By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

AFTER a year, I’m happy that the adjacent vacant lot, which used to be a garbage dump, has now become an urban food forest. Anyone passing can pick chili, talinum (waterleaf), ternate (butterfly pea), palyan balang (wild bitter gourd), kamote (sweet potato), malunggay (moringga), mulberries and some flowers. I placed a string of straws and bougainvillea branches to enclose the portion where I planted the herbs, the fruit trees, plants with scented flowers and a collection of pothos. I remember the struggle for the first three months, male passersby pissed on the trees and their dogs followed suit, marking territory, defecating where dog owners stopped. To make them stop, I waited for the exact time they were doing the act, and shouted on top of my voice, from the second floor behind the curtain, to piss elsewhere as people eat the produce they’re pissing on. They always run before they finish, with their dogs running after them. The neighbors stopped dumping their garbage, too. Until yesterday.

I usually open the enclosed portion of the garden before I take my early morning walk to smell the kamuning (orange jasmine) and the rosal (gardenia), and the check for ripe aratiles (berries/cherries). I was surprised to see two bags of garbage, whose contents spilled under the fruiting banana tree. It had McDonald’s empty boxes and beer cans, banana peels and other things. I explored the contents with a stick, to find a clue as to the identity of whoever did it, maybe an envelope bearing an address. There, among the pile, are two crumpled yellow pad papers, dry and unblemished, despite the fact that they were resting on the mouth of a San Miguel beer can. Two letters. The first one had a hole in the middle, which gives the reader a chance to fill-in the blanks. The letter identified four persons: Marj, the one to whom the letter was addressed, Clark, the one who wrote the letter, and two children, Sky (?) and Noah:

Dear Marj, I am fully aware of what I have done to you and no amount sorry/apologies will ever fix it. As I said I regret what I did and will do my best to fix it. As much as I want to stay I feel like you will not take me back as your husband…. With (portion with hole) 1yr you gave, I feel like, there (portion with hole) someone with you by then. He will (portion with hole) to provide you with the things y (portion with hole) always wanted and keep you company instead of me…. So to baby Sky (?) & big boy Noah take good care of Mommy first for me. I love you guys and I am sorry. Happy Valentines. Love, Clark (02/15/23)

The second letter had a desperate tone to it: My baby, I really hope I do live, because I don’t want to leave you alone. I want to get married, have a family with you, and grow old with you. I am ready to let go of everything and share them with you…. I have had enough of dealing with things alone….Marj, I want to be your husband, follow you in your adventures in your life …. Love, Clark (02/15/23)

Curious, without mentioning the letters, I asked the two women sitting outside the opposite house if by chance they know any of the names. They told me, “Oh, maybe in that house, opposite your garden, I heard the househelp looking for Noah!”

At first, I thought of gathering the garbage and dumping it in their front gate. Then I thought of the letters. Whoever threw the garbage inside an enclosed area when they have their own garbage bins must be a confused person. Instead, I gathered the garbage in a large plastic bag and brought it to our front gate, for the regular pick up by trucks during the day. Then I washed my hands and started to walk.

I was back after an hour. To my surprise, the garbage bag had been opened on all sides, spilling most of its contents. It was as if, the one who did it was looking for something. I am sure he/she didn’t find what he/she was looking for. I hanged the two letters in the clothesline inside the eastern yard, to kill the germs in the morning sun.

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