Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;it hastens to the end—it will not lie.If it seems slow, wait for it;it will surely come; it will not delay.
After many years, we finally had a visit to our relatives in Nueva Ecija. As far as I remembered, ever since I started working as a teacher we never visited the place as a family. It might have been 11 years since my last visit. It appeared that we had an extra budget this year so visiting the province was made possible. Praise God! <3 It would be nice to do this every year, I thought.
We stayed at our relatives' house for 3 days and 2 nights. We were provided with delicious and native food during our stay. Adobong manok, ginataang manok, tinumis and binagoongang karne were my favorites. The meat was all fresh from the pen, we ate native chickens! There was quite a difference in the taste compared to the 45-day chicken we usually bought at the market in a city. Native chicken meat absorbs flavors better and richer.
I also missed the espasol my sister and I used to eat whenever we went to Nueva Ecija during school vacation when we were just kids. I was delighted when my father bought a tub of espasol and kalamay. Espasol is the best, not too sweet, just perfect, and the texture is chewy not too soft or hard, just perfect as well. Perfect score for the superb espasol!
We also had a chance to drop by at Farm Villaronte at San Antonio, Nueva Ecija. The place reminded me of the Sirao Flower Garden of Cebu. There was an entrance fee of 50 pesos per person. We were supposed to visit the ancestral houses at Gapan City, the newest and latest attraction in town, but that did not happen because we were always sleepy early at night and I preferred to sleep. haha We will and should visit it next time.
There were different kinds of flowers but Zinnia got me the most. They were everywhere even our relatives had those flowers in their backyard. I wanted to ask my father to bring at least one plant of daisies, but we were pretty cramped up in the vehicle so I decided not to push through with my wants. Maybe next time. I must say that Farm Villaonte is a nice venue for a prenup, hehe, a good recommendation for those who plan to get married and have something like a prenup photoshoot.
Beauty and wit are noticeable concepts at Farm Villaronte, perfect for people who are fond of posting Instagrammable pictures. We felt like we traveled to some famous places in the world, and encountered replicas of a few iconic and historical items. There were also some funny memes in the area, haha, one is a swing for the singles which I didn't even attempt to sit on. haha
Lovely Zinnias <3 I am in love with God's creation, bless your eyes with these picturesque photos of flower power! haha To be honest, I thought they were Daisies and I was wrong. They are actually Zinnias, thanks to Bixby Vision I double-checked the name of the flower before publishing this blog entry. haha
Paying a visit to our relatives in the province was a bit nerve-wracking on our part except for my father. The last time we went there was a misunderstanding among adults. Time healed everyone and God's timing made it all possible. My father so wanted to come and see his brothers and sisters and cousins and friends. He was excited and couldn't hide it, just how the song said it. He missed them and the home he used to live in. It was just sad that a cousin of ours passed away during this festive season that urged us to push through going to Nueva Ecija. All went well for good by God's grace, and we ate the best ulam during our short stay.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
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| The Windmill Lausanne, Tagaytay Photo Credit to Mitch E. |
Sunset signals the end of the day. It is breathtaking scenery when the sun bids goodbye to the naked eye of every human being. The sun seems to never get tired of showing up in the morning and bidding goodbye in the afternoon. Is it contented with what it does every single day? Does it ever get bored with its routine?
The sun only rises and sets.
Some people may have wanted to say goodbye permanently, unlike the sun who keeps on showing up to everyone every morning. These people want to permanently stop showing up to people who may have cared for them or not.
No one, not even a single human being, asks the sun to rise and set. It is just simply doing its purpose that is embedded in the deepest part of its core. It knows its purpose and it does what needs to be done.
The sun does not care about the complaints of human beings when it is too hot or too bright as long as it does its job. It focuses on its work and emits the light that is delivered to planet earth for the living things. It is doing exactly what it is made to do.
There might be less drama if humans work their purpose the way the sun does. Rise. Set. But it is fact that a human being is a very complex kind of creature. The human race is a complicated being.
It cannot be denied that they are made in the perfect image of the Creator, the masterpiece of His powerful and wonderful hands. He spoke life and the first human was created. He saw the sadness in the human so He gave him a partner. The first human, Adam, is in charge of everything that was created on earth before him. The Creator may have also witnessed tiredness on his face that is why He created a co-steward for all His creations. The second human, Eve, is a partner to co-manage all of the things entrusted to them.
The complexity inflated when the monumental and wretched encounter occurred in the garden of Eden. A great separation complicates the situation, specifically the relationship, connection, and fellowship humans have with the Creator. The purpose got blurry and confusion was engraved in every human heart. Human's will versus God's will has been going on since immemorial time. The birth of sinful human nature brought destruction to the alignment of will between the Creator and creation.
The existence of a relationship in the face of the earth began between the first human and God. Though the relationship is currently severed which is a big problem for everyone, He extended His grace and gave everyone the only solution, the only One: the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
Patch up things with God only through Jesus! Find the purpose in Him.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
He owns everything. Not a single thing is our own. We are merely stewards of God's creation. We are to serve Him. Even the life we have is His, and He wants us to make the most out of it. Our beloved family here on earth is also from Him. He owns them.
My father had shown his support to my mother during those moments of weakness. I knew so well that he was not like that in the past. He did change and it was a very long process. He cooked for us because my mother couldn't, using our tricycle he was the runner, and sometimes he was the dishwasher when it was not my turn. We were able to keep it together all by God's grace. And what he is now is only possible through God's power. I could not help but share this with you and praise Him with all my heart. We are very far from being a perfect family, and I doubt there is such a thing as a perfect family since a family is composed of imperfect human beings, but I grew to appreciate the kind of family I have. God gave them to me and they are exactly who I need in living a purposeful life here on earth.
Before I forgot to mention, my sister also helped in doing some laundry, and overcoming those seemingly unending weeks of struggle was a challenge for all of us.
I realized a lot of things in life during those times of trouble and I resolved to be a better daughter to my parents, to enjoy my time with them and serve, care, and love them the best I can through Him who strengthens me. I am still not the perfect daughter, but I am glad that God put a desire in my heart to honor and respect my parents in His perfect ways. I am also reminded that in times of trouble we can still remain hopeful, the true hope that is only found in Jesus Christ.
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I wondered why God does not yet answer my prayers. I was questioning His silence. A conviction to ask the fellow believers with me weighed on me. I was hesitant to share my struggles with my sisters in Christ I thought I would be a burden to them and I did want that. My pride and hate held me back, and God does not want a proud and hateful child. He wants us to be loving, humble, and dependent on Him. He knows how far we can endure.
When she could not take it any longer, my mother asked and insisted we bring her to a doctor for a check-up since over-the-counter medicines were not helping her to ease her suffering. We went to different doctors, but it was already late in the afternoon, and it seemed like no one was willing to take in a patient who have symptoms similar to my mother suffered with. We were frustrated and filled with uncertainties. A hospital has only the capacity to entertain patients with CoVid symptoms.
My mother was swabbed test and we waited a few minutes for the result outside the hospital. We were not allowed to enter and we also did not want to. We were feeling agitated and my hate towards my sister grew bigger. I was browsing my social media account just to have a little diversion from the predicament we were all facing when I came across one of my sister's shared posts on one of her social media accounts about something funny. I was furious that she did not even care that's why I reacted with an angry emoticon on her posts. I knew it was childish but I had to vent out my disappointment towards her. But I retracted the angry emoticon later on when I surrendered the anger and disappointment.
The result was negative. Praise God! I thanked and prayed to Him. She was also advised to be x-rayed and the film showed that she had phlegms in her lungs which was still alarming. The doctor prescribed her some medicines for her fever and dry cough.
On the second day of taking her medicine, my mother was dissatisfied with the effect of the medicines. She still had difficulty with her coughing and felt like she could not breathe properly. She borrowed a nebulizer from her sister who was also my aunt and thanks to God, my very own sister assisted our mother in operating the nebulizer.
But my mother was far from being okay after the check-up and taking all those medicines. She did not feel any better. I was sad and hope seemed to be losing my grip. I held on to the promises of God.
During one of our DGroup meetings and of the days of the online True Life Retreat 2021, I had the opportunity to tell my predicament in a conversation/Bible study with fellow believers. They were compassionate and very willing to pray with me as my family went through health problems at the time of the pandemic. I was humbled and grateful for God's answer when He said 'yes to all of our prayers.
To be continued...
A sad news is never a good news. It is heartbreaking and tear-jerking news to receive early in the morning, and processing it entails wisdom, prayer, and surrendering to the LORD.
It is a truth that everyone will die. Each of us has a time destined to meet with our Creator, and also when and how He planned it to happen. But no matter how much truths are there in death, we as humans are not exempted from the fear and anxiety that comes with it.
These past few weeks have been filled with anxiety at home. We were all sick and have similar symptoms of CoVid. We had colds, coughs, lack of appetite, and everything we ate was tasteless. My mother had it the worst. She was weak and could no longer do the things she used to do at home during those moments. It was very hard for me to see her eating so little and being so weak that she ended up laying on the bed. My father and I tried our best to function at home and did the household chores my mother used to do for us. The whole situation took a toll on me that there were times that I just cried while looking at my mother, during webinars, or while doing paperwork. I even got angry at my sister because she acted like she did not care at all about the whole situation we were in as if we were not part of her life.
We tried taking over-the-counter medicines like paracetamol and expectorant, and multivitamins. They worked for me and my father, but not for my mother. Her fever and the persistent cough kept on pestering her for days. She could not even eat properly to nourish her body and give her strength.
My father was hesitant to bring my mother to the hospital due to the pandemic. We have this notion that if someone has symptoms similar to the CoVid there is a big chance to be admitted to the hospital and stay quarantined away from us. Hospital expenses are one thing to be concerned about, but I was more afraid that my mother had to stay in a hospital where nothing was certain and she was not with us. I was praying to God to heal my mother and never to go to a hospital, but He stayed silent and I never ceased praying and crying out to Him.
To be continued...
It is harvest time! At last, the time has finally come that I get to reap some fruits of our humble Calamansi Tree. I have been eyeing those little round green fruits for quite some time, maybe months. I thought I would never see our Calamansi tree bearing fruits again. Thoughts like it were just a one-time fruit-bearing tree flooded my mind, and that discouraged me from hoping I would ever see a single fruit in that little tree.
We bought the Calamansi tree from my mother's churchmate. Though I planned to gain a tree by planting seeds and that did not push through. Instead, we decided to grab the opportunity of buying a grown-up tree.
I was fascinated with the fruits it already had upon getting the plant and hopeful for a fruitful future for the Calamansi tree. There were only a few fruits when we acquired the tree, not more than 7 fruits I guess. After harvesting the initial fruits of the newly bought plant, months passed yet it did not show any sign of bearing fruits. I didn't see flowers. I kept on telling my concerns to my mother and father from time to time and the usual response I got was that it was not yet its season. I understood it but that didn't stop me from asking them when it was going to be its season. I was getting impatient which was not a good sign.
Days, weeks, and months passed by and I completely discarded my issue with the Calamansi tree, I got busy with other important things.
One time at school, I heard my colleagues discussing plants since it has been a trend during this time of the pandemic. Plantita and Plantito have been all over the places and the trend also gave opportunities for some to start a small business by selling plants.
I acquired some useful tips from their discussion about fertilizers. I am for organic fertilizers. One of my colleagues mentioned that she used tea as fertilizer. I thought that was perfect since we have and usually drink tea at home.
At home, I gathered all the used tea in a mesh I kept in the refrigerator and went upstairs where our plants are located. I was so oblivious as I confidently sowed the teabag on the soil. That was an easy job I thought.
But I did wrong. I realized that one time when my colleagues were having a small talk again about plants. Well, it had been a consistent topic among them for quite some time. I was supposed to remove the mesh and let the ground leaves dry. I should have not just throw them on the soil. I learned my lesson and removed the mesh when I got the chance to do it at home.
If my schedule permitted me, I watered the plants every morning, trimmed dried leaves or stems, and whispered some encouraging words to them, especially the Calamansi tree since I was looking forward to getting the fruits.
Before March ended, I did not miss the opportunity to harvest the fruits of the Calamansi tree with joy and excitement. I only picked the ones that I thought were ready for this season.
I also learned another lesson from my father, he was happy when he saw the harvested fruits, yet he noticed that I cut some fresh sprout leaves which could have been another set of fruits for the next season. There are still some fruits left to ripe and grow a little bigger and rounder, so next time that it's their season to be harvested I'll be careful not to pluck any potential fruit-bearing leaves and stems. In total, we got almost a quarter of 1 kilogram. Not bad.
What I realized from this experience is that waiting isn't such a bad idea if done properly. Waiting isn't doing nothing. Waiting requires patient. And patient is long-suffering while you wait expectantly with joy, hope, and faith that everything will work together for good for those who love Him. Your waiting season is never wasted, so keep on moving towards Him.
The feeling of being not enough as a teacher is more intense now during the pandemic when modular and online distance learning is being implemented where a face-to-face class is not recommended. I am an adviser again for the school year 2020 to 2021 after two or three years of having none. I have 53 students and the last time I counted them, there are 7 students who do not want to continue schooling. The decision came from the students themselves or from their parents via phone calls I made with them or through the Messenger application.
The desire not to push through with their studies is a saddening reality I can relate to. In my adolescent years when everything confused and overwhelmed me was a time in my life when I kept telling to my parents that I no longer wanted to go to school or I desired to get out of the educational system and felt like it was not helping me or even not good to my humanity and sanity. There were a lot of fears going on inside me. The fear of facing my classmates and teachers or in anyone in that place or more like I just wanted to stay at home, buried myself in front of our secondhand and defective television, and watched anime. Sitting in front of the telly was actually my sanctuary, it was from the anime I watched I got comfort and satisfaction.
I was an honor student during my elementary days and it was a shock of my life when I realized that I could no longer keep up with the performances of my classmates, they appeared more confident than I was. The way they answered in the recitation I just could not match them. They were multi-talented: dancing, acting, singing, name it they knew it. As for myself, I was just a girl who hid and suppressed feelings: the positive and negative, the anger and pain I struggled with. I was just too proud to show them all even at such a young age. Probably, because at home we were not properly encouraged to express our emotions. I grew timider than I already was. I lost interest in my studies.
I used to blame my parents for my difficulties in expressing my emotions, but it is no longer the situation now after 15 years. Instead, I feel thankful towards them, despite their own struggle and challenges faced during those times they were able to never let go of me, never got tired of my tantrums, never held back to provide my needs the best way they could. I am most thankful for them teaching me about and believing in God and also for saying 'no' firmly when I cried and begged them that I wanted to stop schooling and I no longer desire to pursue an education.
Gratefulness is what I have towards my parents. They have never been perfect parents, but I am pretty sure that God gave them to me for they are the parents I need as I live my life here on earth. And as for my students, I still contact them from time to time. Aside from those 7 students, I think half of my class is not regularly submitting their outputs this second quarter, and it is such a letdown. Modules and tablets are provided, and I follow up on them from time to time, but I am positive that there are other reasons behind this situation. They may be having difficulties which are evident with the kind of setup we have right now. They maybe hating school, their teachers, classmates, parents, or even themselves, but I hope they do not give up on their education. It seems not easy right now, yet I know that their hard work will be rewarded. They may not receive the reward immediately, it may take years, decades, centuries, maybe even when we no longer dwell in the physical world.
But I would like to tell them this: Please believe in this child, you are where you are supposed to be. So don't give up on your education. Time will pass and before you knew it you already graduated and reminiscing the silly things you did. I will always be praying for you, sweet child of God.
There is a season for everything. There is a reason for everything. And all things happen for a purpose.
Before the day ends, she wonders if her life has any purpose, if she is living the life meaningful. She almost cries tonight with a thought of self-pity and insecurities of growing old alone and lonely. She does not want to blame others, it is her choice not to be in a relationship, and to wait patiently for God's best.
Sometimes she has wild thoughts and plans to make "walwal", to get drunk and run wild. She has this worldly idea that maybe just like others, she needs to go with the flow of this temporal world, to conform to ways of the world, so she can finally find the one.
Sometimes she wonders why people obsessed with being married and having children. Like it is the ultimate goal of life. Like it is a demise if someone would end up alone, unmarried, and without children or even a child.
"You complete me." How much she wishes to say those words to the one. But is it right to tell that to the other person? He might feel the burden and end up destroying her instead of completing her. Remember that humans are limited. The limitations sometimes prevent them to do what they want when they want. Sometimes the things they do not want to do, they do.
Humans are strange creatures, weird even, but they are beautiful. Created in the image of God, they are more than just a replica, they have Spirit, free will, and a purpose. They are not just for display. They live for a reason in every season.
She feels uneasy, though she knows the truth. The truth about her identity. She is more than just a girlfriend material or a wife material or a mother material. She is so much more than the label society gives to clueless human beings. She knows her identity and it is in Christ, a child of God. Forgiven. Saved. Adopted.
The world will never stop telling her lies about her identity. There are times she would believe them, but there are also times she steps on and crushes them under her feet. A victor against the lies of the enemy.
It gets melancholic sometimes yet she knows it is just temporary, that all things shall pass. The joy and the pain in the waiting season will surely come to pass and catapult her to the plans God has for her.
She is getting sleepy from all these thoughts inside her mind. She is an intelligent woman and always seeks Wisdom from God. Life will be good to her, as she journeys and becomes a woman of God, a woman of value, a woman of faith.
Tomorrow will take care of itself. She sleeps safe and sound holding firmly the truth in her heart.
"Life is good because He is good." She thought to herself as she let sleep dwell on her.
To be continued...
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt asked the lady cashier if F. Sionil Jose's books were all on sale. Her fascination with Jose's book urged her to buy his other works to complete The Rosales Saga novel series where The Pretenders belong to. So she went back to the bookshelf in one of the parallel bookshelves. As she returned to the counter to check the discounted price of F. Sionil Jose's book, she decided to double-check the official receipt from the lady cashier, and upon careful scrutiny, she noticed that one of the books she already paid for was scanned at its regular price of 475 pesos, that got the shock out of her. She thought she had the advantage, but it turned out that she was at the disadvantage.
She was cool about the mistake and thought that she still had a change. The lady cashier was a little panicky and apologetic as she tried to come with a solution for overcharging her customer. The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt was looking forward to the change, but it turned out that payment through debit or credit card was difficult to retrieve for some accounting reason, the accountant would be able to explain. Surprisingly, she was still calmed about the predicament of not getting back her excess payment.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt waited for some moments for her concern to be resolved. She observed patiently as the lady cashier called for a back-up. Help came from another lady who appeared to be a store manager. She suggested that additional purchase could fix the problem, that the lady in a pink t-shirt would have to add books or other items from the book store to compensate her excess payment, and supposedly her change to be.
She did not want to cause trouble or inconvenience on the part of the lady cashier and store manager. Willingly, she accepted the suggested solution. She went back and forth from the counter to the shelves and vice versa in search of a book or books that would be equal to the change she was supposed to get. In finality, she went for 2 books from F. Sionil Jose and 2 refills of Dong-A color green sign pen for NBS to compensate for her unreturnable excess payment.
It was not a pleasant experience, more so the lady in a pink t-shirt and a knee-length maong skirt was surprised at herself for not losing her temper even though it took her long and 4 trips of back and forth from counter to bookshelves and bookshelves to counter just to find the right items to remunerate her overcharge payment. It was also getting late and she badly wanted to go home, but she was not overcome by annoyance or impatience toward the cashier or the situation and circumstance she was under.
When she was asked to fill out a small paper survey form, she gladly answered the needed information. It was a return and exchange survey form, she was not sure of some of the details needed in the form and for the assistance of the lady cashier. She got a response from the staff that they would be the ones to take care of it and submitted the form right away.
Everything did not go smoothly at NBS, yet she was satisfied with how the inconvenience turned into satisfaction. All by God's grace. The lesson learned is always to double-check your receipt before leaving the store, ask the cashier if the books you want to buy for so long are on sale because sometimes they miss putting a new price or sale tag, if possible be patient with everyone, and lastly, always be ready for the surprises in your life.
She was cool about the mistake and thought that she still had a change. The lady cashier was a little panicky and apologetic as she tried to come with a solution for overcharging her customer. The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt was looking forward to the change, but it turned out that payment through debit or credit card was difficult to retrieve for some accounting reason, the accountant would be able to explain. Surprisingly, she was still calmed about the predicament of not getting back her excess payment.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt waited for some moments for her concern to be resolved. She observed patiently as the lady cashier called for a back-up. Help came from another lady who appeared to be a store manager. She suggested that additional purchase could fix the problem, that the lady in a pink t-shirt would have to add books or other items from the book store to compensate her excess payment, and supposedly her change to be.
She did not want to cause trouble or inconvenience on the part of the lady cashier and store manager. Willingly, she accepted the suggested solution. She went back and forth from the counter to the shelves and vice versa in search of a book or books that would be equal to the change she was supposed to get. In finality, she went for 2 books from F. Sionil Jose and 2 refills of Dong-A color green sign pen for NBS to compensate for her unreturnable excess payment.
It was not a pleasant experience, more so the lady in a pink t-shirt and a knee-length maong skirt was surprised at herself for not losing her temper even though it took her long and 4 trips of back and forth from counter to bookshelves and bookshelves to counter just to find the right items to remunerate her overcharge payment. It was also getting late and she badly wanted to go home, but she was not overcome by annoyance or impatience toward the cashier or the situation and circumstance she was under.
When she was asked to fill out a small paper survey form, she gladly answered the needed information. It was a return and exchange survey form, she was not sure of some of the details needed in the form and for the assistance of the lady cashier. She got a response from the staff that they would be the ones to take care of it and submitted the form right away.
Everything did not go smoothly at NBS, yet she was satisfied with how the inconvenience turned into satisfaction. All by God's grace. The lesson learned is always to double-check your receipt before leaving the store, ask the cashier if the books you want to buy for so long are on sale because sometimes they miss putting a new price or sale tag, if possible be patient with everyone, and lastly, always be ready for the surprises in your life.
This past week I participated in a week-long prayer and fasting. It is the third time I joined this prayer and fasting in the church I am attending since November 2019. This week-long event is held twice a year among the church members. For the first two times I participated in prayer and fasting with the church, I fasted with my social media and online browsing, but this time I chose partial fasting where I fasted one meal, originally I intended to two meals and I was successful on the first day, but for the days that allowed I decided to have it as one meal since work and other activities demanded that I ate at least two meals a day. I felt like a failure, so I prayed to God for forgiveness and understanding of my iniquities.
When I was young the only knowledge I had about fasting was people do this during Holy Week. In my young and ignorant mind, I tried to participate with the intention of pleasing God in my own little ways. I remembered that I even tried not to eat meat or any food that has meat during those days even though it was the only viand I would like to eat with rice back then, I did not want to eat fish and vegetables. I guess you could that I always failed. There was an idea implanted in me that meat is dirty and it pollutes and corrupts our body if eaten during Holy Week. I was young and with limited and confusing knowledge about faith and God. And It thought prayer was just a one-way communication with God, so I could tell Him my wants and needs.
Prayer and Fasting are spiritual disciplines we need and must practice in developing a personal and intimate relationship with God. That's how I see them.
Prayer has been my constant means of talking to God since I have come to know and experience Him on a personal level. There are moments that I cry while remembering His mercy and grace in my life, how His redemptive power gives hope and joy in my once bitter and angry life. God also answers in our prayer, though they are not verbal and some are not given right away, still, there is something miraculous in the way God responds in our prayer and sometimes it is really hard to explain, that it seems like it is beyond human comprehension. Christians coined it as Spirit-filled prayer for us to live a Spirit-filled life.
Here are definite answers I got from the booklet provided by the church about prayer and fasting:
This is the suggested pattern of prayer found in the booklet:
Every day there is an assigned Scripture for what we prayed for and I got to journal my thoughts on the soft copy of the booklet through the Write on PDF app on my android phone.
All by God's grace, I was able to attend and participate in the Prayer and Fasting week. We were reminded that prayer and fasting as a church or as an individual were not just one or two times event in a year, it could be a once-in-a-week routine, depending on your chosen day, and it was also suggested that it could be on Friday. I still have a long way to go and a lot to improve in the areas of spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting, and I praise God for guiding me and providing opportunities to be closer to Him, and as He always does, staying close to me. By His grace, may we always turn to Him in prayer, whether in joy or in pain. God bless our brave hearts!
After pondering for quite some time which book to get, she finally picked two hard bounds and one soft bound of contemporary fiction and hid them at the bottom shelf. She noted to buy them if her budget would permit them to be bought.
Only a few steps from that unpopulated corner, she made her way to the more exposed bookshelves which held more of the popular book category. It catered a bit more pricey books compared to what could be found in the corner where she just left off. There were paralleled shelves with a little space in between enough for just one person. Regardless of the book price in that area, she browsed with expectancy hoping to find books with sufficient discounts that would allow her to buy the books. A book by F. Sionil Jose always got her attention whenever she went to that area of the book store. She had an unusual fascination with classic Filipino authors ever since she came to realize that reading Filipino books was not a bad choice for her next reading escapade. That books written by classic Filipino authors were worth reading for.
She chose The Pretenders by F. Sionil Jose as her first book from his works. The title intrigued her and she wanted to know the pretenders in the story. But, that would take some time for her to discover the answers to her curiosity, and not too soon. She still had others waiting to be read on her bookshelves at home, and the first come first read policy was strictly implemented.
Upon entering the book store, there were tables with books on them in the middle aisle straight from the entrance, some with big discounts. They were huge discounts like from 365 pesos price of the book down to 25 pesos, and that was like 93% off. Wasn't that amazing for a thrift reader like her? She got two books about the healing powers of honey and vinegar, which were more on the category of an organic and healthy lifestyle.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt made a mental note that she had enough. She reached the limit of her budget for book buying. She returned to the unpopulated corner and brought out the three books she hid at the bottom shelf. In total, she had six books, two hard bounds, and four soft bounds.
Her cash was not sufficient for the total amount of the books, but it was a relief that the lady cashier accepted the debit card mode of payment. As she waited for the cue, she had doubts and uncertainties if it was wise and practical to spend money on those 6 books. She stood there in the line feeling conflicted. She was next in line before a couple who bought a lot of office supplies with lots of long bond paper. The agony was taking a toll on her and she just needed a step to get away from the line and return the books on their respective shelves or stay on the line and let the cashier punch her purchase.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt finally had her moment with the cashier. Carefully, she placed all her skeptically chosen six books on the counter. The lady cashier was nice as she joyfully scanned the books and announced to her that there were more discounts than she expected like those two books with a price tag of 50 pesos were actually 25 pesos from 365 pesos or 195 pesos was actually 156 pesos from 475 pesos. She thought the prices were already the final discounted price, but there was more. She felt giddy every time the lady cashier made an announcement of bigger discounts she could get. That genuine smile would never leave her face as she heard the good news.
to be continued...
The lady in a pink t-shirt partnered with her knee-length maong skirt strut her way as she walked across the paralleled department in one of the biggest malls in their town. She cat-walked as if no one was around her in that public place that was always populated with different people on any given day.
While carrying a paper bag full of wooden key chains she bought from a Christian book store, her next stop was the most reputable bookstore chain in the Philippines. She glanced at the sale signboard as she slowly passed by the floor to ceiling window panels. Salivating over those discount sales was an overstatement, but nevertheless, it was a sight to see a bookstore with 50% off signs.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt was feeling giddy as she browsed a few selections of books on sale. Hardbound and softbound. Fiction and non-fiction. Local and international authors and publishers. There were a quite few selections of printed books in an industry that was dying little by little due to the emergence of the digital age in the publishing world.
Spectators said that e-book or electronic books would soon replace the existence of the printed books and people would no longer want and need to buy printed books in a physical book store. But the lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt begged to disagree.
Dropping by to an NBS branch was a routine for her whenever she went to a department store and always looked forward to discounted or bargained books. That day at NBS was like any ordinary day for her, except for health protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After filling out the contact tracing form, she swiftly entered the haven of any book lover. She browsed books like she normally would, reading the title and the author of the book, turning the book and glancing the price at the back, and pondering whether the book worth the price or wishing when it would go on sale. After some time of wishful thinking, she would return the to its original place, properly.
At one corner of the book store where no one seemed to notice that place, the lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt took an interest in surveying the corner. It had books she wanted to buy not so long ago.
to be continued...
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