Konted's Make My Day 2: A Wonderful World

A Wonderful World

It was still dawn when I woke up and took the wooden stairs down to the ground floor. It was too quiet as everyone else, I supposed, was still in deep sleep. Empty cans of San Mig Lite were strewn near the fire place.

The window pane was misty and, like a child, I drew a swastika image. Not because I admire Hitler and the Nazis but that it was easy to draw. My reason was as simple as that.

With just a little pull, the front door swung open. There was pearly glow in the sky. I could feel the cool, fresh mountain air. And there was this smell of burning pine cone. I could see anthuriums, golden candles, marguerite daisy flowers, birds of paradise, ferns, etc.

Suddenly, I remembered the time when I was working at Hyatt Terraces Baguio. I was assigned at the graveyard shift. On the way home, driving through South Drive, I would step on the gas very lightly so as to be able to appreciate the beautiful and colorful flowers by the side of the road.

One time I stopped to pick a white flower called Angel's Trumpet. It caught my fancy. It was a bell-shaped flower. But a man in checkered jacket, perhaps on his way home too, approached and warned me that the Angel's Trumpet I was holding was deadly. It could also induce scary hallucinations or euphoria, added the man. I immediately dropped it. The Angel's Trumpet was, after all, not that angelic.

The sun was now out. A man was walking his golden retriever. Two pretty ladies, both garbed in Nike Pro black tights with matching core sweaters, were running at a steady, gentle pace. A blue guard, making his rounds, passed by and smiled. "Magandang umaga, kaibigan", I greeted. To which he responded: "Naimbag nga aldaw, Manong." I headed back to our assigned house. It's time for breakfast.

- Konted

Forest Cabin is inside Camp John Hay where tall Benguet Pines still abound.

This is the typical residential unit at Forest Cabin. While the units are privately owned and, sometimes, rented out, Forest Cabin is still managed by Camp John Hay Development Corporation. Ownership of a unit reverts back to CJHDC after 50 years.