Marriage and Annulment

“Are we leaving?” Zander inquired of Duke.

“Yes, the others already in front of the school; are you finished?”

“Yes, let’s go. Mom, we’re leaving,” Zander said as he kissed his mother goodbye.

“OK, be careful,” his mother replied.

“We’ll only use one car, Duke, yours, so it’s not too much hassle,” Zander explained.

“That’s fine.”

They got in the car, and Duke drove. They were out of school in a matter of minutes. The things they intend to bring are already in the car.

“Aren’t we supposed to leave yet?” he aske Teacher Mae.

“As Ma’am Principal stated, we will wait for the one with whom we can be together,” Mae responded.

“Does anyone else come with us? Aren’t we just eight teachers?” Zander asked.

“It appears that Ma’am Principal has invited someone from the city.”

Mrs. Rodriguez then emerged.

“Let’s just wait a minute; she’ll just come with you because I have a meeting,” she replied.

A red car then pulled up in front of them. Randolf and Zaneska emerged as the door opened. Zander’s brow furrowed. What exactly is this woman doing here? Mrs. Rodriguez was approached by Zaneska.

“Hello, Ma’am, nice to meet you all,” Zaneska said.

“I, too, would be delighted to meet you in person, Miss Vergara, and you have accepted my invitation,” Mrs. Rodriguez responded.

“I’m not too busy, ma’am,” Zaneska replied, “so I agreed, and then I bought something for the kids.”

“Thank you very much,”

“Well, you agreed, Zaneska, it is okay for you to walk on the lawns there,” Duke said.

“Perhaps that’s why,” Zaneska replied.

“You know Duke, ma’am?” Mae asked.

“Actually, Duke is a relative of mine, and this man beside me is my assistant, and this handsome teacher of yours is my friend,” Zaneska explained.

Everyone was amused by Zaneska’s remark.

Mrs. Rodriguez said, “All right, leave while it’s still early.”

They piled into the car. And travel.

The weather was bad, as Zander had noticed. He did believe it would rain later. He hopes they arrive at their destination before it rains. Some of their coworkers, who he recognized as Teacher Mae’s students, came by.

“Isn’t one of your students’ house still there, Zander?” Duke asked.

“It’s still far away,” Duke replied. “Perhaps we can go to their barangay and give them everything we brought.”

“You thought it was better,” Zander responded. “It’s better than going to their houses, which we don’t know where.”

They came to a complete stop in order to talk to their companion. Duke took a moment to go outside and tell the others what he wanted to happen. Duke got into the car a minute later.

“Zander, they’ve all agreed,” Duke said.

“Good.”

They came out to see a child on the road and inquired about the location of the barangay hall in the area. They also brought the young man on board to instruct them. They arrived at the specified location half an hour later. They were taken to the barangay captain’s house by the boy.

Zaneska had the urge to pee. She had gotten out of the car earlier because she was in pain. Zander’s gaze fell on her.

“Please take out what we’re carrying, Randolf,” she said to Randolf, “I’m just going somewhere.”

“Where are you going, Miss? You don’t know where you’re going.”

“I’m already urinating, Randolf,” she says, “so I’ll look for something to urinate on, even if it’s the grass.”

“Seriously?” Randolf asked. “Perhaps people have toilets here.”

“Don’t whine.”

Zaneska was walking onto the lawn when Zander noticed her. His brow furrowed. What is this woman up to? As a result, he followed her.

“Where are you going?” Zander asked.

As she looked at him, Zaneska’s eyes widened.

“You scared the hell out of me.”

“I just asked you where you were going; what are you doing here?” Zander asked.

“I’m peeing, I needed to pee earlier, and I’m going to urinate this before my bladder explodes,” Zaneska replied.

In his mind, he burst out laughing. Even the most affluent individual would urinate on the lawn if necessary.

“Seriously? Are you urinating here? What if the…” Zander wondered.

“Get out of here! Get back in there,” Zaneska yelled at him.

“Come on, let’s go back there and see if there’s a toilet here.”

Zander took Zaneska’s hand and led her back to their companion. When he noticed that everyone around him was staring at their entertwined hands, he let go of Zaneska’s hand.

“Hello, do you have a toilet here? Zaneska is already urinating,” he asks.

“Yes, ma’am. The one with the wood door. Go there. There’s water there for washing.” replied the captain’s wife.

Zaneska addressed him in hushed tones.

“Come with me; maybe there’s a snake there,” Zaneska said.

“No, there’s no grass there, and the place is clean,” he said.

“Just urinate there, Zaneska, you’re not the one you’re whispering to Zander, maybe you’ll be able to urinate from where you’re standing,” Duke advised.

Duke made a foolish smile. As if the expressions had meaning.

“I just noticed your complexion, Ma’am Zaneska; is that natural?” Zander overheard Mae inquire.

Zaneska bursts out laughing.

“Does it look fake, Mae?” Zaneska asked, a smile on her face.

“Eh, because you’re too white for paper; aren’t you out in the sun? I didn’t see any black on your body,” Mae explained.

“Is that a compliment or what?” Zaneska chuckled.

“Of course, compliment; what’s your secret? Tell me I want to be as white as you.”

“Sure, later. For now, I need to pee. Come with me,” Zaneska said, pulling him over to the toilet.

“Come inside, Zander, and see what’s inside,” Zaneska orders.

Zander sighed and rolled his eyes.

“What do you think you’ll see if you go inside the toilet, Zaneska?” he asked.

“Don’t ask too many questions, Zander, or the snake will bite me when I enter there,” Zaneska warned.

So Zander did nothing but use the restroom. The interior is spotless, with a white bowl and a bucket. He looked at the water and saw that there was nothing swimming in it. He’s go out right away.

“It was clean before your urine got out here, and there were no snakes,” he explained.

Zaneska entered the house. He was about to leave and go back to his companion when Zaneska called.

“Zander, come in here,” Zaneska said to him.

“What? Are you insane already? I’m going in there,” Zander said.

“I think I have LBM; my stomach hurts,” Zaneska said.

“Did you eat before, or is your stomach really empty?” he asked.

“I only ate rice and a dish, and nothing else, and my stomach hurts when I’m not at home.” Zaneska’s complaint.

“Does it hurt?” Zander asked.

He was concerned. Because of the duration, Zaneska. He finished when he heard the murmur of water. When the door opened, he saw that he couldn’t paint Zaneska’s face.

“Where have they gone?” Zaneska asked.

“Maybe in the barangay hall,” Zander replied.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

“Is there no medicine for stomach aches here?” Zaneska asked.

“I’m not sure either, but we’ll just asked someone tp buy you medicine now to get rid of your stomach ache,” Zander said.

“Do we still have to go to the barangay hall?” Zaneska asked.

“No, it’s just at the Captain’s house for you to rest,” Zander said.

They noticed the Captain’s wife approaching.

“Are you all right, ma’am?”  the older woman asked.

“Her stomach hurts, can I come inside your house, and I hope she can rest?” Zander asked.

“Of course,” she says.

They walked into the house. He took Zaneska’s seat. Perhaps her stomach hurts a lot because she’s already sweating profusely. The older woman poured hot water in the glass and hand over to Zaneska. The older woman directed the boy to purchase medicine for her stomach ache.

“What would you like to eat, Zaneska? Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.

“No.”

The boy then arrived with medicine. He gave it to Zaneska.

“I’m tired, Zander,” he says.

Zaneska is led into the room by the older woman. And she was given a blanket.

“Go to bed first, and make sure you’re not hungry,” he advised.

“Yes,”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her,” the elderly woman assured him.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Would you mind leaving you here first, Zaneska?”

“Sure, I’ll just put it to sleep, and it’ll vanish,” she says.

“Thank you, and if her stomach ache doesn’t go away, please come to me,” Zander said.

“That’s fine.”

Zander went to Barangay Hall after leaving the house. He noticed that many of the students were receiving meals in addition to their module. He went up to Duke.

“What took you so long? I already gave  yours,” Duke said.

“It’s fine, thank you; Zaneska had a stomach ache, so I went with her first,” he said.

“Is that correct? How is she doing? Is the pain gone?” Duke inquired.

“She drank the medicine, and she dozed off.”

“Good.”

Zaneska awoke with a light feeling. And the pain in her stomach had vanished. So she decided to get up and go outside. She came across into the captain’s wife.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” she asked.

“Yes, thank you very much; the pain is gone; I’ll go out first,” she said as she waved goodbye to the older woman.

“That’s fine.”

Zaneska will be on the lookout for a signal because she intends to call them in the city. In this area, there is no signal. So she decided to go in the opposite direction. She couldn’t find her way out because she had done so much walking. She was worried because she realised she was lost. And she was struck because it was raining heavily and thunder was rumbling. She was drenched from the rain. So she dashed to a derelict house that still had a roof on it.

Zander and Duke dashed to the captain’s mansion. While the rest of their group was left in the barangay hall.

“How is Zaneska?” Zander asked the old woman.

“Didn’t she come to you? She said she’d come out first,” she replied.

“Huh? Not really. Where did she go?” Zander asked. “Duke, I’ll find Zaneska here first. Lend me a raincoat. And an umbrella, mother.”

He go even had a heavy rain to track down Zaneska; the only problem was he didn’t know where to look. He’d wandered off into the woods.

“Zaneska! Zaneska! Where are you?” exclaimed Zander.

He was concerned that something bad had happened to the woman. He’d been looking for her for a while but couldn’t find her.  Until he ended up in a shattered house. Because it was pouring so hard, he had no choice but to go inside. Then he noticed Zaneska shivering from the cold because her entire body was wet from the rain.

“What are you doing here, Zaneska? You’re dripping wet.”

“I’m lost; it’s a good thing you came; I’m freezing,” Zaneska responded.

“Stand up, put on my jacket. You’re wet. Take off everything you’re wearing,” he said.

Zander removed his jacket and handed it over to Zaneska. He went out for a while so Zaneska could changes clothes.