Chapter I - Bashful Man

He is the youth leader in their place who can be described as tall, dark but not so handsome. As the youth leader he leads his fellow youth to a dance party anywhere in every barangay in his hometown. The said dance party is a sort of fund raising of the youth organization in their place. Despite his busy leadership he has time for his studies in secondary school level. Speaking of his status in school, well, he is not that intelligent nor dull. In other words, he belongs to the students with average mental ability. However, he is active in every school activities that made him a campus figure admired by many female students.

Eventually, he has so many acquaintances and friends both in school and out of the school. It is maybe because he has a family who gives him all-out-support, may it be in financial need or moral matter. Not to describe him in a negative way, his mother has the guts to boast even in a very little achievement of her children. And it so happened that July is one of her children and the only son left to be still alive. His two older brothers were already taken by God in heaven.

July is nineteen years old and was quite late for his age as a high school student. The cause of his delayed schooling is his lengthy stay in the city which is more or less 690 kilometers away from his hometown. There he was engaged in early employment as a waiter in various restaurants. Experiencing to have earned his own money, he never thought of pursuing his studies. But with the persuasiveness of one of his sisters and a niece who is one year younger than him, he decided to go home to his birthplace to study.

As a young man in his late teenagehood he possesses a sugar coated tongue when talking to his opposite sex. It is this quality he has that his best friend used to seek his help in wooing a maiden in a nearby barangay. Knowing that he was not only the love letter writer for his friend but also the hand mail carrier, he, too, would deliver sweet nothings that consequently results to become the boyfriend of the maiden he was having his friends courtship to her. Naturally, no matter how he tries to explain to his friend that it was unintentional, still a misunderstanding arises. Yet, their friendship must still go on.

It was December, 1973 a young female young teenager whose age was eighteen, a second year college arrived in their hometown. She was also a resident in their neighborhood where July was the youth leader. Czarina is known to be a home body and a daughter of a very strict father. Having a strict parent she has to live in restrictions. Her life is confined at home, school and church. She is not allowed to join her fellow youth in going to a dance party unless otherwise her father would be escorting her only in their place where they reside or in the birthplace of her parents, mother and father.

Czarina is friendly with their neighbors. Sometimes she would go to the nearby house of her neighbor whose name is Veannie to chat, unaware that the circle of friends of July and him oftentimes hang out. Because during that year, their place had no electrification yet, people used a flat iron for their clothes the traditional one that used some charcoals to make it hot. Whenever, Veannie did this household chore in ironing the clothes, Czarina would go so she could also iron her clothes and her younger brothers', as well.

Unknown to this naive teenager, while ironing the clothes, July kept on staring at her secretly, admiring her simplicity with long straight black hair, tan complexion and curvaceous body who stands five feet in height. In this young lady's mind and heart, never would she thought that July made her the apple of his eyes. She would not even care less even all of his friends would be looking at her with smiling faces whenever they would be passing through their yard in going to and fro the house of Veannie.

Christmas holiday 1973 was over when every youth organization should start planning for the fund raising they would have done. Specifically, it was already January, the early month of year 1974 when not only youth planning was held. Picnicking of some friends, discotheque of a birthday girl or boy were also done. One day, Veannie invited Czarina and another girl friend to go swimming at the nearby beach in their place. While having fun, Veannie asked Czarina to have a talk with her.

"Czarina, would you accept Jules to be your boyfriend?" Veannie asked.

"Who is that Jules? Do I know him?" Czarina inquired.

"Of course, you knew him. He is July, the son of Nanna Eulania!" Veannie informed her.

"Oh! Yeah, you're right. I knew him. He was my classmate in low school." Czarina admitted.

"So... Does it mean that you would accept him?" Veannie insisted.

"How could he be when he does not even wooe me?" Czarina said truthfully.

"Don't worry, I will push him to wooe you. He is quite shy in approaching you."

Czarina shrugged her shoulder and went back for another swimming round.

A week after Veannue's revelation about July's plan to wooe Czarina, the young man went to her place and asked if he could accompany her under the breadfruit tree where the young maiden was busy weaving a bag made of small cowrie.

At first Czarina kept quiet but looking at July who seemed to be hesitant in occupying the vacant left end of a bench, she was obliged to tell him it was okay.

Not long after he was seated, he said in a soft voice that he would like Czarina to be his girlfriend with a blushing face. The grown up girl Czarina was amazed on her discovery of July's aloofness in opening up a conversation with her.