Tres Marias: Read-Only Memories

0. Nineteen Years Ago

December 21, 2060

Trees.

Vincent Uy flashed wide, twinkling eyes as he saw the lush, green canopy of the trees surrounding him. His attention shifted a large tree with clusters of bluish flowers at each end of its small branch. He'd never seen a tree as large as that one; he only knew about the small trees grown in rectangular, plastic containers that his mother took care of in their flat.

It's as if he leaped into a fairy tale where there were lots of fruit-bearing trees, where fairies, dwarves, and elves reside. He was amazed with a singular, small tree; what more if he saw lots of trees? Big and tall ones, to boot? It felt so unreal; no urban, residential areas nor skyscrapers filled the heritage park, or rather, historical site.

He took his time to enjoy the fresh, clean air, not like the dusty air filled with synthetic oxygen he inhaled back in Makati City. It filled an unspeakable volume of joy in his heart; for the first time, it felt so serene. He couldn't hear the chattering news anchors on the radios or on the television in the distance. No more deafening sounds of flying car accidents.

When he goes back home to Makati City, he'll tell his father that they just visited Los Baños, the land of the fairies. He took out his smartphone and took pictures of the tree he was looking at for a long time.

"That's a molave tree," his mother told him when she realized that Vincent was staring at the molave tree with enthusiasm.

"Can I climb on top of it, Mommy?" Vincent jumped, holding his mother's hand. His mother shushed him and shook her head, which made him frown. "But mommy, it's a very big bonsai."

"Again, Vince, that's not just a bonsai. That's a tree." His mom pointed at the tree once again. "Molave tree."

Vincent sulked and folded his arms.

"Now, now, don't be like that, Vincent Adrian Uy," his mother admonished him.

Vincent pouted his mouth and furrowed his brows. His mother chuckled a bit until she saw a prominent mountain from the distance.

"Vincent." His mother tapped his shoulder and pointed at the mountain. "See that mountain, Vincent? There's a diwata residing there."

"Ooh! A mountain!" Vincent snapped out from his sulking and looked at the mountain with those same shining eyes. "Wait, Mom. What's a mountain? Is that really a mountain?"

"Hay, are you listening to your teachers, Vince?" His mother sighed. "Mountains. Those are very high naturally-occurring land formations. You've seen them in pictures, yes?"

Vincent nodded. "Whoa... so that's a mountain. Can we go there?"

His mother crossed her arms, shaking her head again. "No, no, the diwata will be mad."

"Diwata?" Vincent tilted his head.

"Yes, diwata. A fairy or a goddess."

"There really are fairies and goddesses?" Vincent's mouth made a perfect circle. "Amazing! So this is really the land of the fairies!"

His mother chuckled. Ah, kids. They have such wide imaginations. Or maybe I enjoyed too much on reading him bedtime stories from the past.

"Anyway, that mountain," his mother continued, "is called Mount Makiling. It's one of the most sacred mountains here in the Philippines, because it's home to Maria Makiling, the diwata of the mountain."

"Maria Makiling?" the young boy parroted.

"Yes, and she is a beautiful and powerful diwata. So don't be too reckless because we cannot just climb Mount Makiling, okay?"

"Mommy, what's reckless?"

His mother chuckled. Before she could even answer, Vincent noticed a yellow bird flying across the sky. He beamed as he jumped and jumped while pointing at the animal, shouting "Bird! Look! Bird!"

She smiled as well, albeit a sad one, for it has been a long time ever since she saw a flying bird other than the maya bird.