Leashed

Chapter 19

Leopoldo’s nipa hut that he purchased for a thousand pesos and that sits by the beach is almost a decade old. That’s why it was understandable that it was already rickety-looking. He was a frustrated carpenter, and from time to time, he’d do some repairs, especially the walls which were worn out and the roof that leaked during the rainy days. He was still a bachelor—though the possibility of marriage wasn’t unwelcome to him—so he had the one small bedroom to himself.

Apparently, the aged caretaker of Neoma’s private resort was introverted. He liked to keep things to himself and was no social butterfly. This was majorly the reason why he never kept a wife. He wasn’t actually terrified of women; he admired them and was attracted to a few. He preferred the soft-spoken and demure types, and he had a slight prejudice against opinionated and domineering ones. On the contrary, he never courted any of them. Among him and his five siblings, he’s the only one who remained unmarried.

A drizzle accompanied the rising of the sun that day. It was unexpected, but it didn’t really pose anything problematic, neither to him nor to his neighbors, whom he seldom talked to. However, something else also unexpected might be otherwise. It was the arrival of a very surprising visitor.

“Ayo! (Hello) Ayo! Yo Leo (Uncle Leo), it’s me,” called a familiar voice from outside.

Leopoldo, who was enjoying a cup of coffee by the window, heard heavy steps mounting onto his bamboo stairs; the visitor had decided to send himself in. Then, appearing at his door was a guy who was in his late twenties, standing almost six feet tall and who wore a knapsack on his back. Even when he looked different from when they last saw each other at the family reunion three years ago, he still recognized him as his nephew.

“Lucien, what a surprise to see you here!” he exclaimed, then stood and tapped his shoulder. “Boy, how have you been?”

Leopoldo is the second oldest child of his parents, and Lucien is the only son of his sister who’s four years younger than him. He remembered him as being that naughty kid who always got himself in trouble both in school and in their previous neighborhood. Simply put, he was a problem child. He would always be involved in many forms of mischief, and he was the main cause of the headache of his then ailing and later deceased mother.

His nephew grinned, and the prominent scar across his nose bridge slightly twitched. “The same, Yo—I’m still lucky and still handsome.”

His uncle smelled something funny emitting from him and noticed what happened to his face. “Wait, how did you get that?” He pertained to his scar.

“Awh,” he groaned. “I got into a fight with some fuckers before and one of them assholes slashed me right here with some cheap knife.”

Blag! He abruptly took off his backpack and threw it on the wooden floor before he continued his tale. “But, after that, I sent him to hell.”

Leopoldo had no reason to believe that he was lying, since although he was a war freak, he was never dishonest. His nephew has always hated liars; this was because of his father, who promised to come back for him when he was still ten years old but never did, even when his mother died.

“Hmm” was all that he could reply.

“Anyway, Yo,” Lucien said as he made his way to a long bamboo seat and laid his whole frame, “I just got here from Manukan, and I’m exhausted. I have a hangover and this stupid headache. Can I stay here for a couple of days?”

Manukan is a municipality of the province of Zamboanga del Norte, and situated north of Sindangan.

It was late for his nephew to be courteous since he had already made himself at home. “Sure, boy. You’re always welcome here.”

Lucien mused, “You’re the best, Yo. Thanks!”

His uncle then realized something. “By the way, what made you come here?”

This made him sit up straight. “Well, it’s funny, but some manalagna (diviner) encouraged me to come here to Sindangan.”

“Why?”

He smirked. “I’m actually after someone—someone so talked about and sought after right now—and the manalagna told me that I might find her here.”

Leopoldo grasped a mental image of someone, but he didn’t want to entertain it—he hoped that he thought wrong. “Who are you talking about?”

“Her name’s been in the news lately. ‘Neoma Belmonte’ Damn, that woman’s got a load of riches with her!”

The aged caretaker became speechless while his nephew continued talking enthusiastically about his plans.

“It’s actually easy. I just need to take her back to her super rich daddy, marry her or whatever, and then inherit lots and lots of their money.”

He didn’t know how to react, and Lucien noticed this.

“Hey, Yo. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing,” he replied, “That’s some wonderful future for you! Go ahead.”

Destiny was probably making a joke at that point.