Once Upon a Summertime

Love

A heavy silence descends upon the atmosphere, lasting for several seconds that seem to stretch endlessly. The absence of words is palpable, and the tense stillness makes it difficult for me to maintain my appetite. This is not the kind of lunch that I had hoped for us to have.

“Ina, down! Mom!” Laiba points to Ina lying on the floor. My Aunt and Uncle rush to see Ina.

When Ina passed out the piaparan a manok that Ina had cooked fell to the ground. My Ina allotted an hour to make the dish, and Aunt Bae made her stop cooking yet Ina still cooked because she wanted this day to be extra special. When my uncles fight, they don't seem to notice how sad their mother is.

“Mama!” Pamela said, pointing to the broken container. Aunt Mimi immediately runs to Ina. And Aunt Bae, trying to calm the kids. “Manay call Amakulay, now!” They are at a loss for what to do. They are terrified. Manay enters Ina's room and dials Ama's number. Manay is calmer than my Aunt as if she is getting used to this situation. Ama looks at me.

“Run. Get Papay, and tell Ina’s passed out. Now!” I dash off, slipping on my slippers. I'm feeling uneasy because my slippers don't match. I couldn't care less; I just run, hoping Uncle Papay doesn't go too far. Someone call my name behind me. As I was about to leave, an old lady who was about the same age as my Ina called out to me and hugged me. She was somewhat familiar, and I realized that I had seen her around the village, always chatting and laughing with Ina.

"Where are you going, watakulay?" she asked. "I'm going to see Uncle Papay," I replied. "I saw him running earlier, but he looked angry." "I see. Well, wait a minute," she said, stopping me. "Your Ina's Landap is done. Bring it to her." I wondered if she noticed how hurried I was, but I didn't want to be rude.

"All right, Babo Sheikha," I said, remembering her name from when Ama and Ina were talking about her earlier. She went inside her small house and came out with a paper bag. "Here, bring it properly," she said. "And here's one for your Uncle Papay. He requested it himself." I was shocked. I had thought it was just for us, but it turned out that Uncle Papay had one too. "All right, thank you for this, Babo Sheikah," I said, taking the bags (one for us and one for Uncle Papay).

As I started to run off, hoping to catch Uncle Papay, I realized that the Landap was really hard to carry. I considered leaving it behind, but since I was too tired to go back, I decided to carry it with me. Out of curiosity, I peeked into Uncle Papay's Landap and saw red and blue colors. I tried to read the name that was embroidered, and I saw that it was his own name, but what caught my attention was the phrase "Doctor" before his name. I was shocked to see it.

I felt a surge of joy when I realized that he hadn't gone too far away, and the rush of adrenaline made me feel as if I were carrying a much lighter load.

“Uncle Papay, Ina got—" I said, before I could say more he cut me off. “Get out here!” Uncle Papay angrily said. I narrowly avoided being hit by Uncle Papay's hand by taking a quick step back.

“UNCLE PAPAY, INA’S PASSED OUT!” I said clearly and louder. Hoping that I wasn’t sounding rude to my Uncle Papay

“Come again?” Uncle Papay asked. “Ina’s passed out, Ama told me to tell you,” I said, calmer.

He quickly grasped the situation and her concerned gaze prompted her to ask, "Is Ina all right?" to which I replied with a nod. As we were walking to the house, he noticed the bag that I was carrying. "What's that?" he asked. "The Landap," I replied.

"Why are you the one carrying it?" he asked, puzzled.

"Babo Sheikah called me and asked me to bring it to Ina," I explained. He took the bag from me and examined it closely. "Did you see mine?" he asked.

"Nope, I didn't," I said, even though I had a feeling that I knew what he was talking about. I didn't want him to know that I knew about it, though I didn't really mind.

After a couple of minutes, we came to the house. “Where is Ina?” Uncle Papay asked. “Where is Ina?!” he said repeatedly, with anger. He put the bags down, causing the Landap to spread out on the floor. My sister and Pamela noticed it and their eyes lit up with excitement.

"The Landap! Let's bring it to Ina!" they exclaimed. I approached them and promptly gathered the bags, shaking my head as I did so, and uttered, "Not now." They appeared puzzled, but I gestured for them to remain quiet and added, “Later, all right?" They nodded reluctantly, but I could see the disappointment in their faces.

"Ina is becoming more relaxed," Aunt Bae said, as if it could make Uncle Papay relaxed and ease.

"Don't go still, Papay," Aunt Mimi says, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a halt. “Why?” Uncle Papay asked. Aunt Bae suggested, "You need two to talk." "No," Uncle Papay said strongly. "Then you can't enter. "Neither of you." Looking at Uncle Ali, who is a little down. Then, after a second of it, Uncle Ali stands up and goes to Uncle Papay. “You two, please —” Aunt Bae, losing her patience.

I expected to hear another argument between my two uncles. Uncle Ali suddenly grabs Uncle Papay and embraces him in a hug. I can sense the awkwardness. My Aunts appear to be at a loss for words.

“Sorry, bro.” Uncle Papay broke the silence “I don’t know your pain… I don’t know that you are suffering. I am sorry… Uncle Ali utterly said. Ama looked at Uncle Papay with a compassionate

"Papay, I’m sorry we're not trying to set impossible standards or to make you feel like you're not good enough. We just want you to succeed and to achieve your full potential, whatever that may be because you are our bunso.” (used as a term of endearment or affection for the youngest sibling)"

But Uncle Papay shook his head, his expression becoming more despondent. "No, you don't understand. I've tried so hard to meet your expectations and to succeed in my studies, but I keep falling short. And it's not just about the rules or the standards, but about my own abilities and limitations." Ama leaned forward, trying to convey his support and understanding.

"Papay, we do understand. And we're not expecting you to be perfect or to meet some impossible standard. We just want you to be happy and fulfilled in your life, whatever that may look like.” Uncle Papay embrace a hug with Ama, and they had a conversation that we cannot hear of, what we heard is the sound of a whisper.

Aunt Mimi said when Uncle Papay get off with the hug. “You can choose another course if you want to” “Really? Is it possible?” he replied, “Of course, at least for that, you can study seriously,” she replied. “How about me Mom?” Ate Kookie’s butt in the conversation, “Let’s talk about it later, but maybe yes” she said.

Ate Kookie’s face became light to what her mother said. We stared at each other and I sense that she is happy, not like earlier. "We should go to Ina already," Aunt Bae suggested. Aunt Mimi breathes a sigh of relief.

The siblings enter Ina's room. As we entered the room, I was shocked to see Laiba and Pamela carry the bag, they didn’t bring the big one, since it’s hard for them to carry on. I see Ina cried and cried to see the name embroidered with Uncle Papay, the two were confused about why Ina cried. Uncle Papay hurried to go to Ina and tried to get the Landap but the hands of Ina were strong.

"Inakulay..." Uncle Papay quickly embraced Ina.

“I didn’t know, I thought you wanted it just because you wanted to oppose me,” she said and letting go of the Landap and it reveals the “Doctor” then his name embroidered name.

Uncle Papay looked at the Landap and then at Ina. "I wanted to become a doctor really badly," Uncle Papay repeated, his voice filled with determination. Ina comforted Uncle Papay by stroking his back and saying, "Stop crying already." "I am sorry for the lapses I had. You can choose what you want, watakulay," Ina added, trying to make Uncle Papay feel better.

Uncle Papay quickly regained his composure and asked, "Thanks, Ina, but I did not cry", looking around at all of us. We all burst out laughing.

It was a moment of lightheartedness that broke the tension in the room. Aunt Mimi butt in “Very defensive it’s okay, we will not tell a thing with your future wife that you are a crybaby bunso”

We all laughed at Aunt Mimi's teasing remark, lightening up the mood in the room.

Uncle Papay playfully rolled his eyes, but we could see the amusement in his expression. Ina smiled at all of us, her eyes full of joy and love. When siblings fight, I notice that a mother is always the conciliator.

Regardless, they are all adults. A mother always had a soft spot in their heart. Then there was silence, a peaceful one. It's a gentle one. It was a pure moment.

A mother embraces her children. A child burying their head in their mother's stomach. A family who stays close and holds each other's hands. “Ina! Ina! Ina, please teach Laiba the secret recipe of piaparan a manok” My sister broke the silence. Ina laughed at my sister's her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Of course, I'll teach Laiba the secret recipe. But remember, the true secret ingredient is love."