Even Hernando had the decency to turn a light shade of pink at the memory of parading his masculinity in front of this sweet, naive, young country girl. His face still betrayed some of the anger he felt at Arturo’s attempt to soil his girl. “Sorted him out? And what does ‘sorted him out’ actually mean Minda?”
She looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to retract the question, but there was no swaying him and she knew she would have to tell him the truth. “Ummm, Ahhh, well, if the truth be told, I kneed him, very hard, in a particularly delicate part of his anatomy, if you really must know.” To her shock, Hernando threw back his head and laughed uproariously. He was so overcome by the absurdity of the situation, he kept roaring with laughter until he broke down in an uncontrollable coughing fit. Minda, now concerned, began to hammer him on his back, to try to relieve the spasms that were wracking his body, but that merely seemed to make him, cough, splutter and still laugh, even louder.
Just when she thought he was certain to collapse from lack of oxygen, he seemed to get himself under control and sat down with his hands to his face, eyes streaming with tears and head shaking from side to side. When he finally calmed down enough to speak, he looked at her, a massive grin on his lips and still shaking his head. “A delicate part of his anatomy, you say Minda?” and that sent him into gales of laughter yet again. It was infectious, by this time, as she found herself first grinning, then chortling and finally rolling on the ground in fits of laughter. What a sight the pair of them made at the side of the river bank – the proud, young Spanish Officer and the beautiful, native princess, both almost naked, rolling around in the dust, eyes streaming and laughing fit to bust.
Eventually, it was Hernando who managed to gain control of his senses first and with gentle seriousness he reached over and grasped her two shoulders, pulling her upright, until they were on their knees, face to face. A wistful looked passed across his face as he tentatively reached out one hand and brushed a few stray locks of hair from her eyes, before leaning forward and kissing her passionately, wrapping his arms around her and whispering. “My girl is so much more than I ever dreamed she would be. You are no shrinking violet, my love, you have spirit... and I love that.”
Minda’s emotions were all over the place, but the words, “my girl” and “my love” definitely pierced through the veil and hit home to her. When Hernando’s lips touched hers she knew this was her last possible chance to change this destiny, to leave the enemy where it belonged – as the enemy, but she knew she could no more deny this man’s entreaties and his love than she could deny the love and desire she felt for him. Melting into his embrace, she sighed to herself as he stood and lifted her in his muscular arms, carrying her to the shade of the Acacia tree, where he gently laid her down, on his jacket, covered her mouth with his lips and her body with his.
***
Minda opened one eye and breathed deeply. She could see Hernando, propped up on one elbow, his body still covered in perspiration and glistening in the fading light, the muscles of his biceps bulging as he supported his weight on them. He was just staring into her face, as if drinking in her looks... her beauty, perhaps. She had never felt anything like this before. Her body felt sore, but in some ways, it also felt incredibly relaxed. Hernando had done things to her that she’d never even thought of, let alone dreamed she could ever experience. Sure, she knew roughly about the mechanics of what men and women did together. After all, some of her girlfriends couldn’t shut up about the subject. They were always trying to tell her how ‘it’ was done and what ‘it’ felt like. She grinned inwardly – well, they weren’t even close to what it felt like. That was incredible, she thought. Today, I became a woman.
Opening her other eye, she stretched languorously, before raising her eyebrows and asking, “what are you looking at Hernando? Is there something wrong with me?”
Snapped out of his staring at her beauty, Hernando coughed nervously. “Oh, I’m sorry Minda. I was just wondering what I did to deserve someone as beautiful and wonderful as you, to love.” His words were spoken softly, the love and adoration shining through. Minda couldn’t help but be moved by the sincerity of his statement. Reality, however, was beginning to sneak up on her consciousness.
“But... but...” she began timorously. “you and me... we are such different people, we come from such different backgrounds. How can this be? I mean... technically you are the enemy and I am just a simple, Filipina, farm girl. There’s no future for us. How could there be?”
A cloud came across Hernando’s countenance, but it was just a brief interlude before he smiled his beautiful, white smile at her. “Minda... get this straight. I am not taking advantage of you. This is not some Spanish colonial affair. I love you and I don’t quite know how, at this stage, but somehow we will be together...” His voice trailed off, indicating his uncertainty before he added, his voice now quivering, “that is... well, that is, assuming you feel the same for me.”
Minda laughed aloud and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh Hernando, of course I love you.” She giggled as she looked down at her naked body. “You don’t think I’d let you do this to me, if I didn’t love you, do you?” He grinned, his head shaking from side to side, as she continued. “Oh Hernando, I think I’ve loved you from the very first moment you lifted me out of that muddy rice field. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself, because I was so scared of what it would mean.”
She took his face between her hands and moved closer to him, as she whispered. “I don’t know how we can ever make it work, my darling, but I’m prepared to try. I love you with everything I am, or will ever be.” She kissed him hard, forcing her tongue inside his compliant lips. As he sighed with contentment and lust, they sank back down onto the ground for another chance to express their love for each other.
By the time Minda reluctantly informed him that she needed to return home, Hernando was exhausted and satisfied, but more importantly, for the first time in many years, he was genuinely happy. They took the opportunity to bathe their dusty, sweaty bodies in the refreshing waters of the river, frolicking naked in the shallows and revelling in the excitement of the moment and of each other. For that brief time, nothing else existed. There was no Spanish Officer, there was no Filipina girl, there was no KKK, there was simply, a man and a woman, deeply in love and truly happy.
As Hernando dawdled over his goodbyes to Minda, trying every trick he could think of to make her stay just a few minutes longer, he marvelled at how so much had changed in his life, in just one day. The realisation and the admission that Minda was the woman he loved and that he would do anything to be with her, had changed everything. He gulped, as he realised just what a drastic effect this was going to have on his life and his future.
With one final, passionate embrace, she tore herself from his arms and literally ran to the road, terrified that if she looked back, even for a second, she would go running straight back into his arms again. She knew, though, she had promised to go and see Arturo and see what the organisation was planning. Her mind was conflicted as she ran down the road.
Hernando had not taken his eyes from her as she’d sped away, her skirts billowing as she ran. He lay back, on the ground, under the tree and waited for the sunset to come and wash his fevered mind with its glorious, colourful display. He had much to think of and much to plan for, but for now, he just wanted his last night in this beautiful place to be full of memories of his gorgeous Minda and the afternoon of passion they had shared, as he watched the fiery beauty of an Asian sunset.
Ah yes, he thought, as his eyes closed and he drifted off to the unconscious world where everything can be solved and no problem was insurmountable. Ah yes, it had certainly been one hell of a day and nothing was ever going to be the same again.
***
LUZVIMINDA:
Minda’s mind was racing almost as fast as her feet, as she covered the distance back to the town. It didn’t matter which way she looked at it – this was a damn mess, but she
also knew that nothing and that meant, absolutely nothing, could change the fact that she loved Hernando, with her entire being and she couldn’t alter that. As she approached the outskirts of the town, a strange feeling came over her. She knew she had changed forever today – she had become a woman and was no longer an innocent girl, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it would be obvious to everyone else. What if Art guessed what I’ve been doing? Her hand flew to her mouth as she wondered; what if Mama or Papa ever found out? Oh my God, I’ll be ostracised, I’ll be thrown out of home, as a loose woman, or sent to a convent to spend the rest of my life repenting for my sins. And then it hit her – what if my brothers and sisters in the KKK find out I’ve been sleeping with a Spanish Officer, what then?
Before she knew it, she was outside Arturo’s house. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she knocked on the gate. Arturo’s smiling face popped up over the grille of the gate.
“Minda! Hey!” He looked happy to see her and for that she was grateful. Opening the gate, he placed an arm around her shoulder, which she instinctively shrunk away from. Looking hurt, he said, “look, Minda, I’m so, so sorry for what I did this morning. I know you don’t really want me, but I do still love you. Can you forgive me? I promise it will never happen again.”
She was stunned by his admission. Filipino men never, ever, apologise and certainly not to a woman. For Arturo to have made this concession he must be truly sorry. She reached out for him and grabbed him into an embrace. “It’s okay Art... really it is. I know how you feel, but you must understand I love you like a brother, nothing more. As long as we keep that straight, then we can always be friends, more than friends, ha! – brother and sister.”
He pulled back from her embrace, his face wreathed in smiles. “Works for me Minda, it works for me. Now go give that basket to Mama, I have something incredible to tell you.” He leant forward and whispered, “we have a mission. You, me, and ten of the brothers – we are going to strike at the heart of the Spanish power. We are going to blow up their camp.” He was fair jumping up and down with excitement and she couldn’t help but catch some of the contagion of his enthusiasm. “When you’ve dropped the picnic basket inside, we’ll go to the safe house where everyone else is getting prepared. We’re doing it tonight, isn’t that exciting?”
Minda couldn’t help but nod vigorously as she went inside to deliver the now empty basket to Art’s mother. Her mind, however, was on Hernando, back at the river. She felt a surge of gratitude that whatever happened tonight at the Spanish camp wasn’t going to affect him. He was not due back there until tomorrow morning and their little band of revolutionaries would be long gone by then, the damage hopefully done. It just served to remind her, though, what an incredibly tenuous and conflicting position this relationship had now put them both in.
On the walk to the meeting place, Arturo explained the plan, in detail. Minda was to appear at the main gate, seeking an appointment with Captain de Abreu. She knew he wasn’t going to be there, so she knew the plan was flawed from the get-go. The problem being, she couldn’t tell Artie or the others how she knew this detail, or they would realise she had been in a liaison with Hernando. Oh, what a dilemma, she thought, as they neared the meeting place. How am I going to get out of this one? In the end, she decided she really had no choice but to just go along with the plan and play it by ear.
Eventually, she decided, that when the guard informed her of Hernando’s absence, she would try to play her best coquette for the guard, in the hope of distracting him long enough to allow the others to overpower him. Once they were safely inside the camp, everyone had their detailed responsibilities and loads of powder and explosives to place. They were determined that this time, there would be no mistakes and they would ensure they caused as much devastation and havoc within the camp as possible. Arturo reinforced their prime objective to her. “Minda, we have two objectives – destroy the camp and kill Spaniards, that’s it.”
She was nodding in agreement with him as they entered the farm building where the attack was being organised. They were greeted warmly by the other members of the team, with hugs and back-slaps. Minda was genuinely touched that there wasn’t any obvious concessions or attitude changes to her being a woman or even their young ages. She and Artie were welcomed as equals – equals in the struggle for freedom. That very definitely did give her a warm glow. When she was with her brothers and sisters in the organisation, she felt part of something special, something that would forever change the fabric of their society. They may only be a ‘rag-tag’ bunch of revolutionary malcontents, to the Spanish, but to Minda and her cohorts they were the very epitome of the proud expression of Filipino nationalism. The Spaniards might have the military power, but the Filipinos had right and pride on their side.
By the time they crept out into the early-evening dusk, Minda and the others were armed to the teeth and ready for battle. She hadn’t even thought of Hernando once since they’d entered the house but as they drew close to the Spanish Camp, images of his loving eyes, his handsome face, and his glistening, wet body, began to invade her thoughts. She took a deep breath and consigned him to a part of her mind that she was going to lock and keep bottled up, for this evening at least. As the others urged her on, Minda undid a couple of strings on her bodice, to ensure her cleavage was readily viewable and exuding a slightly drunken gait, she strutted toward the main gate, tossing her long, lustrous locks from side to side and swinging her hips as she walked. She even began singing softly, in her melodious tones.
“Halt! Who goes there?” came the challenge from the darkness.
“Hello Soldier,” she purred. “Why it is just me, Luzviminda Torres, from the town, come to call on Captain de Abreu. Please inform him I am here and wish to see him.”
The soldier chuckled heartily. “Ah Miss, you’ve made yourself a wasted trip, I’m afraid. Captain de Abreu is on leave. He won’t be back until tomorrow. You’d better head back to town – nothing for you here.”
By this time Minda was just a few feet from the sentry and she smiled at him under the light from the torch he was holding. “Ohhhh…” she sighed. “Really? How inconsiderate of the good Captain. Whatever am I going to do now? I’ve come all this way...” she let her words trail off as she licked her lips lasciviously, for the soldier’s benefit, “and here I was hoping to earn myself a peso or two for my family. Ohhh… they need that money so bad. Isn’t there something you can do to help a poor girl in need? You look like such a kind man,” she finished.
The sentry held his torch high so he could see Minda properly. This was no local whore, he quickly decided. He gulped, as his faint light reflected on her true beauty. This was some hot tamale of a woman and he was definitely feeling in need of her. “I... I... have a few pesos, Ma’am,” he spluttered.
“Well then, what do you say we find somewhere a little bit more private than this, so I can see if I can earn those pesos off you,” she murmured softly. “That little guard hut of yours there, looks perfect for the purpose, don’t you think?” The soldier nodded dumbly and allowed Minda to grab his arm and pull him inside the small hut, where she closed the door. She knew the others would already be sneaking in the main gate, but she also knew she needed to kill this soldier before he tried anything with her.
He placed the torch on a bracket in the wall and the spluttering flame cast shadows all around the tiny enclosure. This was the moment of truth for Minda. This was when she would become a ‘real’ revolutionary and make her first kill. The adrenaline was pounding through her system, but as she looked up at the soldier, standing there meekly, his hand holding out a fistful of coins, she was assailed by images of Hernando and what he might think about what she was doing here today. Looking at the eager, young soldier, she felt a pang of guilt and pain at what she was about to do. She was sure this young man had a mother, a sister, perhaps even a girlfriend or a wife back home who would mourn his passing. Did she really have the right to take his life?
; The soldier, confused by her silence and hesitation reached forward and grabbing her hand, put the coins into her palm. She stared down at them, conflicted and unsure what to do next. When the soldier reached out and grabbed at her breast, she acted instinctively. Memories of centuries of kowtowing to these Spanish conquerors rushed through her consciousness as she swatted his hand away and reached inside her bodice to withdraw a twelve-inch, stiletto-sharp, dagger, which she slashed across the soldier’s neck, almost severing his head from his body, in the process. As the warm blood spurted over her face and the soldier fell to his knees, wheezing softly, Minda felt an immense peace descend over her. This was her destiny. Love or no love, she was a revolutionary and this was the price that had to be paid to gain their freedom from the accursed Spanish.
She looked down at the soldier’s now still, quiet, and broken body and heaved a great sigh, unbidden tears running down her cheeks. She turned away from the gruesome sight and threw up against the side wall of the sentry hut. As she wiped her face with her handkerchief, she reminded herself, that yes, she was a revolutionary, but she was also a human being, who had just callously and violently ended another human being’s life. She swore to herself, there and then, no matter how many Spaniards might die at her hands, she would never revel in their death or take their dispatch lightly. “It is just the way it is,” she muttered to herself, as she left the hut to find the others. “In a revolution, sadly, people must die.”
As she exited the sentry hut, she realised all was still very quiet in the camp, which reassured her greatly. Her comrades should have had time to place their explosives by now and clearly, nobody had discovered them yet, which gave her hope they would make a clean getaway. Her thoughts were premature, though, as she heard a bell ring and a cry go up – “Intruders! Intruders! All men to action! We have intruders in the camp!”
Love Beyond: Walang Hanggang Pagmamahal Page 12
