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OFW railway engineer explores track to fiction, publishes novel abroad
The journey of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Ariel Delos-Reyes has taken him to many countries as an electrical engineer and railway consultant.
His career track took an unexpected turn, however, when he discovered a passion for writing fiction. His work takes cue from his life as an engineer, and his identity as a Filipino away from his homeland.
Delos-Reyes, 52, has been overseas for more than two decades—he first left for Malaysia, then Saudi Arabia, before moving to England, and finally relocating to the United States for a new job opportunity.
It was in England, however, that his passion and fascination for the railroad industry left a deep mark on his spirit, eventually leading him to publish his first novel, "The Hidden Alignment".
According to Delos-Reyes, "The Hidden Alignment" taps into a storyline that Filipinos may find relatable—especially OFWs who discover parallels between their identities and shared experience back home in the Philippines and the new country they now live in. For this novel, he goes by the pen name, A. Delos-Santos Kings.
Memories of home
Delos-Reyes was born and raised in Mabalacat, Pampanga. He has fond memories of his hometown, including the rice paddies and sugarcane fields that created a sheet of greenery perfect for kite flying.
"Before all the journeys and responsibilities, I was simply a boy who loved warm rains during the monsoon season. I loved flying kites in the open fields and riding my bicycle during long summer afternoons," Delos-Reyes said in an autobiography.
"You take those moments for granted when you are young, never realizing that one day they will become some of the most precious things you carry inside you," he added.
In an interview with GMA News, Delos-Reyes shared how tinkering with radios and televisions at the age of 14 inspired his path toward electrical engineering.
In 1999, Delos-Reyes moved to the UK. He worked as a field engineer in the railroad signaling system. His job back then was to ensure that the signals accurately detected train cars' locations to prevent collisions.
"I started at the very bottom, and I used to repair, like anything broken in the signalling system," Delos-Reyes said.
Moving to America
In the US, eventually in 2011, he continued his journey as a railroad engineer, where he accomplished one of the biggest projects in his career as the youngest and lone engineer of signal construction for the $75-million project of CSX Transportation, a Class I freight railroad.
"I was the engineer of signal construction. So 'yung part ng signalling that was all mine, and 'yung part na civil, merong civil engineer doon," Delos-Reyes said.
During this project, he also had a comical and warm interaction with fellow Filipinos.
"Nakakatawa nga kasi I was in one of the towns while we were doing the project (It's funny because I was in one of the towns while we were doing the project)… I discovered that there was a Filipino restaurant… So I was having lunch, and the owner was talking and some of the Filipinos [were talking, too]. Then they were like, 'Oh, they are building the railroad, they are renewing, and they are putting another track,' and stuff like that. And they asked me if I work there, and I said yes," Delo-Reyes said.
"Then they say, 'We heard that the engineer there was a Filipino.' And I said, 'Yeah, he is.' And they didn't know it was me," he added, laughing.
It was one of the moments when his perception of trains went beyond seeing them as mere transportation. He saw them as tracks that connect people and culture.
Eventually, Delos-Reyes had the opportunity to become an automatic train control superintendent in the Washington Metro. Until he landed his current position as a project manager in an engineering design and consulting company headquartered in Illinois.
From friction to fiction
He found out early on that the life of OFWs has its share of challenges.
"'Yung mga difficulties as an OFW is palagi kang nasa work. Kasi akala siguro ng mga nasa Pilipinas na it's always fun here, kasi 'yung 'pag nag-post ka sa Facebook, laging masaya," Delos-Reyes said.
(One of the struggles of being an OFW is that you are constantly working. People back in the Philippines probably think it's all fun here because whenever you post on Facebook, you always look so happy.)
He brushed off the statement with a laugh and continued speaking: "It's not like that at all."
There were times when he also went through friction along the way.
"2012, 2013, I got divorced, and I went through depression kasi yung, sudden kasi yung pagka-divorce ko (because my divorce was so sudden)," Delos-Reyes said.
He has two children who are already living on their own. Currently, he resides in Richmond, Virginia, together with a dog named Georgie.
"So, it's really lonely here. Like 'yung Christmas or New Year, you don't really feel it. It feels like a normal day. So, you know, that's the thing I miss most in the Philippines, yung kasama yung family (you're with your family)," Delos-Reyes said.
The car as his writing nook
Living alone while going through a rough patch introduced him to writing. It became his outlet while at work, sitting inside a car.
At first, Delos-Reyes shared that his pieces were dark. Eventually the tone of his outputs became lighter after he went through counseling for his depression.
"Wala akong background sa ano talaga writing. I don't know about character development noon… pati 'yung mga characters ko noon… minsan nasa margins [ng papel] para hindi ko malimutan," Delos-Reyes said.
(I didn't have any background in writing at all. I didn't know about character development... my charcters would sometimed be in the margins so I wouldn't forget them.)
"I still miss England, so I was thinking about this story for the railroad… not just the railway but the whole—, the places where I used to live," he added.
From then in 2016, he inked the chapters of his book, "The Hidden Alignment", and finally finished it in 2021 after the pandemic gave him plenty of time for writing.
"In March, I said to myself, this is it. And I'm just gonna share this to the world," Delos-Reyes said.
Finding parallels
"The Hidden Alignment" is a mystery fiction novel set in the British countryside. Published independently, the book is available through online platforms such as Amazon, Apple Books, Google Books, and Barnes & Noble.
The story follows the main character, Nigel Pembroke, an accountant and railway enthusiast, on a journey to uncover clues and hidden patterns left behind by a significant figure from the past.
This journey reveals that what lies beneath the surface of the land might just be an older, deeper system or alignments.
"Railway, if you think of it, it's not just transportation, right? It connects people, years and years ago… It connected communities, and that's where progress started, really," Delos-Reyes said.
Aside from the railway, Delos-Reyes also got inspiration from the towns and landscapes that captured his heart in the UK—parallel to how he loved and valued his homeland in Mabalacat.
For him, places have intrinsic values that everyone must treasure and proactively preserve.
"You have to take care of them, you have to love the land. Kasi 'yung iniisip ko nung nasa UK ako, the land is so beautiful, just like my hometown in Mabalacat. But in Mabalacat, they destroyed it, 'yung ginawa nilang residential area and all that stuff. Pero 'yung sa UK they preserved it… That's the lesson that I want to tell everyone—Take care of it, if it's gone, it's gone, katulad sa Mabalacat," he said.
(You have to take care of them, you have to love the land. When I was in the UK, I thought that the land was so beautiful, just like my hometown in Mabalacat. But in Mabalacat, they destroyed it. They turned lands to residential areas and all that stuff. But in the UK, they preserved it... That's the lesson that I want to tell everyone—Take care of it, if it's gone, it's gone. Just like in Mabalacat.)
Delos-Reyes last visited his hometown in December last year to say goodbye to his mom. From what he saw, vivid childhood memories of the rich land of Mabalacat echoed in his head.
"Dati ang daming halaman… 'yung mga langka, 'yung mga bayabas, 'yung mga avocado, ang dami sa buong neighborhood. Makikita mo yung mga trees, ang dami, tapos 'yung mga chicken," he added.
(There used to be many plants... jackfruit, guava, avocado. All over the neighborhood. You could see many trees, also chickens.)
Driven by his reverence for places and their history, Delos Reyes put fragments of real places in his book, hoping that readers would also be touched by their beauty and significance.
Published at last
Now, Delos-Reyes shared to GMA News that his debut novel has been recognized by a British local paper and magazine, and has been garnering support from readers both in the UK and US.
With this milestone, he said, he hopes to inspire OFWs to continue working towards their dreams.
"Filipinos are the most sought-after OFWs in the world now, right?... We work hard, we're good in tackling challenges so sana 'yung book maging sort of like an inspiration na (hopefully the book will serve as soft of like an inspirtation that) whatever you dream of, you just work towards it and one day you'll get it," Delos-Reyes said.
For Delos-Reyes, being an OFW was never a reason to stop pushing forward, even if his journey began quietly.
When he first moved to the UK, his only goal was simply to live, neither expecting nor searching for anything. Slowly, that quiet act of living allowed him to appreciate the simple trees, the peaceful towns, and the welcoming spirit of the communities, giving him the great inspiration that eventually led to his first book.
According to Delos-Reyes, despite being away from his roots for a long time, the boy from Pampanga remains. The one "listening to the rain, dreaming quietly about the future, never fully realizing how far the tracks of life would eventually carry him." — VDV, GMA News
