Cherry-picked Pitfall

Chapter XVI

THE SUN was rising in the morning breeze. But unlike how I usually picture it, some parts of the sky were cloudy. Locals were informed that there might be a low pressure area that would affect the shore of Islas de Hermoso Fuego, but they just shrugged it off. Normal naman daw ang pagbabago ng panahon pero pinaalalahanan sila ni Damon na bantayan ang mga pananim na maaaring mapinsala. He even emphasized global warming, that things were different now and something that did not affect them before might cause trouble in the future.

Just like how we see things from the start, it was never how it will turn out in the end.

"Sera, pakilagay na lang doon sa may bangko," Mang Tonyo instructed me. "Tapos mamaya pakihiwalay ng mga sitaw base sa kalidad nito."

I bobbed my head after hearing that clearly and followed his lead. Nang matapos kong makuha ang lahat ng mga sitaw ay umupo ako sa isang bangko para paghiwalayin sila. I separated the high-quality ones to mid and low. It was kinda tricky. Dito ko mas na-appreciate ang trabaho sa sakahan. Na hindi lang katawan at resistensya ang puhunan mo, kailangan mautak ka rin at marunong kumilatis ng mga pananim. Farming was never easy and people in blue collar job here were actually fortunate because I was told that were getting enough support from Islas de Hermoso Fuego even if agriculture in the Philippines were not prioritized.

I gazed upon the whole sakahan. May kalakihan din ang kabuoan nito. Plows looked endless from my point of view. I was facing the west and the barn was on my right. Sa kabilang banda naman, kapag nilakad mo hanggang dulo ay mapupunta ka sa pagitan ng maliliit na puno ng kaymito at mangga at matataas na mag puno ng niyog at saging. The uphill part of it would lead you to Llanura—where I always go whenever I have free time for more than a month already.

Madalas din kasing busy ang mga tao rito kaya bihira ang tao sa Llanura. Sa totoo lang, kahit na sobrang ganda sa lugar na ito. Mga bata lang ang madalas pumunta sa Bealado at Primavera Milagrosa, kaya rin wala masyadong dumadaan sa Llanura. It was kind of upsetting from the perspective of someone who didn't grew up here. It looked like they were taking it for granted. Napapatanong na lang din ako sa sarili ko dahil hindi ko rin naman sila masisisi kung iba ang prayoridad nila. Gaano na kaya nila katagal natitigan ang mga lugar na binanggit ko?

The day was gloomy but people never stopped working their ass off. I've already learned a lot about farming itself, the whys and hows, the process from the scratch up to where will it go, and the history of farming here in Islas de Hermoso Fuego. Ganoon pala kaimportante ang pagsasaka sa isla. Napakalaking bagay nito sa bawat pamilya. I applauded them for pursuing this as their top priority here.

I was wrong when I thought of Damon, not priorities the people in the isla. Marunong pala talaga sila mamalakad, hindi pala puro mukha at bait lang ang ipinapakita niya sa tao kaya ganoon siya ituring ng mga ito. Malaki pala talaga ang nabibigay niyang tulong at respeto lalo na sa mga magsasaka. I would give him that.

AFTER FEW minutes, the bell rang. It was time for their lunch so I went home as well. Naabutan kong naghahain na ng pagkainan sina Tita Cora at Kalypso. I noticed that Poli was not around and Diyang just got out of our room. Pinagpasyahan niyang huwag na munang magtrabaho. Pinagpapahinga siya ni Tita Cora dahil sinusubsob agad ang sarili para lang kumita. Mukhang natutuwa rin siya sa pag-aalaga kay Calley kaya naman pumayag na siya.

Tumulong na rin nga ako sa paglalagay ng mga utensils at nang matapos na sa pag-aayos ay umupo na kaming lahat. Kalypso, of course, led the prayer. Tahimik kaming kumakain hanggang sa mukhang hindi na natiis ni Diyang ang katahimikan. She poked me and that called my attention.

"Ate, siguro gwapo si Kuya Caleb, ano?" bigla niyang imik sa akin. Hindi ito bulong at mukhang narinig nila. I even noticed that Tita Cora glanced at me for a second.