Alkansya

Alkansya is the Filipino word for piggy-bank.

This tale is based on a story my own grandfather (Lolo) told me many, many years ago.

Once again, my deepest thanks to chasten, norafares and the Avengers Assembly.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was on a visit to her grandmother, Lola Juana, a few months before her ninth birthday, when the old woman called Rosita.

"Come, hija, and sit with me," Lola Juana said, gesturing to the little girl with a thin, frail hand.

Rosita's smile lightened the old woman's heart, as her granddaughter sat beside her. The two had a close bond, closer than most grandparents would have had with the children of their children.

"I know it is too early to give your birthday present and even far earlier for your Christmas aguinaldo, Rosita," Lola Juana whispered to the little girl, "but I shall be giving you both anyway."

Her grandmother reached into the pocket of her long saya and brought out a beautiful egg-shaped wooden box.

"Happy Birthday, my sweet one," she said.

"Oh, Lola," Rosita said, eyes gleaming at the beauty of the box, "it looks so special... is it a magic box?"

"That is an alkansya, Rosita, and it does have the tiniest bit of magic," her grandmother said, winking, "but the magic will only work if your heart listens to what the box has to say."

"I promise to listen to it, Lola," Rosita whispered, crossing her heart.

Lola Juana gave the alkansya to the little girl. Rosita was surprised; it was not heavy at all, and the honey-colored wood was smooth and warm to the touch. She looked at it more closely and found a tiny latch on one edge. She looked up at her grandmother, an unspoken question in her eyes.

Lola Juana nodded.

"Yes, press that latch, Rosita; there is another surprise for you inside the box, and then I'll tell you how the magic works."

Rosita did as her grandmother had instructed; she pushed the tiny latch and the top of the box opened slowly, revealing a chain with a shiny crystal pendant hanging from it -- a pendant shaped like a very familiar figure.

"And Merry Christmas." Lola Juana said.

"A crystal Santa!" Rosita exclaimed, as she lifted the pudgy figure with two fingers and peered closely at the pendant, "He's smiling and look, he even has his sack of toys. Thank you, Lola, thank you!"

She kissed her grandmother soundly on the cheek.

"I know the chain is slightly tarnished, hija, but it will still hold Santa when you wear him around your neck... especially at Christmas."

"I'll wear him every day, and I'll remember you gave him to me every time I wear him, Lola."

The old lady hugged her granddaughter tightly.

"Hmm, you haven't asked how the magic of the alkansya works."

Rosita held her breath, waiting for Lola Juana to continue.

Once again, her grandmother reached into the pocket of her long skirt and pulled out a silver peso which she placed inside the wooden box.

"That coin, Rosita, and the box, together, make the magic," Lola Juana said.

"What do they do?"

"The coin becomes very lonely inside that box, especially if it's all alone," her grandmother said, "so, once a week, you have to shake the box and if the box is light and the shaking sounds loud and hollow, that is the coin reminding you that he is sad and wants more company."

"What do I do, then?"

"You have to put in at least one more coin to make the first one happy."

Rosita silently nodded her head.

"If I do that every week, Lola, the box will become full and heavy very quickly."

"Yes, it will, and when the box is too heavy to shake, that means it's time to spend some of the coins inside."

"You mean, I can buy anything I want?"

"Hmm," Lola Juana thought for a moment, "why not? As long as what you want will not empty the box. Remember, at least one coin has to be left inside the alkansya for the magic to happen."

She kissed the top of Rosita's head.

"I know the first thing I'll buy when the box becomes too heavy," Rosita said.

"And what is that, my sweet one?"

"A gold chain for my crystal Santa."

They both giggled.

"I promise to always keep one coin in the alkansya, Lola," Rosita said solemnly.

"There may come a time, though, hija, when you might have to spend that last coin."

"How will I know when?"

Her grandmother gently ran a finger down Rosita's chubby cheek.

"Your heart will tell you when the time comes and then you will spend that last coin gladly."

Sadly, that was the last time that Rosita and her grandmother spoke. Her mother and father received a telegram not long after they returned to Manila: Lola Juana had died peacefully in her sleep.

------

Rosita kept her promises to her grandmother; she wore the crystal Santa around her neck every day and not a week went by when she did not put at least one coin inside the magic box, and she never just put one coin in, she always managed to place more.

As summer came, Rosita and her Nanay made and sold the special treats that accompanied the long hot days: candied banana fritters wrapped in crunchy rice paper (called turon), bowls of cooked sweet corn kernels swimming in cold milk and vanilla ice (mais con hielo) and of course, halo-halo, the famous Filipino treat: a symphony of sweet beans, tapioca, and coconut jelly, topped with shaved ice, evaporated milk, a slice of custard and a dollop of ice cream.

Rosita saved all the coins she earned in the magic box; summer wasn't even half over and already, it was too heavy to lift with just one hand. Rosita was so happy that she even allowed herself to dream of a fine chain to hold the crystal Santa; the old chain was, by now, stained and discolored by the summer heat.

"Just six months more, Santa, and you'll have a fine new chain to dangle from," she whispered as she gently touched the pendant.

The warm dry weather finally ended and the long hot days gave way to the months of the monsoon... and the start of school. Both Rosita's Nanay and Tatay wondered why school had to begin just as the rainy season did, but Rosita did not mind; she quite liked the rain, as long as she did not have to wade in knee-deep flood-waters. Besides, the much cooler days were a welcome relief from the hot sticky days of summer.

And every day of that school year, Rosita made sure that she had two coins left from her school money to put inside Lola Juana's wooden box. The alkansya became heavier and heavier with each day's passing. Rosita knew she was not just going to buy a chain with all the coins she had saved in the box.

The cooler days became even colder -- and shorter -- as September started. The last four months of the year were a prelude to Rosita's favorite holiday -- Christmas! As that most festive of days approached, Rosita's Christmas list got longer; she knew she had more than enough coins in the box to buy a new chain, as well as presents to give to everyone she held dear, and still have at least one coin left inside the box. She sighed happily as she added the name of Mang Pedro, the school janitor, to the list.

Soon, it was the weekend before the holiday school break. Rosita and Nanay made their way to the new department store in the city to shop for everything they would need for Christmas: ingredients for all the lovely food her mother was so good at preparing: socks and underwear for Tatay, Nanay's intricate, lacy "unmentionables," bows and ribbons for Rosita's curly hair and even a new dress for her.

Rosita, too, bought the presents she had carefully written down on her list. She bought handkerchiefs for her teachers, and pencils and small colorful notepads for all her friends; the alkansya was decidedly lighter in weight when she bought a shawl for the lady in the school canteen who always had a smile for Rosita at lunch, and a wide-brimmed hat for Mang Pedro to shield his graying head from the sun while he swept the school grounds. By the time she bought the last two presents -- a lacquered fan for Nanay and a wooden pipe for Tatay -- Lola Juana's wooden box did not weigh anything at all.

The young girl happily watched as the saleslady carefully wrapped her purchases in brown paper and placed them in a large straw bag. Rosita felt like a grown-up, for, not only had she managed to buy everything on her list, she still had Lola Juana's silver peso left in the wooden box. She knew her grandmother would have been proud of her.

As Nanay was talking to a saleslady, Rosita walked to the glass counter where an array of necklaces and chains were on display.

One particular chain had caught her eye, it was a necklace of very fine gold links -- the perfect chain for the crystal Santa.

Rosita quickly approached the lady behind the glass counter.

"Excuse me, Miss," she said, "may I see that chain?" she said, pointing to the gold necklace.

"Of course," the lady answered and handed the chain to Rosita, "it's beautiful, isn't it? And that's the only one we have," she added.

Rosita carefully held the chain in her hands; yes, it was beautiful and no doubt, would cost a pretty penny; but surely, it would not cost one silver peso.

"How much is it?" she asked.

"It's one silver peso," the lady answered,

Rosita's heart sank; if she bought the chain, then she would be going home with an empty alkansya. She thought for a long time, listening to her heart, willing it to speak; finally and reluctantly, she placed the chain back on the glass counter.

She smiled at the saleslady, thanked her, and turned away.

"Did you get everything you need?" Nanay asked when they got home.

Rosita nodded; as much as she wanted the chain, her heart had remained silent. She knew it was not time to spend the final coin in her box.

On the last day of class, all the children in Rosita's school came laden with the presents they had brought to give their teachers and their friends. Gasps of surprise and wonder could be heard in every room as the many gifts were exchanged and admired.

Rosita made her way to the canteen, holding the straw bag with the two remaining presents she still had to give.

"Merry Christmas, Manang!" Rosita said, as she handed a gaily wrapped package to Aling Elsa, the woman who sold food at the canteen.

The old woman smiled widely as she unwrapped the shawl Rosita had given her.

"Thank you, Rosita, and Merry Christmas to you, too," Aling Elsa returned.

Next, Rosita went to the large covered school gym where she knew Mang Pedro would be resting, away from the heat of the noonday sun; she hoped he would like the hat she had bought for him.

He was sitting on a small wooden bench and as Rosita approached him, she saw he was busily braiding a long piece of soft leather.

"Good afternoon, Manong, and," Rosita pulled out the wide-brimmed hat, "Merry Christmas!" she said, handing the hat to Mang Pedro.

Mang Pedro's weathered brown face broke into a toothless grin.

"Salamat, Rosita, and Merry Christmas to you."

He put the hat on.

"How do I look?" he asked Rosita.

"You look very dapper, Manong," she answered. "Erm, what are you making?" Rosita added curiously, pointing to the braided leather cord.

"Oh, this?" he held up the strip of leather, "I'm making a necklace for my granddaughter, Neneng. It's to hold a locket that her mother wanted to give her for Christmas. It has both their pictures in it," the old man answered, reaching into his pocket and handing the locket to Rosita.

The little girl opened it, inside the locket were two tiny photographs, one was of a girl, slightly younger than Rosita, and the other of a young woman with dark hair and sadly beautiful eyes.

"They look so alike and both so pretty, Manong, is Neneng's mother your daughter?" Rosita asked, handing the locket back to Mang Pedro.

The old man nodded slowly.

"Yes," he whispered. "Her name was Edna, she'd been sick for a long time and she knew it wouldn't be long before...," Mang Pedro's voice faltered, he took several deep breaths before he continued, "she died last summer and she made me promise to give her daughter this locket for Christmas so that Neneng would always remember what her Nanay looked like. My wife and I can't afford to buy a chain, so I'm making her one with this strip of leather."

"I'm so... s... sorry to hear that," Rosita whispered.

Mang Pedro nodded.

"Thank you, Rosita," he straightened his shoulders, "but we must go on, my wife and I, for Neneng's sake and because it was what our daughter would have wanted. Well," he forced a smile on his face, "thank you for my hat again, and greet your Nanay and Tatay a merry Christmas for me."

Rosita shook his outstretched hand and walked back to her classroom.

It was then that she heard her heart. It was only a whisper, at first, like the quivering of a leaf in the early morning breeze, but with each step she took, the whisper grew louder.

Rosita didn't go back to her classroom, instead, she walked straight back home.

She went to her bedroom, took the alkansya out of her drawer, pressed the latch, and took out the last silver peso. Clutching the coin, she ran out of the house and all the way to the new department store.

She was out of breath when she reached the glass counter where the fine chains and necklaces were on display. Luckily, the saleslady remembered Rosita.

"Oh, hello again. Have you changed your mind about the chain?" she asked.

Rosita eagerly nodded, still out of breath from running.

The young woman removed the chain from the display and carefully placed it in Rosita's hand. The fine links glittered as they caught the bright lights of the store.

"Now you've got a really nice chain for him," the saleslady said, pointing to the Santa hanging from the tarnished necklace around Rosita's neck.

Rosita touched the pendant; she had forgotten all about her crystal Santa, but she smiled widely as she handed the lady the last silver peso.

Rosita hurried back to school and straight to the gym where Mang Pedro was gathering his brooms. She handed him a small gift-box where the chain was kept.

"This is for Neneng, Manong," she said, "Merry Christmas again."

The old man smiled.

"Why, thank you, Rosita and I'll make sure Neneng opens it tonight."

Rosita headed home, her step and heart both as light as Lola Juana's alkansya. As she went to bed that night, she lifted the crystal Santa with two fingers.

"I'm sorry, but my heart told me it was time," Rosita whispered, "I promise I'll buy you a chain next Christmas."

Perhaps, it was the moonlight streaming from the window that caught the glint of the shining pendant, but it seemed the crystal Santa's smile grew even wider.