Under the Shade of an Old Mango Tree

Chapter 1: Arriving at Santuwaryo Manggahan

The small town of Santuwaryo Manggahan was quite lively but peaceful-a pleasant contrast to the exhausted yet chaotic state of most urban cities. And the people were quite friendly. The moment Lena's car pulled up near the main entrance of the town hall, people passing by would smile at her. A few would even wave.

As she got out of her car, she immediately noticed that the public building and the structures beside it were made of steel and glass. They were sleek and quite breathtaking. And the landscaping was spectacular.

As far as she could see, the roads were neatly paved. And there were beautifully maintained trees and shrubs along the litter-free sidewalks.

And there were no power lines that obstructed the view of the elegant buildings. And there were also no skyscrapers that obstructed the view of the light blue sky daubed with white, feathery clouds. A picture of serenity, even when a flock of rather vocal starlings flew past.

Lena quickly fished her phone from her bag. Full bars. Strong Wi-Fi. She put the phone back inside and then grabbed her tablet. She searched for a map of the area. The town was surrounded by forests, and beyond those forests were looming mountains. It was supposed to be a remote town, but it looked very modern and frankly looked even better than urban cities-even European cities.

She returned her tablet in her bag and walked toward the wide entrance to the town hall, where a guard on either side greeted her courteously and asked if they could help her. She told them that she was moving into the Ramos house. They promptly directed her to the office of a certain Mr. Arnulfo Lim.

The interior of the town hall was even more amazing-from the white-marble terrazzo floors to the smooth glass and grey brick walls to the smooth marble columns that flanked a central courtyard where the canopy of a large mango tree seemed to reach the sky. The entire space was phenomenally much larger than how it looked from the outside.

When Lena snuck a look behind the massive trunk of the tree, she saw a big tinted-glass-walled office at the center of the second floor. Above its wide double doors was a large smooth wooden sign board with the words Office of the Foster Family Program engraved in gold. Lena wondered if the town had so many orphans.

As she was looking around for Mr. Lim's office, a smartly dressed middle-aged woman approached her. Only then did she realize that she had been gaping.

The woman introduced herself as Tina, Mr. Lim's assistant. She led Lena to Mr. Lim's office, which was down, far down the right hall. When Ms. Tina opened the intricately carved wooden door, Lena saw a very cozy office that was filled with different sorts of antiques.

Ms. Tina had Lena sit at a handmade round wooden table. Then she brought Lena an old-fashioned fountain pen and a couple of documents that would hand over the Ramos property to Lena. After a couple of minutes, they were joined by Mr. Lim himself, a property lawyer. He was a balding man in his fifties. He was dressed in what appeared to be a vintage three-piece suit.

After Mr. Lim obligingly answered some questions, Lena signed the documents. Mr. Lim took the papers, excused himself for a few moments, and then came back with the papers notarized. He handed the papers to Lena along with an antique-looking map of the town, as well as a booklet. Mr. Lim explained that the booklet was a primer that she could refer to. He pointed to the number at the back of the primer and said that if she had any questions, she could call that number. He then bid her farewell, but not before offering her something to eat and drink. Lena politely and eagerly accepted.

Ms. Tina led Lena to a wide room that had a full kitchen and another round but, this time, sleek metal table with matching chairs. She offered Lena a seat and then started to brew some coffee. Afterward, she took out a big slice of a mango cheesecake from a big, well-stocked fridge and placed it on the table, in front of Lena. After a few moments she gave Lena the freshly brewed coffee and set small jars of cream, milk, and brown sugar beside it. The cake looked delicious and the coffee smelled heavenly.

"How about you, Ms. Tina?"

"I already had some." Ms. Tina smiled sheepishly. "I have to pace myself," she said in a whisper.

Lena smiled conspiratorially. She then sampled the cake and coffee. She didn't have to add anything to the coffee. It was already flavorful. She took more bites and sips. She couldn't help smiling with such satisfaction that Ms. Tina chuckled.

"They're really good, aren't they?"

Lena nodded enthusiastically.

"May I ask where you got them-both the cheesecake and the coffee?"

"Oh, the mango cheesecake is available in any of our bakeshops, and you can get the coffee from the grocery stores and supermarkets," Tina informed her. "You'll find them on the map."

"I'm really excited to explore your town, Ms. Tina."

Ms. Tina smiled.

"Well, I hope that you will consider Santuwaryo Manggahan as your town too."

Lena smiled back.

After one last bite and one last sip, she was done with her cake and coffee. She couldn't help but briefly clap after finishing such a scrumptious snack.

Ms. Tina chuckled. She gave Lena a look that said she knew how she felt.

After Ms. Tina placed the used dishes in the sink, she escorted Lena out of the pantry, out of the building, and then to Lena's car. She showed Lena the Ramos house on the map and pointed her to the correct direction.

As Lena was looking around, she noticed a sign that said, "Please park at the back." She quickly apologized to Ms. Tina for leaving her car at the front of the building, but the latter assured her that it was all right since it was her first time in the town. She reminded Lena to read the primer.

Lena bid Ms. Tina farewell and got into the car. As she started the vehicle, she waved again to the affable assistant. And as she eased into the main road, she saw the upper stories of a sprawling greyish white building only a few blocks from the town hall. On the rooftop was a large sign that read Ospital ng Santuwaryo Manggahan. It had wide windows. And the ridges that defined the rooms were far apart. That meant big rooms-maybe the private ones at least. For a small town, the building looked like a first-class city hospital.

From everything that she had seen so far, Santuwaryo Manggahan seemed quite interesting.