When I die, then I die loving you

Last Wednesday, I was tasked to go to a place unknown to me, or at least a place I've never been to. I went to Tuburan without any knowledge about the place--how to get there, how it is there, how the people live there, how the road is paved, etc. Point is, 'twas the first time that I've heard of such place and I took it a challenge to go there, not to get lost but to somewhat listen, explore and witness stories, and create adventure.

It was never an upset. Waking up early was the first challenge I had. (HAHA) You see, I had my alarm set at 6:30 so I could have my trip earlier, ergo earlier task done. I woke an hour (and seven minutes) after, though. The next challenge was to figure out how to get to the place without getting lost, or getting a safe transport to and fro. I went to the North Bus Terminal, and was startled by the sizes of the buses that routes to Tuburan. They were small, crunk-y and non-reliable-according-to-its-face-value buses (di masaligan), so I went on asking some konduktor to tell me the safest way possible to get to the place.

Hurriedly, I jumped into a Ceres Liner Jagnaya route, then dropped at Eskina Nogo where I have to take another bus going to Tuburan. I had to take another bus (which was huot and very small btw) to Tuburan, and had to finish some interviews with Municipal Officials and Personnel. Tasked done, and presto, I'm ready to take my way home.

While waiting for my V-Hire to go, I sat in terminal just beside a couple around their seventies or eighties. They were sitting there, as if waiting for someone to come, with their hands holding each other's. They were talking to each other, laughing at times, arguing at times, but you could see that were all smiles all the time. They sat there for almost an hour, and I just stared at them happily as they share stories that I even barely hear.

In the looks of their faces, I could say that they are not well-endowed. The woman wore a normal saya up to her feet and a polo shirt, while the man wore a pair of striped jeans and a long-sleeved top tucked in, perfected with a muddy high-cut leather shoes. They were living poorly, but by the look in their eyes, you could say that they were contented with each other's company.

Almost an hour passed, and they went their way. The man had trouble going 2 steps down (the terminal is elevated two steps up) so the woman came to rescue, telling her husband to hurry, as if angry, but never minded to help him anyway. They walked their ways, and I told myself that rarely will I see that scene again, or that will be the last time that I'll be seeing that and such a couple again. I smiled at the sight of them, and it reminded me a song from Yellowcard entitled Dear Bobbie (the video is below.) Click here for lyrics.

Forty-five minutes later, we departed from Tuburan via Trans-Central Highway Route. Just thirty minutes immediately after we went, I saw the same old couple walking all their way to the fields of Tuburan. I thought they were having the jeepney from transport. I was wrong. They were walking from the terminal up to that point where I saw them. They looked weary and tired from walking.

They were poor. They had no money to take the jeep or bus. They were weary.They were tired. But nevertheless, they had each other. :)

A Mother's Love: Timeless

Three nights ago, I found myself staring at a mother with her high school daughter. I really found it weird (and absurd) that a grownup still has to be fetched from school by her mum who seemed to be tired of doing daily household chores for the family (imagine a typical Filipino labandera). The mum seemed to be enjoying the routine as she fondled through the hair of her daughter in the whole duration of the ride. I thought, maybe, this mum is just overprotective and non-trusting of her daughter, which comes pretty the reason why she still needed to fetch her daughter.

Not too soon, the daughter shouted, "Lugar lang." She bid goodbyes to her classmates and friends who were with them in the jeep. Of course, I was still there, staring and waiting for them to depart from the jeep. Her mum went down first, but her daughter seemed no to follow her. She just sat there, as if waiting for something to happen. I wondered why. Suddenly, the mother reached out her hand, her daughter got it, and as she stood I noticed that the student is limping as if she had fallen and had her bones broken. She had difficulty going down, but her mother was there, all the way, to help her do the act. The mother even carried her under her arms as if she was a young child until she got her feet in the ground. The student still limped, not being able to walk properly, with her arms around the arms of her mother.

Later did I realize that the student has been experiencing Polio, a non-curable disorder characterized by paralysis and immobility of some of nervous reflexes. I asked another student beside me (who was a friend of that polio child) about the mother and daughter, and she said that the mum have been around her daughter since childhood, not failing to fetch her every day just to be sure that her daughter gets an education.

I was startled. I was judging through the cover of the book. I asked myself, "If I become a parent, will I have the same patience as this mother have?" The thought seemed to upset me, but the very sight of the mother and daughter that day really made me smile, not to mention a little bit teary-eyed.

As the jeep accelerated, I looked back. I saw them crossing the road, with the daughter's arms around her mother's, and the two smiling as if they are really lucky to have each other.