Romance of the Four Juans

Track 05

In the middle of what could be a peaceful siesta, Jigo found his father looking up at a mango tree shouting 'be careful' at someone. The third son quietly slips next to him and looks up just the same. A girl has climbed a mango tree. She looks down just in time, grinning proudly as she yells, “I got it! Uncle, catch!”

Jigo caught the fruit for them before it landed splat on the ground. His father sighed next to him.

“Finally up, I see. The four of you missed breakfast, lunch, and the afternoon delights. What's the excuse?”

“There was beer involved last night."

"I figured. Huan is a beer lover. Are they up yet?"

"They are. I came out to say goodbye.” Jigo looks up at the girl, her lovely springlike curls distracting him not just once. She looked comfortable sitting on that wide branch, enjoying the soft breeze that for a split second, Jigo wondered if Huan’s wish to have a sister had been granted overnight.

“You’re leaving?” Dante hides a smile as the young man gets distracted. “So soon.”

“Ah, I have a contract to uphold. So…” Jigo pushes a box, wrapped clumsily in shiny golden paper that’s kept in place by a red string, into his father’s hands. “I meant to give this to you. It’s a birthday gift. It’s nothing grand or expensive, just socks.”

“Thanks, son.” Dante answers, surprising Jigo at how easy the word son rolled off his tongue. His hands untied the strings. They shook even as he opened the box. Even if it’s only socks, it made him feel a little emotional. He never thought that receiving something for his birthday at his advanced age would bring so much joy. It touched his old heart and made him think that having progenies sure has some perks. “When are you leaving?”

“Now. I'm only waiting for the kuyas to get out of the shower.” Truth be told, Jigo is scared to go back. The group where he belongs is unsatisfied at the direction their management company is taking them in. He hadn’t felt so rested in months that, now that he had tasted it, he didn’t want to go back. "If I had a choice, I’d stay, papa."

“You look distressed. Don’t. Son, if it’s too much to handle, you can leave. You can come home and rest. We will be waiting for you.”

“I will keep that in mind.” Jigo looked up once more. He can’t keep up the conversation with his father because he’s constantly distracted by the person on the mango tree. “But who is the little monkey?”

“Aiya!” Dante broke away from the warm, tingly feeling brought about by Jigo’s gift and finally remembered the girl. “Help her get down and don’t let her climb any more trees. I’ll get a knife.”

She doesn’t look like she needs help though. She’s clinging on to branches like a gymnast and stepping down with ease, finding her footing on the branches like a bird. Still, Jigo extended his hand to her at the last branch, assessing that it was too high for her to jump from. How did she even climb up without a perch?

Hugging the main trunk of the tree, HB stares at him for a whole second. Then she sits, allowing her legs to dangle and play in the air, and stares at him with a twinkle in her eyes.

Jigo meets her curious gaze. She was like a goth with her black shorts, black tank top and black lace choker on her neck which made Jigo gulp like a vampire and turn, pocketing his extended hand instead.

“I need both your arms.” He looks back, perplexed. “Come on. You’d have to carry me down.”

By her command, Jigo drops the mango to the ground and walks closer, extending both arms up to her. The girl put her entire weight on him, her hands putting a great pressure on his shoulders as he begged for pardon, touching her tiny waist and hoisting her off the tree to the ground with such ease. If she had been heavy, they would’ve tumbled down, but she’s a tiny girl who only measured up to his chin.

She picks the mango right next to his feet and strides towards the faucet near the gazebo, leaving Jigo to feel shy at their close contact all on his own. When he finally composed himself, he turned to watch her. She had unbuckled her belt, and from it, she detaches the whole silver buckle from the rest of the leather, revealing a small knife which she uses to peel the fruit so quickly. “But where did Uncle Dante go?”

Jigo stammers with his answer, still mesmerized. “You’re going to eat that? Wouldn’t it be sour? Would you like something to go with it? Bagoong perhaps?”

She strides towards him, still barefoot. “This is not one of ours. It’s a Thai mango. See, it’s more elongated and the peel is greener than our native ones. Even if it’s still green on the outside, it’s already incredibly sweet.” She slices a long piece. “Say ah.” The simple command made him imitate her, and she pushed the slice into his open mouth and waited for a reaction. Jigo grins, showing his dimples, nodding as he swallows the entire slice. “See?” She looks up at the tree. “Ah~ But this tree is a bit madamot. Uncle Dante said it only bears one fruit a year. I couldn’t pass it up. I had to steal it for myself.”

Jigo chuckles. “Thank you for sharing a piece.”

“Oh, you have really nice dimples. I have a pair of my own.” She smiled at him, allowing him to see two tiny conical pits, akin to those created by antlions on dirt, just below both corners of her lips. “But mine were man-made. My mama poked a needle right on these spots when I was a baby, so I could have them. But real dimples are always elongated and not circular, aren’t they?”

“I wouldn’t really know.” Jigo glanced back at the house. His father was coming back out with a fruit knife in his hand. “That’s a really nice belt.”

“It is, isn’t it? It’s Italian leather, designed and crafted by my own brother. The knife has been added to serve as a weapon. I’m just glad I haven’t had the chance to use it against anyone yet. I’m HB.”

“Jigo.”

“Ahy, you’re eating already. Where did you even get the knife?"

"It's one of the magic tricks I know, uncle. Conjuring items out of thin air."

Jigo grins again, soon snaps out of the enchantment HB put her through and excuses himself. “I still have to find my passport because Kuya Huan hid it as a joke to stop me from leaving. It was nice meeting you, HB.”

He walks back to the house and enters Huan’s room where the eldest is drying his hair. With his newfound loyalty to his brothers, Jigo relays what he’d seen in the backyard. “Our father is eating fruit with a girl.”

Huan turns to him in alarm. “What’s her name? How young? What fruit?”

“Her name is HB. Ei, kuya, do you think she could be our sister? I was too shy to ask.”

“Unlikely.” Huan responds. “Papa shouldn’t be that lucky.”

“And here I thought you’d be over the moon at the prospect of having a sister.”