You could never really escape from your past for no matter where you go, there is always something that reminds you of someone, something, somewhere.  The world is filled with treasures of personal history - if you only know where to look and only learn to notice.  

 

I grew up with a mango tree behind my parents house. Unlike the usual mangoes being sold in the fruit markets, that mango was special - it was an indian mango tree!  It was even more special because that mango tree, I figured, will outgrow me and will bear witness to all the memories of my childhood.  It has certainly been an integral part of my life in Kalibo.  I could remember countless hours sitting on its stocky trunk, climbing its branches, being shaded by its teeming leaves, and devouring its bearings. It was also the tree which we used as base for a game of hide-and-seek, prior to it becoming the foundation of our (my sister Pia & I) tree house.  The mango tree has been the one thing that has kept the memories as well as the secrets of what once was, which many of us tend to forget.  It’s existence has been a continuing reminder of how important it is to be grounded to the past in order to move forward.        

 

However, on a visit home a few years ago, I found that the tree my grandmother planted in the same year I was born is no longer there.  The memories of my childhood has been obliterated along with the tree and I was not sure whether I’d be able to find it in me to remember.

 

I have searched for something just like mine and have not found it elsewhere.  I did not think I’d find a tropical tree in the many places I visit.  Just when I had given up and stopped looking, I stumbled upon a tree - very much like the one I had, only in Puerto Rico!

 

This picture is a picture of what I consider my new tree, which I hope will outlive me - just as I thought my old tree should have.  I had to whisper all my secrets and dreams and hopefully one day when I have forgotten them, I can come back to collect the memories I tried to create in this lifetime.

 

Let’s save the trees and protect our environment.