There was a soft knock on Tin-tin's bedroom door before it creaked open. "Tin-tin? Are you awake?" Tin-tin saw Rowie's face peering down at her. "Yeah. What's the matter? Couldn't fall asleep again?" The clock on the bedside table read 1:16 a.m. Rowie nodded. "Hop in." Tin-tin scooted over to make room. Rowie climbed over her. She liked to lie sandwiched between Tin-tin and the wall. "What's the matter?" "I was scared." "What about this time?" Rowie was always worried about something. When she was younger, it used to be burglars or the house burning down. Last month she had seen a dead body on her way to school-- some labor leader, kidnapped and murdered, she later heard on the radio--and since then she had begun combing the newspapers or more bad news. Her worries had gotten so sophisticated that Tin-tin was finding it harder to calm her down enough so that they could both fall asleep at night. Last week it had been global warming, and two nights ago it was the possibility of a nuclear war. "The communists," Rowie answered, "What if they come here, to Manila?" Tin-tin sighed. "Quit thinking about the communists. They're not worth staying up all night for." "But they'd kill us if they came, wouldn't they? Insurgencies like to kill people, especially rich people." "I think you mean insurgents, Rowie. Insurgents are the people who are part of insurgencies. Insurgencies themselves don't do any killing." Tin-tin frowned into the darkness. "Where did you learn that word, anyway?" "They keep saying it in the news, so I thought I should look it up." "Oh. Well, don't worry. The communists aren't going to get us." "How do you know?" Rowie asked. "Because they've lost a lot of their backing ever since the Marcoses left." Rowie thought about that for a while before saying, "What about the Muslims? It said in the newspaper today that they've been getting money to buy guns and bombs from the Arabs." "Rowie, dont worry about any rebels taking over the country. We'd hear about it before they got to Manila, and we'd all run away to another country if it looked like it was going to be a serious problem." Tin-tin knew this because a few years ago, at the height of the Marcos dictatorship, she had overheard their parents discussing whether or not things were bad enough for them to flee the country, as some of their friends had. Tin-tin was careful not to mention this to Rowie. "But where would we go?" "I don't know. America, most likely. Dad's already got some businesses there, so they'd let us stay, especially if it was the communists that took over. Americans don't like communists." "Oh." Rowie was quiet for a while. "But what about the people who couldn't leave? Would they all be killed?" Tin-tin hesitated. "Some of them, maybe. Only those that would make trouble. Not everybody though." Tin-tin could feel Rowie rocking her leg back and forth beside her. Tin-tin had grown used to the motion her sister used to soothe herself to sleep. "Tell me a story," Rowie said. "Okay." Tin-tin was relieved to be able to change the subject. She put her arm under Rowie's neck and held her close. "What story would you like to hear?" "Tell me the story about the swimming pool." It was a story Rowie had requested many times before. "A couple of weeks before my seventh birthday, which was oh, about two months before you were born, Mom and Dad asked me what I wanted for a birthday present. I already had all the latest toys, so I had to think for a bit before giving them an answer. At dinner that evening, I told them, 'I want a swimming pool.' "Mom hesitated. 'You already have a swimming pool, Tin-tin.' She was talking about the inflatable children's pool we'd had for years, with the red and blue kites on its white vinyl surface. "'No,' I said, 'I want a real swimming pool, the kind grown-ups swim in. In the garden, by the patio.'" "'I don't know about that.' Mom looked over at Dad. She was hoping he would say no. Even then Mom was afraid of water. You've seen her as she steps into the pool, her feet white and slender as she tests its temperature. The skin on her feet is so thin that you can see the veins underneath, branching out like a blue spiderweb. She swims with a kickboard, always at the very edge of the pool, so she can grab on to the rim in case she loses her grip on the board. Those few times that she actually puts her face in the water, she jerks it up right away, blinking furiously and gulping for air. "I watched Dad closely. He rubbed his chin the way he does when he's thinking about money. 'Actually, it might be a good idea,' he said to Mom, 'it would certainly improve the property value.' "When he said that, I knew I had won. 'It's going to take some time, Tin-tin,' Dad warned me, 'It will probably not be ready in time for your birthday. You're going to have to be patient.' "I was too happy at the thought of having my very own swimming pool to care when it would be built. And sure enough, it wasn't built before my birthday, or anytime near it, even though Dad called a contractor the very morning after he agreed to have it built for me. Mom and Dad argued about what shape the pool should be, and how big, and what to do with the ylang-ylang tree that Mom loved. It used to grow near the center of the yard, and its roots stretched out underneath the ground to where the pool was supposed to be. Mom refused to have it destroyed, so the workers had to replant it in the corner of the garden where it is today. Then Mom suggested that we just re-landscape the entire yard, and Dad said fine. I think he was just sick of fighting with her. That made the construction take even more time, but I was afraid they would change their minds if I complained. Mom went into labor the day the first layer of concrete in the new pool had dried. "Mom and Dad had promised me that I would get to name the new baby when it came. When I learned that you were a girl, I wanted to name you Briar Rose since I had just seen the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty. "'What about just Rose, Tin-tin?' Dad asked me, 'Even the good fairies called Sleeping Beauty Rose for short.' "I said I thought that would be okay, but Mom didn't like that name either. When I visited you at the hospital nursery, through the viewing window I saw taped onto your crib a card that said, Rowena Ongpin. When I asked her about it in her hospital room, Mom told me that Rowena was a close enough name to Rose. I didn't really think so, but I had to admit that it was a better name for you. When I got home from the hospital, I went out into the yard to take a look at the swimming pool. It was kidney shaped and about five feet deep. The only thing left to be done was for the tiles to be cemented in a diamond pattern on the floor and walls. "The tiles were laying around inside the pool. I climbed into the pool and took the tiles two at a time. Slowly, because I was afraid of dropping and breaking them, I laid the all the black ones out to spell 'Rowie' on the pool floor. The workers didn't know what to do because Dad had told them to do it in the diamond pattern, and I refused to let them move the tiles their way. Together, the workers and I waited for Dad to come home. "When Dad saw what I had done, he told the workers, 'Leave it that way, if that's how she wants it. "So, in the end, the tiles were put into the pool the way I wanted, and I got to name you after all. And that is why your name, the name that I gave you, is written on the bottom of our swimming pool." "And that's also why the ylang-ylang tree is in the corner of the garden, not in the middle," Rowie reminded her. "That's right." Tin-tin smiled. She kissed the top of her sister's head. Her hair smelled faintly of shampoo. "Tin-tin," Rowie asked, "will you always love me?" "Yes." She squeezed Rowie's hand and added lightly, "You're my favorite sister." Rowie giggled. "I'm your only sister!" Tin-tin nodded. "Do you think you can fall asleep now?" "I think so." Tin-tin rolled over
on her side to face the electric fan. Its blades whirred softly,
blowing cool air onto Tin-tin's face. Beside her, Rowie rocked her
leg slowly. After a while, the motion stopped. As Tin-tin fell asleep,
she felt Rowie's body curled tightly around hers, the side of Rowie's
face pressing against her back, as though listening for a heartbeat.
|