11

ELISE

The apartment building was a four-storey building with one unit on each floor. My family owned the building. My mother and stepfather privately invested in real estate— renting houses and apartment buildings—and they owned several in other places. I lived here. Otherwise, I would be staying in one of the condo buildings/towers of the Von Schillers in Metro Manila. My father’s side invested in real estate, too, in partnership with the Verrazzanos. But this particular building was reserved for the family when we visited Manila.

The first-floor unit was occupied by my cousin, Jason. The third-floor unit was for guests visiting from the province. The higher level on the third floor was a semi-covered deck. I kept my plants there in container boxes and big pots. On my free days, I could be found there tending to my plants or reading in my rattan hammock. We also do our barbecues there, drink there, and generally relax there at the end of the day. I was talking about me, my cousin Jas