Adventure comes in a little rectangular shape

It's one of the days I am developing an avoidance to fetch my package from online shopping when the delivery man calls to announce its presence. Why it seems they catch you while you are brushing your teeth or working out in a skimpy clothes, full of sweat? Or worst, you are in one of your hermit mode and don't want to talk to anybody or even go outside your room, your phone is on "Do Not Disturb" mode. I have to invent excuses why I did not catch them on the first delivery. When my boyfriend scold me, I explained to him that I did not intend to screen their calls if I knew I was expecting it. Duh. Then, I started asking myself If I do really need to order online? Maybe I should go back to pre-pandemic era where people buy things by going to the physical store and roam around for a quarter of an hour to buy the things they need... or not.

One afternoon, I was feeling good-for-nothing, when the call came, the book I ordered online has finally arrived. Was I exhilarated, I spring up and bounce to the door, get my keys and wallet and hurried down to get my book. How I was so glad to see manong, who have become an acquaintance by the numbers of package he delivered to me. I smiled widely at his friendly face, took the package, said my thanks and hurried to the nearest cafe to read the afternoon blues away. As soon as I paid for my drink, I sit down and tear the packaging, partially hearing the barista as she was repeating my order. There it is, the smell of adventure in a small rectangular shape. Sipping the lychee fruit tea I have ordered, I slowly and carefully turning the pages of the new book as the world pass me by in that quite corner of that coffee shop.

I suddenly remember my 9 years old self. On Saturdays, after we would have a nice family lunch, tired from doing the laundry and rubbing our cooking pots white at start of dawn, our family would go for afternoon seista. That's my cue to sneak out to the to the small local store that sell poultry supply. It was just a few steps away from our pwesto in the market. I did not go there for poultry feeds. It was for the thin, colorful, rectangular, pages that hangs on the yellow straw plastic twine on the top of their store window. I would scan the pages, see if I have already read it then I would pull out my three peso coin I begged my mother earlier that day. Just beside their store window was small wooden slab nailed to their sawali walls. I am sure that bench was intended for the kids who snuck out to read as it was convenient because it was hidden from the eyes of by-passers a.k.a my mother or my siblings who was tasked to find me. I would sit there with ice candy at hand, and gobble these fanstasic stories with wonderful illustrations of these Filipino artistic genius. My personal favorites are stories about diwata (who was illustrated so beautifully I wish I was one), engkanto, kapre and tikbalang. And then there was also the world of Utleg (which is not on Google, sadly. I could not remember the creator of this funny comics), Facifika Falayfay ni Mars Ravelo, and Ang Blusang Itim ni Elena Patron. When Lastikman was adapted to a movie, I was so thrilled as I already read some of its episodes in komiks. I remember being so absorbed in these world of fantasy that I tried to talk to duwende while doing the dishes one too many times for the hope that one would appear and be my friend. But if there's one story that haunts me forever, it was the legend of Mutya ng Saging by Leoncio P Deriada. It leaves quite an impression to me that I was tempted to try it to see if the agimat is real but then it was frightening to go alone to the banana tree on full moon at midnight. For quite a long time this hideout is unknown to my family. But one day my luck has ran out, the tindera gave me away when my mother was frantically looking for me all over the places. After that, everytime I am missing they know exactly where to look -----in that corner of the world where the smells of a poultry feeds and torn, folded Pinoy Komiks is as comforting as the hot cocoa on a rainy day. May it books or comics, old or new, the smell of these small rectangular thing is surely the smell of adventure for me. Even adding the smell of poultry feeds on top of it.