Pettrani Village Malino. 03/09/2022
The other day while my friends and I were away, we went out to the hill. The reasons why we chose a hill to go to was to snape group pictures as well as explore new places. When we reached the hill, we saw farmlands rife with grown carrots, green onions, potatoes, cabbage, and other forms of vegetables. Everywhere looked lush green. It felt like we have entered a piece of heaven although it wasn’t. To be honest, we picked fresh carrots but with the consent of its owner.
A little up the slope, while I was taking pictures of my friends, I heard footsteps stop behind me. When I turned back, I saw this lady smiling at me ear to ear. She was clad in tattered plus soil-stained clothes. Her long rubber boots stripped with mud showed that she was returning from the farms. and above all, the countless wrinkles on her face evidenced she had many hardships on her plate. Anyways, I couldn’t hold my curiosity back and right away started chit-chatting with her.
I asked her how old she was and replied that she doesn’t know the exact year of her birth. She might be 60 or 70. Her husband was no more. She lived across the hill with her grandchildren. She said, she doesn’t have anyone to back her financially. “I work on the farm to make sure our livelihood comes through and my remaining family doesn’t go hungry.”
She sustained her smile despite expressing her pain of destitution. Even for a brief moment, she didn’t allow her voice to waver, her eyes to burst, and her smiles to flee her lips.
