full circle

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Preparing for brother VJ's wedding in San Agustin Church. Our parents got married there so their story will come full circle this afternoon.
12:29 PM May 2nd via Ping.fm

Bulacan unreal-ism

Long-time residents of San Rafael, Bulacan, say that this small chamber in their Old Church was where the boy on whom Rizal based the character of Crispin was locked up, whipped and died. There are no signs outside the church indicating this piece of literary history.

I found the church using tips from Tito Doc and Tito Ante. When I reached the church, I saw that the main entrance to the convent was locked and I reached the hidden room by climbing a flight of stairs at the back of the convent and passing through an empty kitchen, dining area and local museum.

Village elders say that after the Revolution, one could still see handprints in dried blood on the walls- now only a painting of the Noli's chapter 15 gives a clue to the historical significance of the place.

It was while walking through this church- the museum, choir loft, and belfry- when I finally had a dream- a flash like lightning- and pictured the answer to the question of the young woman in a green dress, about her husband's other son.

What's he like?

Just like in our school days, I saw that he remains a stylish dresser, someone who wears obscure, but well-crafted brands (like IWC). In the past, there were days when he and his best friend would wear black-rimmed glasses, though they didn't need to: many of us in the class didn't know it was geek chic, they were that sartorially advanced.

He was always smiling and pleasant to talk to- I never heard him say a bad word about anyone. We made small talk whenever we met- nothing serious, so I really didn't know much about him. Neither of us knew then that both our grandparents came from the same province.

He had an active social life and loved to party at night.

He wasn't very confident about his study skills, but I pictured that he discovered his unique intelligences later on. His visual intelligence, in particular, is very advanced: he sees patterns of form and color that escape ordinary people. One sees it in his sartorial choices- clean, simple, and stylish clothes- as well as the way he composes pictures with his camera: he loves minute details, patterns of lines, and reflections on water. He runs in the city's marathons.

I saw the relationship blooming at the height of his father's popularity and his birth a few months after Marcos declared Martial Law. He is now married and has two kids. He lives a private life.