TRISTEZAS DEL ALMA: the conclusion...

Jennifer's Secret

last installment of the fictitious short story TRISTEZAS DEL ALMA
by Victorio Costes. Any resemblance to any person or event is purely coincidental.

After I stepped out of the Municipal building, I caught a tricycle who has just dropped off a fare.

"Where to, Sir?" he asked. I just repeated what the Municipio's Information Officer said.:"Take the road for Bantog, continue until you see the Crystal Glade resort located in Ariston. Then you will see a dirt road. Enter it and continue driving for about a kilometer until you see a concrete house with a red roof.

"I want you to wait for me outside, no matter how long it takes me to finish my business inside. .."

"Just give me a flat rate of 500 pesos sir, and you can have my ride for half a day.." the driver said.

"Thanks! That's okay! What's your name again?"

"I am called Pastor. But my real name is Mario. I am really a pastor of a small congregation here in Asingan. But the group is small, the collection is not enough to support me and my family. I drive this thing for my daily expenses..But I always give a very good sermon every Sunday."

Then he started his motorbike and I heard an audible beeping sound like that of a car alarm. He switches it on when he pulls out of a parking lot or when he is overtaking some pedestrians or another tricycle.

After we passed by Bantog, we saw the Crystal Glade resort which is quite a distance from the road. . We reached the boundary between Bantog and Ariston and the dirt road . Our destination is nigh .

My heart started to beat faster than normal. After what seems to be an endless stretch of rice fields bordered with acacia trees and bamboo clumps, we finally sighted the house with the red roof...

###

I knocked on the newly varnished wooden door, and after a few seconds, it opened revealing a man who is about 70 years old..He seemed happy when he saw me and he asked, "Florante?. Are you Florante?.." he asked. squinting at me with a pair of astigmatic eyes.

"Sorry sir, but my name is Alfred, or Fred.
He seemed to be taken aback.
"Would you like to come in?" anyway, he said.
"Thank you," I replied and I wiped my shoes before entering the living room.

The interior was nicely decorated very much like a North American home.I took a seat on a comfortable leather chair. On a wall near me was a big framed black and white photograph of Jenny, similar to the one I saw in the Municipio, but this one is 36 " by 48" and tinted by hand with a few colours, the way they did in the old
days before colour printing was prevalent.

"Sir, are you the father of Jenny?." "Yes, he answered nodding his head.

"Is she at home?..Can I see her?"

"She's not here right now."

"Where is she?. Did she go back to Sacramento?" My voice trembled a bit this time. He looked at me with inquiring eyes, but he hesitated to answer.

I spoke again. " I have to see her. It is very important that I talk with her."

"When did you see her?" he asked with an undescribable facial expression .

"Yesterday, I met her at the MJV resort. Then last night she attended the Balikbayan Dance with me and we danced just once. "

I noticed that his eyes widened a bit for a few seconds, then he glanced briefly at the her picture on the wall..

Then he fell again into a lapse of silence.

I started to feel uncomfortable. After two or three minutes of his defeaning silence, I stood up and announced:

"Sir, if you do not want me to see her, then I want to leave now. I am sorry for
what ever inconvenience I have caused.." My voice was louder than usual..
All of a sudden, he broke his silence by saying: "No, no, stay !..I believe
you. I believe you are her friend. If you have come this far, then you are entitled to know everything about Jenny..."

I sat down again.

He heaved a sigh and started his story.

"Jenny is our only child. She was born in a small house that stood in this same place many years ago. We were very poor then, I am just a farmer and my wife sells vegetables in the market. Like any parent, I wanted the best for Jenny because she was a loving daughter, very intelligent, very sensible and she was very beautiful..

"She attended the barrio high school here and she showed much promise in the classroom. She had also many friends because she was kind hearted and helpful to others. During her third year, she met Florante, a classmate and the son of my good friend living in the house over there. But even if they were just good friends at that time, I felt that someday, they might get married.

"One day, I received a letter from my brother in California. He made good in his business in Sacramento and he offered to adopt Jenny. Her Mother and I felt bad, but then I know my brother and his wife are good Christians but they were never endowed with a child of their own. So we agreed. Soon her papers came and we signed them with a heavy heart. We felt broken hearted when she left us at the Airport..."

He paused a bit as if to regroup his mind and clear his voice.

"But she made good there abroad. She finished high school and then Nursing in Sacramento after which she became a nurse in the same hospital where she did volunteer work as a candy striper. Her volunteer work allowed her to help the
nurses and to look after some patients. She held the same position for several years. But she remained faithful to Florante and they exchanged letters regularly. Hand written letters done in pink stationery. ..Flor visited us also regularly, and we treated him as if he were our own son. When I saw you, I was struck by your uncanny resemblance to him.He also finished Civil Engineering at the Mapua Institute in Manila.

"In 1995, she decided to come home for a visit. First time since her departure from Asingan. I have many relatives in the Municipal building and they decided to make her Ms. Balikbayan for that year. Florante , of course automatically became the escort. Later, she started sending us some money for building this house in place of the old one. She also asked us to buy some cel phones so we can talk more conveniently.

"In 1994, a year before her visit, she told Flor and Flor told us, that a young man who lives in a small town near San Diego, California, met her in a birthday party. He fell in love with her at once. She told him she is already engaged to her childhood sweetheart here in Asingan. But this guy, Marlon Bergonia, is persistent, telling her that he will not stop loving her until she is already married..She tells everything to
us through Flor..I do not know why she is not comfortable telling these things to us, but its okay..But she told us not to worry. The guy she said is good hearted, very kind and she tells him very often that she can not love him back each time he broached the subject.

"A few months before her holiday, she told us Marlon started to e-mail her love notes, leave emotional messages in her voice mail...One day, he e-mailed her that he will kill her boy friend so he can marry her. Jenny said if he won't stop his barrage of sick e-mails, she will go to the Police and ask for their protection. But the Police can not just arrest a man if he has not committed anything yet. But she threatened him to charge him with harassment. Then she told us he finally stopped..He just e-mail her once in a while with no more love elements, but she never answered any of them. She said, she just deleted immediately anything coming from him..

He stopped talking again..He stood up and said, "Can I get you anything to drink, Coke perhaps?.I need some water.."

"I am okay!" I said.He resumed his narration when he came back..

"It was a joyful celebration when she arrived. .She arrived 2 days before her coronation night..

" The auditorium was lavishly decorated by her friends and kinfolks, especially those from the Municipio. One time Florante and her went to there to visit her relatives and a clerk asked: ' Are you going to apply for a marriage license?' The big crowd following her around laughed..

"Then came the Coronation night.." At this point, I smelled a faint odor. It was Jenny's perfume.. I wondered if her father smelled it too.

"She was a vision of delight and happiness, " he continued.." She marched down towards the throne, then some dignitaries crowned her. She was smiling all the while..Then the emcee announced the Royal Dance. The orchestra played TRISTEZAS DEL ALMA..

Her perfume scent became stronger.." Florante took her to the dance hall, together with the other reigning beauties..I stood up too, looking at her all the time. A few photographers and one video cameraman were aiming their cameras at her..

"And then..I did not even notice it, a man coming out of nowhere, approached Jenny and Flor"..

At this point, I felt a draft of cold wind blowing on me and touching my hair softly.."From where I am I saw the man take something out. The man was talking to Florante. Jenny looked very agitated. I stood up, rushed towards them. But it happened so fast!. I saw Jenny step between the man and Flor. In a split second, I
heard a gunshot. Jenny took the bullet intended for Flor. It entered her heart and she fell on the auditorium floor.."

"There was screaming and the orchestra stopped the music.."

I felt tears rushing down my cheeks at this point. The images of the incident came vividly to my imagination..

"I knelt beside Jenny. She was whispering..' Dad, that was Marlon..I am sorry..He wanted to kill Flor. I did not know he would be coming here..' She started to cough blood.

I could hear several men shouting and footsteps were heard all over the place. I did not look behind me. Just focused my attention to Jenny..But I think I heard the sound of a body fall to the cement floor and some shouts and sickening sounds.There was a brief scuffle. Then silence...My ears wre listening to my daughter whispering over and over.." Dad, my soul won't rest until I will finish this dance with Flor.." She must have said this sentence three times, then she became very quiet..."

At this point, I felt dizzy, recollecting Jenny's countenance, her sweet smile after I ended the dance with her that night and we walked back to our seat.."I love you, Jenny, I am so sorry..!!!!" I said aloud. I remember the harsh hateful words I said about her. There was a soft sensation of a gentle cool air brushing by my ear, Then as sudden as it appeared, the smell of the perfume and the very cold draft dissapeared..

I brushed my eyes and cheeks with my hands.

"What happened to Marlon?.." I asked.

"The guy did not have any chance.Many of my relatives were at the Auditorium that night," he answered.."Two were policemen. One of them told me not to worry, just look after Jenny..They will take care of Marlon..And Florante, the shock was too much for him. He also collapsed a few minutes later. He went to a coma. He is still alive to this day, but he is immobile. He lives through a life support machine in a long term care hospital.His expenses are taken cared of by Jenny, posthumously. She had lots of investment bonds and her life insurance was quite substaantial . Her total assets came close to a million dollars..Her parents are the beneficiaries..."

I looked at the time, my watch and the grandfather clock in the corner....It was quarter to 12:00 noon.

"Who was the woman I danced with?..Was it Jenny's spirit ?.."

Jenny's dad answered.." Might be. My grandmother once told me, that if a person has left something urgent which is unfinished before she or he dies, then the spirit would come once a year, our earth year, until it is completed..My grandmother was a good spiritualist and a faith healer in Laoac, Manaoag Pangasinan.. She said, it is possible for a soul to become a "quasi human being", but only for 24 hours one day each year, Jenny opted to use this chance to come back during her death anniversary, until she has accomplished her mission..

"I hope I was able to enlighten you about Jenny. Telling this story made me feel so tired...I think I will take a nap. Thanks for your visit, son...Just lock the door on your way out.."

He stood up, squeezed my shoulder, and he walked into a stairway going up the second floor.

"Thank you.." I whispered softly.

I looked at Jenny's photo. I expected it to smile, but it didn't.

The perfume smell is gone. The cold draft is gone. After I examined every photo of Jenny in the living room, I felt it was time for me to be gone from the place. I locked the door as I stepped my way out into a glaring mid day sun...

###

I saw Pastor outside. He was sitting inside his tricycle reading a small bible..

"How did it go, sir?""Oh it was okay," I said.."Say, how about lunch?..Let us drop by Crystal Glade. I heard they have delicious arroz caldo there..Arroz caldo de Corazon....Some of the ingredients are chicken liver, gizzards and hearts..."

"Sure..Only a sick person refuses any food offered.. I am as healthy as a carabao.."

We sat down at the Crystal Glade beside the swimming pool. My mind was still reeling from what I experienced inside that house.

There were a couple of teen-aged girls swimming in the pool clad in bras and thongs..
"Hey, Pastor" I said.."Is it bad to look at bikini clad women?" I asked with a smile. I wanted to relax my mind .

"No, he said. "I look at them myself..if my wife is not around.."

"Good man!" I said and we smiled. I saw him turn his face towards the sound of the giggling girls.

"By the way, did you wait long?..I asked him..
"No, he said..You were there only about two minutes!..Don't worry you can give me just 300 pesos..500 is for half a day..

"Are you sure??"..I asked this question about the length of time not about the money.

"I swear.."

I knew I was there for two hours at least..It was 10:00 am when I entered the house. My watch and the grandfather clock in the living room showed 10:00 am.. When I went out of the door, the grandfather clock showed 10 minutes to 12 noon...

"By the way" Pastor asked.."What did you do inside the house?.Are you planning to buy it? Ever since that beauty queen died 5 years ago, it has been up for sale. "

"Oh, you know about her?.."

"Oh yes, it was the talk of the town for a long time. I heard she was shot by a jealous boy friend..from America. There were investigators from the US Consulate. He was reported missing by the company he worked for. When the investigators visited the Municipal Police Department, they said they knew nothing about the guy..No Marlon Bergonia came to Asingan, they said.."

"How about the parents of the Beauty Queen? Aren't they living in that house?.."

"Both the Father and the Mother died a month later after her death. They went to Urdaneta to get some money and the jeep they were riding lost its brakes. The jeep went down into that deep ditch before the bridge. The driver and the couple drowned because the river there was deep at that time..Nobody lives in that house for years already. Only a paid caretaker comes once a week to clean it"

"WHAT??..BUT..." I stopped what I was about to say. I looked at my watch and it said only 10:15 am.

"Shit" I told myself, " I can not tell this pastor I talked with the Beauty Queen's dad..just now. He might blab it in his sermon and people will call me crazy.."

"Sir, if you buy it, I will rent from you if you need someone to take care of it..Nobody likes to buy it now because they say it is haunted. It is dirt cheap...But I am not scared of ghosts and spirits. I am more scared of the living, especially if they are stoned..

"I know some prayers of exorcism. Will drive the spooks away..for you. No charge..! I can give you references as to my character. "

"Yeah, I can tell you are an honest person.."

The two arroz caldos arrived. They smelled good!

"Okay, I will think about it. In the meantime, let us eat before these chicken soup with hearts get cold!---#