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
