Martines by Anna Felicia Sanchez (Contextual Analysis by Kate Borlasa)
Summary Anna Felicia Sanchez’ short horror story starts with an opening anecdote of Richard Servacio’s father telling a myth of a secret to immortality that “kept the land from drying, from crumbling under the weather of a world that had lost its way along its own axis. With this knowledge, the rest of the land could be saved from drowning in the color of blood, there would be no need for the shadows of things long gone… there would be life…” and so the story continues with Richard and his cousin, Totoy, driving a “grimy” owner-type jeep on the way to an isolated forest – which was once a village – in the jungles of Batangas. Richard, who was a 25-year-old corporate speech trainer suffering from a quarter-life crisis – after being told a “lousy” motivational speaker by his boss for the fifth time. Because of this, he hoped to seek comfort of the countryside view of Batangas and after Totoy promised him that MartinĂ©s – their destination – would change his life forever. But rat