The Pint-Sized Piloto

December 5, 1941   Lt. Joaquim Dela Cruz only had one rule in a dogfight: Always check your six-o-clock. Though his aircraft was a lumbering, big barreled monoplane whose engine crackled and spouted like an old man grumping about every time he climbed an altitude, nobody ever got on his tail. For Joaquim had eyes of a hawk and a neck of an owl; habitually gawking his head in various directions. It was supposed to be an occupational hazard, but Joaquim was used to it. After hundreds of hours of flight time, his vertigo has become his friend.   Joaquim and two other pilots were on the air, with their marvelous Peashooters, doing their weekly practice drills and some reconnaissance. It was a privilege to fly planes. With the limited budget allotted for this homegrown Air Force, the supply for fuel was limited. Once a week, a gas truck would arrive in Lipa, Batangas, which took another full day to get to the airfield.   The

December 12, 1941 They were losing. Within 48 hours, the 6th Squadron has lost half of its pilots. Lt. Barria and Lt. Jose have crashed and were missing still. The pilots knew the end was near. But Joaquim who had bravely fought off wave after wave of enemy planes had stuck with the promise he made to himself to turn every damn Japs back to where they came from…. By then, he has become a local hero overnight, along with Capt. Villamor. At dinner time, they were celebrated and toasted by Batangenos. They pray for his safety, calling for the saints to spare this crazy, stubborn pilot who never gives up.  After days of combat, he was now fighting fatigue. His Peashooter was barely air-worthy. Iron patches had been welded to cover bullet holes. It’s quite a feat that it can still fly. Even more so, it’s incredible its pilot still had the determination to fly in the face of defeat. Another wave of bandits has been spotted approaching from Cavi

Anyone interested in stories about fairies and dwarves may find the town of Parola up to their standards. Because see here, in 1924, Parola had a bunch of them. Though the grownups couldn’t see, the children did. Every single day. They were often spotted in open places. Fairies dangled on trees. Dwarves from different colors of different tribes flocked the marketplaces, the farmlands, churches, and barangay posts. Some slept under the huts for a better shade. They were part of nature. And to some extent, they were involved in the various activities of children.  Joaquim Dela Cruz spent his childhood in this town and was used to seeing little folks participate in many things that children do. On his first day in Parola elementary school, he spotted dwarves sitting leisurely by the window, watching as the teacher pointed her ruler to the blackboard. The dwarves appeared like gangly children, with a silvery and yellowish hue, and pointed hats and ears, and curling shoes. W

First Lieutenant Shimoda was seated at a scarred desk, studying some papers in front of him. He was in his late-thirties, with thinning hair, intense black eyes under bespectacled round glasses, and had a pedantic manner about him.   He had been in charge of the Japanese army sent into the deep south of Luzon. He had arrived with the background on infantry command and the zeal of an idealist, determined to make sweeping reforms to this atrocious Asian country turned into a rural western. Two days ago, a daring heist committed by a few ragtag thieves caught his attention. Despite posting several soldiers in the depot, they still failed to do a simple job: guard the supply depot. It didn’t really matter what had been stolen. If the locals get word how incompetent his troops were, there would be anarchy. He won’t allow that. Not while he is in this post. He called in his assistant. “Send them in.” Mako, Ichiro, and Jiro stepped inside. Their ha

Chapter 09 – The Cotton Fields   The last hour or so had been filled with chaos and bedlam. Although Joaquim had been trained how to cope with it, nothing can really prepare you for actual combat, you just have to learn how to face it. But as the elder dwarf, Ruperto Isidro, approached him, his fight or flight response ebbed. Somehow, he had a calming presence about him.   “Ah, pardon me, young sir, but where did I meet you?” Ruperto asked.      “It’s a long story, but you once saved me from crashing my airplane.”   “Did I now?”   The old Katipunero suddenly emerged from the bushes from behind them and looked down at Joaquim.   “Thank you for the head’s up dear dwende,” he said. “We would’ve been in front of firing squad right now if it weren’t for you and your pigeon crashing in on our table.”   Joaquim felt a pang inside him o