Fish-dealer BOSSING (Vic Sotto) leads a simple life with his cos-player daughter VANNA. His workload at the fishport and the fresh fish market is something he’s been doing for years on his own since his wife died. He gets along well with the people at work, and even when he’s pestered by his naughty inaanak JESSA, he’s able to put her at teasing distance.
Then one day he suddenly has his hands full when JESSA, envious of the many costumes and outfits that VANNA uses as a cos player, wishes herself to be a mermaid. Yes, a sirena.
It so happens that in this world there is a TANDANG WISHY, an old crone who feeds on the desires of children. As a malevolent supernatural, she gives out wishes and for each accepted wish she reverts to being young again and beautiful. She’s a shortcut; her recipients do not bother to reach success the hard way.
Dragging BOSSING to the public swimming pool one afternoon, JESSA surprises her Ninong with her amazing speed in swimming. BOSSING’s surprise turns to shock when JESSA’s mermaid tail suddenly appears. He demands to know where JESSA got her mermaid tale, she keeps quiet, obeying TANDANG WISHY ’s demand to keep their deal a secret, or she loses her mermaid status.
JESSA’s mermaid state leaks out. At first they’re able to explain the tail as a costume quite similar to VANNA’s cosplay mermaid outfit.
But BOSSING knows better than to expose JESSA to the world. He keeps her hidden in his house, in a container full of one part water and one part patis to ensure her mermaid ail is submerged in a salty stimulation of sea water. But the cats in the neighborhood are able to smell JESSA out. One just one cat or tw. Not merely a hundred or two hundred. But thousands of cats. Thousands and thousands of cats.
The neighborhood’s curiosity is aroused. Rumors fly.
To make it worse, the patis solution also stops working. JESSA’s scales start to flake. The little mermaid begins to flake. Blood seeps out from her lower torso, for each scale that falls off. BOSSING secretly brings JESSA off to the sea, by his regular fishport. She feels better now in seawater. And swims with great speed.
BOSSING asks her now to reveal where she got her mermaid’s tail. She initially refuses to answer. Fine, says BOSSING, then I’ll leave you here. You won’t see me anymore, not your mother.
It’s the fear of not seeing her beloved mother that makes JESSA blurts out the truth about TANDANG WISHY. BOSSING says all JESSA has to do is retract her wish.
That’s not possible, counters TANDANG WISHY, who suddenly appears, still in her young form.
Of course it is, BOSSING says, and its there that he reveals he was also once upon a time TANDANG WISHY’s victim. Out of laziness and refusal to study he had as a young boy wished for a diploma from TANDANG WISHY so he needn’t go to school anymore. He received a high school diploma, the symbol of hard work, but he also wasn’t really smart enough to go to college so he had to work doubly hard as fish dealer.
Go, BOSSING prods JESSA, you’re allowed 30 days to retract your wish. TANDANG WISHY tempts JESSA with further “get rich quick” schemes, but still in the end, it’s JESSA’s love for her mother that prevails. She retracts her wish and TANDANG WISHY is defeated and before us transforms into the old, wrinkled prune she was the first time JESSA met her.
JESSA has a tearful reunion with her mother and a promise from her Ninong BOSSING that he will train her to be a champion swimmer, no shortcuts, but real hard work and training to get to the top.
The episode ends with a swimming competition, and JESSA wins. She gets a gold medal.
Walang shortcut ang talagang gustong magtagumpay.
the end.
#MyBigBossing
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