"Wait a minute!" Chrys said as she put her earrings. There were knocks on the door.
She went to open it.
"Hi!" It was Lynn Mijares , her flatmate.
"Hello, Lyn!" Chrys replied.
Lyn was a missionary staff of the Asian Evangelistic Mission. She just arrived from the office. A graduate of political science from the University of the Philippines, she desired to take up law.
But her involvement in the radical movement in the Philippines only gave her trouble as she skipped classes to join anti-government protests.
She got failing grades in several of her subjects. Disgusted over her radical activities and poor grades, her parents told her to quit school when she was in her third year.
After one semester of inactivity at home in San Joaquin, Iloilo, she requested her parents to send her back to the University of the Philippines.
Her parents allowed her to re-enroll at U.P. on two conditions: she would stop her involvement in the Marxist movement, and strive for good grades.
Lyn promised them she would.
She re-enrolled at U.P. in June, 1972.
On September 21, 1972, before the first semester of the school year ended, President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Proclamation 1081, placing the Philippines under Martial Law.
Lyn was spared from jail but several of her comrades in the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) were apprehended and incarcerated.
All universities and colleges in the Philippines were closed for more than a month after martial law was declared.
Lyn went back to San Joaquin for vacation. She returned to U.P. Diliman when classes resumed.
On November 24, 1972, she was invited by her dorm-mate at the Sampaguita Residence Hall to a Friday Evening Fellowship of students at Ben Lor Bldg., along Quezon Boulevard in Quezon City.
There, during the fellowship, an American missionary named Joanne Huntington shared with her the love and forgiveness of Christ with the use of a yellow booklet called The Four Spiritual Laws.
Lyn committed herself to God by receiving Jesus Christ through faith as her Savior and Lord.
She became active in the ministry of U.P. Campus Crusade for Christ, and was once editorial assistant of ENCOUNTER, the official publication of the Christian organization.
After graduation, she joined the staff of WOMEN, a monthly magazine.
She quit the publication after two years.
With the conviction that God was calling her to mission work, she enrolled in a Christian mission school in Baguio City.
After graduation, she joined the Asian Evangelistic Mission as a missionary to Hong Kong. That was in 1980.
She had stayed in Hong Kong for almost nine years now.
"Preparing for work?" Lyn asked Chrysanthemum.
"Yes," Chrys answered.
"You look gorgeous!"
"I always am!"
They both laughed.
"Do you have work tonight? Or an appointment?" Chrys asked.
"None. But I want to rest."
"Hey, why don't you go with me this time?"
"Where?"
"Hopewell Centre!"
"Come on, Chrys! What will I do there?"
"Listen to me! You never heard me sing"
"Of course I did. Several times!"
"Where?"
"Here! You sometimes sing in the bathroom!"
Chrys burst into laughter.
"Maybe here, but that's unofficial! You have never heard me sing accompanied by a violin and a guitar."
"You mean you have an official voice?"
"I sure have! And you have never heard it."
"Maybe I will one day."
"Come on Lyn. I have already invited you several times. More than five times if I can remember! Besides, that's not a night club or a disco house. It is a decent restaurant. A very nice place!" she said, the smile gone.
"Okay... I'll go with you this time!"
"Ayan!" Chrys said, smiling again.
An hour later, they were on Thomson Road.
They turned left on O'Brien Road, passing by an array of yellow-flowering trees near the Wan Chai MTR Station.
They walked along Johnston Road, by the Southern Stadium Bldg.
Then they crossed Johnston Road to a nameless street before Amoy Street, to the direction of Admiralty.
The nameless street goes directly to the Hopewell Centre, situated along Queen's Road East.
"Don't you get tired, walking to your work, six times a week?" Lyn asked.
"Sometimes, but it's good exercise. Good for the heart."
Upon reaching the Hopewell Centre Bldg, they took the escalator to the third floor. Hopewell Centre is a cylindrical building which was once the tallest building in Asia.
From the third floor where a shopping arcade and the Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant are located, an elevator lifted them to the 17th floor.
From the 17th floor, they took a glass elevator to the 56th floor.
"Wow! What a scenery! Hong Kong glows at night!" Lyn exclaimed, beholding Victoria Harbour and Kowloon.
"Your first time to come here?" Chrys asked, surprised.
"Yes."
"How long have you been in Hong Kong?"
"About nine years."
"Gosh! Where have you been?"
"Many. But not here!"
The elevator reached the 56th floor. They took another elevator to the 62nd floor where the restaurant called Revolving 66 is located.
"Hi, Chrys!" the receptionist greeted Chrysanthemum.
"Hello, Helen! How are you tonight?"
"Fine. Thank you."
"By the way, Helen, please meet my friend Lyn. Lyn, this is Helen Ng, our receptionist."
"Hello, Lyn! Your first time here?"
"Yes, this is a nice place."
"It is. Hope you'll enjoy it!" Helen said.
Lyn smiled at her.
"By the way, is Boy around already?"
"Yes. Inside."
"What about Danny?"
"Just arrived. He's inside too."
Boy and Danny accompanied Chrys. The former played the guitar; the latter, the violin.
"Excuse us, Helen."
"Sure! Nice to meet you, Lyn."
"Same here!" Lyn replied.
They both went inside the Revolving 66 Restaurant.
It was full of people. Chinese, Americans, Japanese, British, and other Europeans.
Lyn followed Chrys to a table reserved for her. Boy and Danny were already seated.
"Hi, Chrys!" Danny was the first to greet her.
"Hello, Chrys!" Boy seconded.
"Hello! By the way, please meet my flatmate, Lyn Mijares. She's a missionary."
"Hi, Lyn!" Danny shook her hand.
So did Boy. "Your first time here?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Please take your seat," Danny said.
The four sat down, Chrys opposite Danny, and Lyn opposite Boy.
"What's your order?" Chrys asked Lyn.
"You decide. You're my boss tonight."
Chyrs laughed. She called for the waitress.
"Please give her a steak, fruit salad, and Coke. Citrus drink for me. Hot, please!" Chrys told the waitress. "What about you guys?"
"Thanks, were through," Danny replied.
Lyn looked at Victoria Harbour.
"This restaurant turns, that's why it's called Revolving 66. As it turns, you see the whole of Hong Kong," Chrys told her.
"Nice place," Lyn remarked.
"You like it?" Chrys asked.
Lyn nodded. She really liked the place.
"Then come here more often."
"Only if you pay my bill," Lyn said, smiling.
Her three companions laughed.
Minutes later, their order arrived.
"What time is it?" Chrys asked Danny, as she sipped the hot citrus drink.
"Three minutes to singing time," Danny answered.
"Lyn, we'll leave you for a while. It's singing time," Chrys said.
"Go on! I can manage," she replied with confidence.
The three left her to entertain the diners.
<< Return to Chapter 4 | Proceed to Chapter 6 >> She went to open it.
"Hi!" It was Lynn Mijares , her flatmate.
"Hello, Lyn!" Chrys replied.
Lyn was a missionary staff of the Asian Evangelistic Mission. She just arrived from the office. A graduate of political science from the University of the Philippines, she desired to take up law.
But her involvement in the radical movement in the Philippines only gave her trouble as she skipped classes to join anti-government protests.
She got failing grades in several of her subjects. Disgusted over her radical activities and poor grades, her parents told her to quit school when she was in her third year.
After one semester of inactivity at home in San Joaquin, Iloilo, she requested her parents to send her back to the University of the Philippines.
Her parents allowed her to re-enroll at U.P. on two conditions: she would stop her involvement in the Marxist movement, and strive for good grades.
Lyn promised them she would.
She re-enrolled at U.P. in June, 1972.
On September 21, 1972, before the first semester of the school year ended, President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Proclamation 1081, placing the Philippines under Martial Law.
Lyn was spared from jail but several of her comrades in the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) were apprehended and incarcerated.
All universities and colleges in the Philippines were closed for more than a month after martial law was declared.
Lyn went back to San Joaquin for vacation. She returned to U.P. Diliman when classes resumed.
On November 24, 1972, she was invited by her dorm-mate at the Sampaguita Residence Hall to a Friday Evening Fellowship of students at Ben Lor Bldg., along Quezon Boulevard in Quezon City.
There, during the fellowship, an American missionary named Joanne Huntington shared with her the love and forgiveness of Christ with the use of a yellow booklet called The Four Spiritual Laws.
Lyn committed herself to God by receiving Jesus Christ through faith as her Savior and Lord.
She became active in the ministry of U.P. Campus Crusade for Christ, and was once editorial assistant of ENCOUNTER, the official publication of the Christian organization.
After graduation, she joined the staff of WOMEN, a monthly magazine.
She quit the publication after two years.
With the conviction that God was calling her to mission work, she enrolled in a Christian mission school in Baguio City.
After graduation, she joined the Asian Evangelistic Mission as a missionary to Hong Kong. That was in 1980.
She had stayed in Hong Kong for almost nine years now.
"Preparing for work?" Lyn asked Chrysanthemum.
"Yes," Chrys answered.
"You look gorgeous!"
"I always am!"
They both laughed.
"Do you have work tonight? Or an appointment?" Chrys asked.
"None. But I want to rest."
"Hey, why don't you go with me this time?"
"Where?"
"Hopewell Centre!"
"Come on, Chrys! What will I do there?"
"Listen to me! You never heard me sing"
"Of course I did. Several times!"
"Where?"
"Here! You sometimes sing in the bathroom!"
Chrys burst into laughter.
"Maybe here, but that's unofficial! You have never heard me sing accompanied by a violin and a guitar."
"You mean you have an official voice?"
"I sure have! And you have never heard it."
"Maybe I will one day."
"Come on Lyn. I have already invited you several times. More than five times if I can remember! Besides, that's not a night club or a disco house. It is a decent restaurant. A very nice place!" she said, the smile gone.
"Okay... I'll go with you this time!"
"Ayan!" Chrys said, smiling again.
An hour later, they were on Thomson Road.
They turned left on O'Brien Road, passing by an array of yellow-flowering trees near the Wan Chai MTR Station.
They walked along Johnston Road, by the Southern Stadium Bldg.
Then they crossed Johnston Road to a nameless street before Amoy Street, to the direction of Admiralty.
The nameless street goes directly to the Hopewell Centre, situated along Queen's Road East.
"Don't you get tired, walking to your work, six times a week?" Lyn asked.
"Sometimes, but it's good exercise. Good for the heart."
Upon reaching the Hopewell Centre Bldg, they took the escalator to the third floor. Hopewell Centre is a cylindrical building which was once the tallest building in Asia.
From the third floor where a shopping arcade and the Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant are located, an elevator lifted them to the 17th floor.
From the 17th floor, they took a glass elevator to the 56th floor.
"Wow! What a scenery! Hong Kong glows at night!" Lyn exclaimed, beholding Victoria Harbour and Kowloon.
"Your first time to come here?" Chrys asked, surprised.
"Yes."
"How long have you been in Hong Kong?"
"About nine years."
"Gosh! Where have you been?"
"Many. But not here!"
The elevator reached the 56th floor. They took another elevator to the 62nd floor where the restaurant called Revolving 66 is located.
"Hi, Chrys!" the receptionist greeted Chrysanthemum.
"Hello, Helen! How are you tonight?"
"Fine. Thank you."
"By the way, Helen, please meet my friend Lyn. Lyn, this is Helen Ng, our receptionist."
"Hello, Lyn! Your first time here?"
"Yes, this is a nice place."
"It is. Hope you'll enjoy it!" Helen said.
Lyn smiled at her.
"By the way, is Boy around already?"
"Yes. Inside."
"What about Danny?"
"Just arrived. He's inside too."
Boy and Danny accompanied Chrys. The former played the guitar; the latter, the violin.
"Excuse us, Helen."
"Sure! Nice to meet you, Lyn."
"Same here!" Lyn replied.
They both went inside the Revolving 66 Restaurant.
It was full of people. Chinese, Americans, Japanese, British, and other Europeans.
Lyn followed Chrys to a table reserved for her. Boy and Danny were already seated.
"Hi, Chrys!" Danny was the first to greet her.
"Hello, Chrys!" Boy seconded.
"Hello! By the way, please meet my flatmate, Lyn Mijares. She's a missionary."
"Hi, Lyn!" Danny shook her hand.
So did Boy. "Your first time here?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Please take your seat," Danny said.
The four sat down, Chrys opposite Danny, and Lyn opposite Boy.
"What's your order?" Chrys asked Lyn.
"You decide. You're my boss tonight."
Chyrs laughed. She called for the waitress.
"Please give her a steak, fruit salad, and Coke. Citrus drink for me. Hot, please!" Chrys told the waitress. "What about you guys?"
"Thanks, were through," Danny replied.
Lyn looked at Victoria Harbour.
"This restaurant turns, that's why it's called Revolving 66. As it turns, you see the whole of Hong Kong," Chrys told her.
"Nice place," Lyn remarked.
"You like it?" Chrys asked.
Lyn nodded. She really liked the place.
"Then come here more often."
"Only if you pay my bill," Lyn said, smiling.
Her three companions laughed.
Minutes later, their order arrived.
"What time is it?" Chrys asked Danny, as she sipped the hot citrus drink.
"Three minutes to singing time," Danny answered.
"Lyn, we'll leave you for a while. It's singing time," Chrys said.
"Go on! I can manage," she replied with confidence.
The three left her to entertain the diners.
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