The tree on my way home

“Diha lang sa may dakong punoan sa kahoy”, this is always my instruction to the tricycle drivers everytime I am riding a homeward bound to my rented house in Barangay Can-adieng in Ormoc City.

The robust tree within the Tarroza compound in Rudy Rivilla Avenue in the said place is one of the common landmarks here. Whenever, my friends asked about the location of my rented house, I always answered “diha sa may dakong punoan sa kahoy sa may highway”, which is obviously visible even if it is within the wooden fence (inside the compound of the house). The tree is beside a steel electric post but is towering compared with other structures and old houses in the place. It even surpassed the tallness of two-storey residential buildings around.

Nery Tarroza, the owner of the house, who is already 75 years old said that it was her late husband Cesar Sr. who planted it after the flash flood in Ormoc way back 16 years ago. He got the seedling from Bantigue or Ipil, which is just 2-3 kilometers away, but she could not ascertain to the species or local name of the said tree.

It is already strong, stout, vigorous and visibly sturdy, its braches are extending outside and inside the house moving its way upward. Its’ lively dark green leaves proves that the tree is still full of life. Unlike in the nearby house, where it is always humid during sunny days, it is cool and breezy beneath the said tree. It is always a comfortable place because it certainly provides shelter, shed and coolants especially these days when trees are already disappearing.

Trees are definitely beautiful and attractive sight along the highway. It made the thoroughfare scenic and charming. I can see huge trees arrange in a line along the national highway near Leyte Park Hotel within the vicinity of UP Tacloban College and Provincial Capitol in Tacloban City, and it was truly a nice place to visit. In Ormoc, I like the setting near Codilla’s guest house in Toog (now Domingo Veloso highway) going to the Mother of the Redeemer Parish Church (they also call it, as Fatima Shrine) in Barangay Cogon. The trees there really beautify the surroundings, enamored and captivated every onlooker that passes through the said place.

From afar, you can have a glance with the said tree that is still towering and lively as ever. Whenever, I am already reaching the Tulay de Perdon in Malbasag river (near the Agua Dulce artesian well) I can see the said tree and then I whisper to the tricycle driver “dia lang ko ihunong sa may dakong punoan sa kahoy”.