Everyone is again present on the dining table. Tension once
again filled the air. Janna and Enzo are not in speaking
terms still. Almost all of the time Janna has been sending
Lena dagger looks. Lena was aware of this but she was not
in the very least afraid of Janna though. She sends off a
vibe of disinterest more than anything else. Lena was more
disconcerted of Enzo’s presence, whom Lena would often catch stealing
glances at her.

DON IGNACIO
Kulang ata sa asin ang ulam natin,
Minda. Ba’t parang walang gana ang
mga ito?

MINDA
Ay, si Tinay po nagluto niyan, Don Ignacio!

TINAY
Inay naman, taga-gayat lang po ako
di ba?

MINDA
Di ba ikaw ang huling tumimpla nyan?

DONA CONSUELO
(speaking to Ignacio)
Hay naku, baka pagod lang ang mga
bata, ito naman.

PACO
The food’s fine Lolo.

DON IGNACIO
Ganon naman pala. Enzo, why have
you barely touched your food?

ENZO
Wala lang po akong gana.

DONA CONSUELO
Magtatampo si Tinay at Minda niyan
sa iyo, apo. Masarap pa naman tong
kaldereta nila.

ENZO
It was delicious po, kaya lang...

Janna had enough of Enzo’s furtive glances to Lena. She
first shot Lena a maliciously charged, taunting look, then
announced...

JANNA
Everybody, I‘d like to say something...

Lena‘s eyes widened. A look of shock on her face.

Janna looks determined to say something.

Suddenly the door bell rang...Janna's announcement was cut short by an
unexpected visitor.

TINAY
Mawalang galang lang po, andito po
si Kapitana.

DON IGNACIO
O kapitana, andito kayo. Umupo po
kayo, kain po kayo.

KAPITANA JUANA
Ay salamat na lang po, Don Ignacio.
Pasensya na at alanganing oras ang
punta ko.

DON IGNACIO
Ay okay lang kapitana, ano po ang
maitutulong namin sa inyo.

KAPITANA JUANA
Ang sadya ko po sana dito ay si Lena.

LENA
Ako po?

Janna looked at Lena sharply.

KAPITANA JUANA
Nalalapit na kasi ang fiesta ng San
Nicholas. Napagbotohan ng konseho
na si Lena sana ang magiging Reyna
Elena pagdating ng santa cruzan
ngayong taon. Ang parada ay
magaganap kasabay ng fiesta.

DONA CONSUELO
Naku, perfect yan! Nai-imagine ko na si
Lena na maganda ang damit, ay naku,
bukas na bukas, kelangan magpasukat
ka na ng damit sa bayan, Lena. Sasamahan kita...

DON IGNACIO
Kelan nga ulit ang piyesta, kapitana?

KAPITANA JUANA
Sa katapusan ho ng buwan pa ho, Don
Ignacio.

DON IGNACIO
Tamang-tama, mga tatlong linggo pa.

DONA CONSUELO
Kakausapin ko ang designer na
kaibigan ko, nang sa ganoon
mabilisan ang pagkagawa ng gown mo.

LENA
Bakit naman ho ako, Kapitana?

KAPITANA JUANA
Kasi nga Lena, gustong-gusto ng mga
taong bayan na ikaw ang maging
Reyna Elena nila ngayong taon.

LENA
Hindi ho kasi ako sanay sa mga
ganoong klaseng pagtitipon.

LIZ
Are you kidding me, Lena?! I’m so
excited for you! Ako mag-aayos sa iyo!

LENA
Nahihiya po ako. Pwede ho iba na lang?

KAPITANA JUANA
Sino naman ang pwede, Lena?

LENA
Ba’t hindi nalang ho si Janna?

Paco choked on his food, this elicited a sharp look from Janna.

PACO
Si Janna? You gotta be kidding!

JANNA
Thank you, Lena, but it’s not my thing.

ENZO
Sige na, Lena. Accept it,
nakakhiya naman kina Kapitana,
pumunta pa siya dito para imbitahan ka.

JANNA
We know you like it...

ENZO
Janna, stop it.

JANNA
What did I do?

Enzo can only shake his head.

DON IGNACIO
What do you say, Lena?

LENA
Ha eh...Sige po.

DONA CONSUELO
Hay salamat naman, iha. Pinasaya
mo ngayon pa lang ang iyong Lola.

TINAY
Naku Lena, magiging Reyna ka, kahit
isang araw man lang. Ang saya-saya
naman. Kapitana, meron pa ho bang
lugar para sa isang Reyna Emperatris...

KAPITANA JUANA
Kumpleto na kasi ang listahan, Tinay...

MINDA
Pasensya na ho kayo, ilusyonada po
kasi itong anak ko. Anong Reyna
Emperatris ang sinasabi mo? Reyna
ng Palayok siguro. Pumasok ka na
nga sa kusina, etong bata talaga
kung ano-ano ang pumapasok sa utak.

TINAY
Sino nga pala ang magiging konsorte
ni Lena?

KAPITANA JUANA
Sana ho si Senorito Enzo ang
iniisip namin.

DON IGNACIO
Oo ba, bagay na bagay sila!

Enzo remains quiet but he could not remove the smirk from
his face. Janna is livid.

JANNA
Hindi kaya magagalit si Rafael niyan?

KAPITANA JUANA
Hindi kasi taga-dito si Rafael.
Taga San Jose siya. Mas gusto ng
mga tao na si Enzo na lang kasi
kababayan natin siya.

DONA CONSUELO
Okay lang naman siguro kay Rafael
yan. At for sure, okay lang din
siguro kay Enzo yan.

Enzo merely nodded.

DON IGNACIO
Hindi kaya magagalit ang boyfriend
mo Lena?

LENA
Hindi ko po alam. Hindi naman po
siguro.

KAPITANA JUANA
So, papano okay na po siguro iyon.
Matutuwa ang mga tao pag nalaman
nilang pumayag na si Senyorito at
si Lena.

DONA CONSUELO
Kami na hong bahala sa handaan
pagkatapos. Asahan niyo Kapitana,
ito na ang pinaka bonggang
Santacruzan na mapapanood niyo.

KAPITANA JUANA
Salamat po, Dona Consuelo.
Makakaasa po kayo sa tulong ng mga
tao. Sige po, di ko na po kayo
gagambalain pa. Aalis na po ako.

DON IGNACIO
Sige, Kapitana.

Kapitana Juana leaves.

PACO
Janna, kala ko may sasabihin ka kanina?

JANNA
Ha eh, wala, nawala na sa isip ko!
It was nothing...compared to Lena’s
news, wala iyon...

PACO
Wasn’t that great news, though?
News like that brings back our
faith in humanity, to freedom and
democracy and of course in...food.
Sarap talaga nitong kaldereta ninyo,
Inay Minda!

LIZ
Napaka-baboy talaga nitong
boyfriend ko!

PACO
Hey, that’s why you love me, di ba?
Oink, oink...

DON IGNACIO
This deserves a toast!

DONA CONSUELO
Para kay Lena, ang bagong prinsesa
ng San Nicholas!

EVERYONE
Cheers!

Everyone’s good spirit was back in their interrupted dinner,
of course, except for Janna, who is of course, her usual
jealous self.

INT. LENA’S BEDROOM - MIDNIGHT

Lena was so engrossed with her new book that she was up late
in the middle of the night reading page after each demanding
page.

A few more moments later, she was done with the whole thing.
She let out a big sigh of accomplishment as she laid the
book beside the bedside lamp. She made a sign of the cross
and snuggled into the soft bed covers to sleep.

As she reaches over to turn off the bedside lamp, her eyes
were drawn to an emblem on the side of Jose Alvarez’ book.
It was that of a mountain and a sun rising behind it. She
thought it looked vaguely familiar. Below the emblem are the words :
"Publicada en Madrid."

LENA
Madrid? Taga-Espanya pala talaga
ang pamilya nina Lolo. Kastilangkastila
talaga sila. Kaya pala
masungit at mainitin ang ulo nitong
si Enzo...

She pushed the thought aside and turned off the lamp. The
light of the bright moon outside flooded Lena’s large bay
windows, giving her room a more mysterious and soulful glow.

Sleep, however, still evaded Lena. She was restless. She
tried to toss and turn but she could still not get herself
to sleep. Her mind drifted off to the evening’s turn of
events. She stares at the blank ceiling, thinking...

LENA (VOICE OVER)
Paano na ang plano mong umalis,
Lena? Kailangan mo pang manitili
dito ng tatlong linggo pa. Huwag
kang ilusyonada, Lena. Pagkatapos
ng tatlong linggo kailangan mo nang
umalis. Hindi ka bagay sa mundo nila!

She lightly slapped her forehead, regretting her decision to
stay.

LENA (VOICE OVER)
Pero kaya mo ba talagang iwanan
sila, Lena? Kaya mo bang
talikuran...siya?

Slowly, Lena drifted off to sleep...

CUT TO:

INT. LARGE, OPULENT BALLROOM - LENA’S DREAM SEQUENCE

The following scenes unfolded like magic in Lena’s mind...

Lena found herself on top of a grand staircase opening into
a lavish ballroom. Below is a fiery and colorful mix of
people in festive costumes and splendid masks. It was a
masquerade party. The masked guests were waltzing gracefully
to glitzy, enticing music. It was like a fairy tale to Lena.
For a moment she was disoriented as to why she was there,
but she slowly made her way towards the landing.

Lena glanced at her reflection on the mirrored walls. She
was dressed elegantly like a princess, in a white, flowing
ball gown made of soft, antique silk. It was styled
elegantly and was sequined to perfection. Her hair was
coifed up in a classic up do, emphasizing her long, graceful
neck. Little tendrils of her hair fall gracefully from the sides,
softening the coldness her ornately designed diamond
necklace is brilliantly exuding. She had a similarly shiny
tiara by her crown, to finish up her princess-like look.

She was so fantastically beautiful that even if it was just a
dream, she was still slack-jawed by her appearance.

She held up her mask and slowly made her way down the stairs.

When they saw Lena was coming in, the people in masks had to
stop dancing. The music stopped as well. It was as if time
stood still in the ballroom. All the ones present there were
all in awe and were all mesmerized by Lena’s mysterious and
magnificent presence. The crowd at the bottom of the stairs
parted as Lena slowly walked until she reached the middle of
the ballroom. The spotlight followed her there.

Now, Lena was surrounded by a sea of people in masks. She
felt suddenly self-conscious. Music started to play. The
masked people started to dance around her. Somehow, she
felt terribly...alone.

Then suddenly, the crowds parted once more. Making his way
into the middle of the ballroom is a tall, dazzling figure
in a black tuxedo. He too was wearing a matching dark mask,
concealing his perhaps very brazen looks. He was so enigmatically handsome that Lena’s heart skipped at the sight
of him.

The masked man stopped in front of Lena, slowly got down on
one knee to bow. Instinctively, Lena held out her hand for
him. He took it, and gently kissed it. Still holding her
hand, he got up and he moved closer to her.

MASKED MAN
May I have this dance, your highness?

His voice is deep and familiar. Lena gracefuly nodded and
courtsied.

Romantic music started to play. Lights dimmed and everyone
around them started waltzing gracefully. He placed his one
hand by her waist and gently guided her to move. Lena
rested her nervous, white-gloved left hand by his shoulder.

And with that, they danced...

The crowd stopped briefly to watch as they danced in perfect
unison. With each beautiful step, Lena’s heart started to
fly. She never felt more magical and special ever in her
life until this very moment. They spun around, gliding their
way around the vast expanse of the elegant ballroom.

As they hold for the last step, the man in the mask raised
her hand to kiss it once more. Then he moved closer...
He lowered his head for their lips to meet. Then, it did.
Very softly...very tenderly, they kissed.

As their lips parted, he smiled at her. Lena took the
courage to slowly remove his mask. As the dark mask came
fluttering to the floor, Lena slowly met the eyes of her
mysterious partner.

There he was, smiling in his most glorious and handsome self
is... Lorenzo Alfonso Alvarez.

ENZO
Who are you?

Lena slowly lowered her mask. Suddenly, a collective gasp
was heard from the entire ballroom.

People started to laugh instead! Some, heckled. Lena was utterly
confused and embarassed. She held onto Enzo who was
otherwise confused too.

MASKED GUESTS
Ikaw? Ha ha ha! Paalisin ang
impostor! Paalisin ang impostor!

One of the masked guests moved towards them. She was
dressed elegantly in a revealing black dress. She slowly
removed her mask...it was Janna.

JANNA
Hindi bagay sa iyo ang koronang iyan!

She abruptly grabbed the tiara off Lena’s head. People were
heard laughing and started taunting her. Things started to
blur for Lena. Slowly, one by one, the people shed off
their masks. First it was Rafael, then Dona Consuelo, Tinay,
Liz, Paco, Don Ignacio, everybody she knew...they were all
looking at her... angrily, like she was vermin.

JANNA
Enzo, halika na dito. Iwan mo na
iyang impostor na iyan!

Enzo moved over to rest of the crowd. He too was visibly
disgusted.

DONA CONSUELO
Ba’t mo ginawa sa amin to Lena?

RAFAEL
Traydor ka Lena, pinagkatiwalaan ka
namin!

ENZO
Impostor ka Lena! Umalis ka na dito!

Lena started to cry. Then, a strong pair of hands grabbed
her by the shoulders from behind. She looked back, it was
her brother Pipo.

LENA
Kuya?!!!

PIPO
Tahan na, Lena. Halika na, iwanan
na natin sila.

The crowd parted once more to let Lena and Pipo leave. As
they were about to leave, Lena decided to look back at Enzo.

But the crowds closed in and he was nowhere to be seen...

LENA
Enzo! Enzo!

Lena, suddenly twisted her arm out of Pipo’s grip. She run
back towards the crowd. With tears in her eyes, she parted
her way through the sea of people trying to get to where
Enzo was. She was determined to get there as people started
to stop her, grabbing her, ripping her gown, snatching
strands of her hair. Yet through the visceral pain, she was
most determined to find him. She could hear her brother call
her back, but she never ever looked back.

PIPO
Huwag Lena, bumalik ka dito!
Masasaktan ka lang!

LENA
Enzo! Enzo!

Lena, in her full effort, fell forward, her diamond necklace
shattering as her lithe body hit the floor. Broken pieces of
diamonds scatter on the floor.

Then suddenly, an old, brooding figure knelt by her and
pulled her up. He motioned the crowds to stop. It was Lolo
Ignacio. For some reason, he took out a book from his
jacket pocket. it was Paradiso con Fuego. He handed it to
her. She slowly looked down on the tattered book. On the
front cover, is the very same enblem that was on Alvarez’s book!

Lena remembers now where she has seen that image. The very
same symbol appeared on the cover of Madrid’s book!

She looked up to him and he was smiling kindly at her. He
wiped off the tears from her eyes

LENA
Lolo Ignacio, patawarin niyo po ako...

DON IGNACIO
Tahan na, Lena. Pareho tayong
mapagpanggap Lena...

LENA
Ano po ang ibig niyong sabihin, Lolo?

DON IGNACIO
Hindi ako ang Lolo Ignacio mo,
Lena...ako si Constancio Madrid...

With that, her world spun completely...

CUT TO:

INT. LENA’S BEDROOM - MORNING AFTER

Tinay was trying to shake and wake up the wildly distressed
Lena.

TINAY
Lena, gising na! Gumising ka!

Tinay slapped her on the face and with that Lena woke up.

LENA
Tinay! ’San na ko?

TINAY
Hoy Lena, over ka na ha?
Kinakabahan na talaga ako sa iyo.

It took a few seconds for Lena to recover to her senses. It
was now morning and everything was just a vivid dream.

LENA
Anong nangyari?

TINAY
Heto, pumasok ako para tawagin kang
mag-almusal. Naku, nakita kitang
binabangungot, kaya rescue to the
max naman ako.

LENA
Binabangungot ako?

TINAY
Obviously! Ayun, pawis na pawis ka
kasi at balisang-balisa ka habang
natutulog. Ang hirap mo pang
gisingin. Ungol ka ng ungol...

LENA
Naku, bangungot nga siguro iyon.

TINAY
Pero feeling ko, magandang
bangungot yang nangyari sa iyo...

LENA
Bakit naman?

TINAY
Kasi sigaw ka nang sigaw nang "Enzo!
Enzo!"

LENA
Di nga?!!!

TINAY
True, as in tru-orange. Uuuuyyyy!!!!
Anong napanaginipan mo? Hinahabol
ka niya ano?

LENA
Eeeee!!! Tinay, kadiri ang ginawa
ko. Sana walang ibang nakarinig!
Gano kalakas ang sigaw ko?

Lena tried to bury her now very embarassed face under her
pillows.

TINAY
Don’t worry Lena, I don’t think
walang ibang nakarinig. Plus, wala
ka namang control sa mga panaginip
mo. Buti na lang kamo ako ang
inutusang gumising sa iyo.

LENA
Nakakahiya talaga!!!

TINAY
Uyy, mag-kwento ka naman! Ano nga
iyong napanaginipan mo? Hinahabol
ka ba niya sa palayan? Sa beach ba?
Ginagahasa ka ba niya kaya ka
sumisigaw? Ano na sabi? Sige na!
Magkwento ka na!

LENA
Ayoko! Ayoko, nakakahiya!

Tinay tried several to coax more information from her but
Lena doesn’t answer back. Under her pillows, she once again
visualized her dream, which is now more vivid than ever.