THEORY OF EVOLUTION

The theory of evolution by natural selection, first formulated in Darwin's book "On the Origin of
Species" in 1859, is the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in
heritable physical or behavioral traits. Changes that allow an organism to better adapt to its
environment will help it survive and have more offspring. Evolution by natural selection is one
of the best substantiated theories in the history of science, supported by evidence from a wide
variety of scientific disciplines, including paleontology, geology, genetics and developmental
biology. The theory has two main points, said Brian Richmond, curator of human origins at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York City. "All life on Earth is connected and
related to each other," and this diversity of life is a product of "modifications of populations by
natural selection, where some traits were favored in and environment over others," he said. More
simply put, the theory can be described as "descent with modification," said Briana Pobiner, an
anthropologist and educator at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
in Washington, D.C., who specializes in the study of human origins. The theory is sometimes
described as "survival of the fittest," but that can be misleading, Pobiner said. Here, "fitness"
refers not to an organism's strength or athletic ability, but rather the ability to survive and
reproduce.For example, a study on human evolution on 1,900 students, published online in the
journal Personality and Individual Differences in October 2017, found that many people may
have trouble finding a mate because of rapidly changing social technological advances that are
evolving faster than humans. "Nearly 1 in 2 individuals faces considerable difficulties in the
domain of mating," said lead study author Menelaos Apostolou, an associate professor of social
sciences at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. "In most cases, these difficulties are not due to
something wrong or broken, but due to people living in an environment which is very different
from the environment they evolved to function in."
 Subject-Verb Agreement
Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another in number (singular or plural). Thus, if a
subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be
plural.

In present tenses, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways:

nouns ADD an s to the singular form,

BUT

verbs REMOVE an s from the singular form.

Here are nine subject-verb agreement rules.

1. A phrase or clause between subject and verb does not change the number of the subject.

Examples:
2. Indefinite pronouns as subjects

 Singular indefinite pronoun subjects take singular verbs.

 Plural indefinite pronoun subjectstake plural verbs.

PLURAL: several, few, both, many

 Some indefinite pronouns may be either singular or plural: with uncountable,

use singular; with countable, use plural.

EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL: some, any, none, all, most

Sugar is uncountable; therefore, the sentence has a singular verb.

Marbles are countable; therefore, the sentence has a plural verb.

3. Compound subjects joined by and are always plural.

4. With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.

In the above example, the plural verb are agrees with the nearer subject actors.

In this example, the singular verb is agrees with the nearer subject director.

5. Inverted Subjects must agree with the verb.

6. Collective Nouns (group, jury, crowd, team, etc.) may be singular or plural, depending
on meaning.
 In this example, the jury is acting as one unit; therefore, the verb is singular.

In this example, the jury members are acting as twelve individuals; therefore, the verb is
plural.

7. Titles of single entities (books, organizations, countries, etc.) are always singular.

8. Plural form subjects

 Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular verb. (e.g. news, measles, mumps,
physics, etc.)

 Plural form subjects with singular or plural meaning take a singular or plural verb, depending
on meaning. (e.g. politics, economics, etc.)

In this example, politics is a single topic; therefore, the sentence has a singular verb.

In this example, politics refers to the many aspects of the situation; therefore, the sentence has
a plural verb.
  Plural form subjects with a plural meaning take a plural verb. (e.g. scissors, trousers)

Note: In this example, the subject of the sentence is pair; therefore, the verb must agree
with it. (Because scissors is the object of the preposition, scissors does not affect the number of
the verb.)

9. With subject and subjective complement of different number, the verb always agrees with
the subject.

10-A. With one of those ________ who, use a plural verb.

The above example implies that others besides Hannah like to read comic books. Therefore,
the plural verb is the correct form to use.
10-B. With the only one of those ________who, use a singular verb.

The above example implies that no one else except for Hannah likes to read comic
books. Therefore, the singular verb is the correct for to use.

11-A. With the number of _______, use a singular verb.

11-B. With a number of _______, use a plural verb.

12. With every ______ and many a ________, use a singular

verb.
 CAPITALIZATION RULES
Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining
letters in lowercase. Experienced writers are stingy with capitals. It is best not to use them if
there is any doubt.

Rule 1. Capitalize the first word of a document and the first word after a period.

Rule 2. Capitalize proper nouns—and adjectives derived from proper nouns.

Examples:
the Golden Gate Bridge
the Grand Canyon
a Russian song
a Shakespearean sonnet
a Freudian slip

With the passage of time, some words originally derived from proper nouns have taken on a life,
and authority, of their own and no longer require capitalization.

Examples:
herculean (from the ancient-Greek hero Hercules)
quixotic (from the hero of the classic novel Don Quixote)
draconian (from ancient-Athenian lawgiver Draco)

The main function of capitals is to focus attention on particular elements within any group
of people, places, or things. We can speak of a lake in the middle of the country, or we can
be more specific and say Lake Michigan, which distinguishes it from every other lake on
earth.

Rule 3. A thorny aspect of capitalization: where does it stop? When does the Iraq warbecome
the Iraq War? Why is the legendary Hope Diamond not the Hope diamond? Everyone
writes New York City, so why does the Associated Press Stylebook recommend New York state?
There aren't always easy formulas or logical explanations. Research with reference books and
search engines is the best strategy.In the case of brand names, companies are of little help,
because they capitalize any word that applies to their merchandise. Domino's Pizza or Domino's
pizza? Is it Ivory Soap or Ivory soap, a Hilton Hotel or a Hilton hotel? Most writers don't
capitalize common nouns that simply describe the products (pizza, soap, hotel), but it's not
always easy to determine where a brand name ends. There is Time magazine but also the New
York Times Magazine. No one would argue with Coca-Cola or Pepsi Cola, but a case could be
made for Royal Crown cola.

Example: EBay opened strong in trading today.

Rule 4. Capitalize titles when they are used before names, unless the title is followed by a
comma. Do not capitalize the title if it is used after a name or instead of a name.

Examples:
The president will address Congress.
Chairman of the Board William Bly will preside at the conference.

Rule 5. Titles are not the same as occupations. Do not capitalize occupations before full names.

Examples:
director Steven Spielberg
owner Helen Smith
coach Biff Sykes

Rule 6a. Capitalize a formal title when it is used as a direct address. The more formal the title,
the more likely it is to be capitalized.

Examples:
Will you take my temperature, Doctor?
We're sorry to report, Captain, that we're headed for choppy waters.

Rule 6b. Capitalize relatives' family names (kinship names) when they immediately precede a
personal name, or when they are used alone in place of a personal name.
 Examples:
I found out that Mom is here.
You look good, Grandpa.
Andy and Opie loved Aunt Bee's apple pies.

Rule 6c. Capitalize nicknames in all cases.

Examples:
Meet my brothers, Junior and Scooter.
I just met two guys named Junior and Scooter.

Rule 7. Capitalize specific geographical regions. Do not capitalize points of the compass.

Examples:
We had three relatives visit from the West.
Go west three blocks and then turn left.
We left Florida and drove north.
We live in the Southeast.

Rule 8. In general, do not capitalize the word the before proper nouns.

Examples:
We visited the Grand Canyon.
They're fans of the Grateful Dead.

In special cases, if the word the is an inseparable part of something's official title, it may be
capitalized.

Example: We visited The Hague.

Rule 9. It is not necessary to capitalize city, town, county, etc., if it comes before the proper
name.
 Examples:
the city of New York
New York City
the county of Marin

Rule 10a. Always capitalize the first word in a complete quotation, even midsentence.

Example: Lamarr said, "The case is far from over, and we will win."

Rule 10b. Do not capitalize quoted material that continues a sentence.

Example: Lamarr said that the case was "far from over" and that "we will win."

Rule 11. For emphasis, writers sometimes capitalize a midsentence independent clause or
question.

Examples:
One of her cardinal rules was, Never betray a friend.
It made me wonder, What is mankind's destiny?

Rule 12. Capitalize the names of specific course titles, but not general academic subjects.

Examples:
I must take history and Algebra 101.
He has a double major in European economics and philosophy.

Rule 13. Capitalize art movements.

Example: I like Surrealism, but I never understood Abstract Expressionism.

Rule 14. Do not capitalize the first item in a list that follows a colon.

Example: Bring the following: paper, a pencil, and a snack.

Rule 15. Do not capitalize "the national anthem."

 Rule 16a. Composition titles: which words should be capitalized in titles of books, plays, films,
songs, poems, essays, chapters, etc.? This is a vexing matter, and policies vary. The usual advice
is to capitalize only the "important" words. But this isn't really very helpful. Aren't all words in a
title important?

The following rules for capitalizing composition titles are virtually universal.

 Capitalize the title's first and last word.

 Capitalize all adjectives, adverbs, and nouns.
 Capitalize all pronouns (including it).
 Capitalize all verbs, including the verb to be in all forms (is, are, was, has been, etc.).
 Capitalize no, not, and the interjection O(e.g., How Long Must I Wait, O Lord?).
 Do not capitalize an article (a, an, the) unless it is first or last in the title.
 Do not capitalize a coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, but, for, yet, so) unless it is first or
last in the title.
 Do not capitalize the word to, with or without an infinitive, unless it is first or last in the title.

Otherwise, styles, methods, and opinions vary; for instance, certain short conjunctions
(e.g., as, if, how, that) are capped by some, lowercased by others. A major bone of contention is
prepositions. The Associated Press Stylebook recommends capitalizing all prepositions of more
than three letters (e.g., with, about, across). Other authorities advise lowercase until a preposition
reaches five or more letters. Still others say not to capitalize any preposition, even big words
like regarding or underneath.

Rule 16b. Many books have subtitles. When including these, put a colon after the work's title and
follow the same rules of composition capitalization for the subtitle.

Example: The King's English: A Guide to Modern Usage

Note that A is capitalized because it is the first word of the subtitle. Suppose you are reviewing a
book whose title on the cover is in capital letters: THE STUFF OF THOUGHT. Beneath, in
smaller capital letters, is the subtitle, LANGUAGE AS A WINDOW INTO HUMAN NATURE. All
sides would agree that the main title should be written, The Stuff of Thought. But depending on
which capitalization policy you choose, the subtitle might be any of the following:

Language As a Window Into Human Nature

Language as a Window Into Human Nature
Language As a Window into Human Nature
Language as a Window into Human Nature

Any title of more than two words can be a challenge. How would you capitalize a title such
as not yet rich? Since the first and last word in any title are always capitalized, the only question
is whether to cap yet. In this case, yet is an adverb, and adverbs are always capped. So make
it Not Yet Rich. Along the same lines, compare the following three sentences: I Got It off the
Internet, Please Put It Off for Today, and I Hit the Off Switch. In the first example, the
preposition off is lowercase. But the word must be capped in the second example because put off,
meaning "to postpone," is a two-word phrasal verb (a verb of two or more words). One-word
verbs, helping verbs, and phrasal verbs are always capitalized. Off is also capped in the third
sentence because the word functions as an adjective in that title, and adjectives are always
capitalized. Although the seven coordinating conjunctions are not capitalized, you may have
noticed there are many more than seven conjunctions in English. Most of these are
called subordinating conjunctions, because they join a subordinate clause to a main clause.
Familiar examples include as, although, before, since, until, when There are three approaches to
capping subordinating conjunctions: capitalize them all, lowercase them all, or capitalize them if
they are words of four letters or more. Take your pick. Capitalizing composition titles is fraught
with gray areas. Pick a policy and be consistent.
Abbreviations are shortened forms of words; acronyms are abbreviations formed by using the
first letter of each word to form a pronounceable word. Contractions are also abbreviations
forrmed by using an apostrophe to show omitted letters or numbers. (Contractions are used only
informal writing.) Use an abbreviation only if its meaning is clear.

Rule #1:When introducing an abbreviation for the first time, place it in parentheses after the
spelled–out term. Thereafter, the abbreviation may be used alone.

Example of Rule #1:

The California State University, Chico (CSUC) graduation ceremony will be held this Saturday.
CSUC will graduate 2,700 students this year.

Rule #2:Abbreviate commonly–known terms.

Examples of Rule #2:

PC, TV, ATM

Rule #3:Abbreviate courtesy titles and personal titles. Abbreviate academic and professional
titles only when they follow a name or when they are used with the full name or initials and the
last name. Use a comma before and after an abbreviation in a sentence, except with the
abbreviations Jr. And Sr.

Examples of Rule #3:

Mr./Ms

Dr.

Professor Soliz

Prof. J.R. Soliz

Nancy Wright, RN, was promoted to head nurse.

Roger Palmer Sr. led the project.

Rule #4:Abbreviations are acceptable for well–known businesses and organizations.

Examples of Rule #4:

FBI
AFL–CIO
CBS

Rule #5:Use the abbreviations BC and AD, without periods, to indicate dates. BC always
follows the year, but AD may follow or precede the year.
Examples of Rule #5:
400 BC
400 AD
AD 400

Rule #6:Abbreviate months and days of the week only when they are part of a full date or in a
chart where space is limited.
Examples of Rule #6:
December 16
Dec. 16, 1963
Monday, December 16
Mon. Dec. 16, 1963

Rule #7:Use abbreviations for clock time. Use capital letters and periods, capital letters and no
periods, or lowercase letters and periods. Just be consistent. DO NOT abbreviate clock time
when no number is attached to the abbreviation.
Examples of Rule #7:
7:30 A.M.
7:30 AM
7:30 a.m.
Correct: The meeting is in the morning.
Incorrect: The meeting is in the a.m.

Rule #8:Use abbreviations, without periods, for time zones.

Examples of Rule #8:
EST
MST
PDT

Rule #9:Measurements should be spelled out, not abbreviated, except in tables and charts.
Examples of Rule #9:
Correct: inches
Incorrect: in.
Correct: miles per hour
Incorrect: mph

Rule #10:The word number may be abbreviated when it is followed by a figure; otherwise,
spell it out.

Examples of Rule #10:

No. 65
The number I want is 65.

Rule #11:Use abbreviations for U.S. state names on envelopes and in the inside address of all
state name in text. Street addresses can either be abbreviated or spelled out in text. When
indicating direction before a street name, spell out North, South, East,and West. However,
compound directions (N.W. or S.W.) after a street name may be abbreviated.
Example of Rule #11:The meeting will be held at 1212 R Street, Sacramento, California.
punctuation and capitalization

Rule #12:Use periods in most abbreviations that contain lowercase letters. Do not use periods
in most professional titles, the names of well–known businesses and organizations, and
acronyms.
Examples of Rule #12:
f.o.b. e.g. p.m.
CPA CLU CFA
snafu (situation normal: all fouled up)
Rule #13:Ehen an abbreviation comes at the end of a sentence, use only one period. However,
place question marks or exclamation marks after the period in the abbreviation.

Examples of Rule #13:

I awoke at 7:15 a.m.
Did you go to work at 8:00 a.m.?

Rule #14:Generally, rules for capitalizing abbreviations follow the rules for capitalizing the
original words.Proper nouns are capitalized in abbreviations; common nouns are not.
Examples of Rule #14:
NAACP
c.o.d.

Rule #15:Use an apostrophe to show when letters of a word have been omitted in a
contraction. DO NOT use the apostrophe when the abbreviation already shows omission of
letters.
Examples of Rule #15:
aren't
cont. (NOT cont 'd)
Attn. (NOT Att'n)
 John Donaldson
8 Sue Circle, Smithtown, CA 08067 - 909-555-5555 - John.donaldson@emailexample.com

September 1, 2018

George Gilhooley
Times Union
87 Delaware Road
Hatfield, CA 08065

Dear Mr. Gilhooley,

I am writing to apply for the programmer position advertised in the Times Union. As
requested, I enclose a completed job application, my certification, my resume and three
references.

The role is very appealing to me, and I believe that my strong technical experience and
education make me a highly competitive candidate for this position. My key strengths
that would support my success in this position include:

 I have successfully designed, developed and supported live-use applications.

 I strive continually for excellence.
 I provide exceptional contributions to customer service for all customers.

With a BS degree in Computer Programming, I have a comprehensive understanding of

the full lifecycle for software development projects. I also have experience in learning
and applying new technologies as appropriate. Please see my resume for additional
information on my experience.

I can be reached anytime via email at john.donaldson@emailexample.com or by cell

phone, 909-555-5555.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you about
this employment opportunity.

Sincerely,

John Donaldson
 MISSION
CARTHEL IS COMMITTED TO
IMPROVE THE INDIVIDUAL
THROUGH QUALITY EDUCATION
AND VALUES FORMATION TO:
1.UPLIFT THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE AND THE COMMUNITY.
2.STRENGTHEN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, TO HIS FELLOWMEN,
AND TO HIMSELF.

VISION

CARTHEL ENVISIONS TO PRODUCE

SELF – DIRECTING GRADUATES
EQUIPPED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE
AND SKILLS GUIDED BY ACCEPTABLE
SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL AND MORAL VALUES.

PHILOSOPHY
EVERY INDIVIDUAL IRRESPECTIVE OF
CREED AND ECONOMIC STATUS HAS
THE RIGHT AND ACCESS TO QUALITY
EDUCATION.
 How My Brother Leon Brought Home A
Wife
(American Colonial Literature)
By Manuel E. Arguilla

She stepped down from the carretela of Ca Celin with a quick, delicate grace.
She was lovely. SHe was tall. She looked up to my brother with a smile, and
her forehead was on a level with his mouth. “You are Baldo," she said and
placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. Her nails were long, but they were
not painted. She was fragrant like a morning when papayas are in bloom.
And a small dimple appeared momently high on her right cheek. "And this is
Labang of whom I have heard so much." She held the wrist of one hand with
the other and looked at Labang, and Labang never stopped chewing his cud.
He swallowed and brought up to his mouth more cud and the sound of his
insides was like a drum. I laid a hand on Labang's massive neck and said to
her: "You may scratch his forehead now."She hesitated and I saw that her eyes
were on the long, curving horns. But she came and touched Labang's forehead
with her long fingers, and Labang never stopped chewing his cud except that
his big eyes half closed. And by and by she was scratching his forehead very
daintily. My brother Leon put down the two trunks on the grassy side of the
road. He paid Ca Celin twice the usual fare from the station to the edge of
Nagrebcan. Then he was standing beside us, and she turned to him eagerly. I
watched Ca Celin, where he stood in front of his horse, and he ran his fingers
through its forelock and could not keep his eyes away from her."Maria---" my
brother Leon said. He did not say Maring. He did not say Mayang. I knew
then that he had always called her Maria and that to us all she would be
Maria; and in my mind I said 'Maria' and it was a beautiful name.
“Yes, Noel."Now where did she get that name? I pondered the matter quietly
to myself, thinking Father might not like it. But it was only the name of my
brother Leon said backward and it sounded much better that way. “°There is
Nagrebcan, Maria," my brother Leon said, gesturing widely toward the
west.She moved close to him and slipped her arm through his. And after a
while she said quietly. "You love Nagrebcan, don't you, Noel?"Ca Celin drove
away hi-yi-ing to his horse loudly. At the bend of the camino real where the
big duhat tree grew, he rattled the handle of his braided rattan whip against
the spokes of the wheel. We stood alone on the roadside. The sun was in our
eyes, for it was dipping into the bright sea. The sky was wide and deep and
very blue above us: but along the saw-tooth rim of the Katayaghan hills to the
southwest flamed huge masses of clouds. Before us the fields swam in a
golden haze through which floated big purple and red and yellow bubbles
when I looked at the sinking sun. Labang's white coat, which I had wshed and
brushed that morning with coconut husk, glistened like beaten cotton under
the lamplight and his horns appeared tipped with fire.

He faced the sun and from his mouth came a call so loud and vibrant that the
earth seemed to tremble underfoot. And far away in the middle of the field a
cow lowed softly in answer.

"Hitch him to the cart, Baldo," my brother Leon said, laughing, and she
laughed with him a big uncertainly, and I saw that he had put his arm around
her shoulders.

"Why does he make that sound?" she asked. "I have never heard the like of it."

"There is not another like it," my brother Leon said. "I have yet to hear another
bull call like Labang. In all the world there is no other bull like him."

She was smiling at him, and I stopped in the act of tying the sinta across
Labang's neck to the opposite end of the yoke, because her teeth were very
white, her eyes were so full of laughter, and there was the small dimple high
up on her right cheek.

"If you continue to talk about him like that, either I shall fall in love with him
or become greatly jealous."

My brother Leon laughed and she laughed and they looked at each other and
it seemed to me there was a world of laughter between them and in them.

I climbed into the cart over the wheel and Labang would have bolted, for he
was always like that, but I kept a firm hold on his rope. He was restless and
would not stand still, so that my brother Leon had to say "Labang" several
times. When he was quiet again, my brother Leon lifted the trunks into the
cart, placing the smaller on top.
She looked down once at her high-heeled shoes, then she gave her left hand to
my brother Leon, placed a foot on the hub of the wheel, and in one breath she
had swung up into the cart. Oh, the fragrance of her. But Labang was fairly
dancing with impatience and it was all I could do to keep him from running
away.

"Give me the rope, Baldo," my brother Leon said. "Maria, sit down on the hay
and hold on to anything." Then he put a foot on the left shaft and that instand
labang leaped forward. My brother Leon laughed as he drew himself up to
the top of the side of the cart and made the slack of the rope hiss above the
back of labang. The wind whistled against my cheeks and the rattling of the
wheels on the pebbly road echoed in my ears.

She sat up straight on the bottom of the cart, legs bent togther to one side, her
skirts spread over them so that only the toes and heels of her shoes were
visible. her eyes were on my brother Leon's back; I saw the wind on her hair.
When Labang slowed down, my brother Leon handed to me the rope. I knelt
on the straw inside the cart and pulled on the rope until Labang was merely
shuffling along, then I made him turn around.

"What is it you have forgotten now, Baldo?" my brother Leon said.

I did not say anything but tickled with my fingers the rump of Labang; and
away we went---back to where I had unhitched and waited for them. The sun
had sunk and down from the wooded sides of the Katayaghan hills shadows
were stealing into the fields. High up overhead the sky burned with many
slow fires.

When I sent Labang down the deep cut that would take us to the dry bed of
the Waig which could be used as a path to our place during the dry season,
my brother Leon laid a hand on my shoulder and said sternly:

"Who told you to drive through the fields tonight?"

His hand was heavy on my shoulder, but I did not look at him or utter a word
until we were on the rocky bottom of the Waig.
"Baldo, you fool, answer me before I lay the rope of Labang on you. Why do
you follow the Wait instead of the camino real?"

His fingers bit into my shoulder.

"Father, he told me to follow the Waig tonight, Manong."

Swiftly, his hand fell away from my shoulder and he reached for the rope of
Labang. Then my brother Leon laughed, and he sat back, and laughing still,
he said:

"And I suppose Father also told you to hitch Labang to the cart and meet us
with him instead of with Castano and the calesa."

Without waiting for me to answer, he turned to her and said, "Maria, why do
you think Father should do that, now?" He laughed and added, "Have you
ever seen so many stars before?"

I looked back and they were sitting side by side, leaning against the trunks,
hands clasped across knees. Seemingly, but a man's height above the tops of
the steep banks of the Wait, hung the stars. But in the deep gorge the shadows
had fallen heavily, and even the white of Labang's coat was merely a dim,
grayish blur. Crickets chirped from their homes in the cracks in the banks. The
thick, unpleasant smell of dangla bushes and cooling sun-heated earth
mingled with the clean, sharp scent of arrais roots exposed to the night air
and of the hay inside the cart.

"Look, Noel, yonder is our star!" Deep surprise and gladness were in her
voice. Very low in the west, almost touching the ragged edge of the bank, was
the star, the biggest and brightest in the sky.

"I have been looking at it," my brother Leon said. "Do you remember how I
would tell you that when you want to see stars you must come to
Nagrebcan?"

"Yes, Noel," she said. "Look at it," she murmured, half to herself. "It is so many
times bigger and brighter than it was at Ermita beach."
"The air here is clean, free of dust and smoke."

"So it is, Noel," she said, drawing a long breath.

"Making fun of me, Maria?"

She laughed then and they laughed together and she took my brother Leon's
hand and put it against her face.

I stopped Labang, climbed down, and lighted the lantern that hung from the
cart between the wheels.

"Good boy, Baldo," my brother Leon said as I climbed back into the cart, and
my heart sant.

Now the shadows took fright and did not crowd so near. Clumps of andadasi
and arrais flashed into view and quickly disappeared as we passed by. Ahead,
the elongated shadow of Labang bobbled up and down and swayed
drunkenly from side to side, for the lantern rocked jerkily with the cart.

"Have we far to go yet, Noel?" she asked.

"Ask Baldo," my brother Leon said, "we have been neglecting him."

"I am asking you, Baldo," she said.

Without looking back, I answered, picking my words slowly:

"Soon we will get out of the Wait and pass into the fields. After the fields is
home---Manong."

"So near already."

I did not say anything more because I did not know what to make of the tone
of her voice as she said her last words. All the laughter seemed to have gone
out of her. I waited for my brother Leon to say something, but he was not
saying anything. Suddenly he broke out into song and the song was 'Sky
Sown with Stars'---the same that he and Father sang when we cut hay in the
fields at night before he went away to study. He must have taught her the
song because she joined him, and her voice flowed into his like a gentle
stream meeting a stronger one. And each time the wheels encountered a big
rock, her voice would catch in her throat, but my brother Leon would sing on,
until, laughing softly, she would join him again.

Then we were climbing out into the fields, and through the spokes of the
wheels the light of the lantern mocked the shadows. Labang quickened his
steps. The jolting became more frequent and painful as we crossed the low
dikes.

"But it is so very wide here," she said. The light of the stars broke and
scattered the darkness so that one could see far on every side, though
indistinctly.

"You miss the houses, and the cars, and the people and the noise, don't you?"
My brother Leon stopped singing.

"Yes, but in a different way. I am glad they are not here."

With difficulty I turned Labang to the left, for he wanted to go straight on. He
was breathing hard, but I knew he was more thirsty than tired. In a little while
we drope up the grassy side onto the camino real.

"---you see," my brother Leon was explaining, "the camino real curves around
the foot of the Katayaghan hills and passes by our house. We drove through
the fields because---but I'll be asking Father as soon as we get home."

"Noel," she said.

"Yes, Maria."

"I am afraid. He may not like me."

"Does that worry you still, Maria?" my brother Leon said. "From the way you
talk, he might be an ogre, for all the world. Except when his leg that was
wounded in the Revolution is troubling him, Father is the mildest-tempered,
gentlest man I know."
We came to the house of Lacay Julian and I spoke to Labang loudly, but
Moning did not come to the window, so I surmised she must be eating with
the rest of her family. And I thought of the food being made ready at home
and my mouth watered. We met the twins, Urong and Celin, and I said
"Hoy!" calling them by name. And they shouted back and asked if my brother
Leon and his wife were with me. And my brother Leon shouted to them and
then told me to make Labang run; their answers were lost in the noise of the
wheels.

I stopped labang on the road before our house and would have gotten down
but my brother Leon took the rope and told me to stay in the cart. He turned
Labang into the open gate and we dashed into our yard. I thought we would
crash into the camachile tree, but my brother Leon reined in Labang in time.
There was light downstairs in the kitchen, and Mother stood in the doorway,
and I could see her smiling shyly. My brother Leon was helping Maria over
the wheel. The first words that fell from his lips after he had kissed Mother's
hand were:

"Father... where is he?"

"He is in his room upstairs," Mother said, her face becoming serious. "His leg
is bothering him again."

I did not hear anything more because I had to go back to the cart to unhitch
Labang. But I hardly tied him under the barn when I heard Father calling me.
I met my brother Leon going to bring up the trunks. As I passed through the
kitchen, there were Mother and my sister Aurelia and Maria and it seemed to
me they were crying, all of them.

There was no light in Father's room. There was no movement. He sat in the
big armchair by the western window, and a star shone directly through it. He
was smoking, but he removed the roll of tobacco from his mouth when he
saw me. He laid it carefully on the windowsill before speaking.

"Did you meet anybody on the way?" he asked.

"No, Father," I said. "Nobody passes through the Waig at night."

He reached for his roll of tobacco and hithced himself up in the chair.

"She is very beautiful, Father."

"Was she afraid of Labang?" My father had not raised his voice, but the room
seemed to resound with it. And again I saw her eyes on the long curving
horns and the arm of my brother Leon around her shoulders.

"No, Father, she was not afraid."

"On the way---"

"She looked at the stars, Father. And Manong Leon sang."

"What did he sing?"

"---Sky Sown with Stars... She sang with him."

He was silent again. I could hear the low voices of Mother and my sister
Aurelia downstairs. There was also the voice of my brother Leon, and I
thought that Father's voice must have been like it when Father was young. He
had laid the roll of tobacco on the windowsill once more. I watched the smoke
waver faintly upward from the lighted end and vanish slowly into the night
outside.

The door opened and my brother Leon and Maria came in.

"Have you watered Labang?" Father spoke to me.

I told him that Labang was resting yet under the barn.

"It is time you watered him, my son," my father said.

I looked at Maria and she was lovely. She was tall. Beside my brother Leon,
she was tall and very still. Then I went out, and in the darkened hall the
fragrance of her was like a morning when papayas are in bloom.
The story started when Leon and his younger brother were both waiting for the arrival of
Leon's wife, Maria, riding in a carretela. As Baldo saw his older brother's wife, he described
her as lovely, tall, and beautiful. He narrated their journey to Nagrebcan, their hometown.
Leon wondered why Baldo drove them to the Waig instead on the Camino Real. Baldo
answered that he drove them to the Waig because their father told him to follow the Waig.
The Waig route served as a test for the wife to see if she could really live in a province which
was very different in a life in a city where she lived. While travelling, Maria described the
place of Leon as clean, and free of dust and smoke. Maria admitted of having some fears if
the father of Leon would not accept her as to be his daughter-in-law because she may not
able to survive the life in the province. When they got home, Leon's family talked to Maria.
Baldo and his father had a conversation about what had happened while they were travelling.
The father asked Baldo if Maria was afraid in their place. Baldo answered that Maria was not
afraid and instead she enjoyed the journey.