Video is in Tagalog
Continued from Episode 11
As they approached Eban’s house they heard screaming and crying. Tadeo bounded up the stairs. Agawe saw two men run from under the house and he gave chase with Ansel at his heels. Ansel fired at the fleeing figures and they heard a cry of pain but lost them in the dark. They went back to Eban’s house.
Inside, Agawe saw Tiyo Tadeo talking to the crying wife of the dead Eban.
“Tadeo, he looked bad when he came home from work. He said he was just tired and he needed rest. Then suddenly, he became violently sick. He said he might have been poisoned. I was crying and screaming until he calmed down… that was when you came in. I did not even realize he’s dead!”
“Did he say who might have poisoned him?” Tadeo asked.
“No… All he said was they did not like the deal he made with you. He kept repeating that they accused him of betraying them.”
Tadeo’s next order of battle was to get information from Oleg but he was not in his house. His wife said that he did not come home from the plantation that afternoon.
The following day, arrangements were made for Eban’s burial. Agawe noticed that three relatives were missing from the burial ceremony. Umed, who was still recovering from his gunshot wound, Oleg who was hiding, and Tadeo’s cousin, Eluy.
Agawe confided his suspicion to Tadeo who agreed that it might be useful to talk to Eluy so he ordered his men to bring Eluy to him at once.
It did not take long for Eluy to be brought to Tadeo’s presence. His face ashen and he looked gaunt. His arm swollen and covered with all kinds of herbs and leaves.
“What happened to your arm,” Tadeo asked.
“I cut myself accidentally…” he said weakly.
“That is a gunshot wound…” Ansel said, “I shot you that night you planned to kill Tiyo Eban if he did not die from the poison.”
“Innà…” Tadeo turned to Apô Ira who had a cup of steaming liquid.
“Here, make him drink this … if he is lying, he will die instantly but if he tells the truth, his wounds will heal…”
Eluy squirmed as the men tried to make him drink the liquid. He shut his mouth firmly but the men forced it open and poured the liquid into his mouth. He spat it out and howled, “I did it! I poisoned the water….” He cried uncontrollably.
***
Umed opened the door and was shocked to see Tadeo who entered his house unceremoniously. Agawe and Ansel pushed Eluy into the house.
“What is this?” Umed asked, fear on his face. His wife ran to his side, totally confused.
Ansel poked Eluy with the barrel of the gun and ordered, “Talk!”
The man, doubled over with pain, started to talk, “Tiyo Umed planned everything. He convinced us that we can get rich if we follow his plan. We are all going to get a piece of this land…”
“How dare you accuse me!” Umed screamed at the man. “Clearly he is out of his mind…”
He charged at the man but Tadeo stopped him with a sheathed sword on his chest. His wife screamed and pleaded not to hurt him but the old man pushed his wife away.
“So, what is this? You are going to kill me? In front of my wife?”
“How do you propose I kill you? Poison? Just as you killed Eban?” Tadeo asked.
“Eeehhh…! Umed… what did you do?” Umed’s wife started wailing in the corner.
Tadeo turned to the wife. “He ordered Eluy and Oleg to poison Eban and to wait under his house to make sure he died…” then turned back to the old man, “Why Umed?”
“He sold us out! He is the shrewd one… just waiting for us to kill each other … but all the while working for his own benefit… he got his land but we had nothing..!” he spat out the words.
“You murderer…!” Tadeo roared.
“I am murderer? How about you? Did you not murder Maramag and Waeg? You work us like your slaves in the land of my brother? I have a right to own this land!”
“This is my father’s land. If he promised you a piece of his land, he would have told me,” Tadeo answered in a steely voice. You have no right in here, Umed!” He slapped him hard in the face and the old man reeled.
Umed’s eyes darted from Tadeo to Agawe to Ansel who was holding the gun. “Why don’t you fight fairly? You can do what you want because you know you have a monster who will shoot me if you lose? You coward! You treat your al-lang better than you treat us your family…”
“What do you want from me, Umed?” Tadeo hissed.
“I want my share of this land. I will not stop until you give me my share….!!!” “No! Get out of my land, you traitor!” he turned and left Umed.
Tadeo was still raging when they got home. Apô Ira gave him a hot drink which calmed him down.
“I should have known. I never trusted that old man…,” Tadeo muttered. “I can’t believe he persuaded Maramag to kill you,” Amaya said.
“He promised Maramag equal sharing of the land when I die… and it’s not only Maramag… he has persuaded others, too.” Tadeo turned to Apô Ira, “Eluy said my three brothers-in-law and my other cousins are working with Umed. They could be with Oleg right now and planning their next move. So they think they can frighten me?” Tadeo thought for a moment.
“Agawe, tell all the workers to stand guard in the plantation now and not to allow any of these people to enter the plantation. Work will stop. Tell them not to worry. As long as they stand guard and no one gets inside, I will pay them just the same. Half of them will stand guard during the day and half during the night.”
“And I will need more people to stand guard here,” Tadeo continued. “Let’s see if these people don’t leave when they starve….”
“Where is Eluy now?” Apô Ira asked.
“We took him home, Apô,” Agawe replied. “But he looked bad. I’m not sure he will survive.”
“Ahh… so much death around us… not good…” Apô Ira muttered.
Agawe was again burdened. With everything that’s going on, he wondered if he brought bad luck to this family.
When Agawe came to the wooden house the next morning, he found more men roaming around the house. They knew him from the plantation so they let him get inside the kitchen.
He almost bumped into Ansel, “I was going to get you… there’s trouble at the plantation.” Ansel pulled him into the large room.
Agawe saw a breathless worker explaining to Tadeo and Apô Ira, “The guards caught Oleg and your other brothers-in-law cutting the abaca so the guards chased them away but did not catch up. When they came back, more abaca plants were felled down.”
“I need more men,” Tadeo said to himself.
Agawe was immediately sent to Shaman with a gift of “agong” to request help from him. Shaman is known to have more or less a hundred al-langs working in his hectares and hectares of ricefield and coconut plantation. Agawe was worried about the request because it meant Tadeo was asking help based on the fact that they were going to be family soon because of the marriage of Ansel and Shaman’s daughter. He saw that Ansel was worried, too.
Agawe did not understand how he felt in the presence of Shaman and his son. Only the presence of Maleah made him comfortable. She looked so motherly.
“Tell Tadeo I will send him the men he needs before the sun sets today…” Shaman said. Agawe stood up and was about to leave when Maleah who was quietly sitting next to Shaman said, “Yaka pa…”
Agawe wondered nervously why Maleah wanted a moment. Maleah moved a step closer and stared at Agawe. Then she stepped back and moved away.
Agawe heard Shaman ask her sharply why, “Manan?”
No comments:
Post a Comment