The Brighter Side of Things

Chapter 1

I hated whitening soaps, creams and lotions. Contrary to what those commercials claimed, they did nothing to lighten my skin. That or I was born resistant to the effects. If anything, I just developed rashes whenever I applied them on my arms and legs. So Mama told me to stop using them before the chemicals could damage my young skin. She had always reminded me to be comfortable being a morena.

Easy for her to say because she's not as dark as I was. Mama has the perfect golden-brown skin. Me? I was that cheese stick left too long in the pan before it got totally burnt.

And it didn't help that I got Papa's genes for height and bone built. If I cut my hair short, I would be mistaken as his son. It happened to me back in fourth grade. And it still happened whenever I wore caps.

Sometimes I wished I were born a boy because then it would be acceptable for me to be tall and dark.

"Stop saying that, Felicity," Mama would reprimand me with a frown whenever my insecurities surface during dinner. "This family already has enough males to deal with. You're a breath of fresh air."

"And a tint of dark skin the family needs," Kuya Six would add and I'd glare at him. "What? It's a compliment. The Ventura's are too pale. We need more children who are not prone to skin cancer."

"Six." Papa would reprimand kuya, pegging him with a stare and immediately shutting him up. Then, his eyes would shift to me forcing me to look down, knowing exactly what he'd say next. In fact, I could recite it by memory.

"Seven," he'd begin. "Skin color doesn't matter in basketball."

He's right though.

If there's anything that could make me forget my insecurities, that's playing the sport our family loves. Basketball.

That's why during summer, while most people were at the beach getting tanned, I'd be sweating buckets while shooting hoops at our open barangay court with Kuya Six and our neighbors. Like what Papa would always tell me, they didn't mind that I was too dark or too tall for a girl my age. Nevermind that we're all baking under the sun. We all just wanted a nice, fair game.

How I wish it were always summer.

🏀🌞🏀

There's a reason why Tarlac is named as the Melting Pot of the central Luzon. No, I'm not talking about what the history books say about my province being the food center of Luzon. It's just that the heat here is so terrible, the littlest of movement could make you feel like you're in a clay pot getting stewed in your own sweat. Especially during the dry season.

Even so, I would always look forward to summer for three reasons.

First. No homework to think about. No classmates to piss you off. And most of all, no exams.

Second. For naturally-sun kissed people like me, it's that time of the year where we didn't stand out because everyone got tanned from the beach. Which meant, I could wear sleeveless shirts without getting teased.

Third. (And I gotta say, this was the best reason why I love summer.) I got to play ball with the San Rafael Voyagers.

It's not because I played for our barangay (even if I really wanted to). To begin with, there weren't a lot of girls who played the sport. I mean, even at school, the teachers thought it's  too physical for girls so we ended up with either volleyball or softball.

To satisfy my need to play the sport, I practiced with the San Rafael Voyagers often that they dubbed me as an honorary member of the team. It's one of the perks because Papa was the team coach and Kuya Six was the team captain. But Papa was assigned in Davao for a year, overseeing the company warehouse they just set up (he worked at a bottling company). Which left the Voyagers in the able hands of my brother.