Kara of the Mangroves

May Castillo Sicat

Waking up early that morning at the mission house, Kara felt for her slippers under her bed. Hugging her doll, Rei, she left the bedroom in her pajamas. She walked straight to the living room and into the mini-library across it. She stopped before a tall bookshelf. Yawning, she scanned the shelf left to right, up and down. Rei was still sleepy on her chest.

The books on the shelves were immediately curious. “Who is she?” they asked. Some of them climbed down from their row on the shelves to peek at Kara. Others poked their spines out the shelf gaps to see her better.

Kara slumped onto a chair and stroked Rei’s thick, red hair. She buried her face on the table. Rei felt sorry for her.

They hardly noticed a red booklet going down from the top fourth row of the shelf. When it was finally on the table, it asked Rei, “Is she crying?”

Startled, Rei shook her head. “No, she’s not crying. But they just arrived here two days ago. Yesterday her Mom and Dad went out early on a hike up the mountains, and since last night she has wanted to go back home.”

“Where?”

“To Sarga…sarga… to the South,” Rei answered.

Turning to the girl, the booklet asked, “Hmmm. And what is her name?”

“Kara.”

Two other books, one slightly long and thin, the other fat and wide, clambered down the shelf and joined the three.

Kara lifted her head and was surprised at her new companions.

“Hello, Kara. Happy to meet you,” they said. “Are you here to read?”

Kara smiled. She recognized the wide book. Her mother owned one just like it. Her Mom sometimes copied some pictures from that book for her to color. Visitor, it’s called.

“Hey Vister!” she said. “Nice seeing you here.”

“Hello!” Vister turned to Rei, “She knows me!”

Kara shook the hand of the other book.

“Hello!” the book said, “I’m Thinker. I have songs inside me.”

“Oh that’s good, Thinker. Will you teach me a song?” Kara asked.

“Gladly,” answered Thinker.

The Answer book

Just then, Mrs. Dans entered. All the curious books arranged themselves primly back on the shelves. Vister and Thinker did not make it, falling on the floor when they hurried back up their shelf spaces. Mrs. Dans picked them up. She is a very short lady. She and her husband are foster parents at the mission house.

Kara felt a bit scared. But Mrs. Dans is also her Ninang. Mom said that when she was a baby, Mrs. Dans took care of her and gave her milk. Kara thought that Mrs. Dans had the most amazing skin color – terra cotta – as her mom described it. Mrs. Dans also had the whitest teeth in the whole world and the shiniest, curliest hair Kara had ever seen. Her husband is as tall and as straight as the sturdiest mangrove Kara knew. And his skin was much much lighter than terra cotta.

Mrs. Dans was saying as she fixed Vister and Thinker back in their places, “Why are you up so early? Did you sleep well?”

“Opo”. Kara nodded.

“Would you like to have breakfast now?” Mrs. Dans glanced at her watch. “It’s nearly seven o’clock. Wait here and read first while I fix some sandwich.”

On hearing that Kara would read first, a little orange book jumped off the shelf, landed on the table, and rolled open before Kara. [It has been attempting to jump since Kara came in].

Kara picked up this orange book now smarting at her. She held it up to Mrs. Dans.

“Oh, the Answer Book,” Mrs. Dans said, “Ok, you may read it. I’ll call you in a while for breakfast.”

Kara sat, cupping her chin in one hand. She started flipping through the pages of the slim orange book and read: “The Answer Book.”

On the first page it says, “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” Under the big bold question are a boy and a girl shaking hands.

The next page says, “WHERE DO YOU LIVE?” Right above this caption is a picture of a house with a garden.

Kara turned to Rei, “Do you know where we are now?”

“I know,” said Rei. “The day before yesterday, we flew from Sambara-saramba- oh well, from the South to the North. We're on vacation! At least, that’s what your Dad said.”

“That’s Sa-rang-ga-ni. I told you to say it correctly.”

“Yes, that’s what I said. Shramba-srangba- Oh, whatever. We’re in Baguio now.”

Not long after, Mrs. Dans called, “Kara, Breakfast is ready….”

Kara answered, “Coming, Mrs. Dans!” Then she waved to the books, “See you later.”

New friends at the library

Later that same morning, Kara went back to the Library, munching cookies. “Ninang!” she called, “I am not finished with the Answer Book. May I read it while I eat my cookies?”

Mrs. Dans said, “You may read it but take care that crumbs won’t fall on the pages of the book. We don’t like ants to find crumbs in them.” She winked.

“Yes Ninang,” Kara smiled.

Kara put her cookies aside. She retrieved the Answer Book from the shelf and opened it to page five.

“All right Rei, where are we now? Here, look; It asks, ‘WHAT DOES YOUR MOTHER DO FOR A LIVING?’ … Here’s a doctor; that’s an… astronaut! Yes, and a soldier, and a board… Sunday school… a teacher… Mom makes pots but she is not here.”

“Your mom is a sculptor,” Rei said.

“You’re right, of course! But no, there is no sculptor here.“

“Wait.” Kara closed her eyes and pointed to the next page. She murmured, “I’m sure the next question is…” she opened her eyes. “I’m right, it asks about Dad! I thought it would. Dad is a missionary; everybody knows that. But no, it’s not here as well…. Uhmmmm…”

Kara then lazily flipped to the next pages. They asked about pets, brothers, and sisters. “I don’t have a brother or a sister!” Kara blurted.

“That’s right!” said Rei. “You have only me. But that book does not even ask my name.” Rei raised her eyebrows.

The next page made Kara stop and think. “HAVE YOU BEEN TO A PARK?” On the page, there is a picture of a girl in a swing, surrounded by grass flowers, and trees.

“We’re going to Burnham on Sunday,” Kara mumbled. “Mom said so…”

Rei said, “Wow! A cool place to go right after church.”

“But I prefer the beach.” Kara pouted. “We always went to the beach. We would pack rice and adobo and pancit, and we ate our food, right there on the beach, and they smelled good, and we ate with our hands, and Dad and Tatay Ben would buy fish, and Nanay Delia and Mom would cook them over the fire, and I would play with Utoy and Nene, and we would ride a boat, and row along the beach following the line of mangroves, until the bend where Dad says it’s dangerous to row because it’s going towards the ocean where the big waves could swallow us up.”

“On the beach, we would run all day, and play catch me if you can. It’s always warm there, and the sands are white. When it got too hot we would run under the mangroves. Yes! My mangroves! My lovely cool mangroves.”

Then Kara was silent, “I should go back to Sarangani. I miss the mangroves.”

Playing house

Rei tried to console her friend. “Look at the pine trees here. I think they’re pretty.”

“But I miss Utoy and Nene and the mangroves,” said Kara.

Suddenly, she blurted, “I know! I know. We can still play by the mangroves! Let’s play house by the mangroves!”

Rei was confused. “But you’re six, and I’m a doll!” “How are we going to do that when we are among pines, not mangroves?”

“It doesn’t matter. Here’s what we’ll do.” Kara picked Vister. She also got the Thin book of verses from the lower shelf and brought them to the table.

Vister Book and Thinker Book whispered to each other. “Did you hear that they’re going to play house by the mangroves?”

“How will she do that? She’s not Filipina, is she?” Vister asked.

“What’s that got to do with playing house by the mangroves?” Thinker frowned.

“It can only be a house on stilts,” Vister answered.

Thinker was aghast, “It’s a playhouse! Every child knows how to play one, stilts or no stilts.”

Vister said, “But does she know that houses along the beach are on stilts?”

Thinker stared at Vister. “Not all houses along the beach are houses on stilts, thank you very much!”

“OK, but what kind of house will she build,” Vister asked. “She’s Canadian, for spine sake!”

“How did you know?”

“If she knows me, she must be Canadian. Because I come from Canada.”

“So…That makes her Canadian?” Thinker was suspicious.

“I’m sure she’s Canadian. Can’t you see we speak the same way?”

Thinker answered, “I don’t think you speak you know… you don’t even have letters on you…so…. She can be from where she said she lived. She must have been born there….”

Just then, Kara jumped up and clapped her hands to get everybody’s attention. “Look, I have an idea,” she said. “This Answer book asks me where I live. So, I’m going to build myself a house in an address that will never, ever, ever change. It should be by the beach, right by the mangroves.”

Rei, Thinker, and Vister were amazed. “Indeed!”

Fun reading on the beach

“First we have to go to the beach.” Kara was now pacing back and forth as she popped and chewed her cookies.

“The beach,” Vister and Thinker pondered.

“You two, will open and close,” said Kara.

“Open and close? This way you mean?” Thinker suddenly opened and closed in a huge thud. Vister helped it up because it fell in the process.

A bit embarrassed, Thinker said, “I can’t do that. I can’t open as flat as that on my back. I’m so slender.”

“I’ll hold you open,” said Rei. “I’ll always make sure that when Kara reads you, you don’t close too fast.”

“Ok, are you ready?” Kara asked.

“Wait,” said Thinker, “Just to open and close? You’re not going to read us at all?”

“Of course, I will read you. How could you open a book and not read it? It’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard! Besides, it’s fun to read by the mangroves,” said Kara.

“As for Vister, since he does not have words, we’re going to close our eyes very tightly, like this, so we can get inside his pages. Then when I say “Open,” we would all be at the beach. I would fold the page to mark it as our place.”

“Fold me!” Vister choked. “I am not for folding, nor for tearing. I am for viewing!”

“And so am I,” said Thinker, swallowing hard and patting Vister’s back. “I am a thinker and I can bear being alone but I can’t bear not being read. Read us and we’ll help you. That should be our deal!”

“All right, all right!” said Kara. “Here, I’ll show you. Fall flat Vister friend.”

Vister did fall so flat and Kara exclaimed, “There!” she pointed to a photo of a long white beach with children running on the sand. Lush green mangroves line up the shore. “Close your eyes, everybody,” Kara said. And then she uttered,

“Sand scrapes my feet. The heat causes me to run so fast

I think I wouldn’t last. Hurry! Hurry! Rei is just behind me

I will be tagged.”

Running after Kara

On the beach, Rei indeed ran so fast after Kara, but she couldn’t catch Kara who seemed to have winged feet.

For quite a while, Vister and Thinker just watched, their arms crossed over their covers. They were sitting side by side on some driftwood, leaning spine to spine. Thinker got bored and flipped Vister for some fun. “Here,” he said, holding a page where mangroves lined the beach. “That’s where we are.”

Just then, Kara called. “Come you two! We found mangroves with huge square roots kneeling side by side. We can sit there, on a bamboo bench. And the lush leaves will shield us from the sun! Come over.”

Vister wiped some sand off his body and strode towards Kara and Rei. “She knows a bamboo bench,” He said. “Maybe she’s Filipina.”

Vister closed and stood up, but lagged after Thinker. “I say, we should go on our way back to the shelf,” he shouted. But a wind slapped him shut, and he fell flat, and the wind flipped his pages back and forth too fast until it stopped on the picture of a line of mangroves spread right across his middle.

“Whoops!” Thinker laughed out loud. “The wind skimmed Vister!”

Kara was excited, “Come here Thinker. Open up. What do you have here?”

Thinker struggled as Kara held him and read,

“…Thick and lush leaves around us

Fishes and sea weeds below

Cool wind and water surround us

Sun peering so bright and low.”

“That’s so smart Thin,” said Kara. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

When he finally got up, Vister asked, “Look. I have sand.” He almost cried. “You’ll have to brush the dirt away. Mrs. Dans doesn’t like dirt, and if she finds sand on my pages, she might stack me in some box to sell later.”

Thinker told him, “Close up and don’t mope around like a coverless book.”

Rei walked up and down the beach and finally brought a piece of dry and flattened leaf. Thinker stuck it in between Vister’s mangrove page. “That’ll do it,” he smiled.

After a while, Kara said, “Vister, Thinker, come sit beside me. This is our house now, by these mangroves. Let’s play here where the leaves can protect us from the sun. Later, we’ll go on a boat ride with my friends. Look over there, they’re waving at us.”

Kara opened Thinker once more. She asked him, “Can you put my song inside you?”

“Delighted,” said Thinker. “How goes it?”

Kara stood up and bowed,

“I’m Kara, girl of the mangroves

I built my house near this tree

My heart’s right here, would you like to see

I’m one of you and you are in me.

Let me into your boat and we’ll row together

We’ll play tug of war with the whale

You’ll be rowing, I’ll be singing

Until the big fish swims far away.”

They all clapped, except Vister. He guessed rightly that his friends would take him to the boat.

“Oh, no!” Vister stepped back. “I’m staying. I won’t get into that, that thing riding the waves. Oh no…no….no!”

But Kara brought Vister and Thinker to the boat with her.

“Hello!” Kara shouted over to the children. “May I have a ride?”

The boys and girls on the boat laughed. They waved back and rowed their boat near the shore.

What makes this boat ride fun

Soon Kara was in the boat. The children spoke another language. But Kara understood some of what they were saying. She knew they were talking about her hair. She liked the color of theirs though, shiny-black as the sun touched them.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh; ohhhhhhhhhh; ohhhhhh Vister cried as the boat rode the calm waves of the sea. One girl and two boys rowed the boat.

Vister was open flat on Kara’s chest. The blue waters on his belly have multi-colored fishes playfully flipping their fins.

Kara said to her new friends in the boat, “This is Vister, Thin, and Rei. They’re my friends from the library.”

The children looked at her and laughed. “Ulandis” one of them pointed to her hair. “parang mais” and then they laughed again.

Kara found this funny too. That’s a good-sounding one for the color of her hair. Twirling some strands of her hair she said, “meyis.”

Everybody laughed.

Thinker sang happily from the bottom of his heart page.

“Your skin is red, and theirs are brown

Your nose’s too high, and theirs are flat

Their arms are skinny, and yours too plump

But then you can’t ever row so fast.”

The children joined in the singing. Ready, one, two three, Rei conducts:

“We’re too different yes we are

And yet we’re children in one boat

Kara’s mangroves are ours

And Vister and Thinker we browse.

And Vister and Thinker we browse.

They sang this over and over as they rowed the boat. Vister felt dizzy but Thinker felt very secure on Kara’s lap.

“Rei,” Thinker asked, “what makes this boat ride fun?”

“It’s those little flying fishes,” Rei answered.

“The clear, blue clouds,” Vister said yawning.

“The warm air?”

“Look at those mangroves!” Kara stood up and the boat dwindled slightly.

“Yes,” said Thinker “I’ve never seen such lush green leaves in my shelf life.”

Finally, they were back on the beach. Kara got out of the boat carefully. Her friends waved at her as they rowed away.

“Let's eat," said Kara, “by the mangroves.”

“What is for lunch?” asked Vister who perked up.

“Fish,” said Rei.

On Vister’s page, they are all having lunch. The Thinker is picking his fish.

Rei is watching them munch.

Vister had to remain flat and open. But he was getting hungry, too.

Before he could have his share of the grill, Mrs. Dans came. She told Kara, “Come Kara. Time for lunch.”

The end

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