By the time Alejandro was two, it became clear that he was unlike other children in the village of Marawi. While most toddlers played without purpose, Alejandro observed everything with a piercing awareness that unsettled adults and fascinated elders alike. He would sit by the edge of Lake Lanao, tracing the patterns of fish and birds, noting the way the wind bent the coconut fronds, and following villagers' movements with uncanny precision.
But what truly set him apart was the memories that flickered in his mind, fragments from a life he had not yet lived. In his visions, he saw soldiers wielding weapons centuries ahead of his era, great cities in flames, and faces of people he had never met. He glimpsed the Philippines in turmoil—wars that claimed countless lives, colonial oppression, and a future weighed down by lost opportunities.
Even as a child, Alejandro felt a burden of responsibility. Though he could not yet articulate the meaning of his visions, they shaped his curiosity and sense of purpose. At night, when the village was quiet, he would whisper to the stars, "I will not let this happen. I will lead. I will protect."
His parents noticed his unusual focus. Rosalia, his mother, watched her son with both awe and concern. "He carries more than a child should," she whispered to Don Emilio. "There is fire in his mind, and it will not be tamed easily." Don Emilio, ever the pragmatist, nodded. "Then we must guide it carefully, for a mind like that can shape destinies—or destroy them."
Even in play, Alejandro's awareness manifested. He began to organize the neighborhood children into mock battalions, assigning roles and positions, anticipating their movements. A simple game of "defend the village" became a miniature war exercise under his direction. Each action, each success or failure, was cataloged in his mind, forming the early framework of strategies that would one day make him a general.
By observing, questioning, and experimenting, Alejandro began to bridge the gap between instinct and intelligence, tradition and innovation. Every bird's flight, every ripple in the lake, every human movement became a lesson, a building block for the future he had glimpsed.
At two years old, Alejandro Navarro was already no ordinary child—he was a boy carrying the mind of a general, the burden of a nation's future, and the seeds of a destiny that would span centuries.