Once again, I saw the sight of Tita Jona and the basket of maruya, which she has been selling for three weeks now. I tried to escape, but my cousins already danced and sang “maruya, maruya” to the tune of a Korean song called “Maria” by Hwasa. I had no choice but to buy again. She was smiling widely while putting five of them in banana leaves. I was frustrated because I couldn’t even say no for the sake of not being rude. I gorged on a whole maruya as if it was cotton candy from all the frustration I felt paying P50. I was just sick of it.
What I did not know was that there was more to the humble fare than just deep-fried banana in batter.
While Tita Jona went on her way, my grandmother sat and reached for one of the maruya. Then she told me:
“Kanina, naghahanap ako ng bolpen sa bangko tapos nakita ko ang iyong Tita Jona. Nanghiram ako tapos tinanong ko bakit nagpunta sa bangko. Galaw mo ga ay nagpabayan lang para mag-withdraw ng dal’wang daang piso! Kung sinabi niya ay siya’y pinautang ko muna. Sa pamasahe ngayon sa jeep, diga’y wala pang 150 ang natira. Kaawa-awa nga ‘yan. ‘Yung asawa ay walang trabaho gawa nga at sarado ang mga resort. Tapos may pinapaaral pa. Tapos may bata pang anak. Ang pa-gatas, pa-diaper, diga’y ubos ang tubo at puhunan sa pagtitinda.”
(I needed a pen in the bank earlier and saw your Tita Jona. I borrowed her pen and asked her what she came for. The poor woman went downtown just to withdraw P200 from her small savings account. She could’ve borrowed money from me. With the jeepney fare now, she barely took home P150. I totally feel bad for her. Her husband is unemployed because the resorts are closed. She also has a child to support in school. She even has an infant to take care of. With just milk and diapers, her profit and even the capital will already be zero.)
My jaws stiffened. The maruya I was eating fell on the table. I was silent for a few seconds, filled with so much shame that I couldn’t even take another bite. The woman was just making a living. In this exhausting time, everyone’s just trying to make ends meet, while here I was complaining that I lost P50.
It made me look at my own life. I have three meals a day, a warm bed, and even unlimited Wi-Fi to stream Tomorrow X Together on Spotify, but still whining why I am unable to go to my dream school.
I realized that, instead of focusing on things we don’t have, we should be grateful for the things we have. Others might be on the desperate edge just trying to put meals on their table.
This pandemic has certainly given all of us a huge burden. We all might be struggling, but that doesn’t mean we have to struggle alone. We owe it to our fellow neighbors and fellow countrymen to extend a helping hand in these dark times. As isolated as we might be, we all share one hope — for this pandemic to end and our lives to go back to normal, or at least something close to it.
Since this quarantine won’t end soon, we will keep seeing people resorting to every possible way to survive. We will be bugged by vendors, online sellers, people offering services, and even people who want to barter things. It will be best for everyone’s interest to build on the concept of empathy. A simple pat on the back or a smile will go far to keep everyone’s spirits up. Throw joy boomerangs, for it will never cost you anything. Now, I can’t take a bite of maruya without thinking of Tita Jona, and how everyone has their own battles to fight every day, especially at this time.
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Gerald Lois M. Roldan, 17, is from Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. He is a biology freshman at Ateneo de Manila University.