Tatay and Nanay were both competitive in sports. They used to join and win tournaments in tennis, golf and bowling. Unlike their only daughter who would rather eat, strum the guitar, eat again, draw, eat more and play Spirit of the Glass in her spare time hahahah . . .
I was the only “ballboy” girl in Marbel tennis court. With the intention of earning and saving money for my “Getaway”, I would gladly go with my parents to the tennis court and serve as “pulotgirl”. I guess that laid my foundation in running. I had to run really fast to grab the ball and return it to the right player. Sometimes the ball would fly out of the tennis court and migrate to the wide highway. I would dash out of the court and run after it on the open road.
Though I didn’t play golf, I still went with my parents to Paraiso Golf Course. Whenever we pass by the guava plantation I would stay behind, climb one of the guava trees to pick and eat guavas. Then take a relaxing nap after being full, not minding if I make a wrong turn and fall off the tree! Upon waking up, I would just go back with other set of players who will pass by me.
One of my favorite pastimes in Marbel was playing the Spirit of the Glass. I would play it with my friends and even if I was alone, I would place 2 fingers of my 2 hands on top of the Glass as if 4 people were playing. I did not have a scientific explanation of how the Glass moved back then but I was not at all afraid. Maybe because I had fun getting the answers to the questions I was asking the Spirit of the Glass. At one instance, I asked where I would study the following school year. When it answered “Manila”, I just brushed it off though at that time, I was already planning to run away from home. The farthest destination in my mind was Davao City so Manila for me was beyond reach. You can just imagine how amazed I was when it actually came true!
To be continued . . .
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