The story is a waking dream, in which the main protagonist, Thomas (Tom) Herman will be carried away in a whirlpool of events that will reveal his true identity...

The arrival Then the heat hit him like an inescapable steamy landslide. Thick, heavy and sweltering. He had to gasp. 'Oh my! Oh my!' he exclaimed, choking, as it dawned on him that this would be his world from then on. The smell of hot humid air, as if he were stepping into a sauna bath, suffocated him. He could feel the film of moisture spreading over his back snake-like, soaking his shirt, enfolding his body. Feeling dizzy after eighteen hours in the cold air-conditioned atmosphere of the cabin he walked out of the plane into that shockingly new reality. That peculiar smell wouldn't leave thenceforth. In time he would get used to it. He had to steady himself. The first people he saw were soldiers, armed to the teeth and edgy in the gangway, swarming all over the airport in fact. It was just a few days after the assassination. The opposition leader back from his political exile shot point blank on the tarmac. Martial law, unrest, arrests and curfew. Not the best of times to come. But then he hadn't really had a choice. Or had he? Anyway there was no turning back now. The in-flight film: Apocalypse Now, didn't help to cheer him up....

Contents 1. The arrival 2. The old fort, Tom meets Ishmael 3. At the harbor 4. At the pawnshop 5. Upstream in the mangal 6. Mangal 7. Tom meets his father 8. They sail out to Palawasi. 9. The attack 10. The blast 11. The storm 12 Muddy waters 13. Tom's musings 14. Free-diving 15. Jun's story 16. Yellow Sony walkman 17. Dream of sperm whales 18. The rescue 19. Jun leaves on the Ymob Kid 20. Maya 21. The blue hole 22. Blind cigarette vendor 23. They are married 24 Mohal Bohal 25. About the author ...

“There are certain moments in an individual's life that makes them pause for a while and fall in a deep lost thought of sorting through their memories and picking out what they can assert as the “best day of their lives”. As same as everybody else, I too had quite a few good ones that I can decently share with people that I know of but the most memorable thought that I will never forget is during the time that I was in the company of a woman. Now, I know that most of you will instantly make adequate assumptions in knowing how this story ends and I guess you already know how it does, but the interesting part of it was that I never planned that it would ever happen to me on that day. It all started on a rainy October morning. I just woke up from bed still feeling a bit edgy from drinking with a few friends the night before and was glad that it was a Saturday...”...

"She began to smile as though the room was lit bright by her radiance and overtook the darkness that occupied the whole place! By now our hands were touching each other and intimately caressing, I on my part was slowly running the back of my hand to where a portion of the skin of her arm was showing. Lightly touching it with gentle strokes as though I was trying to feel its silky texture and was longing for more. I could see that she was not annoyed nor intimidated by my pleasurable advances but I had to find out for sure if what I was anticipating was sure to come naturally. I started to snug up nearer to where she was sitting and eventually touching her knees with mine. I was already feeling the adrenaline pumping in my heart as if it was slowly taking over my whole body in deciding what I should do next. At this point I was already caressing the hair on her shoulder as I playfully twirled my fingers on her locks..." ...

Introduction........................................................................Page 3 Chapter I: “Sad Memories of a Lost Love on a Rainy Day”......Page 4 Chapter II: “Rainy Afternoon Party”......................................Page 6 Chapter III: “Sandra”...........................................................Page 9 Chapter IV: “Lost on Introductions”.....................................Page 11 Chapter V: “Porch Talk”.......................................................Page 13 Chapter VI: “Life According to Sandra”................................Page 15 Chapter VII: “Kitchen Floor Drama”......................................Page 17 Chapter VIII: “Sharing the Night Together”...........................Page 20 Chapter IX: “Orange was the Dress She Wore”.....................Page 23 Chapter X: “Man Down”.......................................................Page 27 Chapter XI: “Different Strokes”............................................Page 30 Chapter XII: “Girl Down”......................................................Page 33 Chapter XIII: “Through the Gates of Paradise”...............