The Legend of Mayonnaise Erich M. Once upon a time, there lived a family of old potato farmers and their beautiful daughter named Maya. The family harvests potatoes on one of the many lands owned by Senyor Juan, a handsome and wealthy man. One day, while Maya and her parents were farming, Senyor Juan passed by their farm on his kalesa. When he saw the beautiful Maya, he told his driver to stop. Senyor Juan approached the family and greeted them. When he looked at Maya again, his heart stopped beating. He gave her a dazzling smile, came closer to Maya, and kissed her hand. "I've never seen a woman more beautiful than you, Maya," says Senyor Juan. Maya blushes and replies, "Maybe you haven't met a lot of girls." They both laugh and stare at each other a little longer than needed. Senyor Juan goes back home and sleeps with a smile on his face. The next day, he visits Maya, who was alone because her parents left to buy new materials in the city. They meet up again after that. And again, and again, and again which led to an affair. Unbeknownst to her, Senyor Juan was already married to another woman named Imelda. Imelda started to become suspicious about her husband's sudden disappearances. One day, she secretly followed Senyor Juan. When they reached Maya's farm, Imelda caught them flirting. "What do you two think you're doing?!" asks Imelda with a raised voice. The lovers jumped in surprise. Little did they know, Imelda was a witch! They watch as swirls of magic surround Imelda. Maya screams in fear and pain as Imelda hits her with a burst of magic. "I curse you with-" "Imelda, please stop this! She has done nothing wrong!" says Senyor Juan as he cuts off Imelda. Imelda looks at Juan with anger and holds up a jar. She looks at Maya again and continues her curse. "I curse you to become unsightly and disgusting! Nobody will bother giving you a look!" Maya cries as she begins to dissolve into the jar Imelda was holding. After a few seconds, Maya completely transforms into a white, gel-like substance. Juan looks at the newly filled jar and Imelda in horror. Imelda takes a few steps closer to Juan and touches his face. "Don't expect me to ever forgive you for this," says Imelda softly as she looks into Juan's eyes. She whispers into his ear, "Because of the love and pity I have for you, I shall let you share the same fate as your mistress." Imelda opens the same jar, and Juan slowly transforms, just like Maya. Imelda hears two people walking nearby and drops the jars. She flees, never to be found again. The two people stated were, in fact, Maya's parents. They noticed the two jars on the ground and picked them up. Confused, they called out for Maya, but there was no reply. Panic rises, and they frantically looked for Maya everywhere. Sadly, they could not find her. A while has passed, and Maya's father died. The poor mother felt depressed and lonely because she and her husband were still unable to find Maya. One day, she notices a white 'barong Tagalog' on the ground near the place where she and her husband found the jars. "Could it be? Were Maya and Senyor Juan together?" the mother asks herself. Too tired and old to continue looking for Maya, she accepts her fate. Curious, the mother opens the jar and gives the substance a taste, not knowing it was Maya and Senyor Juan inside. "Hmm. It doesn't taste too good. What if I put it on some potatoes?" And she did. The combination of the substance and the potatoes worked perfectly! She then named the substances inside the jar Mayonesa (Mayonnaise), after her lost daughter.
