Trading Books

In a humid afternoon, Alfred and Maria brought their books after a long walk. Though, they decided to sit on a bench under the Narra tree. They were bought exhausted as they rested.

Maria stared at her American friend's book as she gave it to him.

" Is that Uncle Tom's Cabin?", she asked curiously.

" Yup, It's the one that I'm trading it to you.", he said and received the book. " So what does "Noli Me Tangere" mean?" , he asked.

" It means "Touch Me Not" in Spanish. It's written by our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.", she answered.

Alfred smiled as he browsed the pages of an English translated Filipino novel. Surely, he was interested to read it.

" I see then. Looks like, Dr. Rizal wrote by heart in this book. So What's the story about?", he said.

" It's about a young man who came home from Europe who witnessed the hardships of my fellow people during the Spanish period. Yes, Rizal did put his experiences in his time.", Maria replied. " So what's yours?"

" Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It's a story about slavery in America. Here you can read mine.", he said as he gave the novel to her. Maria looked intently at the American novel, though she became interested too.

" Well, this is very depressing. That's why Rizal got its inspiration in writing 'Noli Me Tangere'.'', she replied. Alfred was thinking very deeply to his friend's comment. He took minutes to understand about the story.

" Oh, the slaves were seeking for freedom. I got the point then. So he compared the thoughts and events.", he said surprisingly. "Why can we start reading?"

" Of course, We're reading great stories.", Maria said. In this moment, the 2 friends traded and read their novels while they're waiting for the sunset.

Happy Reading America and Philippines!

- My first APH Fanfic -art

Thanks to

US (Alfred F. Jones) - APH/ Hidekazu Himaruya
My Country, The Philippines (Maria Clara Dela Cruz)
Noli Me Tangere by Jose P. Rizal
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe