CHAPTER 41
SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME
Maria Christina Hotel, Iligan
The thanks, handshakes, and all the backslapping and congratulations had been completed many times before the four non Filipinos' got out at the entry to the hotel soon after 1:00 a.m.. The jeepney and the remaining occupants would make their way back to Cagayan de Oro without Pater, Henry, Rangi and T.A.
T.A. saw the wide eyed looks on the faces of the two sleepy hotel receptionists. He was beyond caring about his appearance wearing a soiled barong as a shirt and an equally dirty sarong around his waist. Pater seemed to clear it all up quickly and they were soon in the lift.
"Jesus man, you smell real bad," said Pater.
"Pater, you told me often enough on the way here." T.A. looked at Henry and Rangi for some sort of support and got wide grins in response.
The lift doors opened.
"Whew, thank Christ for that," Pater went on.
"Just don't disturb me when I'm in the bath and don't expect any hot water left when I'm finished," said T.A.
T.A. showered first to wash the dirt away. Then wiped all traces of dirt from the bath, opened two sachets of the hotel supplied bubble-bath and ran the water almost to the top of the bath.
Within minutes of T.A. relaxing deep into the hot bath and bubbles, the room door bell rang. Pater walked past, pulled the bathroom door closed, and opened the door.
T.A. heard male voices talking briefly in what he presumed was one of the Filipino languages, then he heard the door close. Pater's opened the bathroom door carrying a plate.
"Thought you might like breakfast in the bath, sir."
He placed a plate of angled cut toasted sandwiches on the table by the bath.
"At this hour of the night that's all they've got, sorry."
"Thanks Pater, I've been on fish, and rice, and air."
"How do you have your coffee?"
"White and one thanks. Haven't had one for ages."
"Marivic was here, trying to help find you."
"Where is she now?" asked T.A. feeling quite excited at the thought of seeing her again.
"Checked out already according to reception. They don't know where she's gone."
"She is from Iligan. Perhaps I should look her up and thank her."
"No mate. After you've rested tonight and had a bit of a sleep, we're heading straight back to Cagayan de Oro by taxi in the morning."
T.A. finished his coffee and sandwiches, dried off, wrapped the towel around his waist and went into the main area of the room.
"I'll leave now. You get your head down." Pater stood and made his way to the door.
"Pater. I really mean thanks. You are one hell of a fella."
"I'd say you owe me one. But when I show you what I found as well as finding you, then maybe I still owe you."
T.A. was too tired to follow up Pater's mysterious comment. As soon as the door closed behind Pater, T.A. tossed the towel on the floor, flopped onto the fresh clean sheets and fell asleep with the light still on.
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Linamon,
As the first light of the day began, Siti and Zahra moved quietly down the stairs. They, like their neighbours, had stayed indoors at the sound of the shooting. Soldiers had visited the barrio in the past and shot people at night, then advised after the event that a temporary curfew had been imposed earlier that night and those outside were automatically in breach of curfew and therefore valid targets.
On seeing the body of Yamada at the door Siti let out a stifled scream. She thought it was T.A., then quickly realised it was not.
Avoiding any footfall into the pool of dried blood now surrounding the body, they stepped past and onto the road. Looking up the road toward the town, they could see other neighbours leaning out of windows to try and see what might have happened during the night. The girls noticed some of the dogs trying to walk yet wobbling on their legs as though they were intoxicated. Others were still asleep in various body postures.
Other neighbours had begun to emerge from their houses and huts and had begun to make their way toward the sisters.
Siti looked down the road toward the sea, then, heard a squeal from Zahra. She looked in the same direction as Zahra's gaze and saw her Father asleep, sitting with his back leaning against a larger rock at the base of the balitè tree.
They quickly ran toward him and stopped suddenly when they saw the body of another Japanese laying near their Father. This one had four, no five wounds to the chest and upper body area, and one more low down on the left arm.
Stepping around the body quickly they could not see any wounds on their Father. Siti moved forward the last couple of paces and crouched beside her Father whose eyes were closed.
"Papa wake up, you must come home to bed to sleep."
She put her hand on his shoulder, gently gripped it, and gave him a gentle push to wake him.
The cold, dead body of Salim Hassan slipped out of her grasp on to its left side and onto the dried grass.
Both girls screamed at the same time.
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Maria Christina Hotel, Iligan
"C'mon Sleeping Beauty, wakey, wakey."
T.A. could hear the voice in the background repeating the phrase. It was a male voice, one he had heard before but could not identify.
Pressure on his shoulder began to shake him, and he felt he was fighting to open his eyes and bring his brain to a state where he could interpret what was happening.
"C'mon," the voice went on, "We're meant to check out by 10:00 A.M."
At last T.A's brain recognised the voice. It was Pater's.
"Oh shit Pater, I've only just fallen asleep."
"The hell you have. Only 8 hours. You can sleep in the taxi on the way back to Cagayan.
T.A. forced himself to sit up. He quickly looked down and was thankful that at some stage during his sleep he must have crawled between the sheets. He remembered he had not been wearing anything when he had gone to sleep.
"I hope these are a near enough fit," said Pater tossing some clothes on the sheets at the foot of the bed. "I've also taken the liberty of ordering a breakfast for you including calamansi juice of course."
"Thanks."
"You've got time for a shower before it arrives. So hit it private. Move."
T.A. obeyed in zombie fashion. When he emerged he emerged from the shower feeling refreshed, and fully awake he was pleased to see breakfast had arrived, together with three glasses of cold calamansi juice.
After finishing breakfast, T.A. simply obeyed whatever Pater requested. He was pleased to finally get into the taxi, which only he and Pater were in. Rangi and Henry entered another which would follow them in convoy all the way to Cagayan de Oro.
Within minutes, T.A. was asleep.
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Linamon,
One of the larger bancas from the barrio was pushed out into the deeper water by six men who had moved out to waist deep water before releasing their hold on the outriggers. One of the three men inside the banca was seated at the stern. He pulled twice on the engine rope, and nodded in satisfaction as the engine started.
Steering straight out to sea, the three men sat in silence. After about 30 minutes they were about three kilometres away from the shore. Their fishing experience had taught them the water was very deep here. The man at the stern switched the engine off and let the banca drift.
All three men stood up slowly and looked around. There were no other boats within two or three kilometres of their position. The man at the bow and the man in the centre of the boat lifted the first of the bodies, while making sure they stayed clear of the wire and rope surrounding it. They dropped the first body over the side and it stayed hooked onto the side of the banca and held by the wire and rope. Then they lifted the first of the rusting truck axles as gently as they could, without upsetting the balance of the banca, and dropped the axle over the side.
The body quickly followed the heavy axle into the deep. They r
epeated the process a second time, then resumed the same positions they were in before they began their task.
The man in the stern again pulled twice on the engine rope and again nodded in satisfaction as the engine started on the second pull. Within seconds he had reversed his outgoing course, and was headed back to the beach.
All three men knew that the body of Salim Hassan would already be laying prepared for the burial ceremony by the time they returned. The doctor had already issued the certificate stating death was as a result of a heart attack brought on by the poison of an unidentified snake. The three men all knew better. The body was unmarked.
Engkanto, the spirit of the balitè tree, had taken its revenge.
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VIP Hotel, Cagayan de Oro
The taxi sleep had revived him only a little more, so T.A. was pleased to be inside the hotel room and sitting in a comfortable armchair.
He watched as Pater, Henry and Rangi each placed a solid looking backpack on the floor, then found seating wherever they could.
"Well," asked Pater, "how's the holiday been so far?"
"Interesting, and different. I don't think anything is coverable by insurance."
"Costly eh? Well it certainly cost my credit card a packet to get you, but it looks as though the investment will give me a good return."
T.A. noticed all three of his companions were grinning widely.
"O.K., what's up?"
Pater picked up one of the backpacks, with some difficulty, and placed it slowly on the bed.
"Well, after I've recouped all my expenses, I thought we'd split this little lot 4 ways."
At that he unzipped the top of the backpack, turned it upside down and poured a pile of dull yellow coins onto the bed.
"What the hell is all that."
"Just some small treasure we recovered from Mr Yamada, the friend of yours who got you into this mess."
T.A. picked up some of the coins and examined them. "What's this lot worth?"
"The other two bags have the same thing. Can't be sure, but a few quick questions that I've asked around about the value of just one coin, then a bit of arithmetic puts it somewhere between two and three hundred thousand US dollars; each."
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