The Summer Solstice by Nick Joaquin
The following text is provided for academic use only. In case of typographical errors and some missing contents, students are encouraged to look for printed copies which may be available at the University of Antique Library or other libraries, or from other sources. The Moretas were spending St. John’s Day with the children’s grandfather, whose feast day it was. Doña Lupeng awoke feeling faint with the heat, a sound of screaming in her ears. In the dining room the three boys already attired in their holiday suits, were at breakfast, and came crowding around her, talking all at once. “How long you have slept, Mama!” “We thought you were never getting up!” “Do we leave at once, huh? Are we going now?” “Hush, hush I implore you! Now look: your father has a headache, and so have I. So be quiet this instant—or no one goes to Grandfather.” Though it was only seven by the clock the house was already a furnace, the windows dilating with the harsh light and the air