
At three in the afternoon, after the 3 o’clock habit prayer, we’d usually hear a booming voice from a block away.
“ELA! ELA!” In short explosive baritone you’d think it was from a military staff sergeant. Everybody calls him Kuya Bak even if he was our lolo. He had a mean, tough face that has seen war and dealt death in the war zone. He survived the Japanese occupation fighting for our country’s freedom.
He is calling for his wife, Perla, for the afternoon snack, meryenda. Ate Ela, will have to stop







