Republic Reborn: Against the Stars and Stripes-Chapter 92: Try

"Are you alright, Heneral?" one of my escorts hurriedly rushed to my side.

It was embarrassing. I had only been hard at work for less than an hour, and already I was out of breath. I had collapsed into the mud, sitting heavily with my back hunched and my eyes squinting up against the sweltering sun. The sky was a perfect blue, and the heat bore down like a punishment. This was one of those times I wished the weather wasn’t so good. A light overcast would have been perfect—just enough cloud cover to dull the sun’s wrath.

"I am alright," I brushed off the soldier’s helping arms as I stood up with some difficulty by myself. My knees were shaking.

I thought of rejoining the line of workers digging the ditch, but I wasn’t feeling too well. I felt a bit dizzy and had no more strength in my arms and legs. In the end, I accepted the soldier’s offer to assist me back to the road.

It was all clearly a mistake. My uniform was all mud now and I had not even brought more than two sets of clothing. I was confident I could do a little help without getting too much dirt.

Now, not only was I filthy, I was also disrupting the work. Several of the soldiers had paused to glance in my direction, curious or perhaps concerned. Capitan Sadiwa, standing legs-deep in muck, noticed as well. He began wading toward me.

"I am alright, Capitan! Carry on!" I hollered to him and gave him a thumbs-up. He clearly did not understand what a thumbs-up meant, but at least he heard what I said. He paused, and then after giving me another look-over, he smiled and turned to where he was overseeing his men, trying to unclog an irrigation canal.

I could only shake my head at the bother I was causing. It was like that one time in my previous life when I tried to help a young woman with her groceries in the parking lot, at 70 years old, oblivious that she was then stronger than me. She was polite about it, but she probably did not like me dropping and consequently tearing one of her grocery bags.

Don delos Santos was chuckling as he helped lift me up out of the fields to the elevated road.

"We are too old for this, Heneral," he said, and I suspected he found entertainment in my disheveled state. He did try his best to discourage me from making the foolish decision.

"Unfortunately, you are right," I sighed in defeat. "And look... I don’t think they need any more help."

The trained recruits continued to impress me. They completed what was left of what needed to be done in the fields we were working on yesterday before Don delos Santos and I could even arrive earlier. It turned out, Capitan Sadiwa and the Sta. Cruz recruits arrived there at dawn, making Landi their destination for their daily march.

We had already moved on to the paddies on the other side of the road. And it was only mid-morning, and we had already done more than half of that portion as well. The soldiers, having acclimated yesterday, knew what to do now and purposely went about the work. Don delos Santos and his assistants were barely needed.

I was almost certain that the draining part could be done before noon.

"Is this for us?" the juez asked. I looked in the direction where he was staring.

A carabao-pulled cart, carrying pots of water and sacks I suspected contained snacks, was headed our way. The creaking wheels were enough to attract the attention of everyone. But a pretty, smiling young lady was also in the cart.

Señorita Alicia Suarez was seated beside the cochero, waving at us.

"It is," I said.

---

As I had predicted, we finished removing the dikes and digging the ditches on the rice fields on both sides of the road. We proceeded to the drying part—or more accurately, the waiting part. Not only should the surface be rid of the little pools of water and the mud, but the soil beneath should also attain some dryness. And the speed by which that can be attained was at the total mercy of the sun.

"I just want to be honest with you, Don Lardizabal. I really think it would be difficult to have everything ready by Monday," repeated Don delos Santos as we made our way to Kasily, where Alicia and I had convinced him to have his lunch.

"You really think so?" I asked him, watching as some dark clouds formed on the horizon. It would seem that another shower was bound to fall around mid-afternoon, just like in the previous days. That would mean the rice fields would be wet again, and our waiting time extended.

"Not to mention, I don’t think you have brought enough sets of clothing with you," Don delos Santos observed accurately. I only had one remaining set of clothes in my satchel. "You should return to Boac... rest. We don’t need to rush this."

"My father’s clothes would suit you, Heneral. I could let you borrow his clothes," Alicia suddenly chimed in from behind us in the same creaky cart, after having been silent since we left Landi. "And I believe in you... I think you can finish everything this week."

"Is that so, Señorita?" I looked back at her. Her eyebrows were clashing against each other, as eagerness took hold of her small face.

It was more likely she did not want me to leave than her believing in me. But I understood. I could only imagine how lonely that house was with only her and the maid living in it, while in every corner lay a memory of her dead father.

I glanced at Don delos Santos. He was waiting for my answer.

"I think we should give it a try this week, Don delos Santos."