Even though it was just October, Manila Xmas celebrations were in full swing. Giant plastic trees jostled for attention in the centre of most malls. Carols and yuletide remixes blared on speakers everywhere, from malls to restaurants to even small shops. People took pictures with Christmas wreaths.
Manuel walked past just such a wreath, humming along with the Mariah Carey Christmas song that was in full swing at the delivery centre.
He continued singing the song as he walked to his car, holding the large white box and slightly smaller brown one on top of it.
Manuel got behind the wheel of his older model BMW and began driving. He could not help humming since he had been pushing his daughter in Dubai and his son-in-law to send along the balakbayan box for months and months.
The daughter had been open to the idea, but the Pakistani Dubai-born son-in-law had not. Manuel and his wife had finally prevailed by appealing to their grandson. The son-in-law relented after pressure from four fronts. Those 2 packages sitting in his boot were the spoils.
Manuel smiled, and then held a pensive face as he pondered why the boxes were a bit light.
Well, a brick weighs a lot but what good is it, his pastor had said once. Other than as a overweight paperweight, he continued his pastor’s words of wisdom.
Arriving at the house, he got out and took the boxes in. Since his wife was not home, he decided to unbox the packages himself. He wondered if he should take ownership of anything before he got home.
The two boxes were taped up in the usual fashion; however, the bigger one was taped up in entirety, so that not one centimetre of its surface was not covered in wide cello tape.
Clearly the more valuable stuff, Manuel surmised.
He took the kitchen paring knife and stabbed into the top area between the flaps. Manuel cut the flaps open and then around then so that they could open fully.
Manuel opened the flaps eagerly, expectant.
The smell hit him before he saw that the box was empty except a few rags. It was like an open sewer, mixed with mustard gas that he had encountered while in the army, and fertilizer. The stench was dense and rotting.
He almost fell back retching, but by habit also reached to open the smaller box.
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DM had had it with the requests to send a balakbayan box. It was one thing to have his wife ask him to send one; it was something else to have his son request one as well. The in-laws were becoming too good at emotional blackmail.
He announced to his wife that he had sent two – not just one – boxes to them, express via air.
DM cello taped the white box completely so that no air could escape. As he did so, he finished up the black coo
Rainbow Kandura 