TheOt

herWomanbyVi
rgi
l
ioSamont
e

I
tisalmostamonthsincemyuncl edied.NanaCeci li
a,hi
swi dow,hasmadeupwi thmy
maidenauntCor
a,andnowst ayswi t
hheri nSanNi col
as.Thesuspi ci
ons-
-fort
hey
provedt
obemer esuspici
onsafterall-
-shehadent ert
ainedconcerningNanaCoraand
mylateuncl
e,weredi
spell
edathi sdeath.Idon'tknowthetruthmy sel
fuptonow.ButI
don'
twanttoknow.Whatmat ter
snowi sthattheyarenolongeryoung.

Loida,
Ilear
nedsometimeago, i
sgonef r
om t
heoldhouseinLaoag.Shestayedther
e
forsomeday saf
termyuncle'
sburi
al,andnoonecoul
dmakehergoawayt hen.Noone
knowswher eshehadgone.Anywayitdoesnotmatt
er.Shedoesnotmat t
eranymor e.

Asf ortheoldhouse,itnowstandsbleakandempt y
,exceptforthethick,gat
hering
shadowsandt heinevi
tabl
edust;t
hebat shangi ngfrom t
hetatteredeav esli
ketheblack
patches;themi cescamperi
ngfreel
ywi t
hin; cockroachesandlizrds;andperhaps
ghosts.Thef l
ower-l
adencadenadeamor ,drapedheav i
lyonther ott
ingbamboof ence
surroundingit
,iti
sahugef uner
alwreathar oundt hedesert
edhouse.

Thesamesenseofdesol at
ionseemedtoenshroudt
heol
dhouseeventhen,abouta
monthago,whenIarri
vedf r
om t
hecity
.Ihadcomeaheadofmyfat
herafterwe
recei
vedt
hewi r
efrom NanaCecil
ia,
sayingt
hatmyuncl
ewasseri
ousl
yill
,andthatshe
neededmyfather'
sassist
ance.

Itwasacol dgr eydawn, andt hecl att

eroft hecal esaasi tleftme, soundedl oudand
shar pinthey etdeser tedstreet s.theoldhouseseemedt oloom biggert hant heot hers
i
nt henei ghbor hood, anditseemedt ost andapar t,squatanddar k;l
ightfilter
edt hrough
thecl osedorhal fopenedwi ndowsoft heot herhouseswher eear l
ybr eakfastf i
reswer e
alreadybur ning.Thel arge,gnar ledtrunkofanacaci atreebesidei t,
rosel ikeaphant om,
i
t sfoliageblottingoutapor t
ionoft heskyov er
head.i knockedf orwhati tseemeda
l
ongt imeont hecl oseddoor ,thesoundsechoi nghol l
owl ywithinast hought hehouse
wasahuge, empt yshellbeforeIhear dmuf fl
edf oot st
epscomi ngdownt hest ai
rway.
Lightgl i
mmer edt hroughthecr acksoft hedoor .Thesl i
dingbarwasmov ednoi sil
yand
thent hedooropenedsl owly,gr ati
ngont hescat t
er edpebbl esont hecementf loor.

Thef
acet
hatappear
edi
nthepar
tl
yopeneddoorst
art
ledmemoment
ari
l
y.Wher
ethe
upperl i
pshoul dhav ebeenwasani nver
tedV-shapeopeni
ng, f
ramingalongand
pointedy ellowtooth.Theli
pcleft
,wit
hrepulsi
vel
yli
vidgumsshowi ng,wentupi
nan
anglet oaf latnose;ther
estofthefacewasf l
atasthoughithadbeenbashedinby
repeatedf istsblows;andbroadandsquare.Half
-i
ll
uminat
edbyt heli
ghtofacandl
eon
onesi de,itwashi deous.

I
twasonlyLoi
da,thehar
eli
p.Ihadnotknownthatshewasst
il
lstayi
ngwithmyaunt
Ceci
l
ia.Herbl
ack,
beadyeyesregar
dedmewi t
hangerandsuspici
on.It
oldhermy
name.

"
Wherei
syourf
ather
?"sheaskedi
nast
rangenasal
twangwhenshef
inal
l
yrecogni
ze
me.

"He'
ll
cometomorr
ow,"Isai
d.Igest
uredi
mpat
ient
ly,
want
ingt
ogeti
n.Iwasshi
ver
ing
undermyt
hinj
acketi
nthecold.

Sheopenedt hedoorwi derandtur

nedunspeaki ng,moti
oningmet of ol
low, hol
dingthe
candleabov ehertoonesi de.Thebri
ck-wall
edf i
rstf
looryawnedempt i
l
y .Therewas
onlythesmel lofdust,andwhenwewentupt hestair
swhichf acedthedoor way,the
banisterlef
tdustysmudgesonmyf i
ngersafterI'
dtouchit.Thestair
screakedunder
ourwei ght,
ast al
esmel lfol
lowi
ngthewakeoft hesil
entf
igureinfrontofme.I twas
al
mostassol dinsideasithadbeenout si
de.

Ther
ewasasmel
landl
ookofdi
suseal
lar
ound.

Therewer enocur t
ainsintheclosedwindowsnoi nt hedoorwayl eadingt othesala,
wheret hedarkshapesoft hefewchai r
sandat ablecrouchedi nthedar kness.They
threwlong,taperingshadowsonadust -
coatedf l
oorwhenwewenti n.Shadows
huddledcloset ogetherinthecornerswheret helightchasedt hem.Int heceili
ngonone
side,i
mmedi atelyabov etheroom wher eIt
houghtmyauntst ayedasof tli
ghtasof
anothercandlewav ered,
scari
ngoutmor eshadows.Thedoort other oom wascl osed,
butinthesilencet hesoundofhar sh,dif
fi
cul
tbr eathingcamef r
om it.Loidagav ethe
room abr i
ef,mut eglanceandwenton.
Ihadexpect
edoneofmyaunt st
omeetme,butt
her
ewasnoonei
nthesala.Asl
eep,I
thought
.Loi
dastoppedbefor
eoneoft
her
oomsontheot
hersi
deandopeneditand
enter
ed.If
oll
owedherinsi
de.

"I
sn'tthi
stheroom ofTat
aManuel
?"Iasked.Ir
ecogni
zedhi
sfourposterwit
hthe
ornately
-car
vedcanopy.Mywor
dssoundedloudandholl
owinthequietroom.

"
Hest
ayswi
thy
ourNanaCei
l
ingt
her
e,"shesai
d,poi
nti
ngt
othedi
mly
-l
ight
edr
oom.

Il
ookedatheri
nqui
ri
ngl
y.Myauntandmyuncl
ehadsepar
ater
ooms,
andNanaCor
a
st
ayedwit
hmyauntCecil
ia.

"
Shemov
edhi
mther
ewhenhegotwor
se,
"shesai
d.Shesoundedi
ndi
gnant
.

"
Wor
se?I
sher
eal
l
yver
yil
l
?"

Sheshookherhead."
Idonotknow,
buthehasbecomev
eryt
hin,
andhecoughs.
"

Ihadnotknownt
hatshewasdev
otedt
omyuncl
e.Ther
ewer
eact
ual
l
ytear
sinherey
es.

"
Youshoul
dtel
lyourNanat
oleav
ehi
m al
one,
"shesai
dfi
ercel
y.

"
Why
?Iasked.Hersuddenchangeofmanneral
armedme.

"
Hei
sver
ysi
ckandshesl
eepswi
thhi
m."
"
Oh,
Ithought-
-butt
her
e'snot
hingwr
ongwi
tht
hat
.Heneedshercar
e."

"
Not
hingwr
ong,
"sher
epeat
edbi
tt
erl
y.Icoul
dnotunder
standher
.

Ithoughtshewasgoingtosaysomethingmor e,butshechangedhermi ndandturned

herbackonmeabr uptl
yandbecamesi l
entl
y.Sheseemedt obr i
stl
ewi t
hsuppressed
anger.Shewentoutaft
erli
ght
inganothercandleonthewindowsill
,thencameback
withsomesheetsandaf r
eshpil
low.Iwatchedherwhi l
einfur
ioushasteshewor ked
withthesheet
sonthebed.

"
Wher
e'st
her
oom ofNanCor
anow?
"Iaskedaf
terawhi
l
e.

Shedi
dnotansweri
mmedi
atel
y.

"
ManangCor
ast
aysi
nSanNi
col
asnow,
"shesai
dcr
ossl
y,whenshef
ini
shedmaki
ng
t
hebed.

Iwassurpri
sed.Iwantedtoaskherwhy,butshewentoutinst
ant
ly,
leav
ingmealonei
n
theroom.Ifel
tpiqued.Herf
ootf
all
srecededrapi
dlyasshewentt
osomeot herpar
tof
thebighouse.

Iwasbother
edbytheabsenceofNanaCora.Myfat
herhadsentmeaheadt
hinki
ngthat
wit
hNanaCor ai
nthehouse,NanaCeci
l
iawouldhavenoneedofhi
mimmediatel
y.Iput
onthel
ightandl
aydown.Suddenl
yIfel
tveryt
ir
ed.

Iwokeup,havingdozedoff
,feel
ingthepresenceofanotherpersonintheroom.The
room wasalreadysuff
usedwiththeful
lglowofthesun'sraythroughtheshutt
ered
windows.NanaCeci l
i
awasst andingi
nthedoorwayey ei
ngmecol dl
y.Isatup
i
mmedi atel
y.
Shehadonal oose,pri
ntedhousedr
esswhi chlookedst ai
nedandunwashed,stressi
ng
thethinnessandnar rownessofhershoulders;
herv einsappear
edclearandblueunder
hertransparent,wri
nkledwrist
sandhands.Hergr ayinghairwasstr
ingy,andti
ed
carel
esslywi t
hapi eceofclothofanuncertai
ncolor.Sheappearedslat
ternl
yandshe
smelled.

"
Whereisyourf
ather
?"shedemandedinacrankedvoice.Icoul
dnotf
aceherdi
rect
ly
f
orshestar
edatmewi t
henormous,purpl
e-r
ingedey
es.

"
He'
l
lcomet
omor
row,
Nana,
"Isai
d.

"
Idi
dnotcal
lyouher
e.Whydi
dyourf
athernotcome?
"

"
Het
houghtwi
thNanaCor
aher
eitwoul
dbeal
ri
ght
."

Shest
rai
ght
enedast
houghI
'
dsl
appedher
,andgr
ewl
i
vid.

"
Donot-donotmenti
ont
hatnamei
nthi
shouse,
under
stand?
"sheal
mostshout
edat
me,
steppi
ngfor
ward.

Istoodup,unabletocomprehend.Sheadvancedandwest oodfacetof
acefinal
ly,
the
rednessinhercheeksdrai
nedaway .Shecockedherheadsuddenlyi
nali
stening
atti
tude,
asifshehadheardsomet hing,
andhereyesroll
edwil
dly.

"
Youruncl
e,
"shesai
dfr
ant i
cal
ly
,hal
frunni
ngt
oherr
oom.If
oll
owedherbuthesi
tat
edat
t
hedoor.Adanksmel
lreachedme.

Thelowbedshadbeenpushedtoget
hersi
detosi
de.Besi
dethenear
estbedmyaunt
knel
t.Oni
tther
ecumbentform ofmyuncl
ecoul
dbeseen,cover
eduptohischestwi
th
blanket
s.Nearthefootofhi sbed,twonewt apersburnedbefor
eanimprov i
sedalt
ar.
Therewasabr onzeChr i
stnailedonabl ackcrossandbackofitwasalarge,gl
ass-
encasedpictur
eoftheBl essedVirgin.Oneit
hersideofthepi
cturewasav asewith
cadenadeamorf lowers.Therewasal soaglassofwatercover
edwithcl
oth.The
windowswer eall
closed.Myauntt urnedherheadandmot i
onedmet ost
andatt hefoot
ofthebedf aci
ngmyuncl e.

Hiseyeswer esunkenandst ari

ngandhi
sbl eak-
li
kenoseappearedtoolargeinhis
ghastl
ythinface.Hishandsflut
ter
ednervouslyonthebl
ankets,
hisbreathi
ngwassl ow
anddiscordant.Hedidnotrecogni
zeme.I nthi
shouseofshadows, helookedli
ke
anothershadow.Hisappearancewasaf arcryfrom t
helust
ymant hatwehadknown
hi
mt obe.Heal r
eadyhadtheashenlookofacor pse.

Healthy ,hehadpossessedav i
tal
it
yt hatwasi nsatiable.Ser v
antgir
lsandasuccessi on
ofmi stressesal i
kewer epreyt ohisdesi r
es.Myaunthadt akenLoidai nthehouseasa
desper atemeasur e,thinki
ngt hatahar eli
pwoul dr epel him.Thestat eofpenur yinwhich
theyexi stedwasduet ohimf orhewasal soagambl er; l
andsbeenmor t
gagedorsol dto
sati
sf yhisl ustandvice.Somehadexpl ainedhisphi l
ander ing-myf atherthough
thoughti twasmor eadi sease-bybl ami ngmyauntf orbeingbar r
en.NanaCeci li
a,
howev er,seemedt ohav elovedhi m allt
hemor e,andwhenhehadi nsistedont hei
r
havingsepar atebedrooms, hav i
ngtiredofherper haps, shehadact edhy ster
icalabouti
t;
buthehadhi sway .I
nhermi seryshehadt urnedtoNanaCor a,
hery oungersister,
who
hadl eftthehousei nSanNi colastokeephercompany .

Icoul
dnotunderst
andt
houghwhyshehadragedwhenIment
ionedNanaCor
a.I
wonderedagai
nwhyNanaCorawasgone.

Myaunthadt akenhol
dofoneofhi shandsandwaskneadi ngit,maki
ngsoothing,baby-
l
ikesounds.Theint
imate,pi
ti
ful
l
yardentlookonherfacemademef eeluncomf ort
abl
e.
Hestart
edcoughingweaklyatfi
rstthenmorestr
ongl
y ,eachracki
ngcoughbr i
nginga
l
ookofanguishinhiseyes,hi
sthinframeshaki
ngconvulsiv
elyundert
hecov er
s.My
auntl
ookedatmewi thfeveri
sheyes.

"
Gooutnow!
"sheor
der
edwi
thner
vousur
gency
.
Ibackedouti
nst
ant
lyi
nrel
ief
,holdi
ngmybreat
hinthepol
lut
edair
.Outsi
de,
thet
hought
ofNanaCoracamebacktoconfuseme.Shemusthavequar
rel
edwit
hNanaCecil
ia,
I
thought
,butwhy?Why?

AtnoonIwasser vedal
onebyLoida.Shehadonadr esst hatlookedwellonher
surpri
si
nglyf
ir
m, y
oungbody,andnottheloose,i
l
l-fi
tti
ngnat iveblouseandskir
tthatmy
aunthadusuall
yimposedonherservant
s,asapr ecautionagai nstmyuncle'
stoo
discer
ningey
es.Herfacewasasuglyasev er
,andshewat chedmeeatwi tha
propri
etar
yai
rwhichIdisl
i
ked.Shedidnotactli
keaser v ant.

Myauntat
eal
lhermeal
sint
her
oom.

"Whydoesn'
tshegooutnowandt
hen?It
'
sbadherst
ayi
ngi
ndoor
sli
ket
hatf
orwhol
e
days,
"Isai
dwhenshetol
dmeaboutit
.

"Tel
lher
!Shestay
sther
eallthet
imeafraidtoleav
ehim,andshedr ov
eawaysome
womenont henei
ghbor
hoodwhent heycameher etooff
erhelp.Andshesl
eepswi
th
him,si
ckasheis!
"Shesoundedbit
teragain,
andcontemptuous.

"
Aft
erall
,hei
sherhusband!"Isnapped,
incensedbyhert
oneandbyt
heunser
vant
-l
ike
manneri
nwhichsheref
erredtomyaunt .

Shemut ter
edsomethingandf l
ouncedoutoftheroom.Iwasbarelyabl
etocont
rolmy
rage.If
eltani
rr
esi
stibledesi
retoshoutather.Iwonder
edwhy ,
ifshedi
sli
kedmyaunt,
shehadnotgoneaway .Besi
des,Iwascert
ainthatmyauntcoul
dnotaffor
dtoretai
n
theservi
cesofaser
v antanymore.

Lat
er,
Ital
kedt
oheragai
n,aboutNanaCor
a.
"
Look,
Loi
da,
"Isai
daseasi
l
yasIcoul
d."
Tel
lmewhyNanaCor
awentaway
,wi
l
lyou?
"

Shel
ookedatmewi
thasul
kyexpr
essi
on,
thensai
dsul
l
enl
y,"Theyquar
rel
ed.
"

"
Quar
rel
ed?Whatabout
?"

Icoul
dhav
ewr
ungherneck,
thewaysheanswer
ed.

"
Him!
"shesneer
ed.

I
nt heaft
ernoon,
Itookacalesaacrosstheriv
ertoSanNi
col
as.Il
eftt
heol
dhouse
unobtr
usivel
y.Avagueuneasinessgrewsteadil
ywi
thi
nmeasIkeptthi
nki
ngaboutwhat
Loi
dahadsai dandit
simpli
cat i
on.

NanaCorawasput t
eri
ngamongt hezi
niasandcuchar i
tas,whichlinedthewalkleading
tothehouse,whenIarriv
ed.Thehouse,thoughmuchsmal lerthantheoldoneinLaoag,
hadaneatlookaboutit,andthewir
efencedi scl
oseddisclosedawel l
-t
rimmedrowof
vi
olet
s.BehindthehouseIcouldseethet opofthetamarindt r
eeIusedt ocl
imb,laden
wit
hbrownish-greenfr
uit
.

Shegaveastartwhensheheardmecal l,droppi
ngthetr
owel fr
om herhand.Istrode
wit
hthelongstepstohersi
deandt ouchedonofherdi r
t-
stai
nedhandst omyf orehead.
Shestar
tedtocrysuddenl
y.Icoul
ddonot hi
ngbutholdher
, f
eeli
ngthesti
ngoft earsin
myowney es.

"
For
giv
eme,
hij
o,Iam soweak.
..
"shesai
dlat
er.

"
I'
m sor
ryIcoul
dn'
tcomesooner
,Nana,
"Isai
d.
Iputmyar m acrosshershouldersandwewal kedtothehouse.Theywerebonytomy
touch,andshelookedsosmal l
andoldinherdirt
-soil
ed,
fadeddress,
sodefensel
ess,
thatIfel
tasurgeofpityforher.Ihadwantedtoaskherwhyshehadl eftt
heoldhouse,
butIreali
zedthatIwouldonlybehur t
ingherbybringi
ngthesubj
ectup.

"I
tisgoodt
owork,
onefor
get
sunpl
easantt
hings,
"shesai
d,whenIr
emar
kedt
hatshe
shoul
dnotwor
ktoohar
d.Asad,
wist
full
ookwasi nherey
es.

Atfir
st,
shet al
kedslowly,butgradual
ly,shebecamelessr
estrai
ned,
andwechatted
remini
scentl
yforsomet ime.Ther ewas, however,
anunmi
stakabl
esadnessabouther
,
andshewascar ef
ulIthoughtwithmi sgi
v i
ng,nott
omenti
onNanaCecili
aandmyuncle.
Ididmentionthem eit
her,forhersake.

I
twasmuchl
ater
,whenIdeci
dedt
ogo,
thatsheaskedmeaboutNanaCeci
l
ia.

HowisyourNanaCeli
ng? sheaskedhesit
ant
ly.Icoul
dnotdet
ect
,however
,any
col
dness,i
nhertoneorinhermi en;andwhenIl
iedthatNanaCeci
l
iaseemedingood
heal
thshebri
ghtenedpercepti
bly.

Shedidnotaskaft
ermyunclethough.WhenIlookedaf t
erI
dtakenmyr i
de,shewas
sti
ll
standi
ngbythegate;
inthedi
stancesheappearedfrail
andforl
orn.Anintense
feel
ingofl
oathi
ngfort
hesickmani ntheol
dhouser ushedoverme.

Theol
dchur
chbel
lwasr
ingi
ngtheAngel
uswhenIr
eacht
heol
dhouse.Onl
yther
oom
wher
ethesi
ckmanwasstay
ingli
ght
ed.

ImetLoi
dacomi
ngf
rom t
hekit
chenwi
thagl
assofwat
eratt
heheadoft
hest
air
way
.
Ther
ewasascar
edl
ookabouther.

Wher
ehav
eyoubeen?
sheasked,
pausi
ngbef
oret
hesi
ckman
sroom.

SanNi
col
as,
Isai
d.

Shehasbeencal
l
ingf
ory
ou.Thepr
iestwasher
e.

Ishedy
ing?
Iaskedqui
ckl
y.If
eltnocompassi
onwhat
soev
er.

No-
No!
Herey
eswi
denedandst
aredatmef
renzi
edl
y.

Thedoortotheroom openedthen.Myauntstoodframedinthedoorway,t
helightofa
gaslampstr
eami ngbehi
ndher.Ifel
t,morethanIsaw,t
heglareofhereyesonme.Her
hai
rwasloose,andwiththel
ightatherback,seemedli
keoutspr
ead,thi
nwires,gl
int
ing.

Wherehav
eyoubeen,
loco?
shei
nqui
redi
nast
ri
dentv
oice,
andt
her
ewasapani
cky
qual
it
ytoit
.

Loi
dawal
kednoi
sel
essl
ybehi
ndhert
other
oom wi
tht
hehast
yst
eps.

Iwentt
oSanNi
col
as!
Isai
d.

SanNicol
as!
sher
epeat
edangr
il
y.
Didy
oucomeher
eonl
ytodi
sappearwhenI
neededyou?

Ithoughty
ouwoul
dneedhel
pfr
om NanaCor
a.

What
?Whatdi
dyousay
?
Ir
epeat
edwhatIsai
d.

Youhadnor
ightt
odot
hat
,under
stand?Nor
ight
!sheshr
ieked.

I
nthegrowi
ngduskandinthegloomystil
l
nessofthehouse,
hervoicewaspier
cing.
Sheshookwi
thfur
y,herar
mshel dbyhersideswi
thcl
enchedhands,whi
leshebent
for
wardmouthi
ngobsceni
ti
es.

All
myl i
fe,sheconti
nued,dr
oppinghervoicet
oasav age,t
remul
ouswhisper,
al
lmy
l
ife,Ihav
ehadt oputupwi thwhores.Youruncl
eisaweakmanandIcoul ddonothing
tostopit.Icoul
dnottoler
ateit
,underst
and!Iwi
llnothaveanywhorei
nthishouseaft
er
him!Heisal lminenow!Underst
and!ALLMI NE!

ThenIheardthescream behindher
,anditcameagai nandagain,
risi
ngt ohi
gh-pi
tched,
eeri
ecrescendo,t
henbreakingandrisi
ngagain,
higher,
eeri
erf i
l
ledwi t
hadeepand
uncontr
oll
ablegri
ef.Thehouseseemedt ojumpalivewit
hechoesofi t.Myaunt,
arr
estedinherspeech,fl
unghersel
fmadlyint
ot heroom.Idashedr i
ghtaft
erher.

Loidawasholdi
ngthei ner
tform oft
hemanwhowasmyuncleinherarms, herspl
i
t
mout hopenedgr
otesquely,scr
eaming,
whi
letear
sfl
oweddownherface.Themans
eyeswereopenandsi ghtl
ess,hi
smouthhungagape.

Bruj
a!Rel
easehim!myauntscreamedather.Shetr
iedtopul
lawaythel
if
elessbody
from t
hewail
ingwoman, butshecoul
dnot.Then,f
ier
cely,
shestr
uckherwi
th
successi
ve,r
esoundingsl
aps,cr
yingi
nsanel
yforhertorel
easehi
m.

Whil
ethelampli
ghtshonei
nherupr
aised,
gapi
ngface,
thenasal
twangi
nherv
oice
cr
azi
erthanever,
sali
vafl
yi
ngfr
om hermouth,
Loi
dashril
l
edback:

No,
No!Iwi
l
lnot
!Hei
smi
ne,
too!Hel
ovedme!Hel
ovedme!