A New Word and a New Experience (March 24)

The word gigil (sounds like ghee-gill) is a term from the Philippines’ Tagalog language, recently added to the Oxford English Dictionary. It refers to an intense feeling that makes us clench our hands, grit our teeth, or reach out to touch something that is irresistibly adorable. Gigil seems to be the perfect word to describe Robbie’s experience when he and his uncle are adrift after an evening’s fishing in a secluded bay. The adult suggests waiting a bit before departing for home.

“Let’s sit for a while.” Soon a bird called quietly from somewhere in the reeds. “What’s that, Uncle Harry?”

“It’s a loon with its baby.” The piping note was nothing like the wild yodels we heard after dark. This was something else to file away…

… “Look into the chinks between the reeds. Do you see anything moving?”

Gradually, a flickering profile took shape, but by then the stealthy parent must have sensed our attention. The calls grew even fainter. We watched and listened until the outline and the sound were completely gone. At length my uncle reached back for the outboard motor…

… He brought us out onto open water. The boat picked up speed and carried us back to the more predictable if less instructive comforts of the veranda at the Point. But I brought along a new way of fathoming the world around me. (Providence Point, p. 149)

(Illustration generated by AI)