Chapter 3: Yellow Flower Wedding - Part 1

           

          “I’m happy Josefina that our eldest daughter is finally going to get married.” Mr. Ben had been talking to his wife Josefina all day on the day of their daughter Celeste's wedding. He approved of anything his daughters would want as long as they would be well received.

          “He is a son of grocer— no— well, I hope Celeste would have enough to live with,” Ben and his family had been getting dressed for the wedding.

           “We must hurry now; the wedding is going to start in an hour Ben.”

           Josefina called Petunia and Maria. They were dressed for the role of bridesmaids at the wedding. Celeste had chosen yellow flowing dresses with delicate yellow flowers sewn scattered over its billowed sleeves that had been gathered and banded at the wrist and round collared neckline and cascading down to the hem of its flowing skirt. However, no matter how she dressed, Maria looked awkward, round, and broad. Josefina frowned at the sight of her youngest daughter's unattractiveness.

           “Am I missing something? I do not look good?” Maria asked at her mother's questioning look.

           “You look fine, dear. Stand straight and do not frown, okay? Better to look plain and tidy than ugly.”

           Josefina straightened up her daughters' dresses and tresses and off they went to Celeste's wedding. They would return to their house at the foot of the hill to celebrate Celeste's wedding in the afternoon.

           Celeste's impeccable white wedding dress had been a stand-out as all brides should have been on their wedding day. She had billowing sleeves that gathered at the wrist, a deep round neckline, a long and flowing skirt that had been sheared at the waistline. The wedding dress had been adorned with dainty embroidered flowers from the sleeves, waistline, and down to the flowing skirt's hemline. Mr. And Mrs. Bantoc were teary-eyed when they saw their eldest daughter Celeste walking down the aisle happy and beautiful on her wedding day. The wedding bells rang and the wedding party had begun.

           The Bantocs' house and church aisle had been adorned with all kinds of yellow flowers— sunflowers, yellow roses, yellow lilies, and yellow carnations. The pathway to the craggy hill from the Bantocs' side gate had been decorated with yellow flowers, yellow ribbons, and yellow lanterns. Gas lamps and large candles had been used to light up Celeste and Adrian's wedding party venue.

           The Bantocs and the Linaws had indeed prepared a feast. Three long serving tables had been placed inside the huge canopy they had put up at the foot of the craggy hill's entrance. The Bantocs had put together a feast of juicy huge shrimps and lobsters cooked in numerous ways. The wedding's long and huge dining tables were filled with platters of smoked cured fish meats. Josefina had prepared the best fish stew ever. The groom's family had filled the wedding table with a feast of expensive cheeses, five whole roast pigs, loaves of crusty bread, pots of steaming rice, fresh fruits, and fine wines. The chocolate and vanilla flavored yellow wedding cake was five feet tall and decorated with a hundred yellow flowers.

           The wedding party had started after the ceremony. Married and single alike had lined up to dance with their chosen partners. Many single men and suitors had also lined up to ask Petunia to dance. Her long flowing yellow dress had made her even more delicate and beautiful. Other maidens who all looked pretty as well in their best dresses had been asked to dance by the men at the wedding. However, Maria on the other hand had been sitting alone awkwardly observing the comings and goings around her at her sister Celeste's wedding. She had been tidy and plain like her mother Josefina had said to her. The entire wedding venue had been adorned brightly with brilliant yellow flowers and bright gas lamps and huge candles.

           “I wondered what the whole thing looks like up the hill,” she said to herself. Maria had been mesmerized by the bright yellow flower adornments and the outcome of bright gas lamps and huge candles around her. She rose from her seat and started her way out from the wedding canopy to the nearest crag looking down the east side of the foot of the craggy hill.

           On the way up the road had been lit up by the Bantocs and the Linaws with tall gas lamps on both sides of the road for the wedding. The nearest crag was only forty-five meters away from where the wedding canopy was. It had not taken so long for Maria to reach the nearest precipice looking down below the wedding party. The lighted gas lamps had stopped at the entrance of the nearest crag facing the east side of the hill. Maria jumped into the precipice that had been covered with mostly love grass, swollen finger grass, and crow's foot grass, flowers like the wild violets that had closed its blooms in the evening, and rocks that had been covered with ferns and mosses.

           The view from the precipice had taken Maria's breath away. The merriment from the wedding below resounded throughout the craggy hill. Gas lights surrounding the wedding canopy looked like dancing star lights as Maria had expected. A gasp of fresh air followed by a light gentle wind had been blowing steadily where Maria had been standing. She had been musing for a while when the laughter and dancing had become more loud from the canopy. Maria turned around to see an old woman carrying a basket had been standing behind her. She let out a cry of surprise and showed clearly of shocked gesture.

          “I'm so sorry to startle you, young lady,” the old woman was apologetic. She was tiny, slight, slender, and stooping. She had been standing at Maria's way out from the crag to the road down the craggy hill. There was nothing Maria could do but to speak to the old lady. She had also realized that the old woman had not been invited to the special celebration and at the time she was a little bit dismayed her family had not included everyone in Celeste's wedding.

           “Good evening, Madame,” Maria greeted the old woman and had not been thinking of what to say next after her greeting. However, she had become calm and composed after being startled by the old lady who had been standing behind her.

           Afraid she had been trespassing, Maria said, “I'm sorry for intruding, Madame. I will go now and leave you alone.”

           “No, dear. I'm the one who's intruding and besides I don't own this precipice,” the old woman laughed. “I had been gathering my favorite herbs when I saw you wearing a yellow dress standing near the edge of the crag.”

           The old woman laughed at her thought. The young and awkward Maria did not get why the woman in front was laughing.

          “Are you from the wedding at the foot of the hill?” the old woman stopped laughing but had been amused at Maria's presence.

           “Yes, Madame. I just went out here to see what the wedding down below looked like.” Maria explained her presence at the edge of the precipice.

           The old woman moved to the edge where Maria was standing. She looked down at the wedding below the hill. “It’s beautiful, dear – the lights are beautiful from up here at the edge.”

           “So you know the Bantocs and the Linaws – which side are you from – a friend or a relative?” the old woman asked.

          “The Bantoc. I'm Ben and Josefina's youngest daughter.” The old woman had known about the wedding and the families tying the knot. Maria felt more ashamed that her family had not invited the old woman to the wedding.

           “That's good to know, dear,” said the old woman.

           “I know the Bantocs have been selling cured fish meats around the hill— the people around liked it very much but I haven't tried eating those stuff.”

           “You would try it. My father makes the best cured fish meat,” said Maria to the old woman.

           The wedding noise had become louder. “Party noise usually upsets me. I'm very old— I very much more love peace and quiet— but don't worry dear, your wedding party is not bothering me.”

           “Sorry, it's unusual for an old woman to gather herbs at this time in the evening but sometimes when I can't sleep I go out of my home and gather stuff: - herbs - stone - wood - whatever I had needed for the next day,” the old woman explained why she had been wandering to one of the craggy hill's precipices at this time in the evening.

           The laughter and dancing continued to get louder than before and might be near its closing.

          “Well, I believe the party is just getting more exciting,” the old woman commented.

           “I have to go now, Madame. I believe the party is about to end and I have to be there to see my sister off with her new husband,” Maria bade farewell to the woman.

          “Well, go dear. I will not hold you,” the old woman was embarrassed and let Maria go on her way back to the wedding at foot of the hill.

           “Goodbye, Madame,” Maria gestured goodbye to the old woman and dashed quickly back to the wedding event at the foot of the hill.