By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

THE sun was in a hurry evaporating the moisture from the pots I just watered, so I made another round to keep the plants from wilting. I carried the pails to the front, instead of using a hose, to strengthen my muscles from lifting the weight. In between, I smelled the jasmines and the gardenias coaxed into blooming by the stress from the heat. The mixture of scents can make any tired gardener recover strength, and most certainly, evokes inspiration. I told myself, I am going to write about how scents inspire music, the kind that I hear, from the heat. Suddenly, the music was interrupted by a sound from my mobile, a message notification from a friend, Marilyn Revote-Eleno.

“My fb account got hacked.”

“change your password and inform FB asap.”

“ok na Change ko na password ko. busy ka?” (It’s okay, I changed my password. Are you busy?)

“Why? Free in an hour.”

“paki Forward Sandali Phone number mo.” (Please forward your number.)

I sent my number. 

“meron ako isesend sandali Sa txt Code Yung Txt. kapag Dumating Sayo Paki forward Dito Sakin Sandali Sa messenger.” (I am sending you a text, the text is a code. If it reaches you, please forward to me in Messenger.) 

“Are you in trouble?” 

“hindi Naman need ko lang code para verify ko sa email Dumating na ba? kpag dumating na pki forward dito sandali ha.” (No, I just need the code to verify in the email. Has it arrived? If it arrives, please forward to me.)

I received a code from Yahoo twice but I told her I did not. I suspected it was not Marilyn I was talking to, but a hacker. Yahoo does not send a code unless you logged in and forgot your password. To make sure, I engaged her in a conversation in Pangasinan. She did not answer. She repeatedly asked the same question in her abbreviated Tagalog. 

“code. busy ka? paki Forward Naman Sandali Sa code please.” (Has the Code been sent? Are you busy? Kindly forward please.) 

Again, I sent a very long message in Pangasinan. Then she called the number I gave her. I answered immediately, she hung up. Then, she sent three more messages asking about the code, in Messenger as well as in my mobile, using mobile number +639102675841, assuming the name of another person, Agnes Mendoza Gupana. Why on earth would Agnes send me a text, when she could use Messenger? I replied, again in Pangasinan.

“Abalang la yan too. Inatey su angabil.” (This person is lost. The one who intends to harm is dead.)

She finally stopped. I assumed she was a woman. Now, why is that? Creativity and deceit are capacities inherent in both sexes, he could have been a man, but women are better at it, remember Mata Hari. I wonder if Mata Hari could have cracked Pangasinan. Maybe not. Even local folks have difficulty comprehending the nuances of the language. The hacker got overwhelmed decoding Pangasinan. It was not the code she expected. She was alien to the code, and totally missed its humor.

I forgot writing about the music inspired by the heat. I was amused by the image of the codes speaking to one another in total incomprehension. A sudden shift in consciousness, from the aesthetic to the mundane. I just received another private message, Luz Maria Lopez was telling me about how little she had done for the day, “getting busy with many little chores that swallows time”. The codes certainly swallowed my time, creating a different kind of music, in a language no one understood, but drove my senses to the rhythm of rock and roll.

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