Aratilis: The Flower.

Here in the Philippines, my generation grew up enjoying the fruits of Muntingia calabura – locally known as Aratilis. Me, my siblings and our playmates would flock, almost everyday, our neighbor’s tree and picked those sweet fruits that seldom reached their red ripeness – the juice are so delicious even if the fruit still in greenish color.

All those times it was all about the fruit… I never noticed the flower that came before it. Fortunately, a tree had voluntarily grown in our backyard and somehow brought back those childhood memories. I can’t remember the last time I tasted the fruit and I don’t fancy eating them again. No, not this time when I am drawn to it’s tiny, lovely flower.