Family Chatter

Soundscapes

You are born into your family and your family is born into you.

No returns. No exchanges. - Elizabeth Berg

I wish you could see this house full to the brim. 

The wood floors, waxed shiny from melted candle drippings and a coconut husk, were lopsided. Through the slatted floor of the kitchen and dining area, one could see Youngest Brother's itik and Aling Nena's rooster underneath prancing around for rice crumbs. 

Auntie Tessie and Ditche were doing an accounting of house rentals with Dadee around Lolo Gorio's old desk. Brothers and dogs had spilled out into the living room, running in and out of the house making the floors creak and the doors bang.

Out front, Eldest and Second Brothers had already formed groups with neighborhood kids to play luksong tinik (literally 'jump the thorns'). This was a game where one group stacked their hands and feet on top of each other, forming tinik or thorns while players from the opposing team attempted to jump over them without touching the hurdle. 

The younger ones preferred to play taguan, the local version of hide-and-seek. Wedging oneself in the tightest nooks and crannies to hide had almost become a skill in itself for some of them.

The sound of shrieking and laughter was enticing.

From cousin Henry and Didi dropping a colored marble each into holes of the sungka (the latter like mancala where small stones, beans, or seeds were placed in rows of holes or pits in the earth with the objective of capturing all or some set of the opponent's pieces).

From aunts sharing the latest gossip with Fat Mother. Their chitchat breaking out, questions overlapping each other. Voltaire pretending to listen in, but just waiting to snatch a piece of pandesal from an unwary hand.

From Mum yelling at the distant sound of Third and Fifth Brothers fighting from the back room.

From all of them together.

Family and Four Dogs. Foreground: Mighty (in front of Erin). Front: Erin, Dad with Snoopy, Mum, Rey, Dan with Snooky. Back: Jill, Eddie with Bonita, Noli. Missing: Voltaire and Tisoy. A family picture minus our only star, of course, taken at home specially gathered to send you this souvenir. - Pic inscription from Mum. Photo: First Brother. Manila, 1973

One family. 

Bonded for life, no matter where you rest your head. 

We had jokingly assessed our house value to be at half price. Worth "two for five," which has been its address to this day. But with its occupants and their chatter, I think the house value just appreciated.

Because it was alive.

(To be continued)