The Ilokana

Epilogue

March 21, Fifteen Years Later

In the humid night, the buzzing of insects and rustling of wind against the biga leaves filled the air. Victoria sat on the extended front porch of her family's farm house, drinking some chilled coconut juice as a welcomed breeze surrounded her.

It was a long day at work and they were expecting a small tour group tomorrow, which she'd have to deal with. Her parents lived full time at Kalasag to run the B&B while she commuted there daily.

With its popularity, there wasn't room for her to live there, as her parents did, so she returned to the farm house. It was far different from how it was in her dreams, having been renovated and updated numerous times, especially in recent years.

There were more modern fixtures than ever: air conditioning in every room, and somehow, wifi was accessible even in the fields. It seemed like a distant memory to be riding through wooden gates for a tryst with a foreign man.

Perhaps it was because she stopped having the dreams fifteen years ago, when he left again.

Victoria sipped on her drink. It was strange: she expected the dreams to return while he was gone, as if recognition and proximity were what kept the dreams at bay. However, she never dreamt of the past again. She supposed she was also too busy to.

Kalasag had an excellent rating on both domestic and international travel sites and blogs. It was featured in some independent travel guide books and everyone she knew recommended it.  It was a challenge to run.  There was a small staff to help her parents and she worked there  from morning to night on the weekends, when it was the busiest.

During the peak tourist seasons, the B&B was booked full weeks in advance the last few years. Any cancellations were filled quickly. It made for hours working without a break just to make sure everything went smoothly and at the professional level she was accustomed to.

Even Richie had a hard time getting a night or two when he came to visit. Victoria always told him to just stay with her at the farm house. Still, the journalist in him wanted to stay in town, despite their family's concern for his safety.

After all, he was the one who exposed the Reyes family's dealings exploiting OFWs.

When Richie's article was released, it made local and national news. The Reyes were a prominent family and while the article didn't ruin them completely, it devastated Ving Reyes' gobernoral run. The scandal led to additional investigations, which exposed even more questionable dealings by the family.

His youngest children and several socialite family members fled for Manila or Singapore to escape the scrutiny, but like the upstart family they were, they dug their claws into the dirt and refused to leave Vigan in shame. Ving Reyes' younger brother and eldest son were trying to re-establish the family, but it was an uphill battle.

One the other dynastic families wouldn't let them win easily and the tension between the Reyes and the other families seemed to have risen.

As a result, her uncle and father's hopes for her to be the last blade of Brillantes vanished. It was an unfortunate consequence of the world they lived in.  Victoria continued to train. Her cousins trained. Her nieces and nephews now trained.

"Mom." The screen door opened and a pale face peeked out. "Sam and I are done downstairs."

"Okay," Victoria said, glancing over her shoulder. Her twelve year old still had sweat on her forehead, despite walking through an air conditioned house. She was in the middle of unwrapping the cloth from around her hands. "Did you put away the weapons?"