The Native Bamboo Bag
I was clueless on the last paragraph of Joseph's letter. I was very curious about it and I focused more on it; in fact, I even forgot that he mentioned the word " wedding" in his letter. Instead of writing him back, I slept early.
The morning was so quiet when I woke up. Joel and his family were still sleeping. Mr. Eugene read the newspaper silently in the living room. Mrs. Honor fed the turkeys outside the fence. Thinking of Joseph's plan for that day, I got out from my room hurriedly to find him. Yet, he was not in his room nor in the yard were he used stay. Unsuccessful, I got the broom and I swept the dried leaves in the yard.
As Mrs. Honor and I burnt the dried leaves in the backyard, Joseph came to us. He brought with him the native bamboo bag. Even though I was curious on what was inside the bag, I kept silent and waited for him to talk and to tell us what was inside it.
Later on, he said, " Now, I know the thing that has kept on disturbing me for many years. [ He raised the native bamboo bag and he continued speaking].This is the answer. I'm disturbed because of this. Thank you Lot for giving me the idea. I have to settle this thing today.". I interrupted and I asked, " If you don't mind, what's that?".
Slowly, Joseph opened the bamboo bag by removing the masking tape that was wrapped around it. On the other hand, I eagerly waited for the bag to be opened. I kept on staring at it as Joseph continued on removing the masking tape around it.
" Oh my God!" the phrase I uttered when I finally saw the thing inside the bag.
to be continued...
The Notebook
After I took a nap, I saw the notebook on my study table ( as I have mentioned earlier, Joseph and I communicated each other using a notebook). I forgot that I had not written something on our notebook for a couple of days already; thus, he was worried.
" Luv dear,
What is happening to you? You didn't write anymore in the notebook. You don't go out in your room when I'm here. Did I do something that you didn't like?
Whatever your reason is, please tell me. I'm worried. Please let's talk.
Luv u,
Joseph"
Honestly, it was not only his room which made me confused and which made me think that he was not honest to me. It was also about his relationship with Agnes - his student.
While we were on our way to school, Mrs. Honor told me that Agnes kept on sending love letters to Joseph. Moreover, she kept on getting near to Joseph by following him in the library everyday and by shifting a major. From having History as her major, she transferred to English since Joseph was an English professor.
Mrs. Honor hates women who do the first move. For her, only those liberated & cheap women do it. Since Agnes was guilty of doing the first move, she disliked her.
To prove, Mrs. Honor showed me a test paper which had a letter from Agnes at the back part.
"Dear Sir Joseph,
I know it doesn't sound good for a woman to court a man; but, I can't stop myself from doing it. I love you very much. I admire your generosity. I'm thankful that you help spend for my studies. Thank you for supporting me financially.
with much love,
Agnes"
I felt bad against Joseph and I felt jealous to Agnes after I read the letter. I felt I was betrayed. I really got mad to Joseph for letting me live in the world of lie and dishonesty. I couldn't believe that he would hide those things from me. Nonetheless, I stopped myself from expressing anger and jealousy in front of Mrs. Honor in that Joseph and I hid our relationship from her and to everybody around us.
Haplessly, Joseph's student and his room had bothered me since then. I wanted to confront Joseph about these things, yet I felt that I didn't have the right to do it. I had extended my patience and had kept my mouth shut because I waited for him to explain to me everything.
Instead of writing back to Joseph, I went to Kenneth's house. Kenneth and I watched TV and talked many things.
After two hours of chatting, Joseph came to us.
to be continued..
Secrets Uncovered
An old closet and a dusty bed struck my eyes when I opened Joseph's room. The room looked haunted. There were dusts and cobwebs everywhere. On the other hand, I felt something strange. The windows were closed but I could feel the air blowing my body. I couldn't describe my feelings at that moment. My heart was palpitating and my knees were quivering. I wanted to go out from the room but my curiosity stopped me.
Minutes later, I was tempted to open the old closet. When I opened it, I saw three things inside- a photo album, a native bamboo bag and a pile of love letters. I was very eager then to know the contents of the things I saw.
The first thing that I picked up was the native bamboo bag because I was attracted to it. It was small and unique. Its shape was tubular. Its sling was made from cloth, but its body was made from a real bamboo.
Anyway, I tried to open the bag yet it was tightly wrapped with masking tape. I tried to shake it for me to at least guess what was inside, but I didn't hear anything. I knew that there was something inside the bag because it was heavy. Also, I suspected that the content of the bag was vital to Joseph since he wrapped it tightly. Unsuccessful, I put the bag back inside the closet.
The next thing that I picked up was the photo album. I was horrified when I turned the pages of the album because I saw pictures of a fetus inside the bottle and a dead baby boy. The dead baby boy was very handsome, and he looked like a little angel sleeping. As I was about to turn to the remaining pages of the album, I heard the car coming. So, I immediately returned the album to the closet. Then, I went out from the room hurriedly.
I was disturbed with what I saw. I wondered who was that dead baby boy? Who was the owner of the fetus? What was inside the bamboo bag? Why did Joseph keep those things inside his room? What was the relationship of Joseph to the fetus and the dead baby boy?
I felt my head would explode every time I thought of the things I had discovered. I wanted Joseph to answer the questions I had in my mind but I didn't have the courage to ask him. On the other hand, I felt bad against him. I felt that he was not honest to me. I had not expected that he would hide many things from me.
After a deep thinking, I took a nap. When I woke up, I saw the notebook on my study table.
to be continued...
..so I said, " YES".
The following month, Joseph asked me if he had the chance to own my heart. He told me that he badly needed my answer because it had been three months already since he started courting. On the other hand, I had seen also how devoted and supportive he was to me, so I said, " YES", to him. When I accepted him as a boyfriend, I forgot that he was quite older than me. Probably because of the constant written communication we had done each day that inspired me and made my heart melt.
During the first three months of our relationship, we hid it from his family, from my family, from our friends and from everybody; because, we believed that it would just create friction between us and the people around us. We intentionally hid our relationship to prevent the bad possibilities or problems to come our way.
The written communication was our primary means of communicating each other. In fact, we had a notebook for us to write everything we wanted to tell to each other. Putting the notebook into our rooms secretly was not that easy because we had to observe our steps and we had to see to it that nobody was watching.
As well as, we had to find a perfect time and a safe place during our dates. We were really trying our very best not to be caught by the people around us that we were dating or we were in a relationship.
On the other hand, I did not stop in getting information about the mystery of Joseph's room in the second floor. I was really very eager to know the reason why he didn't stay and get inside in his room upstairs anymore.
One Sunday morning while everyone was in the church, I got a chance to get inside Joseph's room. I really found the room mysterious. Upon entering the room, I saw a closet. When I opened it, something strange caught my eyes.
to be continued...
