Chapter 20: Insufferable
Paz Tiongson led me out of the sala to the overhanging balcony common in bahay na bato houses. On one side were the doors to the many rooms; on the other were large Capiz shell windows. As I followed, I glanced at the pretty front yard below, then at the empty streets past the fence.
A loud rattling noise made me halt, and I saw that we were in front of my room for the night. Doorknobs were not yet widespread in the country and were uncommon even in more modern houses like the Tiongsons'. Paz took a few moments before she finally unlocked the stiff metal latch and opened the door.
She turned to me, but before she could speak, I asked about what my nose had caught.
"Is that kamuning?" I asked, referring to satinwood, taking a couple of audible sniffs. A familiar, strong, soothingly sweet scent accompanied the air drifting in through the windows.
She mimicked my sniffing and then smiled. "No, Don Lardizabal... that's sampaguita."
"Ahhh," I said as I walked away from the open door toward the opposite window. I scanned the yard, trying to locate the plant and found the shrubs adorned with small white flowers behind the fences.
"Unassuming and yet so beautiful," I remarked thoughtlessly, now leaning on the windowsill. My tired mind was freely wandering, and the scent made things even dreamier.
"What... is?" Paz asked, pushing aside the fluttering curtain.
"The sampaguita flower. Not as ornate as the rose... so plain and small, yet it still manages to stand out," I said.