Author's Note: While this story does have raceplay elements, it is not intended to demean or insult any ethnicity. It is simply for entertainment purposes. I encourage anyone reading to first review the story tags and read this warning in full before proceeding.
***
It had been a few weeks since my job required me to relocate to the Philippines. It was a four-month contract where I was to train up an overseas team and teach them the ropes. They were a very welcoming people and surprised me with their comprehensive understanding of English. While I initially had some growing pains adjusting to life here, I slowly warmed up to my new surroundings. I was made to stay in a well-furnished hotel. While it wasn't glamorous, it was more than enough to keep me comfortable.
During my free time, I would often explore the small town in which our office resided. Small shacks with tin roofs housed dozens of friendly faces who would smile and wave as I walked by. It continued to surprise me how polite they were to western tourists. I had heard of some tourists abusing the economy here for their own gain. Flashing money around and pulling girls who had only known poverty. I did not think of myself as better than anyone here; I was just someone from a different walk of life with a genuine interest in the culture.
On my lunch breaks, I found myself frequenting a small cafe run by a much older woman who was in her mid-40s. Her name was Lyka, and she would greet me with the same enthusiasm every time I walked through her beaded curtain door. While her English wasn't amazing, we got along really well. The interior was nothing special; only a sparse number of plastic chairs and tables were out. Then again, the cafe also served as her home, with the front being public-facing and the back being where she slept and relaxed. We grew pretty close to one another, and while I ate whatever food she gave me, she would tell me all about life growing up here. As I had grown up in a privileged western country, it really helped to lend some perspective to just how fortunate I was.
Nothing, however, could have prepared me for what happened when I walked into her shop today.
***
I swallowed the last mouthful of soup Lyka had served me, completely satisfied.
"That was great, I'm going to miss this when I head back home next week" I said, dropping my spoon back into the bowl and leaning back in my chair.
"I'm going to miss you too! Who else going to help me afford to keep lights on?" Lyka joked back, whipping her dishtowel at my arm as we both laughed. Because no one else was in the store she sat with me sometimes when I ate as we reminiscenced.
"Hey, maybe if you advertised your store more you'd actually get some customers in here, Lyka."
"Maybe you send your rich white friends here! Then I charge them triple and say it's a discount!" We shared another laugh as I took a swig from my beer. After some silence she spoke up again.
"I really am going to miss you Adam. How about before you leave you take me out for dinner huh? I cook for you so much how about someone cook for me!"
I thought about it briefly. Lyka had done so much to make me feel at home. The least I could do was show her the same kindness. We agreed to meet that night outside her shop and we'd walk together to the town centre.
***
I arrived at six on the dot and noticed she wasn't anywhere to be seen. I waited another 20 minutes, and finally, out the back of her store, I saw a woman emerge. However, it didn't look like Lyka at first. Her hair had been styled as if by a professional hairdresser, and she wore an elegant white dress with cultural patterns weaved into it. It was a day and night contrast to her usual work attire of a tank top and shorts. The dress hugged her body, showing off her curves at the waistline. Despite her age, she also had a pretty generously sized chest. All in all, she was glowing.
"Ahh, Adam, so sorry I'm late! Had to rush to my hair appointment and find my good dress. You like?"
"Like? You look incredible! "Are you sure you're not Lyka's sister or something?"
She smirked and muttered something in Filipino before grabbing my arm and leaning up close to me as we started our walk into the town square. We must have looked a bit silly. Me, a 6ft tall blonde white guy in his late twenties, and Lyka, who was more than a foot shorter and nearly two decades past my own age.
As we walked, a few people happily called out to Lyka, and she would respond back in her language. I had no idea what they were saying, and after a while, my curiosity got the better of me.
"Why do they keep calling out to you?"
"They call me a lucky woman! Date with a handsome man so much younger than me!"
"Haha... they know we're just friends, right? "You wouldn't want your friends thinking anything weird."
"Oh no no no, all just teasing." Lyka responded back, hugging my arm tighter with a bright smile on her face.
Another woman called out to Lyka, and while I don't speak the language, I did notice she mentioned the word 'hapa' multiple times. I didn't know what it meant, but I quickly noticed it made Lyka upset. She shouted back in Filipino, and the other woman quickly waved her hands up and walked away.
"What was all that about? Was she saying something mean?"
"Ah no, do not worry about it. Just a friend of mine playing tricks." Some silence followed until she chirped up with a question.
"Adam, you say you don't speak Filipino, right?"
"Yeah, I don't. I only know bits and pieces. Why?"
"No reason. Just worried you heard what my crazy friend say." She hugged my arm tight, and I shrugged it off. I was half tempted to just Google whatever 'hapa' was on my phone, but if Lyka told me it wasn't important, then I'd take her word on it.
***
We got to the town square and looked around for somewhere to eat. We settled on a nice seafood place just on the pier with a stunning view of the ocean. The further into the meal we got, the more I started to feel like I'd really miss her once I was gone. We chatted late into the night, and they were happy to keep refilling our glasses. The more intoxicated Lyka got, the more a new side of her began to spill out.
