My younger sister was in town last week for a work-related conference and came over yesterday. She arrived, bags in tow, yesterday morning, and barely gave me time to eat breakfast and get dressed before she hauled me off to Greenhills to help her choose a pasalubong or present for her husband. She and her husband have a house in General Santos City, where our parents live, and she works in Davao. Once a year she is in Manila for their annual planning conference, and she makes sure to stay with me for a while before she goes home so we can indulge in a little sister-bonding.

So yesterday, she bore me off to Greenhills to buy a cellphone for her hubby because he had accidentally dropped and broken his phone. After going through what must have been every stall selling cellphones and canvassing prices, she finally settled upon the one who offered her the cheapest brand new Nokia 5030 ExpressRadio package. By that time my feet were hurting.

"Come on," she said when she had finished her negotiations. 'I'll show you something." She led me to the Chapel in the middle of the complex, turned down a narrow corridor, and in through a door with a sign that said it was the chapel gallery. "I bet you didn't know this was here!" she said.

I gasped with surprise, for there was a series of dioramas of the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, and there embedded in one whole wall was a diorama of old Jerusalem, and some of the figures were moving. There were sheep-shearers, bakers, and cooks. Farriers were shoeing mules and camels, a woman was doing her laundry, a fisherman was fishing. The sky, which had been bright was day, gradually darkened and the stars and the moon came out. We spent several pleasurable minutes just lingering over the display, pointing out details that caught our eyes. My absolute favorite had to be the gamblers and drinkers that gathered around a table in a corner, raising their hands rhythmically.

I had seen the Ayala museum dioramas, of course, but never knew there were also dioramas in the heart of Greenhills until my sister brought me there. It was a very pleasant surprise. Admission was free, but cameras and picture-taking was not allowed. I forgot my aching feet for a moment, just admiring the details in the little scenes.

Afterwards, we went off to have a late lunch at KFC before going on another round of the place, ending up with her trying on what must have been every pair of imitation Ipanema slippers in the whole place. LOL.