Samuyao Bloom: In Memoriam

I always thought of my friends Lenna and Jimson Ong as my Cebu-connection. Lenna and I, being landscape professionals, share the same interest in plants. I usually do not hesitate in asking her to find certain Cebu plants and last year she and Jimson sent me a 3 foot high samuyao or Citrus westeri (which I trimmed down to bare branches so it would become more compact) . Today the Samuyao is at a prominent corner or our roof garden. And everytime I see and scrutinize my samuyao, I am always reminded of Jim and Lenna.

Last month, tragedy struck the Ong household as their six year old son, Lander, passed away due to dengue complications. Adi, as his parents fondly call him, was always at Lenna's side when we confer about landscape and plants over the internet via email messenger. Sometimes while typing replies to Lenna, ADI, ADI, ADI would reflect on screen. Adi would usually grab the keyboard from Lenna, and type his own name, which Lenna said was the first thing he learned to type in the computer. Right after Adi's death, I never got to talk to Lenna over the internet. Her name in my yahoo messenger, which was available during most times of the day, was suddenly always unlit.

Last Tuesday I woke up to get to work early. But in the course of my daily routinary preparations to get to the office, I managed to sneak-in a peak of the samuyao. It had a very tiny white flower with a faint sweet smell. It was the first time the samuyao flowered in our garden.

When I reached the office and turned on my computer, Lenna's avatar was surprisingly on. I learned from her that she was still sad but that day was special, it was Adi's birthday. We exchanged our usual pleasantries before I remembered to tell her about the samuyao bloom. I would like to believe it gave her a smile to learn the Citrus bloomed on Adi's special day. Starting this day I would not only remember Lenna and Jim when I see the samuyao but also Adi when it again flowers. I would give extra care to it to help protect Jim and Lenna's, and Adi's as well, legacy in my native plant collection.