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We stood in front of the old mansion of Lolo Ricardo Jr. for a long time before either of us spoke. The gates were rusted. The windows looked tired. But something about the place felt like it had been waiting.
Kuya Josh… parang may tumatawag. Bernadeth whispered.
I felt it too. Not a real voice, but a quiet pull. We asked Papa Franz if we could go inside. He hesitated, then finally nodded and told us to stay together.
The air inside was thick with dust and old wood. We walked slowly through the rooms until we reached the library. Tall shelves lined the walls, filled with books that had not been touched for years.
Bernadeth stopped in front of a low wooden cabinet. She opened one of the drawers carefully. Inside, wrapped in faded cloth, were two old books.
Kuya… tingnan mo. she said, holding them up.
I took them one by one. The first was Noli Me Tángere , printed in Berlin in 1887. The second was El Filibusterismo , printed in Ghent in 1891. Both were worn, but still whole.
We did not yet know what they meant. We only knew they were not ordinary books. Bernadeth held them close to her chest, as if she already understood they were the first pieces of something larger.
That afternoon, we left the mansion carrying the two books. We still did not know how many more things were waiting for us. We only knew the trail had begun. → story continues in Chapter 2
Sometimes the first discovery does not explain anything. It only opens the door. That day, two old books became the beginning of a journey neither of us fully understood yet.
— Josh
Updated September 3, 2026 from original written date September 2, 2021.
