Mysterious Map

With so much emotional outburst, Baldur felt puny and bushed while Magee told him to catnap beside George. Due to extreme exhaustion and without wasting any second, right there upon reaching to George's bed, Baldur waved his hand to her and dozed off with his back flat.

" Hmm...you both should sleep well. There's a lot of things we have to do when I'd be fine next days." She thought then she sluggishly moved closer to the door and locked it so that no one can disturb them from resting.

" Boom! boom! boom!"

Albrecht rushly knocked on the door and she whispered before opening it.

" Kuya...keep quiet. Two soldiers are seriously sleeping inside." Then she let him in.

" Have you heard the wild blasts?"

" Yeah, the floor was even shaking." Magee replied.

" Those are cannon blasts. The Japs reinforcements maybe have reached in their barracks today. Possibly, its a form of summoning and showing their power after repelling from the past days. Or was it because of the Bataan battle?" We have limited information here but if Baldur would go back to the port where Dad have old friends on stand-by, we'll be able to get some updates from the solo ship that docks from Manila. The last time Baldur went over for Dad's send off by the port, he learned that the Japanese Imperial Forces were already in control of the general headquarters of the Commonwealth army. How much updates we need to get that will just give us more tension, huh!" Albrecht sighed and sat on a bamboo chair while clasping his hands.

" Albrecht, let's attack and burn their Tikaban barracks again."

" Hmm, don't do that anymore, they've plan out maybe sort of preventions to similar attack that badly hit them last time. We'll think about another plot."

"Hmm...I've got another idea."

" It give me goosebumps already without hearing it yet."

" Haha! what?" She whispered.

" Everytime you suggest on something, that guy who's madly in love with you buys it whether its too risky or not. It so happened that he's our boss so we ended up buying your creepy ideas too." He sarcastically smiled.

" Haha! oppss! my wound aches...I forgot I have this one, huh! but you're really a real comic, I can't imagine Madelleine who laughs a lot when she's with you."

" Oh dear! don't mention her name, I missed her so much!" He bowed down his head and getting serious.

" S...sorry." She mumbled

"Hmm...I need to prepare for lunch now, the two will be growling too loud at the kitchen later to patch up their exhaustion and sleepless nights of guarding. I'll need to go now and keep prepared anytime, its wartime and evacuation in no time is expected. Just grab what's necessary, okay? And do you know where to run to, in case of emergency?"

" At the cabinet, haha."

He nodded. "Good girl."

"Alright kuya funny." She smiled at him before he went out.

While staring at the two on their sound sleep, she tried to imagine the locations of the map upstairs.

" The entrance secret gate is placed in the eastern part, the smiling skull cave's on the western point, there were four bells, does it mean, there are also northern and southern bound fox holes, tunnels and caves?" She was staring at the cabinet where the first fox hole is located and headed to the opposite location of the cabinet where the old jar was displayed. She then slowly knelt on the floor and touched the big jar but there's no sign where it could be the door bound elsewhere. She carefully returned to her bed and checked the journal's second cover. At first, she was astounded by how it was wrapped by a papyrus paper. Its a bit thick and plastered.

" Its an Egyptian papyrus, where did Lolo Sibal got this? Ah, maybe when there were barter trading at the shore of Gabok way back." Then she opened it and found out a similar map with the one which was hanged upstairs. She immediately looked its details and still found the bells and the four pirate buccaneer signs. Only the one facing the sea was smiling, meaning to say, its the safest. Why its the safest? and the three caves, including the entrance cave aren't safe. Hmm....the northern cave route starts with a fork, isn't this a fork? what does it mean, the western cave starts with a suit, dress - cabinet, the eastern cave starting point is on a chair and southern part is with a jar. Exactly!" Then she paused and analyzed it for around thirty minutes.

"Hmm...interesting, though I've got this headache of thinking about that jar. But I'm getting hungry, my tummy aches. I'll get back to these journals after lunch. Hope Albrecht is done there. Its maybe almost midday and my intestines are crumbling inside and it looks like that George and Baldur deeply slept. Hmm...George is moving." She thought.

" Huhum..." Then George yawned and slowly pulled Baldur in the center then whispered.

"You continue sleeping brother, you really need to recharge. I'll wake you at 1500 hrs and when its time. Here, use my pillow."

George stood up and smiled at her watching him.

"Hi Mag...oh, Albrecht is coming." George said while helping Albrecht in setting the bamboo tray on Magee's side.

" What have you cooked kuya, this smells good."

" Its bamboo shoot (dabong) with saluyot, ginger, lemon grass, sangig, tomatoe and grated coconut. I put pandan to our boiled cassava so its aromatic." And he carefully let her taste it with a spoonful of viand and a small piece of boiled cassava.

But George saw how happy the siblings were though its a bit envious where he could not even feed his wife that way. So he was just very silent and got out of the house, facing the flowing water from the spring. After a couple of minutes, Albrecht called him to get in but Albrecht did not anymore return to the room. When he's already inside Magee told him to sit beside her and they'll share the food. She said her side hurts so bad so she could not pick a spoon so he fed her. The bottomline.

" Oh, so this is the feeling." He smiled.

She smiled back and both felt pleased to see each other caring that way.

"Have you noticed, the viand is truly delicious. Several times I've eaten this here but still I loved its taste." George said.