He was imprisoned - Part-5 - August 2, 2024

In my previous story, I mentioned that my father was a soldier. My father was imprisoned in 1990, if I'm not mistaken. The story of his imprisonment, which my aunt or uncle told me, is because he killed a relative of a Congressman in Quezon Province, Congressman Chavez. It is said that this Congressman's relative is a member of the NPA (New People's Army), and since he is a Congressman's relative, there is nothing we can do. The NPA or New People's Army is an enemy of the Philippine government because they are causing chaos in the country, similar to the MILF or Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Mindanao region.

I was in grade 1 when my biological father was imprisoned. However, at that age, I did not know that my father was in jail. I only found out when I was 7 years old because we visited the place where he was imprisoned, and it was very far, almost a 3-hour drive just to visit him. Before my father went to prison, I had some memories of being with him. I only remember two things before he was imprisoned. First, when we went to the irrigation near the field where the grass was high. I saw a big and long python for the first time. The snake slithered fast and fat! I screamed in shock and called my father who was just behind me.

I followed my Father's instructions while watching him slowly push aside the tall grass, some of which he cut to make the path easier to walk through. As far as I know, we went there to get bananas from the tree and dig up sweet potatoes to make snacks.

My second memory is outside their house. They eat with his family, my stepmother, and my two sisters. I remember that they eat fruits like guavas, apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, and sliced ​​cucumbers and carrots. My stepmother gave me a slice of guava. That's what I remember. I don't remember anything other than that.

When my father was imprisoned, my grandfather was still alive. My grandfather was also a soldier, but he retired and chose to work as a security guard in his later years. Our lives are simple; we are not rich, but we are not poor either because we can eat three times a day, even just sardines and eggs. Sometimes, we only eat porridge with boiled eggs. My grandfather, grandmother, aunts, and uncles often ate steamed sweet potatoes, water spinach, bitter melon, and sometimes squash mixed with tomatoes and onions, sprinkled with salt and pepper, or fish sauce as a dip.

My real mother visits my grandmother's house, where I stay, four times a year because she works as a lady guard. I admire my mother because she didn't look for another man until I was 10 years old.