
It is the time of El Niño, a season ruled by superstition and fear. The rain is long in coming, the ground has cracked up dry. The ricestalks are thin and sickly. Villagers go hungry. And a boy dies from a snakebite. The adults splinter. Some pray. Others join a cult to appease earth spirits and wait for the ada, the ricefield spirit goddess of bountiful harvest who dances naked on moonlit nights and signals the need for a virgin’s sacrifice. There are fence sitters, equally pro-church and pro-cult. A landlord’s steward enforces his master’s usury on hapless farmers. A self-righteous priest says rain must first be deserved. Two young women fight for the right to do with their bodies as they please. A bastard boy and a blind girl come of age. Yesterday, they were children.

as Salve

as Fr. Joey

as Terio

as Encio

as Daling

as Puring

as Marlito

as Aning

as Nonong

as Kadyo

as Tasing

as Ado

as Sacrificial Virgin

as Virgin's Father

as Cult High Priest

as Cult Torch-bearer

as Barangay Chairman

as Man in Sari-sari Store

as Lope