.
Kristine Emerald. Except that while her grandmother had chosen to be called Kristine, she herself preferred Emerald.
Many women nowadays had that name… Kristine. And she was thankful her parents had called her Emerald.
A series of sounds came from inside her 1983 Toyota Corona. Then smoke rose from the front, and only a few seconds later, the car stopped.
“Oh, damn!” She lightly struck the steering wheel. “Dad used to say you’re a reliable old car. Hmp, some reliable old car!” she muttered as she got out and opened the hood.
Aside from the smoke coming from inside the engine, she knew nothing else. She had no idea what the problem was.
With her hands on her waist, she looked around. In her entire life, this was the first time she had seen an endless forest.
She looked at her wristwatch. Almost three o’clock! Based on her estimated travel time, she must already be inside the hacienda.
But why had she not seen even a single house or person?
Had she taken the right road? Now she regretted not choosing the wider road. Maybe there would have been people on the other road. Here, she had no one to ask.
She could always identify herself as Leon Fortalejo’s granddaughter. According to her mother, there was no one in Paso de Blas who did not know Leon Fortalejo.
She could not help feeling nervous. She was in a strange, isolated place and knew nothing about fixing cars.
She returned to the inside of the car. Now she almost wanted to regret bringing the car at all. Her mother had told her that what she planned to do was not practical.
She remembered the argument she and her mother had four days earlier.
“Damn!” she muttered, almost digging her finger into the keyboard as she pressed delete in irritation.
xxx
Anna shook her head as she set down a mug of hot chocolate on the table.
“You missed lunch, Emerald. Drink your chocolate first,” she said in a motherly tone. “What’s your problem?”
“Mom, I’m running out of settings for my novels. I think I’ve already used all the places familiar to me, and even the places I’ve been to. I’ve been using one place twice already. I just can’t create a certain place.”
“Isn’t it always safe to use Metro Manila and neighboring cities?”
“That’s too overused. Besides, the story I have in mind is one far from the city. I’ve been to Lucban, Batangas, Nueva Ecija, and some places in Mindanao. Same with Mindoro, and I’ve already used it twice.”
“Use your imagination, Emerald. You can create a certain place. What did you become a writer for? You even took Journalism, only to end up writing Tagalog pocketbooks.”
The young woman smiled. “Since when did you become a snob, Mom?”
Anna did not answer her daughter. In any case, she was pleased that her daughter’s work was only at home. Emerald only went out when she visited the publishing company she was connected with, and they paid her well.
Anna’s youngest daughter, Jewel, was currently in her final year of college. She was only three years younger than Emerald, who was twenty-two years old.
Anna and her late husband, Romano, had only daughters.
Kristine Emerald and Kristine Jewel. Both were beautiful, but in different ways.
Emerald was fair-skinned and had inherited the looks of her grandmother, who had Spanish blood.
Jewel, meanwhile, was brown-skinned and had inherited her mother’s complexion.
Anna slowly stepped out of the room to leave her daughter alone, but Emerald called her. She turned to look at the young woman, who was already holding the mug of chocolate.
“Mom… what about Paso de Blas?” she asked very softly. She knew that the town her father came from was not discussed in their home.
Anna’s brows drew together, and she froze where she stood. “What do you mean, Emerald?” There was warning in her voice.
“Why won’t you tell me why, ever since Jewel and I became aware of things, we’ve never even visited dad’s father? What’s the mystery? And why didn’t Grandpa come even when dad died three years ago? Aside from a condolence letter from dad’s sister, there was nothing.”
“So your complaint about running out of settings is just an alibi to bring this up?”
“I really do need a new place, Mom. But along with that, the idea has been forming in my mind that maybe in dad’s province, I could write a story different from the ones I’ve written before.”
Anna sighed sadly. She stepped back toward the bed and sat on its edge. “Come here, hija. Maybe it really is time for you to know your dad’s and my story. Why, not even once in twenty-three years, he went home to Paso de Blas.”
The young woman sat on the rug and leaned against the bed.
“Romano and Margarita were siblings, anak. Your dad was the eldest. Your grandmother, Kristine Esmeralda, died giving birth to Margarita. Leon Fortalejo poured all his attention onto your dad because he was the one who would carry on their name… their family line. After high school, Leon sent Romano to Manila to study law.”
Anna paused for a moment, trying to remember the past without being swept away by emotion.
“Come on, Mom. You’re killing me with suspense.”
“Romano was in his final year of college when we met. We fell in love at once…”
“Wow! You’re only telling me now about your love story with dad. That might be novel material, you know.”
Anna smiled sadly. “Unknown to Romano, he had already been arranged to marry the daughter of Leon Fortalejo’s friend. She was also your dad’s childhood friend. After graduation, Romano went home to tell Leon about us, but Leon said that your dad was going to marry Alicia. Romano kept refusing because of me, because we loved each other, and I was the one he wanted to marry.”
“And then, Mom?” The young woman’s curiosity had been stirred.
“They had a terrible row. Your dad and your grandfather. News had already spread all over Paso de Blas about the wedding that would take place as soon as Romano graduated. No matter what your dad did or said, Leon would not budge. The wedding date was moved up, and Romano was not allowed to return to Manila. But two days before the set wedding date, Romano escaped and returned to Manila. He married me instead,” Anna said, tears forming in her eyes as she tried to hold them back.
“The story did not end there, Emerald. Leon expected that he could still get Romano back and bring him home, so he did not say that there would be no wedding. But by that time, we were already married. I can’t bear to remember your grandfather’s anger toward us that day. He could have killed us both. Because of the shame, since Romano did not appear on the wedding day, Ernesto, Alicia’s father, stormed over to your grandfather. Ernesto saw red and tried to hack at your grandfather, who blocked the blow with his hand.”
“What happened next, Mom?”
“One of your grandfather’s men acted quickly and shot Ernesto.”
Anna looked at her daughter, who gasped, “Oh!”
“Leon’s man was not charged because he had only defended him, and besides, your grandfather’s family was well-known and powerful in that town. But that did not save his right hand, which had been struck by the bolo, from being cut off. Ernesto died right then.”
“Oh…!”
“Before Ernesto’s family had even recovered from their grief over his death, news spread that Alicia was pregnant.”
“Mom…?”
“Alicia died in childbirth. Because of perhaps overwhelming grief and shame, she had not gone out of the house while she was pregnant. And perhaps she no longer wanted to live either, because according to the news, she removed all the life-support devices attached to her at the hospital,” Anna said, clasping her daughter’s hand.
“Your father was an honorable man, Emerald. He swore he had never touched Alicia. He was sorry that she died but never felt guilty. He was glad he had defied your grandfather and fought for our love. Otherwise, he would have married a woman who was pregnant by another man!”
“So that’s what happened. Why didn’t dad ever return to Paso de Blas?”
“The people there, Alicia’s family, and your grandfather believed Romano was the father of the child Alicia gave birth to.”
“Mom… but that’s unfair!”
“Whatever desire Alicia’s side had for revenge, nothing came of it. Leon was powerful and had many loyal men. But he still did not forgive your dad. Because of what Romano did, the people of Paso de Blas began to look badly at Leon. Alicia may not have come from a rich family, but it was an honorable one, and that had a great effect on your grandfather. Many old friends and acquaintances turned away from him and sympathized with the other side. And all of that blame fell on Romano.”
“But why was it like that, Mom? Didn’t dad try to explain?”
“Many times, your father did that, Emerald, but Leon would not listen. When I gave birth to you and Jewel, Romano approached him again. Leon would accept you as his granddaughters, but not your Dad and me. As the years passed, Margarita wrote that Leon would allow his grandchildren to visit him. Romano had become hard by then. If he would not accept all of us as his family, then never mind.”
“Why, Mom? Why does Grandpa want to see us?”
“You and Jewel carry the Fortalejo name, Emerald. Nathaniel, Margarita’s son, carries his father’s surname.”
A few moments of silence passed before Emerald stood.
“I want to go to Paso de Blas, Mom,” she said with determination.
“Emerald…?”
“I don’t know, Mom, but now that you’ve told me, I feel like I can’t accept that dad died carrying a false accusation against him. I want to prove to Grandpa that it isn’t true… that his son was honorable until death…”
“Forget whatever you’re planning, Emerald. That was all in the past. I don’t care what they thought of Romano. To me, my husband was a good man until the day he died. I’ll allow you to go anywhere, just not Paso de Blas,” Anna answered firmly.
“Please, Mom. If Grandpa wants to see us, then I’ll go there. After all this time, shouldn’t we reconcile? Even if dad is gone, we are his family,” she pleaded.
Anna did not answer right away.
“I’ll go there on double purpose, Mom,” Emerald quickly said when she saw her mother’s silence. “For work, and to see Grandpa.”
“I don’t want to take that right away from you and Jewel, Emerald. But I don’t like this. I wish we had just stayed in America.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I can take care of myself. I’ll bring my old typewriter and dad’s car.”
“What you’re doing isn’t practical, hija. You’ll have to load it onto a ship and pay for it. Whereas if you just have someone pick you up…”
“It’s okay, Mom. You said that from the port, it’s almost three hours to Paso de Blas. I need dad’s car because I don’t want to be picked up. So anytime I want to leave there, nothing will get in my way. It’s like a security blanket,” she added with a laugh.
Anna said nothing and only stared at her daughter.
Emerald had inherited one Fortalejo trait.
Once they decided on something, they did it, and no one could stop them.
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