Don Victorino Hernandez, a creole secular priest from Manila, has two passions: botany and the total conversion of the native population particularly the Agtas, who in spite of the rigorous undertakings of Spanish colonialism continue to live in the hinterlands, giving them a notorious reputation in the minds of the lowlanders as well as the colonizers.

The night before the lockdown, while reviewing some unused footages from my latest film project (Hinulid), a small box from an anonymous sender arrives. The box contains a Bikol translation of the Tagalog long poem, Ibong Adarna, and an egg.