Part 3: A Second Chance
Roger stood quietly by the fence for a long time.
The pigs moved freely across the mountain, searching for food in the grass and soil. They had grown stronger, almost wild, adapting perfectly to their environment.
Mang Tino estimated there were at least 50 or 60 pigs—maybe more.
Roger couldn’t believe it.
In the city, pork prices had risen dramatically in recent years due to the swine fever outbreak. Even a small herd like this could be worth a significant amount of money.
But for Roger, it meant something more important.
A second chance.
“Mang Tino,” he finally said, “is the land still available?”
The old man laughed softly.
“It was always yours—as long as you paid the rent.”
Roger smiled for the first time in years.
“Then I want to come back.”
He took out his phone and called Marites.
“Did you reach the mountain?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“And what happened?”
Roger looked at the herd again.
“You’re not going to believe this… our pigs are still alive.”
Silence filled the line.
“Not just alive,” Roger added with a smile.
“They multiplied.”
Marites gasped.
“How many?”
“Maybe sixty… maybe more.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Roger said quietly:
“I think we should start again.”
Marites surprised him with her answer.
“I never stopped believing that mountain was special.”
As the sun began to set behind the hills, painting the sky orange, Roger looked across the land that had survived without him.
Just then, Mang Tino mentioned something else.
A large company had recently shown interest in buying land in the area to build a massive modern pig farm.
Roger asked the name of the company.
When Mang Tino said it, Roger slowly smiled.
It was the same company that had rejected his farming proposal five years earlier, claiming his idea was “too small to succeed.”
Roger looked at the pigs, the mountain, and the land that had quietly grown stronger over time.
Then he said calmly:
“Well… it seems I arrived here before them.”
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