“Come sit and eat!” Seeing the young man being towed by Sabel, Lola Yma could not help but feel warm.

“She seems really fond of him. Treating him like his big brother already.” Thought the old woman to herself.

“Kuya Mawi, here, try this!” After sitting down, Sabel immediately gave Mawi some boiled cassava roots and brought a small bowl that contained her lola’s signature sauteed bagoong. Mawi observed that the bagoong he was served was made of fish, and not the usual shrimp he knew. The smell was less pungent due to having it sauteed in onion, garlic, and some tomato. She then showed Mawi how to eat. First, she dipped a small part of the boiled cassava root in the bagoong and then took a bite out of the portion that was dipped.

Observing Sabel’s actions, Mawi also did the same. Carefully following the step-by-step process as did the little girl. It is not that this is the first time Mawi must eat something like a cassava root, or he forgot how to eat too, the reason he did this was that he found Sabel’s enthusiasm in teaching him amusing, so he just went with it. When the cassava root dipped in bagoong reached his mouth, the salty taste of the bagoong started to spread, however the starchy cassava root soaked up the saltiness in his mouth and left a bitter-sweet taste with a hint of saltiness aftertaste. The blending of these flavors induced the appetite of the young man, and soon he had eaten two big slices of the cassava root.

“Whoa kuya! You ich fasht! Shlow zhown or you might showk!'' Warned Sabel with a mouth full of cassava root.

“Swallow your food first before talking, or you will be the one choking.” Mawi returned the warning to her, chuckling.

After they finished eating, Sabel went outside to play with the other children in her neighborhood, while Mawi and Lola Yma remained in the house. The young man is helping with the household chores.

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“It is good that your appetite is back. It means that you are recovering.” Lola Yma started the conversation, all the while arranging the firewood she uses in their kitchen.

“Yeah, thanks to your delicious bagoong, lola. My appetite was awakened by such delicious food.” Chuckled Mawi, still remembering the deliciousness of the sauteed bagoong.

“Haha! Of course, it is delicious, I personally make those and sell them. Everyone here in Barangay Tubigan knows that my bagoong is the best!” Lola Yma said proudly.

The two went on to converse more about the specialty of Lola Yma and by extension talked about the current location where Mawi is. In their conversation, Mawi found out that he is in a barangay called Tubigan, in the Municipality of Initao, in the province of Misamis Oriental which is located on the North-Western part of Mindanao.

When Lola Yma told Mawi about the name of the municipality, he chuckled.

“What is so funny?” Asked the old woman.

“The name of the town. It sounds like ‘hot men’.” The young man answered.

“Of course, it is! The name is derived from the description of the original settlers of this place – the Bukidnons.” Lola Yma.

“So, they really are ‘hot men’?” Mawi asked.

“They are ‘hot men’ indeed, but not in the literal sense. They were called so because, the Bukidnons, are aggressive people when defending their territory – they are ‘hot men’ in that sense.” Hearing Mawi’s question, Lola Yma laughed and explained some of the town’s history with him.

“Why are they defending themselves though?” Hearing Lola Yma’s answer, Mawi instead became more curious.

“They are defending themselves against raids conducted by other groups. They were so passionate in defending that they later gained the respect of their enemies and they gained peace by fighting against the invaders/ By fiercely defending their homes, the Bukidnons are able to preserve their culture.” Pride could be heard in Lola Yma’s voice, it was as if she were part of that event in the past.

“Then everything changed when the white people came. With their superior weapons and their ‘new religion’ – Christianity, the original dwellers of this place were conquered. Most of the people were forced to convert to this ‘new religion’, and those who refused–” When Lola Yma came to the second part of her speech regarding the town’s history a hint of sadness came over her. However, before she could finish her sentence, Mawi did something that made her widen her eyes.