Chapter 1

Mindanao State University is more than a place for my father. It was in MSU where he met my mother. He was an Islamic Studies student that time while my mother took up BS Engineering and was a 3 years ahead than my father in terms of academic year. Both of them were scholars. During non-school days, they usually met as a group together with their “kabs”. They talked, ate together and even helped one another in many things. They acted as if they are lover when in fact; both of them had a girl friend and a boyfriend. My mom had been a loyal girlfriend to her boyfriend, while my father had so many chicks around, usual. However, despite his chick boy image, he never played with girls. He never fooled girls.

Six years before they reach to their college level, they were both an evacuees. From Dinas, Zamboanga Del Sur, my father moved to Naga because of the brutally of ILAGA and NPA that time. He just went in fishing just to earn a little amount for living. Sometimes, he travelled from IPIL to MSU and it so happened in every place he went to, he got a girlfriend. My father was, indeed, a chick boy. Once a rake, always a rake.

On the other hand, my mom and her family was also one of the evacuees who transferred to other places, just to escape from ILAGA and NPA. Fortunately, their foot brought their to MSU wherein they have a few relatives there particularly in Fisheries.

Dalagang Pilipina. This is how my mom’s boyfriend used to describe her because she couldn’t really be touched. She even told me that there rendezvous with her boyfriend was the Main library.

My mom was a silent type, and a very responsible daughter. She helped her family by giving the other part of her allowance every allowance time. Her mother is a business minded person, while her father was a carpenter in MSU. A mason. This is how my mother used to describe her father.

During college time, my father picked her (my mom) up every after her classes from the ANNEX. But my mom told me that she found no malice over the acts of my father, because in the very first place, they where both taken already, and besides, my father is happened to be my mother second degree uncle. She just considered it as a merely considered of an uncle towards his niece.

But without my mom knowing, my father was secretly in love with her. His girlfriend, on the other hand, had even no idea about my father’s real feelings for my mother. She didn’t get jealous though my father and my mother were so close to each other, because for her, the closeness of the two had no other meaning.

While on my mother’s side, her boyfriend was so jealous. He even complain if why is it that my mother and her uncle were so close together. But my mother would just say “he’s just my uncle, so don’t put a deeper meaning on it.” Then, her boyfriend would understand her right away.

Until they have finished their four year courses. They went back to Dinas. Suddenly, my father proposed a marriage to my mother. He approaches my mom’s father and since they were related in blood, my mom’s father agreed right away. So, it was an arranged marriage. Though my mom refused to that arranged marriage because she loved another guy, still she had nothing to do but to agree.

Actually, my mom’s boyfriend was scared to my mom’s father. That’s why he couldn’t approach my grandfather.

Moreover, traditional practices that time was still influential law to us MORO. So no matter how much my mom loved her boyfriend, she just sacrificed her love for him just to obey her father. My father is closer to my grandfather, they are 2^nd degree cousins. So that’s why he straight away accepted by the family. (For my grandfather, Blood relation is thicker to him.)

My mom was a phlegmatic type. Even if she didn’t like something or a person, she would still say “yes” for the sake of her family. And though she didn’t love my father, she still agreed to marry him for the sake of ALL.

But few months after, she learned to love my father. After a year, God blessed them a child. It was a baby girl. And they named her “Eilham”. She is now a Biology instructor. Then, another year had passed when a baby boy was born. My parents named him “Sultan”. He was a fresh graduate of the course BSEd Physics just this April. And now a Physics teacher. A year after, on October 5, 1987 another baby boy was born and my parents named him “Muhammad Faidz”. He is now a graduating of the course BS Com Sci.

It was after four years before my mother gave birth to her another baby girl named “Evtesam.”