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Chapter 53: The Drill Sergeant
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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“All right, well, let’s see… in a typical province, you’ll see plenty of green: trees, shrubs, flowers, a paddy field in your own backyard. There, we only had earth that turns to mud come the rainy season. And maybe some basalt pebbles that we gathered from the nearby beach and added to our patio. “Utility poles were few and far between and easily knocked down by typhoons, so huge swathes of land were unlit and most denizens hurried to be home by nightfall. And between kerosene lamps and flashlights, the dark was absolute indeed. Like a sea of ink. Or rather, like the end of the world had come in the form of two conical hats pressed bottom to bottom and brim to brim. I guess that’s why superstitions and folk stories were so persistent. “The hub of life in our village was a solitary mom-and-pop store owned by the wife of a retired merchant seaman. The family had a stainless Willys MB jeep that they hauled supplies on from what was already the nearest and biggest market at ten kilomete
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