NANKING STORE by Macariu Tiu

This story happened in Davao City and the characters were mainly Peter, Linda, and Tua Poya-whose perspective was used in the story.

Peter and Linda was a happy couple. On their wedding, the whole Chinese community was present, and Tua Poya who was only three years old then, because he was robust and fat, was chosen to do the honor of jumping and romping on the matrimonial bed of the couple as a good luck-making sure that their first born would be a boy.

However, Peter and Linda's happy marriage wasn't perfect at all. Four years had gone but still they haven't produced a son or even a daughter yet. And in Chinese culture, this is no good news. It is very important for them to have a child, especially a son, to ensure that someone will carry their family name in the next generations.

They both had changed. Linda moved into the upstairs portion of Nanking Store in Santa Ana while Peter remained in their house in Bajada. Everyone in the community blamed Linda, saying she was infertile and worthless, and they pitied Peter.

Peter, though he still loves Linda, was pressured to have a child not only by his family but the entire community. And so, with his desperation, he had an affair with a Bisayan bar girl. This affair wasn't a secret to all but they pretended like they didn't know. Soon, Peter had a son with the Bisayan woman and this gained back his confidence. He had proven that he wasn't a bad stock after all.

Time came that everybody, even Peter, ignored Linda. She stayed at Nanking Store as if she was one of the salesgirls there. She became ashamed of herself.

The Bisayan woman gave Peter another son, but not too long after that, Peter died in a car accident in Buhangin Diversion Road.

At the wake, Linda sat two rows behind her mother-in-law who ignored her all throughout, while at the burial ceremony, she stood stoically but fainted when Peter was finally buried.

Few weeks after that, Linda's mother-in-law offered her money because she wanted her out of Nanking Store. But Linda refused until they had a confrontation. Finally, she defended herself and slapped her mother-in-law's face.

Then, without notice, her in-laws moved to Manila. For a while, an uneasy peace settled down in Nanking Store. this was until they realized that Linda was pregnant by their driver. And she didn't care if others think of her as a disgrace. She can now smile and was getting back to her old self. She went to Cebu to visit her parents and never came back again. The Nanking Store remains closed and no one knows if she had given birth to a boy.

-END-

Among the stories I have read this week, this story was the one of which I like most.

This story was full of new words for me that in order to fully understand it I had to have a dictionary beside me, and I know that I can use those newly learned words in the future.

This story reflects what really happens in reality, especially in the Chinese culture. It teaches us to be strong and fight for what we stand for or for what we think is right - and this was shown in Linda's character, of how she fought against her in-laws for her right as the legal wife of Peter even though she failed to give them a grandson. It also implies other lessons in life that you really have to read the story by yourself to know what they are.

All in all, I like it from the perspective used (although it's kinda unbelievable that Tua Poya remembered everything that happened when he was only three years old) to how the story was delivered or its flow. The author really made it very realistic. You should read it too. ^^,b