"Veira! Ilabas mo na ang pulutang niluto mo kanina. Huwag mo ng itago iyan." Kantyaw ni Mang Ipe kay Veira. Binatukan siyang agad ni Aling Freida pero sumunod naman sila Kapitan Tunio sa pagkantyaw.
Because there was a feast today, Kapitan Tunio gave everyone a day off today. Of course, expected na nila na mag-iinuman ang mga kalalakihan. Some of them even brought their own brewed wines with them.
But of course, may propriety pa naman sila Kapitan Tunio. They would not get drunk in front of Veira's home. They would continue the feast sa bahay mismo nila Kapitan Tunio.
Veira did what she was told and quickly asked Lili and Lulu to bring out the remaining food she cooked. She didn't serve it along with the other foods because there were children then. These ones were not appropriate for them to be eaten.
Even the men had doubts ng makita nila ang mga iyon noong una. But when watched Veira prepared and cooked them, after tasting it once, they changed their minds already.
Flashback this morning...
"Nanay Onang, saan ba namin maaaring itapon itong mga lamang loob na mga baboy at baka?" Mang Ipe asked the old lady.
While the women were busy inside the kitchen sa paggagayat ng mga panlahok sa mga lulutuin, sila naman ang nagkakatay ng mga baboy at baka doon. Veira bought two pigs and one cow just for this feast. It was quite extravagant for this kind of welcoming feast. Kadalasang naghahanda lang nang ganito ang mga tagabarangay nila kung may kasalan o fiesta.
"Bakit itatapon? Lulutuin din ang mga iyan!" Nanay Onang said.
Nagkatinginan naman silang mga kalalakihan na naroroon.
"Pero madumi itong mga ito, Nanay Onang. Hindi niluluto ang mga ito!" Fernan tried to reason to her. Veira who was inside the kitchen heard their discussion so she went out too.
"What a waste! Sa pinanggalingan naming bayan ay iniluluto din ang mga iyan."
"Ha? Talaga ba?" Hindi pa rin kumbinsido na tanong ng asawa ni Aling Maria na si Mang Igno.
"Oo, aba! Basta nalinisang maigi yang mga iyan ay masarap iyan. Tignan niyo mamaya kapag natikman ninyo ang luto namin diyan, makakalimutan ninyong lamang loob iyon ng baboy at baka."
"Hmmn... May narinig nga akong mga kwento na may mga lugar nga daw na kinakain ang mga lamang loob ng mga ito." Kapitan Tunio muttered.
The men still had doubts but since Kapitan Tunio said that, they just followed the instruction of Nanay Onang anyway. Kung sakali ay iiwasan na lamang nila ang mga pagkain na iyon.
Some of those internal organs were smelly but they were not that squeamish. After all, they even touched more disgusting things than that as they were farmers and fishermen too.
Anyway, napuna naman nila na hindi na nakakadiring tignan ang mga ito noong maalis ang mga dumi doon. Plus, metikulosa din sila Nanay Onang at Veira dahil gumamit pa sila ng suka at asin upang maalis ang natitirang dumi at amoy ng mga ito.
Ngayong malinis at nahiwa na ang iyon, kung hindi nila alam na mga lamang loob ang mga iyon ay malamang mapagkamalan lang din nila na karne ng baboy at baka ang mga iyon.
Lalo naman ng maluto na ni Veira ang mga iyon. The smell was mouth watering enough.
When Veira handed them a plate para tikman nila iyon, they were still hesitating. It was Kapitan Tunio who was braved enough to taste it first.
They watched his expression kung masasarapan ba ito o masusuka. But his face remained the same. Napuna lang nila na sinasadya na nito na wag magreak nang makailang subo na ito.
"Kapitan, aba! Mauubos mo na yan eh! Patikim din kami!"
When the men surrounded Kapitan Tunio, the women just laughed at them.
Veira served them a plate too to taste.
Gaya ni Kapitan Tunio, si Aling Concha din ang unang tumikim dito. When she nodded to approve its taste saka naman sumunod sila Aling Freida.
And that's how these people tasted their first food made from internal organs.
Going back to the feast...
When Mang Ipe and Kapitan Tunio asked Veira to bring out the rest of the food, the other men who were also ready to drink their wine started to ask them too. And so the rest of the food was given to them then.
"Hindi namin alam kung kaya ba ng mga bituka niyo na kainin ang mga ito." Mang Ipe started. He had the uncertain expression but Veira and the rest of those people na naghanda ng mga pagkain ngayong araw ay alam na gusto lang ng lalaki na manggoyo ng iba.
"Bakit naman hindi namin kakayanin? Gusto mo lang makalamang, Ipe eh."
"Anong makalamang? It's because you don't know what this is made of."
"Tama, tama..." Pagsang-ayon naman nila Fernan at mga asawa nila Aling Carmen, Aling Maria, Aling Rosa at Aling Beth with their serious expressions.
"Anong tama tama? Magkakakuntsaba pa talaga kayo ha."
"Oo nga. Bakit? Saan ba gawa ang mga itong pagkain na ito?"
Mang Ipe and the rest hesitantly looked at each other. Sasabihin ba nila o hindi? They ended up looking at Kapitan Tunio, instead.
"Sa lamang loob ng baboy at baka." He answered without hesitation.
"What?"
"Totoo ba?"
The other men hesitated too. Si Kapitan Tunio na ang nagsabi na lamang loob ang mga iyon. He is still a credible person and definitely won't lie. But they still had their doubts.
They couldn't help looking at Veira. Why would she serve them food made out of internal organs? Did she want them to get food poisoning?
However, when they looked at that direction, their minds went blank after seeing the women folks having a blast eating the same food on their table.
"You are lying. Pano naman magiging lamang loob ang mga ito? Edi sana ay nagkandasuka na ang mga asawa ninyo doon."
"Wag kang maniwala, Rodolfo, kung ayaw mo. Pero totoo ang sinabi nila Kapitan Tunio. Lamang loob nga ang mga iyan." Aling Rosa said.
"En... They are not lying. Sa pinanggalingan naming lugar, hindi namin itinatapon ang mga lamang loob ng mga manok, baboy at baka. Ginagawa namin itong iba pang putahe. Bakit di niyo tikman muna, Mang Rodolfo?"
"Huwag ka ng mag-abalang mangkumibinse, Veira. Maiigi nga na ayaw nila para marami kaming makain." Sabi naman ni Mang Nardo na asawa ni Aling Beth.
"Nardo, maghinay hinay ka diyan at sinabi rin nila Veira na masama sa katawan ang pagkain ng lamang loob."
"Sabi niya ay kapag palagiang kumakain. Kuh! Eh ngayon pa nga lang ako kakain nito."
Napailing na lang si Aling Beth habang natatawa na lang ang kasama niya.
"Bahala ka. Basta siguraduhin mong uuwi ka pa ring buhay ha."
That made everyone laughed.
As for the other men, when they saw how much Kapitan Tunio and the rest were enjoying the food made of internal organs, they couldn't help feeling the pressure.
Well, the food smells good so they can't taste bad, right?
Mang Rodolfo picked his spoon and got a spoonful of it.
"Kung kaya ninyo ay kaya ko din." He muttered before he finally ate it.
Everyone watched his expression changed from being disgusted to delighted.
"Ang sarap!" He shouted and got another spoonful of it.
"Hoy, Rodolfo! Wag mo kaming ubusan!"
That's when the whole Barangay Rojo knew that food made from animal's internal organs could be eaten too.
***
