Nanking Store 1999

Tua Poya, only three years old then but still have vivid memories of Peter and Linda's wedding. Practically, the entire chinese community of the city are all present. Tua Poya, remember most was jumping and romping on their pristine matrimonial bed. It was to ensure that their first-born would be a boy. Tua Poya was chosen to do the honors because he was robust and fat. During their first year of marriage, Linda often brought Tua Poya to their house in Bajada. She would tell Tua Poya's mother it was her way of easing her loneliness. Tua Poya likes going there because Linda pampered him. Peter was fun too, making him ride piggyback. He was very strong and did not complain about Tua Poya's weight. Peter and Linda were a happy couple. There was much laughter in the house. It was this happy image that played in Tua Poya's mind about Peter and Linda for a long time. Tua Poya is 6 years old then when he sensed that something had gone wrong with their marriage. Linda left the Bajada house and moved into the upstairs portions of nanking store. It was therefore strange that Linda would choose to live in Santa Ana while Peter would stay in Bajada, a distance of some three kilometers. One late afternoon, after school Tua Poya caught Linda at home talking with mother. Linda gave Tua Poya two mandarin oranges. He stayed at the table at the same room, he ate the oranges and pretends not to listen to their conversation. He notice that Linda's eyes were sad, not the eyes that he remembered. Now her eyes were somber even when her voice sounded casual and happy.

"I got bored in Bajada" Linda said
"I thought I'd help Peter at the store."

That was how she explained why she had moved to Santa Ana. However, at the new canton barbershop, Tua Poya learned the real reason why Linda moved to Santa Ana. One night, Tua Poya's mother ask him to the barbershop because it's already 8 o'clock and hadn't had is dinner. His father was playing chess when he got there. He sat on a stool with one leg raised on the stool. He caught the attention of his father but his father tell him to go home but, he just stayed and watch the game. While watching, Tua Poya witnessed how the game make them laugh, everyone was laughing and joking about the children of Ah-kong but it all stop when they saw that Peter was coming. It was Peter who broke the silence by greeting Tua Poya's father . He also greeted some people and suddenly they were alive again. The chess pieces scraping noises on the board, the newspaper rustled, and people began to talk. After that, Peter went away and it struck Tua Poya. He was not the Peter he knew, vigorous and alert. This Peter looked tired, and his shoulders sagged. It was because of the rumours spreading that Linda can't gave him a son even a daughter. Because of this, his parents want to junk her, but he can't because he loves Linda so much. Tua Poya was worried because he might be the reason why Peter and Linda can't produce their child. He hopes that no one remembers that he jumped to their matrimonial bed to give them goodluck. One night, Tua Poya's brother told him that he saw Peter with a visayan woman. His brother define her as a bad woman. Later on, Peter and the visayan woman had a baby boy and it became an open secret to everybody. Peter shows his baby boy to everybody proudly. As for his parents, they acted as if nothing had happen, perhaps they knew about the scandal, but pretended not to know. Then Peter died in a car accident in the Buhangin Diversion Road. He was returning from Mandug and a truck rammed his car, killing him instantly. Tua Poya cried when he heard about it. At the wake, Linda took her place two rows behind her mother-in-law who completely ignored her. At the burial, Linda stood stoically throughout the ceremony, and when Peter was finally interred, she swooned. The in-laws suddenly moved to Manila, bringing with them the two bastard sons of Peter. They  made it known to everybody that it was to show their contempt for Linda. One day, everybody realize that Linda is pregnant. There was no other suspect for her condition but the driver. Nobody had ever paid him any attention before, and now they watched him closely. Tua Poya was 12 years old then when Linda decided to go to Cebu to visit her parents. And it was the last time Tua Poya saw her.