" Good morning Sir, everyone's ready and we're going now." He gave his salute to the officer then got out.

He tapped Edmund's shoulder as he waved a hand to Guida and company.

" G.o.d be with you." George momentarily and sadly thought while seeing some last few men left while serving the Insular and the Philippine Commonwealth with him. He smiled and teary eyed - looking up; watching the fogs teeming up with the dusky groovy place.

"Ow! I'm married! Great heavens! First day of being married! haha!" He grinned, took the flashlight bucket and water dipper then proceeded to the angel fruit trees and talked to them while squatting on the gra.s.sy ground.

" You all should grow faster then eventually bear fruits...hmm, think that I'm already married today so, there's just something that I wanna ask all of you. Please cooperate and spare me your flowers then bear fruits immediately. I know its not easy but you and I are goin' to work hard. Okay, I don't have a bolo now but here's a stick, I can make a drainage again around. Just keep healthy. Later today, I'll get back and will follow what Baldur is doing to his bean farm. I'll create a little fire to give you a soulful smoke so that aphids can't harm you, haha! yes, I know that, I'm learning. So goodbye for now and I'll be back in the afternoon." He smiled after talking to the angel fruit trees and then proceeded to the daisies blooming.

"There were only few white daisy flowers in bloom, the rest still needs tender care, but they're growing healthy everyday." He thought then put down the flashlight and watered them sparingly. Fleetingly, he p.r.i.c.ked and harvested the white daisy flowers and carefully brought them home. Its already 5 o'clock when he reached inside, he saw her in the kitchen boiling some water and hugged her from the back, giving her the white daisy flowers he just harvested. She smiled and have them on her hands and looked at him; their eyes meet again but the water was on its boiling point and stimulatingly bubbled like a time bomb and they both laughed and she took some vase, fill it with water and put the flowers in.

"They're beautiful! Thank you." She sweetly smiled at him while they both sat beside the table.

While she's looking to the flowers George prepared their mugs with boiled water and put some amount of ginger with a little sugar.

She put her hands around the mug to get a cozy warm.

"How are you?" He asked.

" I'm in a state of adjustment." She smiled at him.

" Me too, but isn't it exciting."

" Yes. But can I share to you a story. Hmm, my stigma to it lingers until now though one day, with your help, I can move on."

" Sure. I'll listen." George whispered while sipping the salabat. Abruptly, Baldur who then wants to go to the kitchen was kind of stuck up listening to her while hiding at the back of the kitchen door.

" My foster mother, Ina Lolita was one among the beautiful natives here. In 1916, she'd met an American Naval soldier who docked his s.h.i.+p in the sh.o.r.e of Kabang and became Lolo Sibal's friend. Whenever Lolo Sibal's trading at the sh.o.r.e in Daba, they used to be with each other. Though it was just a one week affair when the American Naval soldier left her without saying anything. There was even no letter sent. Despite her missingness she survived and became pregnant. In order for her not to be cursed by people around so Lolo Sibal sacrificed by letting her stay inside his house and helped her give birth to a healthy baby boy. Ina loved that boy very much and gave her hope each moment she remembers the Naval soldier. Unexpectedly, when the baby boy was already one year old, the Naval soldier returned and took the baby without her knowing. Ina's world has died, it died on that very catastrophic moment, but that time, the Naval guy left a letter.

Lolita,

I'm sorry but I'm a married man. My wife can't bear a child but she had some terminal illness. Please let her see our baby and let me take care of her with our boy till her time comes to an end. I'll keep coming for you and eventually will send back to you our son."

Starting that day, Lolo Sibal took good care of her. She was totally depressed. When I was trapped in the abyss and when I learned that I wasn't Ina Lolita's child, I then thought that I was left to her in exchange of her son. I even thought that the Captain might be the friend of the Naval man because he sacrificed to leave his daughter to her, thinking that she could take good care of me. Considering he had two sons through my brothers who weren't his biological children but he loved them so much like his own. Eventually, when I grow up, I was a witness on how she cried hard when she missed her little boy. She told me not to trust men when I become a woman myself and told me of her worst story drowned with her first love. George, its how I wad scared of. That Naval soldier who took away Ina's little boy. He even promised to see her again, but he didn't. He never knew how painful it was for Ina, so tragically painful! That almost everyday, she goes to the seash.o.r.e and looked for s.h.i.+ps to dock, hoping...but there was none. During the pandemic, she insisted to stay in that house. Lolo Sibal wants to bring him away but she refused instead, she wants to take care of the house, hoping that the soldier might be back with his son. George....its how it started. The fear and pity to Ina still lodged in my heart. I want you to understand.

" Hmm...now I get it. He simply appeared then gone and took away their baby. What's the name of that Naval soldier? I'm just curious, my father is a Naval soldier until now, who knows he knew that guy." George reasoned out.

"That's the reason why I tagged along with me the journals of Lolo Sibal that we found here when we first came."

He clasped her tiny hands and put them on his face.

" Mag, let's take it slowly. I'm not in a hurry. I enjoy your company and I accepted all your weaknesses. In a way, I felt a deeper sympathy with your foster mother and it irks inside me, I don't know why. She died without seeing her son." George bowed down his head.

" Its not easy, right? when my logic serves me right, you're also an American soldier loving me. But reason per se is depth, much as I recall reading the pre-Socratics Herac.l.i.tus on his 'life in flux', leaving a lesson for all of us that the waters we step on the river at the moment wouldn't be the same waters we can step on next days. You aren't that naval soldier who made her miserable. That's why I'm helping myself, seeing our day-to-day as a different experience, hope you won't scold me nor hate my ways. Let's be great friends as I'm totally yours now." She smiled.

He bowed his head and smiled.

" I feel like eighteen years old, but I like this.

Then he kept caressing her hands and kissing them when Albrecht got down from the stairs and funnily yelled.

" Hey, Baldur, why you're eavesdropping behind the door? What are you listening at? Let me see? But Baldur covered his mouth and brought him to Magee's room.

George was laughing while Albrecht's voice faded.

"Shh...Baldur pulled him to my room." She smiled and touched his face.

"I liked it." He whispered and she put his mug much closer to him.

.

" Here, you finished your 'salabat' and you need to take a bath. I'll add up some boiled water that you may use in taking a bath this early. I want you to clean our room."

"Does it mean I can already stay inside?"

" Hmm...you put all your things inside, give me permission to check your things and I'll study them." She awkwardky smiled.

" What? haha!" Okay, I'm giving you full access on my things."

" Hmm...and then, you make another bed next to mine. Remember it should not be a connecting bed, its a separate bed." She turned back facing the kitchen stove."

" Sure. I'll do that today, sure." He moved at her back and surround her with his arms.

She didn't attempt to escape from his unpermitted embrace but told him softly.

"Please sit down. I could not breathe, overdrinking 'salabat' sometines isn't good to my breathing."

He right away stepped back and sat down.

" Okay, its here. You may take this in that bathroom now. Tell me if it isn't enough so that I can boil another one."