Ch3. Sirih?

                Kida got on her white bicycle which matched the white spring sleeveless dress and a large brown hat that looked like it belonged to summer. But the sun was shining brightly in the blue cloudless sky and made her wear it. It still felt like summer in the air, but it was growing cooler at night, anticipating fall.

                She rang her bell just before she passed by her Filipina neighbor, Mrs. Quirol who was tending her garden, putting new flower pots on her outdoor pot shelf. Ms. Quirol was a vibrant old lady. And though she looked like she was in her forties, she’s really in her late fifties. Somewhat chubby with her short bob cut hair, and always has a smile on her lips. When she saw Kida coming, she placed the third pot of flower to the shelf and waved at Kida. Kida stopped right in front of Mrs. Quirol’s lawn and smiled at her.

                “Hey Ms. Quirol!” she said

                “Hi Kida. What brings you here?” asked Ms. Quirol as she got back to placing the pots on the shelf.

                “I was just actually on my way to Rya’s house then I saw you.”

                “Ahh, I see. So what do you think?” she had finished placing all the pots.

                “It’s..” Kida was lost for words. She didn’t know what to say about the weird spade shaped leaves that looks like it was drooling from the pots. It was a little fascinating though because of its smell which smelled like nothing she ever smelled before in her life. Not sure what to say, she asked “What are they?”

                Ms. Quirol chuckled and gave Kida a pat on the back. “It’s a Piper Betle. ‘Sirih’.”

                “Sirih?” Kida hesitated. She had never heard a plant called a ‘Sirih’ before.

                “Yes. Sirih. It’s quite useful to be honest, despite the shape and smell.”

                “How?” Kida has heard about traditional medication but never really understood it.

                “Well, the simplest thing is when your nose bleeds just roll up a leaf then shove it to your nose. When your gums swell up, boil it then chew it for several minutes. But that would take 2-3 days” Ms. Quirol said this while chuckling as if she was kidding. “You should try it sometime. It doesn’t have to be a nose bleed. Even a scar that’s bleeding can stop when you cover it up with this.”

                “Sure I will. Where did you get these?” asked Kida examining the plant. It was somewhere between rough and smooth, and very easy to pick.

                “They were shipped here from Indonesia. I asked my sister to send me some.”

                “That’s very nice of her.” smiled Kida. “Well I should get going now. Thank you for your time Ms. Quirol.”

                “Ahh. Yes, Rya. Take care then!” Ms. Quirol waved at Kida just before she got on her bike and took off.

Author's Note

i tried it and it works! promise!! i nosebleed a lot and my teacher always gives me that so that it would stop :)

Reviews

[Cheshire]

Just gonna do the first paragraph. Seems a bit rushed maybe?

"Kida got on her white bicycle which matched the white spring sleeveless dress and a large brown hat that looked like it belonged to summer. But the sun was shining brightly in the blue cloudless sky and made her wear it. It still felt like summer in the air, but it was growing cooler at night, anticipating fall."

Kida got on her bicycle, which closely resembled the outfit she was wearing today. She wore a white sleeveless dress and a large brown hat that looking like it fit more in the summertime, but the cloudless sky and brightly shining sun left her no choice. Summer could still be felt in the air during the day, but at night the temperature dropped quickly the closer fall approached.

[Loner]

Very nice.

[Kimberly]

Good chapter. Nothing in it to criticize.

[Marie Harrison]

Loved this chapter. Interesting plant.

[Zeitgeist Manifesto]

Sweet chapter. I did like the detail about the Ms.Quirol's hair.
That bob just gave me the image of a nice kindhearted lady.

[Arsenic Nemesis]

Very nice so far, really well paced, keeps me interested indeediums, keep up the good work mortal~

[Felipe]

cool chap, advancing at a steady pace, jsutr how a story should go, keep it up!^^

[Doug Ordunio]

Curious story...but the big problem is that the tenses keep floating back and forth between past and present. That's not a proper type of time travel in writing.

:-)