Golden Women

A Story by pearl

They're beautiful and quiet.

It's already 6 PM and the sun is setting on Anloage Street. The Cabeza de Baranggay, esteemed prayles, wealthy businessmen, government officials, and much more famous people are getting off their horse-drawn carriages. They're lining up orderly to get inside the magnificent estate of the Gobernador Heneral.

People are in awe as they enter the house. Immense crucifixes, golden images of the Holy Mother, intricate porcelain vases that are too beautiful to touch make people anxious as they might break things that are worth more than their lives. In the changing room, Felissa puts on her blush pink camisa and saya. Her servant grabs her ivory white laced shoes and slips it on her unblemished feet.

She looks at the mirror and says, "Lilia, do I look fine?".

"You look stunning, Señorita! Doña Rosanna will be extremely happy when she sees her unica hija!", Lilia replied.

"Do you think I will be able to make her proud tonight?", Felissa worried.

"The Gobernador Heneral and Doña Rosanna will surely be thrilled when marriage proposals arise later after you dance with the mestizos from Europe. You will surely have a powerful and affluent husband, Señorita!", Lilia giggled.

"Don't you feel like I'm too young to have a husband, Lilia? I just turned 15 today.", Felissa asked.

"You will be too old if you try to look for a husband when you're past the age of twenty, Felissa. The young mestizos would probably refuse you.", Lilia uttered sadly.

Felissa decides to breathe in and compose herself to stop her tears from falling. She stands up and leaves the room with a smiling face. She approaches her mother who is busy ordering the servants to polish the humongous statue of the golden angel in the center of the garden.

"Oh my goodness! Felissa, you're underdressed! Why is your hair not tied up in a bun? Didn't Lilia show you the pearl necklace that I specifically ordered in Europe for your birthday?", Doña Rosanna grumbled angrily.

Lilia immediately goes down on her knees and pleads, “Doña, I’m so sorry. I forgot to give it to the Señorita.”.

“Indio!”, Doña Rosanna exclaims. She grabs Lilia by her baro and slaps her, “Guards, drag her out of here! I don’t want to see her face ever again!”.

The guards mercilessly pull her kneeling body away from the garden. Felissa struggles to find the words to speak up to her domineering mother. She bows her head and weeps silently.

Doña Rosanna frowns, “Why are you crying, hija? I’m going to get you another servant. You can’t cry because the mestizos are not going to dance with a face like that! Wipe your tears! You can’t fail your father.” She puts a pearl necklace on Felissa and says, “Your beauty deserves to be in the care of a peninsular. I expect you to be as modest and as reserved as possible. Your future depends on this. Make us proud.”.

Felissa nods painfully. Doña Rosanna wipes Felissa’s tears with her maroon handkerchief and struts away gracefully to greet the guests inside the house. Felissa looks at the shiny statue of the bowing angel and admires its small smile with its eyes fixed on the floor. She can only wish to be half as ideal as the statue in front of her.

“Señorita, you have to go inside now. The party will start soon.”, a guard called.

Felissa heads inside and she is flocked by birthday greetings from influential men and their wives. She warmly smiles at them. The Gobernador Heneral walks towards his daughter, with Doña Rosanna slowly walking behind him with her head down. He offers his hand to Felissa and she accepts.

“Good evening! Welcome to my daughter’s 15^th birthday. Thank you for coming! I would also like to thank my beautiful wife, Rosanna, for meticulously planning this marvelous event. Please help yourself to the sumptuous feast. After dinner, the dancing shall begin outside on our garden! I hope everyone will enjoy the night.”, the Gobernador Heneral addressed the guests.

After the meal, the guests head out to the garden and dance to the rhythm of the rondalla’s tune. Everyone is merrily dancing and drinking to their heart’s content. The golden angel statue catches the eyes of the people and they start to gossip.

“What a grand display of opulence! You’ll never find a statue this glorious in the whole country! It’s so beautiful and elegant. That’s exactly how an ideal woman should be.”, a guest commented.

Felissa fixes her eyes on the statue and she sees the Gobernador Heneral near the statue as he boasts it to his subordinates and the other government officials. However, her eyes stay on the reflection on the shiny statue at the back of the Gobernador Heneral. Her mother, who is standing behind the Gobernador Heneral, is still not saying a word since their encounter and her eyes are still fixed to the ground.

“May I ask you for a dance, Señorita?”, a dashing mestizo asked.

Felissa places her hand on the palm of the mestizo and they start to dance. The other men cue up in the hopes to dance with her. Every time she changes her partner, she feels like her pearl necklace is getting tighter and tighter. As she sees the extreme stare of her mother towards her, the Gobernador Heneral’s boisterous cackle and the other people’s whispers, she begins to feel breathless.

“The daughter of the Gobernador Heneral looks so dainty, doesn’t she? She looks so quiet, her husband will surely have no problems with her.”, a high-ranking official murmured.

“She definitely looks like a prim and proper lady. There’s no doubt that she’ll be a perfect wife.”, a businessman uttered.

Felissa faints.

Before the rooster crows, Felissa is awakened by the continuous chatter of her mother.

“Wake up, Felissa! The comandante just sent his men over. He said he wants to visit the house to get your hand in marriage. Our dreams are coming true, Felissa. Your father and I are over the moon. Despite the commotion you’ve caused yesterday, a peninsular is going to marry you. Get up! Change your clothes. Wear the peach camisa and saya. You have to look gentle, do you understand?”, Doña Rosanna ordered.

Felissa stares at the blank ceiling as tears pool in her eyes. She lazily stands up and gets ready for the visitor to arrive. She puts on the camisa and saya. The servant ties her hair in a neat bun. Her mother enters the room and sits beside her daughter in front of the mirror. She gets the heaviest pearl necklace from her collection and clasps it on Felissa’s neck.

“You’re finally going to serve your purpose, Felissa. You’ll finally make us proud.”, Doña Rosanna smiled.

Felissa looks up straight to her mother’s eyes. She feels the heaviness of the necklace. She feels choked. She feels the burden.

“Mama, I don’t want to marry the comandante. In fact, I don’t want to get married at all.”, Felissa cried.

“What nonsense are you spitting, Felissa?! You are a woman. You have to get married, manage the household and have children. Look at your older brother! He’s studying in Europe now and he will come back here as a doctor. When he comes back, we’ll also find a suitable wife for him. He needs to give us children to continue the family.”, Doña Rosanna exclaimed.

“Why can’t I have dreams, Mama? My brother can study abroad and get married after he’s 20. What about me? I want to study abroad, too.”, Felissa argued.

Doña Rosanna slaps Felissa, “Know your place, child. You are a woman. Your place is at home. You cannot have dreams. It would be a disgrace if people found out that you’re not going to be married. You’re the Gobernador Heneral’s daughter. Don’t let your father hear your nonsense.”.

Felissa musters the courage to step away from the vanity. She rips off the pearl necklace. The clanking pearls start to roll all over the place.

“I don’t want to be known as the Gobernador Heneral’s daughter, Mama. I don’t want this life anymore.”, Felissa shouted and ran.

Doña Rosanna is fuming with anger as she chases her daughter. She calls for the guards to run after Felissa as she couldn’t keep up with her speed. Felissa goes down the stairs and runs like the wind to the stable. She hops on a horse and rides away at the break of dawn.

© 2020 pearl

Author's Note

I would highly appreciate it if you'd leave comments! I want to know what you think :> Thank you!

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Featured Review

fishball

The story is very well-written with the background and setting on point.
I liked how you associated the pearl necklace to the pressure that Felissa felt and the burden that she carries as the daughter of the Gobernador Heneral. Most of all, I loved she escaped and broke free from what's truly holding her down, because it broke my heart how her parents only cared for her marriage and not her feelings. I guess it also reflects how the author wishes to empower all of the women around. It's a great and inspiring story!! :))

Posted 3 Years Ago

1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Reviews

barleygirl

This is a powerful story, well-written, & mostly clear to understand. At the beginning, you use words that may be unfamiliar to some . . . here in California we are used to hearing Spanish spoken frequently, so it's not distracting to me, but I've had comments when I use Spanish words in my own stuff. I wouldn't mind if you used more Spanish thru-out . . . (you've probably used the Filipine language, which is similar, & both sound lyrical to me). Anyhow, many women in countries where women are much freer than in your story, we chafe at how restrictive life can be for women . . . but your story reminds us how much worse many women have it. Even tho your story begins with a horse-drawn carriage, indicating this is written about an earlier time, there are still many societies that see a woman's place as being a wife & mother, & nothing else. You bring this point home very poignantly, with lavish original-sounding details. Many times people describe weddings in a boring way, always the same details for every wedding, but I love that this sounds fresh & different from what we usually read. Even tho the bride doesn't say much or stand up for herself, you make it super clear how she feels about everything & how she's too bullied by her mother to refuse. Very powerful way to show instead of tell (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie