On the Feast of the Day of the Saints, at the cemetery there still gathered the people of Pasi in an overwhelming number. Families are gathered at the foot of the tombs of their departed relatives feasting on meals they brought with them. As it is the day of remembering their deceased, a portion of their meals are offered at the tombs, in the belief that the souls of the deceased must have been tired from wandering around the land of the living, and they must have been stricken with hunger
In a public cemetery like that in Pasi, the crowd that flock could easily get overflowing as some men can be seen sprawling on the ground, with some children running off the grave sites who are mostly unaware of the relevance of this day. Moving further into the cemetery and one can be greeted by the odor of the crowd coming off their sweat, add to it the smell of the earth and the dead from those graves which are either dug or holed.
Those whose dead relatives are at the far end side of the cemetery will have to endure the struggle of walking in long lines in the midst of the blistering heat of the mid-day. Some can be heard yelling for having their foot stepped on by people either behind or in front of them. While some would yell complaining the long line itself, or complaining the lack of speed at which the line is moving. The combined noise of the crowd disturbs the usual silence of the land of the dead on regular days.
This condition could be attributed to the annoyance of Fray Luciano when he arrives at the hill where the Salgado Mausoleum is built walking through the grasses with his deacon, Tinyo. The friar almost has his robe stripped off as he holds its hem up unto his toes, which is sore from having his skin rubbed against the grasses. Tinyo holds a parasol to give shade to the friar while pushing the grasses with his other hand to make way for them. The two never realize that they are walking through the wrong side of the trail, where the grasses were not sheared away the day before.
Upon seeing the approaching friar, Teniente Leon steps out of the mausoleum to welcome the guests, with his hand on his forehead warding off the glare from the sun.
"The Don surely appreciates your presence, Padre" Teniente Leon spreads his hand to welcome the friar
"Those indios have no idea on how to properly respect the dead," the friar claims, "they did not even bother to take a good bath before visiting the deceased. They smell even worse than the rotting corpses in this cemetery,"
"It can be quite a struggle getting here," the Captain answers
He then leads the guests into the mausoleum which at that special day, looks much pleasant which even the Don will be satisfied with the presence of his visitors. Also in the mausoleum are Teo with Tatang Chuy and two male servants who have been in there since last night. The men also rush to greet the priest who is obviously bothered by the heat as he seems to be bathing in his own sweat with only a fan to relieve him. At the far corner there is a long table where the food is settled, more than enough to feed the guests for two whole days.
"I thought your wife will be here?" enquires the friar as he settles to a brass chair
"Ana Rosa complains of an upset stomach this morning. She was looking forward at finally meeting the Don but we thought it was better for her to just rest," Teniente Leon answers while inspecting his brother's tomb, making sure it is untarnished
"A woman complaining an upset stomach in the morning, huh?" the friar closed his fan, "I think we both know what that could mean"
Teniente Leon brushes off the teasing with shaking his head in disagreement. With a forced smile he utters;
"I have been hoping to have a child with her, but I am afraid she might have a problem conceiving"
"If the Lord permits it then a healthy child will come at the right time, Segnor" Tinyo interrupts while holding a plate of puto, "I heard the Segnora is quite a charmer; and your child should get its looks after her" he continues casually
Fray Luciano stabs Tinyo with a sharp look trying to remind him to keep his tact on; while Teniente Leon remains silent with his hands on his pocket.
Teo is silently prying for details about Ana Rosa upon hearing his Uncle declaring her to be sick. Resting on his chair on the corner he wonders how the woman is coping back home and worries about her ailment. He acknowledges that he was actually looking forward to seeing her today and was upset for her absence.
"The indios thought that the Feast of the Day of the Saints are all about them and their deceased relatives reuniting. They thought that by simply flocking the graves will console the dead, or by lighting candles on their tomb will send the deceased to the Heavens. It should be more than that," the friar breaks the silence of the mausoleum, "It was not actually surprising at all given how ill-educated they all are"
Tatang Chuy eyes the friar secretly, then he looks over to the two male servants who exchange a look of disbelief between them. The old servant then shakes his head in astonishment still staring at his two helpers, all looking unease being with the friar in the same room
"Only us who belong to the church know the relevance of this day, that I am sure of. It is supposed to be a day to celebrate the Saints, those who have denounced their sins and were sanctified for their holiness. Those whose martyrdom have caused them their lives, who even in the face of death still remained faithful to God. Those who are in Heaven with Him, the Almighty; and we should offer them prayers and praises so they may cast their mercy on us the sinners and lead us to attain the way of God" Fray Luciano continues
"Indeed, Padre" Tinyo agrees while finishing the last piece of puto on his plate,
"Nowadays, people choose to associate this day with superstitions about spirits roaming around, joining the living. They believe in those vengeful spirits abducting children more than remembering the Saints and their martyrdom. They tend to appease these benevolent entities more than offering praises to the Lord. These people still have their pagan beliefs in them," the friar resumes fanning himself
"Like the belief in the Maranhig for years, Padre" Tinyo quips
"Like the belief in the burned man, I agree" Fray Luciano approves
"But isn't it puzzling how the boy is still missing?" Teniente Leon enquires
"We just need to have faith that in His right time, we will find the answers. He will lead the boy back to us sooner than we are expecting it. The people in this town will rebuild their confidence in you as their Captain when that day comes" Fray Luciano smiles, "will you meet me at my refectory before the mass begins tomorrow, Teniente?"
Teniente Leon finds the friar's claim confusing but he still nods in agreement in return.
At his chair, Teo is reminded by Fabiana's advice to visit the old church ruins when he saw her at the grassy lot in the back of the mausoleum. He recalls how Fabiana sounded so sure that the boy will be found at the ruins. He also recalls the day Fabiana declared that Utoy was with a mortal, somewhere behind the fortress church, in the burned church ruins. That is when Teo contemplates in giving the woman's belief a consideration while he is silently listening to the friar and his uncle.
It is almost night time when the Friar concluded leading a prayer offering to the Don. The mausoleum is illuminated by the candles that are lighted at the foot of his tomb. The rest of the cemetery looks like a huge swamp of fireflies with candles permeating all over. Only at that moment, does the solemnity of the Day of the Saints is truly felt.
Teniente Leon and Teo take turns in saying their prayers to the Don that also serve as their parting words. Teo said a brief prayer for he finds it quite a struggle having to talk to the tomb of his foster father while the other guests are watching him. As he has always been awkward with people, sometimes being surrounded by several of them makes him nervous like on this night. For an unexplainable reason, he feels like being scrutinized when other people has to give him their attention.
When it is Teniente Leon's turn to give his praise, his unusual silence is evident. He seems to be pre-occupied by something that has been bothering him which is obvious by his gestures. From time to time he would sigh and would seem detached from the celebration as he just quietly stares at the tomb. Only the Don could have known what really is running inside his brother's mind at that moment
Afterwards the group then gathers around the tomb with the friar leading the prayer for the dead;
"Remember, O Lord, the God of Spirits and of all Flesh, those whom we have remembered and those whom we have not remembered, men of the true faith, from righteous Abel unto to-day; do thou thyself give them rest there in the land of the living, in thy kingdom, in the delight of Paradise, in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our holy fathers, from whence pain and sorrow and sighing have fled away, where the light of thy countenance visiteth them and always shineth upon them"
The silence slowly takes over the whole cemetery as the people who flock that day join in offering their prayers to their own deceased relatives. Through their silence they feel like being reconnected again with those who are no longer with them, even just for that particular day
The Salgado mausoleum turns silent again when the guests leave after offering their prayers. Like on those regular days prior to this day, the Don once again is left alone after Teniente Leon gently pulls the wooden doors shut. With a heavy heart, Teo walks away with the rest of the guest imagining how lonely it would feel being the Don and getting left behind in the mausoleum alone in the darkness once again. It consoles him to realize that his foster father might be in Heaven, along with God and the celebrated Saints