“Castillo told Al..:” Takano-san continued with his story. “The assistant manager got strongly shocked when he heard from one of his neighbors that Al had been assaulted and injured: ..Shocked because he hadn’t believed that the company he…

While Takano-san was lighting his cigarette again, to be odd, I was visualizing a variety of beautiful views that Takano-san could enjoy from his room everyday: The placid Manila Bay reflecting the gorgeous blue color of the clear sky: Mag…

Takano-san’s story was heading toward a totally unanticipated direction. I was almost at a loss listening. “So, Trina, I can’t go anywhere yet. ..Till this matter gets solved completely. That is, there is no place in the world, after all, …

I was feeling I had told Takano-san all I had had to at that moment. After long silence, Takano-san uttered his words. “Anyway, Trina, I headed for Zapote the next morning. And Felix was kind enough to be with me again.” He appeared to be …

No mistake: Takano-san must have been feeling as if he himself had directly burnt Ruben. I looked for some words to console him, but could not find any. “Perhaps because I paused a little too long,” Takano-san continued with his story, “Mr…

“Yoshida sounded a little surprised,” Takano-san went on, “to talk with me again so soon. So, not revealing to him that I had already visited Zapote, or before being asked by him about it, I hurriedly and business-likely asked him my quest…

“After a few minutes of walk,” Takano-san went on with his story, “Felix and I were on a couch in Al’s house. But I wasn’t sure if the living room was indeed a place that is a little more comfortable than the clinic where Ruben was forced …

Takano-san went on. “What Al’s team found first was that Ruben had been playing with some older friends of his near the vacant lot right behind, yes, Trina, the warehouse building.” Intensity had begun to control his voice. Warehouse, Nava…

“The next morning of my phone talk with Yoshida in Riyadh,” Takano-san continued with his story, “I went out of the hotel lobby to find Felix and ask him to accompany me to Zapote. He had just finished selling a cigarette to one of his reg…

“Before taking my story back to what’s happening in Zapote now, Trina,” Takano-san continued, “let me explain under what circumstances I received the Telex from Yoshida about three years ago, so that you can get into my whole story easily.…

“During the time Melba was preparing to leave for Japan,” Takano-san’s voice still contained his deep regret having failed to see her off in person, “I was completely occupied with what’s happening in Zapote, as you suppose, Trina. ..To th…

Twenty minutes later, Takano-san and I were sitting on a bench side by side in a park right beside Ayala Museum. “Where should I begin my story from?” Having lit his first cigarette, Takano-san asked himself. “Too many days have passed. An…

I was all alone in Sakura’s dormitory when the phone rang downstairs. Most of the girls were out together to see the big hit movie ‘Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom’, while others to shop. I was exhausted. I had chosen to stay there laying…

A few minutes later, I no longer was crying. Manuel and I were on the way back to Sakura, with very slow steps. I was telling myself to calm down. Manuel said. "Melba needed immediate money by all means. Big money. ..Because her mother sud…

Takano-san had not come back to Sakura yet even though more than a few days already had passed since his last phone call to me. I was anxious. My regret had been growing increasingly that I should have somehow persuaded him to leave that C…

"You've got a phone call, Trina." Gloria told me. I examined her facial expression. And, thank goodness, the call did not seem to be an emergent one from one of my family members to tell me that something bad had happened to them, or to my…

Two days had passed since Melba's going back home. No patrons or customers were in Sakura yet. Girls were killing time by aimlessly chatting in twos and threes as usual, except for those few practicing new Japanese hit songs on the stage. …

In the afternoon of that day, Melba and I were at a bus stop on Taft Avenue. A large, navy-blue canvas bag was near Melba's feet on the surface of the sidewalk. Packed in the bag were all her belongings except books and magazines she had r…

After a long pause, Melba said. "To tell you the truth, 'Ate', after having Rosa and Maria ride a bus, I went to Cubao to see one of my uncles -my mother's older brother." One of my questions was answered. "Oh, that's why you came back tha…

Unlike the previous four nights, Dr. Okuno and his group stayed in Sakura until the saloon's closing time -three o'clock in the morning. They were reluctant to stand up to their feet even after they heard the saloon's closing song 'Sotto o…

Having seated herself on a stool at the end of the bar counter, Melba waved to me singing on the stage. It was a few minutes after ten o'clock in the evening. Sakura was very busy entertaining six groups of thirty-one customers. There were…

Hours later on the same day,­ I had to keep Takano-san waiting for about two minutes before answering his first, very surprising phone call to me. It was mama Gloria who came out of the Sakura's building to find me waiting for Melba to ret…

It was near ten o’clock in the morning. As usual, at a table in Sakura’s dormitory kitchenette, I was recording in my diary what had happened around me in the previous day. A noise came up from downstairs. I sensed the noise had been made …

Rain was already gone, while dark clouds were still continuously moving from the sky above Manila Bay toward inland. We -Takano-san, Melba and myself- were in the park right next to the restaurant Aristocrat. ----- I was feeling I knew wha…

Takano-san ate only a few pieces of the fish after all. And having lit another cigarette, he returned to his story. “If I have to choose one incident or one person I’ve gotten charmed by, Trina, let me see… A young friend of mine, Felix, m…

“Wasn’t the Philippines the only country you wanted to visit, Mr. Takano?” Melba asked hesitantly. “To be honest with you, Melba, this country was merely one of the those I planned to visit, at the beginning.” He replied. “But it may possi…