From afar, I can hear your lively chatter with a friend while you’re inspecting a stack of fabric. You’re choosing the liveliest of colors for your next designs. You love to create little dresses for little girls. But women lined-up also for your collection. But for the non discriminating, you also carry with you the latest ready-to-wear styles from Manila.
I have watched you prepare your materials on a wide table inside your shop just adjacent to your house. You carefully unfold a bolt of cloth. Your hands gently glided on the laid-out surface, stretching the fabric to your content. How quick your hands move, measuring, marking inches with the crown’s tailor crayon.
My most favorite part is when you started cutting the fabric. The sound of your very sharp scissor would tear across the cloth and stop at the end with a ripping crunch. Those are the pair that’s forbidden for others to use. It’s a strict order.
Your favorite work clothes are a simple white tank top and light tangerine shorts. I love those for you. Your asymmetrical short Audre Hepburn inspired hair suits you well also.
You work fast and very precisely. A few moments later, you’re already on your classic Singer sewing machine. I saw you have several seamstresses working with you too. Business must be very good.
You stood, removed the cloth from the machine, said goodbye to others and a few moments later, you’re wearing flared jeans paired with a light cream georgette with a mini-puffed sleeves blouse and a thin red belt around you. You were on your way to inspect the beauty parlor and small refreshments canteen a few blocks away from your dress shop.
When you arrive at the canteen, there’s this young lawyer who’s working from the local municipal hall who has been waiting for you. He mustered up the courage to greet you. But you, being you, responded with a shy smile and moved quickly to talk to your staff. Just how fast you came in, you hurriedly leave the place, giving the young man no chance to get a second interaction.
It was noisy inside the salon. The whirring of hair dryers and loud chattering of people is a stark contrast to how quiet your dress making shop is. But everyone was so alive and happy to see you when you entered the place. Regular customers who are also friends noticed your hair and the blouse you made yourself.
They pulled you close to share the latest tidbits about your cousin who came home from Germany and fell in-love with the young property inspector from Napocor, hailed from Negros. You met him already. He was good looking but a bit flashy for your taste. Your friends said they’re engaged and are to get married soon. You just wished them goodluck.
They then teased you about your seven-year relationship with a childhood friend, egging you to get married already. You looked at them and took a glimpse of some of their kids who were noisily playing at a corner, you just politely smiled and excused yourself.
Life is just starting for you. Marriage is not even part of the equation at this point. Love has to wait. You would travel with your favorite sister in some parts of the world. Despite how much you hate the cold, you would visit some nephews and nieces in Canada. The visit is just secondary, but this gives you the opportunity to wear the most fashionable ensemble for the season.
They call you “Tita sexy” because of the red lipstick you love to wear. You don’t wear make-up but they will never catch you leaving your house without it. You like the sun more because you love wearing comfortable clothes. You are not peeved by how others look at you when you wear your short-sleeved a-line above the knee dress, paired with strapped sandals. You have good looking legs and a mini-skirt looks good on you too.
You love freedom. You are always hungry for growth. You defied the culture of your generation when it was dictated that women should not study because they will just waste the knowledge when they start having a family of their own.
You ran away from the imposed wealth found in hectares of land which you need to toil for your future family. Your father almost disowned you for choosing to study. Therefore, he did not give you lands except for that small piece for your shop while your siblings inherited 8-9 titles under their names. Others mocked your decision to stay away from farming.
Yet, you are now on your way in building the life you claim to be your reason in becoming, to be, and will be. You are done cocooning. You already stepped out of your shell admiring the wings that will soon be strong enough for you to fly to other possibilities and other learnings.
You want to be away, so you can come back different, evolved and alive.
While I can still remember 
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