Tuos

In a small village, located deep within the mountains of Antique, lives ELENA,55. Elena is no ordinary woman, she is the village's "Binukot" - a "kept maiden", meaning she was chosen as the fairest amongst the women in her village and as such was confined inside her house, never being allowed to go outside, or work the fields; and because she is respected and revered, her face is always covered with a veil. She is also the one chosen to keep the oral tradition alive, memorizing the chants and performing it during special occasions. But as the world progresses into the modern age-- the age of the epics she chants about, even the very existence of the "binukot", slowly deteriorates. No one wants to be "chosen" anymore, least of all LETTY, 15; Elena's young grand daughter. Letty wanted to live her life, go out, learn new things and fall in love. All of which Elena disapproves of because for Elena, Letty does not have a choice in the matter, just as she never had a choice when she was chosen. However, as Letty falls in love with a young man and threatens the sanctity of the "tuos", (the pact made between the supernatural deities and their village) putting Letty in danger, Elena realized that she cannot just stand aside. And as she fights for Letty's right to live her own life, Elena finds herself coming face to face, literally, with the ghosts of a tradition which shackled her into a life of solitary confinement.
　　- Written by Roderick Cabrido