While Grand Daddy was away for a meeting at the Local Government Provincial Hall, Beauty went to the small basement of the house, looking for other kitchen utensils, serving platters, cooking vats, and others in preparation for the coming island event. Even though it was not definite yet, this event was the talk of the town. To be ready, she was making an inventory, so when she needed the things, they could be found right away.
As she switched on the basement light, she saw a lot of cockroaches running around, making her jumped frenziedly around while avoiding them. The basement floor was only made of clay bricks, so it was a little loose when someone stepped on them. As she jumped at the only empty spot she could go, which was the farthest corner on the right side of the basement, the floor gave way. She fell straight to a two-square-meter wide hole, with the ground and the walls made of limestone. Behind her was a wooden ladder which got broken.
Above her, she saw a gap underneath a broken rectangular wooden plank that was actually the cover of the hole. The said plank's parts evidently fell with her and the broken bricks. Her attention then shifted to a small entrance of a chamber in front of her.
She got up slowly, brushing off the dust on her. She also massaged her aching butt which hit the wooden ladder before she reached the ground. It was a good thing that the fall was not so deep, more like six feet only. She tried adjusting her eyes to the faint light from the basement ceiling that crept along the hole onto the opened chamber.
The chamber was more like a small man-made cave. Fifteen people could fit in the whole place. There was a single bed made of bamboo on the farthest wall, and beside it was a small red table. On the table were a rope-bound stack of papers, an old rusting kerosene lamp, and a quill pen. Other items that came to her attention were some old utensils that were made of copper, bronze, and clay lying around. Antique appliances were also found like a big wine jug made of glass, chairs made of Narra wood, and others. The rest were of no value to her.
Before touching any of those items, she thought of asking her grandparents first, for she might have fallen into a forbidden area since the chamber seemed to be deliberately made. Even the items were valuable enough to be purposely hidden. Her imagination went wild, thinking this might be part of a gold treasure, that on those stack of papers were the parts of a treasure map. This made her want to explore right away, but she became hesitant in the end.
Asking permission first was a universal rule, she thought.
By using some sturdy appliances there along with the broken ladder, she worked her way out of the hole. Not minding how she looked, she ran straight to the kitchen. Her grandma was inside, busy preparing for dinner.
"What happened? Which hole did you come from to look this messy?" It was just supposed to be an inquiry and a joke, but Grand Mommy was spot on with her assumptions.
"Yeah, I really went down a hole, or to be precise, I fell through a hole in the basement."
"What? What hole in the basement are you talking about?"
"Grand Mommy, I don't know if you knew, but there's a hole—or a chamber to be exact—underneath the basement. You better go there and see for yourself."
They both went, and when Grand Mommy saw it, she decided to wait for Grand Daddy first.
. . . . . . .
"This hole was an underground hiding place of the family during World War II. I saw this once when I was still very small, but I didn't know what happened later. The house was still made of wood, and this basement was an animal pen. My father said that they crept to the hole whenever they saw patrolling invading soldiers, checking the houses. They hid the young men, girls, and children from the soldiers at that time.
"Later on, I got my first job, and I gave my first three months' worth of salary to him. Afterward, my father sold some valuable things and then built this cemented house. At that time, I didn't know that the animal pen became part of the basement. I once told him to cement the basement flooring, but he insisted not to. He even made me promise not to do that in the future." Grand Daddy slowly explained as they crept down the hole using a ladder he borrowed. In his right hand was a rechargeable lamp that illuminated the whole chamber at once.
"How come you didn't know when they were planning to build this house? Why didn't he tell you the reason not to cement it? Why didn't he mention about the chamber again?" asked Beauty.
"No idea at all. Well, I wasn't living here, for my work was in the city. Then again, he might have presumed I knew since I already saw this chamber once."
They explored the chamber and checked the things in there. Beauty went to the small table, where she found notes bound by a rope that was almost tattered but still survived through the years. She looked at the cover, only a name and a date were written: Maria Divina Luferia Pascual, August 17, 1924.
'Wow, so old!' That's the first thing that came to her mind. Slowly loosening the rope and opening the first page, she saw "Chicken Together" written on top but worded in Cebuano.
Grand Daddy checked the other stack of papers and read the names. "These are my grandfather and grand uncles' notes. Whoa, their notes look like they were learning to read and write." Grand Daddy was excited, seeing all those notes.
"I think they were really learning to write and read English. The 1920s was the year American missionaries came to our country and started teaching," added Beauty with a pout. "You're forgetting your history now, Grand Daddy."
"Correct, he's really old," Grand Mommy said bluntly. The old man just replied with a big grin, "I'm still young, Sweetheart.
"Ooh, stop that. It hurts!" The grandpa received a heavy pinch from the stern-face grandma.
"Check this out. Who's Maria Divina Luferia Pascual? She wrote this whole collection of recipes. Well, we can already call this a book."
"Let me see." Grand Daddy tried to read by squinting his eyes while pulling the frontmost paper far away from him.
"She is my grandma. Your great-grandmother. This collection of recipes is made up of your great-great-grandmother's recipes." Grand Daddy said those 'greats' with pride in his heart as he continued to try reading, moving the papers to a different angle.
"Hey, stop doing that. Just go and get your spectacles." Grand Mommy couldn't bear to see Grand Daddy squinting his eyes while she also needed a pair to check the papers.
"Okay, okay, let's go up first and start bringing these things up slowly. We also have to keep this from our neighbors. It will be dangerous for us, with these antiques here." Grand Daddy started carrying things as he spoke.
These were treasures of the family. Such antiques would be so expensive. For Beauty, her main treasure was the old recipes. Her grandma was so delighted to see it and encouraged Beauty to try the recipes. Her grandma jokingly told her that she would just be her assistant and taster. Who had thought the cockroaches would lead her to the treasures?
'Thank you, cockroaches, but stay away from me.' Beauty thought of those flying cockroaches, and her body jerked. She brushed them off of her mind.
The next day, the basement cleaning project was announced to the household. Grand Daddy repaired the hole and covered it with bricks again. The two ladies sprayed some insecticides, killing all bugs and cockroaches on sight. They then swept the floor and cleared the cobwebs away. They rearranged the things in the basement while Beauty wrote her inventory on a notebook. The chamber was empty at this time. Grand Daddy was still not sure with what to do with it.