Doble-kara

It was around 2:30 pm.  We were already pressed for time since we still had two more churches and the catacomb in Nagcarlan to cover and we could not find our way to Liliw, Laguna.  And it was aggravated by the fact that we hadn’t eaten lunch.

ETS:  Patulan na natin yung lanzones na nadaanan natin kanina.  Mukhang malabong may matinong kainan dito, kahit Jollibee!

Ah, lanzones!  The one fruit that has a very special, though odd, part in my and ETS’s history.  The one fatal fruit that could have cost us our dear lives back in college in Recto, thanks so much to ETS’s distorted view of social justice!

Flashback…

ETS:  (Whispering)  A, madaya ang timbangan nung mama!!!

ME:  (Whispering, discerning impending doom)  Hayaan mo na!

LONG LOST SISTER (LLS):  Ano daw?

Aside, Long Lost Sister was part of the trinity but due to the proper guidance of her loving parents, she decided to concentrate on her studies but remained a very good friend.

ETS:  Ah basta, hindi pwede yun!  (Now poised like a fierce jungle cat ready to pounce on her unsuspecting prey!)

As soon as the lanzones vendor turned his back to get a plastic bag for our purchase, who by the way looked like your menacing lasengerong kapit-bahay who has already sold his right kidney and at the time was holding a knife, ETS, with one swift move, grabbed a bulig of lanzones that I would peg at half kilo then turned her back, carrying against her bosom the lanzones which were already falling off the branches one by one.  I, already accustomed to danger thanks to ETS, created a distraction so that manong vendor would not notice the crime being committed against him.  LLS on the other hand, wrapped her arms around ETS to help contain the lanzones that seemed to be also defiant for being violated.  Not a very discreet move but LLS did not have much training, good thing she didn’t freeze right there and then, for sure we would have left her there on her own than be exposed of our malefaction (Yeah, we are that kind of friends!).  We walked away like penguins, hoping that manong vendor would not notice anything.   But I was also waiting for one of us to fall face flat on the street because of stab wounds on the back.  We  got away.  Moved on.  Watched a movie called Girlfriend from Hell in a run-down cinema with sticky floors and seats.  We ate the lanzones there.

Fast Forward…

Lanzones, the one fruit that could have cost us our lives back then would be the same fruit that would sustain our lives now.

We drove until we finally found the lanzones store.  This time, I asked ETS to stay in the car, hello!!!  Bought two kilos from the amiable tindera who gave me a handful more lanzones.  Goodness, the extra lanzones we didn’t have to risk our lives for.

I went back to the car, ETS smiling ear to ear with these in her hands.

The best lunch ever.