The stones being used for construction
A vast riverbed
Favorite bridge (from there you could see the sea)
I could not take my eyes off the road because I remember passing by that long bridge outside of town numerous times when I was a little girl. We passed by so many bridges and roads that were being constructed. Progress really is creeping into the town of my childhood. The roads are well-paved and they made the travel go smoothly. There were some bumps here and there but our car did not rumble like the time when we drove through Mindoro. We breezed through towns that I used to remember in my head just to see how many we would pass from San Jose to Valderrama. It was a journey I enjoyed until now that I am all grown up. Imagine the joy I felt upon seeing familiar sights and the developments that happened to them. My dad pointed out the town where he used to live as a high school kid. He regaled us with stories of taking off his clothes and jumping into the river with his friends during lunch break. I gawked at a mansion by the side of the road. It was huge and imposing from where we were. My dad told me that it is owned by one of his high school buddies. Some of these friends made it big and back in high school, it didn't look like they will. Amazing isn't it?
Leaving the house with uncombed hair
This stuffed toy traveled so many miles with us
Looking sleepy
We passed by a bridge and the river where my dad and his friends used to swim. My dad told us that they used to swim below the bridge so that the people passing by would not see their naked forms. After swimming, they would dress up, get a transistor radio and listen to a radio broadcaster relate mysteries that abound in the island of Panay. He also pointed out the high school where he and his friends went to in Pangpang. We were chuckling at the image of our dad walking to and from school in his uniform. After a few minutes, I could not enjoy the stories anymore because I wanted to pee. I was controlling myself from going right there in my seat. My brothers were making fun of me and I was screaming in annoyance. We passed by Patnongon with its old school that looked beautiful by the road and Belison, one of my favorite towns. I love it for its beautiful, old trees lining the main road. I was not able to take in the idyllic sights because of my urge to go to the washroom. I was looking at road signs to find out how many kilometers we were away from San Jose. I could only breathe in relief when we got to my uncle's house. My dad parked near the house and out I ran controlling my bladder. The gate was open. It is still the same gate from 20 plus years ago. I called out my uncle's name and saw my aunt near the water pump washing clothes in her Sunday best. She did not recognize me at first. Kit followed right behind me and since she already saw Kit two days ago, she finally realized who I was. My uncle who suffered from a stroke a few years back just looked at me. My aunt had to tell him who I was before he could even take it in. I approached him and took his hand to make mano. I told my aunt that I need to pee. I got to the washroom just in time. I went out and told my aunt that we need to go to the market to buy stuff and we will go back for lunch. We did not want to disappoint her since she was excited to prepare meals for us. On the way to San Jose, my mom got a phone call from her. She asked us if our visit will push through because she will prepare lunch. After going to the washroom, we bade her goodbye with a promise that we will be back for lunch.
I went back inside the car and we drove on to the market in Dalipe where my parents looked for the jeepneys traveling to Valderrama. They had to talk to the driver so we could have them pick up a living room set that we need to bring home. Why? I wrecked one of the wooden seats in the porch when I stood up. My foot almost went through the wood. Am I that heavy?
While waiting for my parents, Kit went out of the car to look around. Gem and I were dying to have a Jollibee meal. We have been eating vegetables and fish for days that we were craving for something bought from a fastfood. San Jose does not have McDonald's yet. We were relying on getting to Jollibee but my dad set his foot down. He told us that Jollibee is too far from my uncle's house and we shouldn't waste time driving there.
Kit arrived carrying three fat ice candies. Short and fat mango and cheese ice candies that we sucked on. They were yummy! We wanted Kit to buy more but my parents came back and we had to move on to the furniture shop. My hands and mouth were sticky from the juice that dripped from the plastic. My brothers teased me because I ate like a kid. I was messy all over. You don't really expect a 26-year-old woman to eat like a little girl. When we got to the town plaza, my parents walked out to look for a furniture shop. I cajoled Gem to get the mineral water bottle and pour water on my hands. He tilted the water bottle a little so I could rinse then poured water all over my arms. I screamed because he spilled water inside the car. After wiping my hands and arms dry, I started tinkering with my phone and sending messages to friends. Kit stood outside in the shade. Gem and I stayed inside the car. It was sweltering hot! Kit was convincing us to stay outside under the trees because it was breezy. Gem and I did not budge. Kit followed my parents and crossed the street. We sat there lamenting our situation and looking around us. Gem saw a computer shop across the street and expressed his desire to go and surf the net. He suddenly grabbed my arm and shouted. There, behind the computer shop was the Jollibee store. We were so excited but nobody wants to venture outside and walk. Kit came back and we bribed him with 100 pesos to buy us food from Jollibee. I gave him 500 pesos with instructions to buy me large French fries. I don't care about the calories anymore. I just want fastfood. It took him a long time to come back with our food. He spent more than 300 pesos for three meals. Why? He said that the Jollibee store there only sold Champ burgers. No Yumburgers. He found it hard to talk to the cashier because he does not speak Kinaray-a. He imitated the girl repeating his orders. Even the manager spoke the dialect. Gem and I laughed at him. The girl told him, "Tatlo ka Coke, tatlo ka fries kag tatlo ka Champ". He just nodded. I teased him mercilessly. Baka naman sinabi lang na wala pang Yumburger. Matagal lutuin. Hindi mo naintindihan. Akala mo wala talagang Yum. He insisted that everyone ordered Champ. Oh well. I munched on my fries and burger. I completely forgot my diet. I haven't eaten burgers for a long time. Nevermind my diet because I was so famished at that time.
It was like an oasis in the middle of the desert
We were done with our food when my parents got back. We gave them the cups of Coke that we were unable to drink. We proceeded to my uncle and aunt's house for lunch. My tummy was set to explode if I ate more food. However, I had no choice but to eat because my aunt cooked chicken, laswa (vegetables) and rice for us. She bought bananas and banana cupcakes for us to eat. I wanted to puke my guts out but I didn't. I appreciate the efforts. They're the only immediate family members from my dad's side that I like. My ninang and some tenants also live with them. It's not a lonely house after all. I just remember it being a little more cheery when I was younger. My aunt told me that a neighbor approached her and asked about the woman who entered the house. Maganda daw ang mukha at katawan. She told him that it was a niece coming to visit. Sayang, hindi ko nakilala. Next time talaga ililibre kita sa Jollibee.
After an hour or two of stories and jokes, we decided to visit Ate Joy and my nephews, Kyle and Troy. I saw Hope, Ate Joy's younger sister getting out of the house and boarding a tricycle. She looks a lot like Ate Joy that I thought she was Ate Joy!
Ate Joy went out of the house to welcome us. Kyle was playing in a neighbor's house while Troy was taking a nap. Ate Joy's dad took one of the motorcycles to pick Kyle up. I gushed at how big and handsome my nephew is. Siyempre guwapo naman kasi talaga si Kuya Warren. He got his Hispanic features from Auntie Pacita. He used to tease me about my ugly-looking nose. It used to be flat but miraculously improved through the years. Ate Joy went to their room to wake Troy up from his nap. She called me to enter the room. Kyle was in an aboy-aboy (that's what they call an improvised hammock in Bisaya). It was a patadyong tied with a sturdy rope and fastened to a metal hook in the ceiling. With Troy's weight, they really have to make it sturdy. He is sooo chubby. He didn't want to leave the airconditioned room. Ate Joy was cajoling him to come and meet my brothers. A cd of nursery rhymes played the entire time he was sleeping and he complained when the music stopped. His lola, Ate Joy's mom told him that the entire cd finished playing. He finally left the room after about 15 minutes. I swear, he walks like a duck. He waddled from the bedroom to the living room. We were so amused at his antics. While Ate Joy was not looking, he bumped into a large vase and I held my breath as I waited for it to drop and break into pieces. It swayed for a few seconds until it stopped. Naughty kid. We spent a long time looking at their photos and leafing through Kyle's yearbook. Auntie Pacita borrowed it to show to my uncle. After saying our goodbyes, Ate Joy followed us to the gate. Troy thought that she will come with us and he started crying. Ate Joy informed me through text that it took a long time for him to cease wailing.
We stopped by another shop so that my parents could buy some stuff before dropping off Auntie Pacita in their house. We bade my uncle and my ninang goodbye. She held my hand as we walked out to the gate. She's wrinkled and old now. It made me realize how time flies fast.
We stopped by one of the two Mercury Drug branches so that my mom could buy medicines for my lolo before filling up the car with gas in a gas station across the street. I went out to pee for the last time before going back to Valderrama. By the time we left San Jose, it was already starting to get dark. We passed by my dad's old school again. He told us that by that time, he would be walking to the bukid to work before going home. Wow! Talk about flexing your muscles at an early age.
We drove slowly once we got to the road and bridges going to Valderrama. I was sitting beside the window as usual looking out when I pointed excitedly at a dark object near a railing leading to a bridge. I thought it was just a plastic bag caught on one of the railings when it ruffled its feathers and opened its wings. I exclaimed in my usual excited, overly annoying voice, " Eagle o!". Gem looked out the window and shouted with glee. I told my parents that we saw an eagle or lawin by the side of the road. Gem and I craned our necks to get a better view but it flew away because we didn't see it anymore.
When we got home, it was already at past seven in the evening. I went up to the room to dump my bag on the bed and went to the porch where my parents were sitting with my Lola Nene. They were talking in hushed voices. My lola asked me what I saw. I told her I saw a huge bird perched on a railing by the side of the road. Where did it go? Did it fly away? Well, it just disappeared. Gem and I could only look at each other in wonder. She told me it was impossible. I realized that I never saw an eagle or a lawin in the province even when I was younger. She told me it was something else. It was the usual thing of the night that people from Manila would always talk about with fright when they hear me say where I came from. She told me it was a creature that would transform at night and would grab at your hair if you leave the car windows open. I shuddered at the thought. I didn't ask her for details because I know what it is. My lola told me that things like that abound in that area. My mom said that when she was younger, a doctor from our town drove through one day in his owner-type jeep and he was found dead in that same spot. The jeep jumped right into a deep ravine located there in the middle of the day. It was lunch time when he died. They still associate that place to the incident and until now, they have no explanation on why his jeep ended up going down. I do not want to know at all.
Walking to our house
In just 15 minutes, we were in Kuya's house by the road. Our house was a stone's throw away. My dad parked the car inside their yard and we walked to our house. It now has a decent toilet not like the last time when I had to take a bath outside covered with a patadyong or tapis. It was okay because nobody was in sight except for some houses dotting the fields. The barrio where Kuya's family lives is a few minute's walk from there. I squinted my eyes to look at the spot where our house used to be. It used to be bigger and was standing beside a stream where people would occasionally walk through. The original farm house however was built on a higher spot from the second location. I was able to go there a few times when my Auntie Analyn climbed a lumboy or duhat tree so we could eat its fruits. My Nanay Mameng pointed out the spot to me and we found a coin stuck on the ground and a few things that were left when they moved.
Tobacco plants in abundance
In the dry riverbed beside the house
We took a few pictures and spoke to the old woman who was looking after the house with her son and two grandsons while my grandfathers were away. Since several robberies occurred in the area, my grandfathers opted to sleep in town leaving the carabao to the old woman and her son. However, my lolo Domingo decided to leave the carabao with Kuya Ray's dad in the barrio where a lot of people live. It was a lot safer that way because the night before, somebody from outside the yard threw a stone into the roof. The old woman turned the lights on to reveal that somebody was inside the dwelling. She wanted to fire a shot from a gun that my lolo left but it has only one bullet and she was scared that they may fire shots into the house and they would have no ammunition to fight back.
Ten years ago, my parents and I stayed in the farm with my grandparents for a week. We enjoyed the tranquility. Every night after eating dinner, we would sit outside and look out into the fields or stare at the starry sky. Once, everything was so quiet and I felt so far away from civilization until a plane passed by noisily. It made me realize that I wasn't out of touch after all. In the afternoon, I would stay inside the house and listen to the drama shows broadcasted in the local radio stations. It bored me to death sometimes, but I was used to it so I didn’t really have a miserable time.
I wanted to sleep at least once in the farm but my parents found it dangerous so we had to go back to town. My lolo asked me if I wanted to take a bath since the water there was abundant. In town, we had to store water because the tap flows only about four times a day. Sometimes only for an hour before it stops so when the water flows, we rush to the bathroom to take our baths.
I wanted to visit the old location of our house but it was scorching hot and a bit far from where the current location is. I could see it from the doorway but could only look at it longingly. I had the best memories there. I used to take a bath in the stream, climb trees, and play in the yard. That's where our pet monkey pulled my hair too. A distant memory that never fails to make me smile and tear up at the same time.
Gem and I with the fields right behind us
We went back to Kuya's house where we sat in the papag they placed in the yard. There were trees lining the yard and the shade made it possible for us not to bake while we were lounging around. I entertained myself by throwing dry leaves into the irrigation canal and watching them float away. My dad asked Kuya Ray to buy alcohol and peanuts in the barrio. Kit rode the motorcycle with him and went back with stories about how huge Kuya's dog was. Much bigger than the one that chased us in Lemery. My dad, Kuya Ray and his dad drunk brandy while Kuya's younger brother climbed up a coconut tree to get coconuts for us. I enjoyed sipping the cool coconut juice that I poured into a small glass while the others engaged in an animated conversation about things that happened in the past. When I felt bored, I went inside the car and read the newspaper that my parents bought in San Jose the day before. After about two hours, we drove back into town for lunch. We had to attend to my lolo Cresencio's needs also. He had to be fed by lunch and given his medication.
Just like a kid
The rest of the afternoon was spent sleeping in our room and texting friends. I felt relaxed and happy all throughout. I missed Augy though because he was sad about my going home. Happy that my prayer was granted but sad because of the distance.