"Aling Chona, who?" I asked her.
"Aling Chona Caymo is the manghuhula, remember?" Stella told me. Trust Stella to know the whereabouts of one of the best fortunetellers in town.
"Of course, I remember her. She’s still around, huh?" I told Stella adding that I have not been to her stall ever since Vira Mall closed shop January this year to give way to a bigger and brighter mall anytime soon.
"Lowka, she’s very much around. She just transferred to Annapolis Carpark Arcade, also within the Greenhills Shopping Center. Go see her at Stall No. 94," Stella prodded me.
We hanged up. But the thought of Aling Chona was still hanging in my mind. In times when uncertainties in my life are as palpable as the air I breathe, I always get by with the advice of psychics who, more often than not, are always correct in their predictions. Am I that easy to read? Or am I that gullible? The heck, I get by.
Like her stall in Vira Mall, Aling Chona’s new place now called Palmistry at the Annapolis Arcade is still teeming with people who want their fortune to be read. The fusion of characters who come in and out of her stall include well-known politicians, military men and their wives, and Chinese businessmen and women. Sometimes, there are so many people in her 10-sq.-m big stall that you would think there’s a business or political convention going on.
It was said that former President Joseph Estrada once sought her prowess in seeing what awaited the deposed leader’s future. Aling Chona said she was one of those who prodded Erap to run as senator. When he was contemplating to become the tenant of Malacañang, Aling Chona advised Erap, through his mother Mary, that it would be best if he run for the vice presidency instead. Soon after, when Erap ran as President, she said he would win but he would have a short-lived term.
"Don’t worry about the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo government. She will surely have many obstacles to face but rest assured that she will finish her term," said Aling Chona who does palmistry and tarot card reading when she plots the fortune of her clients.
As for the 2010 elections, Aling Chona said: "The strongest bets will be Senators Mar Roxas and Miriam Defensor-Santiago for the Presidency." For the Vice Presidency, she added, Senators Bong Revilla and Kiko Pangilinan would be the willing and able candidates.
Aling Chona also said ornamental plants and cutflower industry will be good business ventures for the whole year round. "People are now turning to nature to get some peace of mind," she said.
Pharmaceuticals are also a good business, she added, as well as pre-need and insurance and memorial parks. She also said that despite the bargain-basement process of real estate properties, they remain not profitable this year. Food business is also not a good source of income in 2005.
The 65-year-old fortuneteller observed that an influx of customers flock to her shop especially when there’s economic crunch or uncertainty in the political system. Wives of the generals, who seek for the lucky stars of their husbands, are almost always regular fixtures in her stall. Chinese businessmen are always on the lookout for the best advice on how to make their entrepreneurial ventures better. A lot of times, also, Chinatown residents troop to her stall asking for her expertise in geomancy. Yes, Aling Chona is also well-versed in feng shui.
Love-struck people are also a force to reckon with in Aling Chona’s dominion. In the end, it turns out, these people make a friend out of Aling Chona thereby consulting her about their boyfriends, girlfriends, wedding plans, and yes, infidelity.
What endears Aling Chona to her clients is not her accuracy in reading their fate and fortune, their happiness or helplessness. Many people love to see her because she is not judgmental. She reads the cards of a married woman in love with another man, for instance, and understands the affair because she has read the personality of her husband and how he treats her.
"But eventually, I try to help them turn to God so they can pray for the miracles that need to happen in their lives," she said.
She added: "It has been 19 years since I finally accepted my fate as a psychic. At first I didn’t like it but I was pushed to help other people solve their problems." She admitted her conscience bothered her at the onset because she was, and still is, a catolico cerado. She did fortune-telling with ease only when a priest told her that there was no harm in what she does as long as she brings people closer to God.
"I’m not God. I am only here to help people understand what the future holds for them. It is still His will that will prevail in the end," she concludes.
(E-mail the author at bumbaki@yahoo.com.)