TRAPPED
It was noon. The gray overcast became darker. Upriver the balding mountains were deluged by heavy downpour. The villages of the lowland were submerged by flood.
Maring waded in the flooded road, water reaching waist-high. Most of the huts by the roadside were already abandoned on the onset of the flood. A storm was forecasted to hit the area. The residents have evacuated earlier to safer places. Maring passed by a concrete two-storey house of a rich family of the village. Mixed crowd of evacuees crammed at the front window. Curious eyes of the children as well of that of elderly stared at her.
“Maring, what are you doing in the middle of the flood?” a man’s voice shouted at her.
“The water is fast rising, where you are going?” added one.
“Have mercy on me,” she begged. “Loni was trapped in Tabuc! Can somebody help me?”
“Jesus!” muttered one of the elderly women as she made a sign of a cross.
Now all eyes of the evacuees were wide-open and pinned toward Maring.
“Please help me,” pleaded Maring.
“God have mercy, Maring. I’ll pray for him,” offered the old woman.
“Hurry now! To the house of Capitan. He can help you!” shouted the old man.
Some evacuees of the house murmured in disbelief upon the fate of Loni. Others commented that Loni is a hard-headed man that does not heed to the advice of others.
Maring walked hurriedly but the water was slowing her stride. She was on her fifty’s and her age betrayed her strength. She was huffing when she reached the house of the barangay chairman.
The house of the chairman is also a two-storey concrete structure. It was also crowded with evacuees. Downstairs, the chairman was busy securing a pig atop the floating wooden table which was secured by ropes. The pig was squealing as it tried to steady itself from the unstable platform.
“Capitan!” called Maring to get his attention.
The man at his forty’s was surprised upon seeing her at the door. He went toward her.
“Loni was trapped in Tabuc, Capitan!” she cried, almost in panic.
The chairman was surprised. “How come?” he asked.
“Loni went back to Tabuc to save the chickens, but the water rose abruptly!”
“So he stayed in Tabuc, in your hut?”
“Yes. But I feared this flood. He might be in danger!”
“Calm down. Isn’t it that he stayed before in the hut the previous flood?
“Yes. But there was no storm at that time. I feared that the hut can’t survive the storm.”
“Yes it’s really dangerous,” assented the chairman. “Aside from the gust, the hut can also be carried by the strong currents.”
“Yes, Capitan. That’s what I feared most. Please do something, Please call the mayor,” pleaded Maring.
Upon mentioning the word mayor, the chairman was perturbed. He thought for a while.
“Yes the mayor has a rescue team. Maybe I can asked for help,” he said hesitantly as he settled into a pensive mood that puzzled Maring.
“You have his number, isn’t it?”
“I have his number, Maring, but I doubt if he can accommodate my request.”
“But why, Capitan?”
The chairman paused, “It’s about the last election, Maring.”
“I can’t understand, Capitan. Please call him,” pleaded Maring
“The mayor still hates me up to this time, Maring. It was known to all that the last election he was humiliated here in our place. We solidly voted for the other candidate, luckily he won.”
“But that was a long time ago. Please try to call him, Capitan. Loni is in danger!”
The aide of the mayor received the call of the chairman. After customary exchange of words, the aide told the chairman to call again after five minutes for the mayor was talking to higher authority. But he was not talking to anybody. It was just a routine alibi of his aide to make the mayor appear to be occupied. The mayor is in front of his aide and listening to their conversation.
“Mayor, Capitan Lario in on the line.” said the aide.
“To hell with that Lario!” thundered the mayor. “What does he want?”
“Mayor, one of his residents was trapped in Tabuc. He needs your help. He needs to be rescued,” informed the aide.
“There they are now,” said the mayor now standing and looking at the window. “Now he is asking for my help. How dare him. Have he forgotten that he humiliated me in his barangay in the last election?”
“But it’s all over, Mayor. You won it and now he’s your constituent.”
“What you want me to do, Andy?” shouted the mayor with angry eyes struck toward his aide. “Risk the lives of my loyal personnel just to save this man? No!” said the mayor as he shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Mayor,” apologized by the aide.
“Who is this man by the way?”
“Loni Bermudez, Mayor.”
“What a twist of fate. Isn’t that surname is one of the tenants of the former mayor?”
“Yes, Mayor.”
“Small world. They were the tenants of the former abusive mayor, who controlled the illegal logging. If not for him we will still have our mountains covered. Now tell him in a nice way that we can’t handle this situation.”