Lovely was on her way to her hometown in Sta. Josefa one placid morning in September. It was just an hour drive from her residence but she was so excited to meet her family after not seeing them for seven months since the emergence of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) that has plagued the world. She missed her parents and siblings so much as she felt detached from them for more than half a year. Her father would be celebrating his sixtieth birthday and the family planned for a simple merriment for him. Hands on the stirring wheel, she glanced at the center mirror of the car and saw her children, Xoxo and Heart, peacefully sleeping at the backseat. She smiled just as the memories of her childhood came rushing to her mind.
It was a great summer in 1990 and Lolo Agong with his young grandchildren, Lovely and Honey, were on their way to his corn field at the bank of the long and winding Agusan River. The old man was a prominent farmer in Sitio Kauswagan as he owned vast lands cultivated with rice, corn, and other agricultural crops. Though he was known as a strong-willed person, he was really generous and adventurous especially with his grandchildren. With the permission from their parents, the patriarch’s apos would always love to tag along with their grandfather to the river bank where nearby residents would also fetch water for drinking. Lolo Agong and his apos on that day were among the villagers who would fetch water and eventually go swimming and fishing by the river. Lola Magding prepared fried fish and rice wrapped in banana leaves for their paniaga, an Ilongo term for lunch.
The children were so excited aboard the kanggahan, a wagon with two tire wheels pulled by a carabao. Alongside with them were huge tadjaos made from truck tires where Lolo Agong and his workmen would stock drinking water from the river. Though the cornfield was a kilometer away from their home, the children’s hearts were filled with joy and anticipation as they passed by the barangay road with yellowing rice fields on both sides. As always, young Honey couldn’t contain with her excitement and would keep on asking, “Are we there yet, Lolo?” from which the old man would unceasingly reply, “Almost there! Hold tight on the wagon or you might slip.”
As the young adventurers were nearing their destination, they noticed the men cutting off the matured cardavas which were also owned by Lolo Agong. “Wow, there are so many cardavas on the side of the road!” exclaimed Lovely. These bananas would then be brought to his house for selection and maybe for quality control. A ten-wheeler truck with a chubby businesswoman would come once a month to buy the cardavas.
When they reached the corn field, they settled on a payag which served as the resting place of the farmers. The two children hurriedly got off the wagon, carried their water and lunch, and waited for their Lolo who was busy giving orders to his workers. Then, the old man called for the children to come along as he reached for their fishing rods. Two young men who were saop or tenants of Lolo Agong went with them to help in filling in the tadjaos with water. Lovely and Honey refused to ride the wagon and preferred to march to the river.
Enthusiasm and chuckles filled the cornfield as the children sang happy songs and rhymes while the summer sun glistened on their innocent faces. Nearing the Agusan River, they saw some of their neighbors and playmates who arrived early there, too. “Children, slow down! Wait for me! You might stumble and fall down the river!” cried Lolo Agong who was trying to keep his pace with his excited grandchildren. The girls otherwise acted as if they didn’t hear a thing and disregarded the fervent reminder of their Lolo. They even raced to the river bank!
The water was crystal clear that one can almost see the floor of the great Agusan River! It was teeming with fish, shrimps and many other bounties which became part of the staple food of the villagers. From afar, a number of men were on their gakit, a raft made from bamboo. They were inspecting their pukot, a kind of fish net, for some tilapia, catfish or mudfish. Beside the river bank were kids diving for bamboo fish traps called sugong. Happiness and excitement could be gleaned from their faces as they wave huge shrimps and fish they got from the trap. Slowly, they would put the sugong back to its place under the water.
Not far from the children were some women casting their fishing rods in the hope of a catch, too. Nanay Lita, who was the oldest among them, shouted that she thought an eel bit her bait. The group felt the eagerness and cheered for the fisherwoman to pull the bamboo rod as strong as she could. All of the villagers along the river bank also got curious and their attention was attracted to the commotion. After so much struggle, Nanay Lita was able to pull the eel out of the water. The women applauded and expressed their admiration to the old woman’s prowess. The fish wagged its huge body on the land surface but its catcher was determined to keep it for lunch. Nanay Lita grabbed her knapsack, put the fish in, and took another earthworm as a bait to continue fishing.
Meanwhile, Lovely and Honey started to engross themselves in the cool flowing river. They splashed water to each other while playing “catch”. Their giggles and laughter filled the air. Soon, other kids joined them and the scene was filled with so much fun! Meanwhile, Lolo Agong sat on a drifted banana trunk and started to light up his cigar. It was made of neatly minced tobacco wrapped in an old newspaper. He occasionally talked with some of the men and women who passed in front of him. When his smoking session was done, he joined the jubilant kids.
Lolo Agong would teach his grandchildren to swim through a rather odd way. He would carry his apos alternately and throw them in the shallow part of the river. The girls would be so nervous and would try their best to somehow swim by waggling and paddling their arms and legs. There were instances that they would cry but their grandfather would always assure their safety with him. There were times when the three of them would borrow a canoe and would spend their leisure moments making a roundabout on the other side of the gentle river from where they would go fishing silently and patiently with their bamboo rods. Lolo Agong would then lay their paniaga often wrapped in sweet-smelling banana leaves. The trio would eat to their hearts’ content while eagerly waiting for a fish to bite their bait. Most of the times, they would not catch any fish but the children’s happiness was not marred because of the great adventure they had.
When the sun started to cause a tingling sensation to the children’s skin, Lolo Agong would order his tenants to start making water puddles to filter the water from the river. The men would start filling the tadjaos with clean drinking water carefully fetched from the tiny pools. The activity would end with the children gathering pearly shells and clams along the bank. The group would soon heed home with the two exhausted children sleeping in the wagon and not minding the rickety and wobbly sounds around them.
Lost in her thoughts, Lovely realized that she was about to make a right turn from the highway to traverse Sitio Kauswagan. She passed by the golden rice fields about to be harvested as well as the old and sturdy Narra and Toog trees which stood there since she was a child. She once again smelled that familiar cool and fresh country air as she rolled down the window. Not for long, she reached her parents’ house and saw her father’s birthday decorations prepared by her sisters. The two children woke up and hurriedly got off the car to be with their grandparents. The celebration started as the family reunited along with some relatives and new memories were made.
Dr. Lyzyl Lopez-Banuag is the Associate Dean of Philippine Normal University-Mindanao. Her passion for research is evident in the number of conferences where she shared her studies in the Philippines and abroad. She has been publishing articles in reputable journals in the field of English Language Teaching, Applied Linguistics, and Multicultural Education. Her passion for writing fiction stories and poetry started in her high school years where she was a member of the journalism club. In college, she wrote and published short stories and poems in her university’s literary publication. Recently, her interest in sharing her passion for fiction writing was rekindled with her longing to bring back her childhood memories in her hometown.