"What was that?" Adela suddenly felt nervous all of a sudden.
I was just in the barn fixing our harvest. We need to separate what will be for our food and what's for us to sell. My siblings have already retired for the night since I wanted to do my own thing. That is, to save some food for the Japanese soldiers. My father won't let me do that if he's around.
That's why I always stay up late to do the sorting. I need to make sure that my family is always protected. There's an impending war waiting to happen. The only way for my siblings to survive is for me to bring food to the garrison. It's the Japanese soldiers' camp near our house.
I dropped what I'm doing and looked out the huge wooden door. The night sky looks peaceful yet there's something about its quietness. I can't seem to place what I'm feeling right now. Maybe something good happened somewhere. My nervousness suddenly filled with excitement.
"Maybe someone has come to save us all!" I thought and went back inside.
There are all sorts of produce around me. I need to make sure to have enough garlic, onions, and tomatoes for cooking. Our country was invaded by the Spanish before and left us with their cuisines and their names. Everything has to be sauteed, that's why we need those ingredients.
"Adela, are you still here?" a voice of a man called out my name.
"I'm inside, Conrad!" I replied back.
Maybe that's the reason why I felt excited earlier. Conrad is my fiance and we are bound to get married. Our wedding should have happened last month. The problem is, my mother suddenly passed away. We don't have a choice but to wait for another year or so. But we don't know yet.
"What are you still doing here?" Conrad asked, looking concerned.
"I'm just separating the harvest. I have six siblings and a father to feed." I replied with a sweet smile for him.
"Do you still plan to give food to the Japanese soldiers?" He asked.
"Of course, I have to keep on doing that. I need to protect my family." I said and finished covering the baskets.
"What if the others think that you're a traitor?" He asked with a word tone.
"They know that I'm only doing this to make sure that my siblings will not get hurt." I faced him when I said this.
Conrado still looks worried about me. I go to the garrison every day before lunchtime. That's when I bring food to the enemy without fail. Some women are being raped and men slaughtered. But my fiance seems to ignore all that.
"Listen, we have a tip that they will be attacking early in the morning. They will be invading our country!" Conrad informed her first before his family
"I know about their plan. There's nothing we can do about it!" I replied.
"You know and you didn't even tell us? We need that information to be able to win!" He's almost shouting at me.
"It was just my theory. The soldiers didn't tell me anything. Although I know we're on the losing end." I replied truthfully.
"Adela, stop supporting them! You should be on our side." He sounds irritated now.
"Again, I'm not taking any sides! I just need to do whatever I can to save my family. If you want to be a hero, go ahead!" I said and started to walk away from him.
"They will invade us tomorrow! Aren't you even concerned about our country?" He shouted while following me.
I stopped and thought about what he said. Honestly, I'm concerned about our country. What will happen to us if, after the Spanish, the Japanese will take over? We have been treated like slaves and called "Indio" during the Spanish era. What will the Japanese call or do to us?
In the end, my willingness to save my family still wins. I'm not a traitor but I'm not choosing any side. If I stopped bringing food to the garrison, my family may end up being under attack. Some of those soldiers already did unthinkable things. I'm not going to risk my siblings' safety.
"I'm more concerned about what the soldiers will do to my siblings if I stop feeding them. Fighting in a war will only end up with more people dying. I'm sorry, but I can't risk the lives of everyone just to make things right!" I said and went away from him.
Conrad was left all alone in the barn. He can't understand why his fiance thinks that way. She's too concerned about her family and everyone around them. Even if the invasion is about to happen, she's still planning to be on the soldiers' good side. She's too scared to risk everything to win.
Tears flowed down my cheeks because of what just happened. I can't understand why Conrad wanted to fight. It's too obvious that they will lose. When that happens, it means that the guerilla will all be dead in the morning. Their jungle bolos don't match the Japanese guns.
Why can't they just try to make friends with the Japanese? Maybe that will make them soft and stop harassing people. Let them invade the country and live in harmony. Maybe they will get tired of staying here if they stop resisting. Seems men think that everything can be solved through violence.
I went straight to the kitchen to have a glass of water. Then I realized that it might be the last night that I can see Conrado alive. Instead of spending the night with each other, we ended up fighting. He can't understand me for sucking up to the enemy. It's all for my family!
I'm not even thinking about myself anymore. What if the soldiers decided to rape or kill me when I was there? Maybe if I keep on being nice to them, they will change their minds. Violence will only leave a lot of dead bodies again. How can we be independent when we're all dead?