It was way past afternoon when we started gathering woods.
The sun still shone brightly, but unlike its burning heat on afternoons, the light that it radiated at that time was not that scorching anymore. I quietly slipped past through the tall grasses behind the huge tamarind tree. My mother and sister were too busy collecting dry wood to notice me sneak away from them.
"Now where should I go?", I muttered silently to myself as I navigated my way through the tall bushes and grasses that sprawled across my path.
I skipped past through the thorny shrubs, and I carefully bended back the long ones so that they would not flicked back to me. Before, we didn't have electric or gas stoves, so we collected dry wood in the lush grasslands. It was tedious, yet fun.
I saw an oddly colored spider, and I immediately fished out the empty matchbox out of my pocket. Moving like a predator, I quitely seized it with my hand, and in just a few more seconds, I finally caught it.
"Yesss!!!", I exclaimed as I closed the matchbox tightly. I shaken it a little to confirm if it's really inside, and when I heard the rattling sound, I grinned.
I was about to stand up when a hand grabbed my shoulder. Shocked, I immediately whirled around to see who it was.
"Elen! Geez... Don't scare me like that," I almost shouted as I swatted her hands off my shoulder.
"Shhhh... Don't make a sound, Gette; we're playing hide and seek. I'm sure Ralph was still looking for me," she murmured while grinning mischievously at me.
I just gave her a wry smile before proceeding with my spider hunting. I was really into insects before, and I often collect various kinds of them in matchboxes and jars. It's one of my personal hobbies then, and I often wanted to do it alone.
I glanced at Elen and scowled. 'When will she leave me alone?', I wondered silently. I scratched my scalp in agitation because I really wanted to be alone that time.
"Hey Elen, go somewhere else because I know he will easily spot you here... Maybe there?", I said with a hint of impatience while I passively pointed a large clump of bushes.
"Don't you want to play with us?", she asked as she carefully stood up.
"No... I'll stay here for a while."
"Ok, suit yourself...", she mumbled nonchalantly as she sprinted her way towards the clump of bushes.
After some minutes of prodding the leaves and twigs of the small bushes, I decided to go somewhere else.
I stood up, and I walked further towards the thick and tall grasses. I was both nervous and excited as I made my way inside the jungle of grasses and bushes. I carefully made my way down the sloping part, and I keenly listened to any noise. I know there were really wild snakes dwelling near the bamboos below the slope, so I picked a sharp stick just in case.
When I arrived down the slope, I marveled at the entire scenery that I saw. Unlike the tall grasses that thrive above, tall trees towered over me, and various types of vines and wildflowers blossomed.
I spun around and silently admired the sight that I'm seeing. I smiled when I heard the familiar bird calling.
'It's the bird that calls rain!'
It's like once in a blue moon to see and hear them at close, so I gazed at it with amazement while I continued listening to its mournful yet melodious calling. My parents told me that whenever this bird makes that sound, the rain will soon come.
Several minutes passed by when its calling finally came to a halt.
'If only that could have last longer...', I reluctantly pondered.
For the last time that day, I spun around again and marveled at its sight. I dampened my dry lips and let out a sharp sigh as I made my way towards the trail back to the grasslands above.
I'm already halfway through climbing the slope when I decided to glance back for a moment.
"Good bye...", I silently whispered to the gentle breeze that glided past through me.
"Gette, you naughty kid! Where have you been?", my mother asked while raising her brow.
"I just gathered some wood somewhere, Mama," I said calmly as I showed her the bundle of wood that I collected on my way back.
She squinted her eyes on me, and as if reading my mind, she frowned.
"Don't tell me you went down the slope again... Did I tell you not to go there? What if you got bitten by a snake? Who will rescue you, huh?", she chided as she lightly tapped my cheeks.
"But—
"Ay, ay, foolish kid! You never really learned! I tell you one of these da—
Here words fell into blind ears as my consciousness drifted to my experiences earlier.
The towering trees, the creeping vine, the peculiar flowers, and the melodious bird call.
It's like I can't get it out of my mind—a beautiful temporary memory that kept haunting me that moment.
"What are you smiling at?", Eloi asked curiously while pinching my arms.
"A rare experience... something that happens once in a blue moon," I answered while giving her an intriguing smile.
"What...? Once in a blue moon? What's that? Come on, tell me! Tell me! Tell me 'goy!", she demanded.
I shook my head and just ignored her. I continued picking up the small dried twigs, and I bundled them up together with the thin woods. Feeling her surging impatience and curiosity, I set aside the bundled woods and glanced over my shoulder.
"Someday you'll understand, Loi...", I answered in assuring manner.
She scoffed at me and rambled on how selfish I am not to share it with her. I simply ignored her rambling again until she naturally got tired of it.
I gazed at the sun that's slowly fading into the horizon. Seeing that the sun had already set, my mother asked us to gather up all the dry wood that we collected and put in the sack. I don't know if I just imagined it or if I truly heard it because just before we left the grassland, I once heard the mournful calling of that bird.
Beautiful but somehow doleful. It was like a woman yearning and calling for her lost lover.
And that night it came back; it rained.