"The Garden of Statues"

               It was freezing cold and even as I had worn four long-sleeved shirts on top of each other, I had still felt as though I was walking inside a refrigerator. The temperature had gone down as low as -3° that day. But, amidst the cold Japanese weather, my family and I had still managed to get ourselves to our hotel in Hamamatsu Cho.

            The place was found near the Tokyo Tower, one of Japan's most famous attractions. After we've settled ourselves in our rooms, we had planned to start touring the place in the evening. In my hotel room, which I shared with my sister, I found a map near the telephone which had all information on the tourist spots in Hamamatsu Cho with directions. I quickly ran through the pages, hoping I’d get some information on some cool tourist spots I’ve been wanting to go see.

            To my surprise, the Tokyo Tower was nearer than we thought. According to the map, it was just a 12-minute walk from our hotel! I found myself smiling at it after what I had discovered and quickly informed my dad. "We should go check it out after dinner. I found a ramen house just around the corner," he suggested. With no one disagreeing, we did just that.

            It was indeed a chilly evening, regardless, we proceeded with our agenda. Just as planned, right after filling up our starving bellies at a ramen house, we started our way towards the Tokyo Tower. The cool breeze which had repeatedly slapped every inch of my body made the walk feel long and painful. My lips had even gone dry and started to crack.

            Nevertheless, I had managed the hike remarkably. I was persevered to reach the destination, after all it was what I came here for. Passing several stoplights and crossings, we soon found ourselves at the foot of the Tokyo Tower. It stood mighty and tall, shining in bright yellow. It even had the year 2018 laid on its center. Everyone started taking pictures while some had just looked up, admiring its stature. Looking at the year, this might be my first and last time of ever seeing the tower, I thought to myself. 

            My family and I didn't stay too long in the area especially because the temperature was dropping by the hour. We decided to head back to the hotel but this time, we walked on an alternative route. Going back, we passed by something a bit disturbing.

            Statues, one after the other, stood on the sidewalks. But these didn't look like any regular statues, these looked like statues of babies. It almost seemed as if there were millions of them! It was as if these statues had gathered for an international meeting. They all wore red little knitted bonnets but, each bonnet was knitted differently. Each statue must belong to one person, one family or perhaps each was a responsibility assigned to someone. 

            “Hanna! Oy friendship!” my mom called out. I looked back, she was hugging a woman with an enormous belly.

            “Nak, come here. Mano to your tita. This is your tita Hanna, she was my classmate in college!” Yup, just as I thought, another friend of hers from college. My mom is such a sociable person that she unexpectedly encounters a friend, either a parent from my school or a classmate of hers, in random places almost every day.

            “Uie, these are your children diay? You have a lot!” tita Hanna says as each of my siblings reach for her hand.

            “It looks like you’re having one too. When are you due?” my mom asks looking at tita Hanna’s belly.

            “Next week! I’m going to be a mama na!”

            Their conversation took about five minutes. As usual, they talked about how they have been and where their friends are now. You know, the regular catching up session.

            “Well, we got to head back now. We still got a big day ahead tomorrow, touring the city,” my mom said hugging her friend one last time before saying goodbye.

            We got back to the hotel with numb hands and feet. The family wanted nothing more than a good night’s sleep. When I got to the room, I passed out in bed. My body was pale as a corpse; I guess I must get used to this for the next two weeks.

            On the days that followed, for sure walking had made me lose so much weight. We’ve gone to Tokyo Disneyland, seeing Mickey and Minnie Mouse wearing kimonos; they even greeted everyone in the park a joyous new year. Although, I couldn’t understand what their message was as a whole, except for the words “New Year,” since they spoke in Japanese; I was still quite thrilled to see them.

            Visiting Hachiko’s, the great Akita dog, statue in Shibuya also warmed my heart. That very day, Shibuya was jampacked with tourists taking videos and photos while crossing its streets as if the place was Japan’s version of the New York Times Square.

            Lastly, going on an almost five-hour bus ride to Hakone, seeing the great Mount Fuji from afar definitely made the trip and the constant freezing atmosphere worth it!

            On our last day, I decided to take a stroll alone. I had gone back to where I had found the garden of statues. Seeing each one in broad daylight made me appreciate them even more. But something seemed off. There was this one statue that wasn’t wearing a bonnet and it looked as if it was new. My silly mind thought it seemed sad because it didn’t have a bonnet, so I decided to take off my red scarf and wrap it around the statue’s head. “There, you won’t be cold anymore,” I said. I looked at the bottom of the statue, a flower was engraved on it. This seems odd; none of the other statues have this.

            “Nak, it’s time to go,” my dad called. Brushing off my curiosity, I headed back to the hotel where I packed up all my things; we were going to leave for Cebu in a few hours after all.

            On the bus ride to the airport, I suddenly thought of my mom’s friend, tita Hanna. It’s already been two weeks since we met her. She must’ve given birth by now. Who knows if it were a baby girl or a baby boy? We never got to ask.