It was four-thirty in the afternoon when they leave the church and proceed to Carbon Market to buy fish and vegetables. She wanted to make a tinola soup because she missed having it. For a while, she only relied on canned goods and instant food or the food sold in the eateries near their boardinghouse.

Farmers, traders, and porters were all busy in the streets of Magallanes and Manalili. She wanted to take a lot of green leafy vegetables but their boardinghouse was not equipped with a refrigerator so it would go to waste. She just bought a kilo of sweet potatoes, riped bananas, and spices such as onions and...