Claire’s
“Ma’am Claire, please try these. Our mangoes here are delicious, export quality!” Eloy, the young son of Mang Nestor, one of the farmhands, said proudly.
I smiled at him and took a plate piled high with sliced mangoes. I swallowed; they looked so tempting. Besides the mango trees, there were also coconut and banana trees. When we arrived earlier, Manang Belen made buko juice. It tasted completely different from the buko juice I’ve had in Manila. Manang’s was much sweeter and more flavorful, probably because of the ingredients—she used fresh coconuts, not artificial flavorings.
“Thank you,” I said.
I immediately devoured a mango, closing my eyes at its sweetness and deliciousness.
We were in an open-sided hut, very cool because the breeze blew through. It wasn’t hot because we
