Our firstborn, a girl, came at exactly 4:00 p.m. on February 19, 1939. I had applied for a two-month leave of absence due to maternity. My mother-in-law and a nurse were present at the birth of this baby. Papa (Beato) was still in Ibajay teaching school – our sole means of livelihood.
Since we had not much to start with, Papa said, “Let us give our baby girl a name to guide us in bringing our future family members.” We named her Maria Advers Zita (Inday) a name that would be our banner cry to work hard and would bring us more financial stability to our new family.
The baby was baptized with our neighbor, Nancy Ubas as her ninang. It was a quiet baptism. We were the only ones present and we did not wait for Papa Beato who was still in Ibajay. After baptism, I hired a car to bring me and the baby to my parents’ home in Bueabud. Papa came the later in the evening. He persuaded me to return to Kalibo.
I missed so much the comfort of my big bed, my mother’s cooking, the gossips of our kitchen helpers, the wide sugar cane fields and the flowering of numerous fruit trees. I missed the jokes of my younger brothers and sisters and the long tables (14-seat capacity) laden with the harvests of our land, the juicy fruits of langka and mabolo. These were the things I missed most in Kalibo.