Bignay Wine

This bottle of bignay wine reminds me of my childhood.

I spent the first five years of my life in a small town near the famous cone-shaped active volcano in the Philippines called "Mt. Mayon." When I started walking, I also started disobeying my grandmother especially when (before she would leave for work) she would persistently instruct me to, "stay at home and don't go to the rice fields!"

I don't know how I found my way to the rice fields; but for some reason, I managed to find my way through so I could happily play in the rice paddy which was too quick to swallow me whole. I too was too quick to cry and my grandma's sister who was supervising the laborers had to pull me out immediately. Discovering the dangers of the rice fields, my cousin and I decided to find another playground. 

In our massive playground, we found an area lined with trees bearing red and blue fruits. At that time, the species' name was unknown to me. It was only recently that I learned of its name: "bignay." These bignay fruits did not taste nice; they were a bit sour. They were barely even sweet, in fact. However, they were the only trees we could manage to climb, so we had to be contented with our new find. My cousin and I would climb these trees whenever we had the chance. I remember I was really enjoying my time picking up the tiny red and blue fruits. My hands were too tiny to hold the bunches of fruits we picked so I had to wrap and tuck them with my t-shirt. My grandma always appeared shocked to find my t-shirt all covered with red and blue stains. You can just imagine the look on her face. But all she could say was, "Just stay at home tomorrow, Ok?" I had to do my best to stay cute while replying with a "yes grandma" so I wouldn't be castigated. However, the next day, I would  once again freely run, play and climb in our massive "playground."

I had a wonderful childhood.