Vacation.

It is the best thing ever invented for the survival of human sanity. The only word that makes my heart go oompah oompah. Everytime I think of it, I picture angels surrounding me singing 'hallelujah'.

How could I not when I had to go to a strict private school, study my ass off, be around with sickening spoiled rich kids almost everyday 'til I bored myself to death waiting for summer to come?

We know summer means one thing: vacation. It's the only way out. It is freedom! And most of all, especially for me, vacation means my grandma.

I love my grandma so much.

She could be a bit uptight sometimes but she is actually sweet and caring to us. She's the only reason why I look forward coming back to my parents' hometown every end of the school year—other than the refreshing beach just a walking distance from our house, of course. Oh, my friends and cousins there also.

"Thank you!" My father shouted as he dropped the last of our baggages off the jeepney. The driver, Mang Terry, smiled and nodded before he gone off along with the other passengers who had just arrived here from the city as well.

"Wow! Mother's got orchids now," my mom chirped as soon as she walked through the open gate, admiring the new addition to grandma's lively garden.

"Mom, aren't these poisonous?" My brother inquired, still touching it anyway.

"No, they're not. Now, go help your father carry the bags inside. Take the small ones," she said as she investigated the small mango tree standing beside our favorite old wooden swing.

I was pulling my pink travelling bag when Niq darted back to dad, who was already putting the luggages to the porch one by one, and tried lifting a big box with his skinny arms. `Patheticʼ, I thought. Only did he stop when dad scolded him by his name—Dominique—so he carried his own trolley filled with clothes instead.

"My, my..."

"Lola!" I rushed towards her when I saw her coming out behind the house. She must have been cooking my favorite bilu-bilo in the backyard. I can smell it.

"You've all grown so well," praised grandma while we 'mano' to her then hugged her tight. It's a traditional Filipino thing where we ask for an elder's hand before bumping our foreheads at the back of it—a gesture showing respect for them. I softly inhaled the comforting scent of hers, warm and smells like spring.

Niq let go of her. He swiftly stood beside me and then tried to measure the difference between our height while he tiptoed. "I'm taller than Jean now, Lola! See?"

Grandma ruffled his hair. "Call your older sister 'Ate'." I grimaced at him; he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Mother," mom called as she joined us on the doorstep with Lola and hugged her too. "Where'd you get the orchids?"

"I got them from your aunt. She's selling plants now. I was her first customer; gave me 100% discount," grandma replied.

"I'll definitely buy one then," mom chuckled.

"Where is Frederick?"

Just as Lola asked, Papa appeared at the doorstep with the last of our belongings. "Hello, mother." He greeted before asking her hand to 'mano'.

They stayed there to chat for a bit, so I decided to enter the house without them. I headed towards the kitchen since I heard Niq talking to someone familiar from there. I swept away the curtain made of beads covering the entrance to the kitchen with my hands and saw lots of food almost occupying the whole dining table.

"It's like fiesta in here," I mumbled excitably before my eyes had caught a glimpse of small dark cubes drowning in a bowl of white liquid called milk. "COFFEE JELLY!"

I walked past the kitchen through the back door with a spoon and a cup of coffee jelly in my hand. "Hey, Tita Loida." I greeted as soon as I stepped out in the backyard.

Tita Loida is my mom's sister-in-law. She was cooking in a big pot placed on top of three charred big stones with the fire at the middle resting on the ground. It's where they usually cook time-consuming and difficult-to-cook foods. She stopped stirring for a second to take a good long look of me.

"Oh, Jeanie, is that you?" She asked, surprisingly confused. I know there's nothing much that has changed about me—I just grew my boobs a little and my height, I think. "You look like a young lady now."

Yeah, maybe it's the boobs.

"A lady dressed up like a boy?" My stupid brother snorted. He was playing with an earthworm near the back gate. I just rolled my eyes at him and hoped the worm would become faster than him and sneak inside his nostril.

"Or a boy trying to dress up like a lady?" He added. And that's it.

I lost my patience so I chased him away until he triumphantly got through the back gate. He just laughed at me then went off to the basketball court, maybe.

"Good riddance," I muttered, locking the gate again. 'Are jumpers only for boys?' I thought as I eyed my outfit. At least, I'm wearing a butterfly-printed shirt. It's just that the print is covered by my denim jumper. I'm no tomboy.

"You never stop fighting, don't you?" Tita Loida commented, still busy stirring the soup.

"He always starts it though," I protested before finally checking the content of the pot. "I knew it was bilu-bilo!"

She sneered as she sprinkled water into the fire. It's done!

It's almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon and we all sat there together at the dining table eating our meryenda. They were talking about grown-up stuff while me and my brother were busy finishing our plates.

"Bring this to your Tiya Vulma," Lola said then handed me a tupperware of bilu-bilo. "Careful, it's hot."

I went outside using the front gate, cautiously watching my every footstep until I reached our neighbor's front door. She just lives next to our house with her boyfriend, Tiyo Odel.

"Tiya Vulma?" I called.

Just so you know: 'Tiya' or 'Tiyo' is originally a Spanish term for auntie or uncle but in this town, people commonly use it to address someone who's older and is not a relative. I think it's because we treat everyone here as our own family, that's why. We usually use 'Tita' and 'Tito', as what mostly Filipinos do, to address our blood-related aunties and uncles—like my beloved Tita Loida.

The door was closed, so I peeped inside the house through their open jalousie window and saw signs of no one. "Tiya Vulma, are you there?"

Again, no one was answering. I thought maybe they were at the beach or something so I planned on going back. Then, I heard Tiya Vulma's loud voice beside their house and when I went to check if it was really hers, I saw her sitting in a small booth chatting with some strangers who I think came from the neighboring barangay. They all looked at my direction.

"Jeanie!"

"Hi, Tiya Vulma." I greeted. Obviously, they were about to leave since she already bid them goodbye.

"Long time no see! You should have visited sooner. You missed the rest of the Santa Cruzan," she said. Oh, right. Santa Cruzan—the exciting nights of parties and procession of colorful gowns. "They could have invited you to be part of it, you know."

"Oh, no. I won't do that again," I winced at the thought of it.

"Why not? You look more beautiful now. Boys will surely flock around you when they see you wearing a gown."

"You're just messing with me, Tiya Vulma." I sneered, shaking my head.

"It is true," she laughed. "What is that, by the way?"

"Oh, it's bilu-bilo. Lola told me to bring this to you." I placed the container on top of the table and she opened the lid.

"Smells good! This looks delicious. Please tell Tiya Nimfa 'thank you' for me." I nodded.

I then noticed the familiar ingredients and equipment organized inside her mini booth. "Are you making halu-halo for business now?"

"Yes, of course! Do you want some?"

"Sure," I replied excitingly.

"But first, stop calling me Tiya. I'm too young for that," she joked. She wouldn't tell me her age but I know she's around mid 30s and I do agree she shouldn't be called that name yet. "Call me 'Ate Vulma'."

"Okay," I giggled. "Ate Vulma, it is."

"Your halo-halo is on the house then," she winked before preparing my special icy halo-halo. I sat on the wooden bench provided as I watched her fill a paper cup with colorful ingredients.

"Where's Kuya Odel?" I asked while she skillfully added crushed ice and evaporated milk to the special cup. "Your house is empty."

"Oh, he's at the construction, working. He should be home by dinner. You'll know it when he does. For sure, he'll drop by at your house 'cause he knows you're all going home today."

"Yeah. Then, he and dad would drink rum all night."

"No doubt about that," she muttered satirically and I laughed in reply. Then, I saw a familiar face walking straight towards us.

"JEAN!"

It was Aly, my second cousin and childhood bestfriend. She was smiling, appearing in her typical outfit—a cute blouse and a pair of tight leggings, which emphasized her long legs. The truth is we were never away from each other, not physically speaking. Yes, we would only see each other every summer but we have always kept in touch by chatting each other on Facebook whenever I'm back in the city. Still, I really missed her.

"Hey, I missed your face." I greeted as soon as she joined the booth and hugged me. She put a 20-peso bill on top of the table, telling Ate Vulma she wants halo-halo too.

"I missed you too! Let's go to the beach?"