Carlos remained silent. He knew it wasn’t the true smell of bagoong—it was the smell of guilt and shame, the kind that lingers in the heart after betraying one’s mother.
As for Lola María, after donating her property to the senior center, she spent her afternoons there, making coffee, reading books, and smiling peacefully.
When someone asked her about her son, she would gently reply,
“I may have lost a home, but I’ve regained my dignity. As for them, they’ll never sleep peacefully again, haunted by the stench of their own sin.”
In the Philippines, it is said: “Ang utang na loob ay mas mabigat kaysa ginto”—a debt of gratitude weighs more than gold.
And when a son dares to betray the one who gave him life, all the riches he gains will forever carry the scent of bagoong—a strong, penetrating odor that never fades.
